
Canvas Offices founders, brothers Oren Rosenblum and Yaron Rosenblum, take neglected and tired offices, give them a new lease of life and a substantial dose of innovation and design, to attract businesses and their employees back to town, which brings me to my review of Canvas's latest project - 175 High Holborn.
Some buildings in this area are tagging themselves Covent Garden, a little white lie but a 5-minute stroll would take you there and Tottenham Court Road is a hop and a skip away.
Looking at workspace from an employer's point of view, the better your facilities, the happier your employees will be, sickness rates drop, production rises. Canvas have once again ticked all the boxes in their ground up face and body building renovation. Showers, bike storage, phone boxes where face to face Team meetings can take place are everywhere. You can bring your pet to work any day you like not just one day a year. There is a superb boardroom bookable by all resident businesses at no extra cost and great recreational spaces for coffee, lunch, a confidential out of your office chat, or a little pool. Talking about pool, the view from my window was the London Eye and below the Oasis open air swimming pool, a seriously close neighbour. I poked my nose in there at lunchtime, a great facility offering squash, gym and popular exercise classes. Something you can't play there is the Squid Game, for that you need to turn right and cross the road, and I am being serious here. For serious minded people, the British Museum is not that far away.
Also for research purposes only, at lunch time, I popped into the Craft Co pub, thirty or forty yards away, who are claiming to be the only pub in the UK with 45 draft beers available, a pub with character supporting the UK Craft beer industry, not tied to any mega beer brand. This was followed by a cheap and cheerful bite to eat, people watching, sunny pavement seat outside, just around the corner in Drury Lane, the very heart of London's theatreland and back to work.
Positionally speaking, 175 HH is in a great place. I also worked in one of the communal areas, sitting at a gorgeous table, one of a number with reddish marble tops, which may have been chosen to match the classy Board Room colouring and other fittings in the surrounding area. These included a free multi choice coffee machine, fridge and dish washer and afore mentioned pool table. Clearly a lot of design thought and funding has gone into what has been a major high-level refurbishment.
All communications Wi-Fi etc. worked perfectly and I felt at home here quite quickly as the day I spent there was part of my working week, not a five minute visit. I walked to the office from Waterloo station in the morning and went home via Charing Cross, a more entertaining walk through Covent Garden with tube stops everywhere.
My career has ricocheted across the West End of London over a lot of years, with significant spells near Regent Street, Haymarket and close to Oxford Circus but being this close to such varied facilities and a very vibrant part of London, was quite special.
WFH will never be the same.
Chris Westcott Director New Business