18-08-2020
Squaredot Hits 20!

Apart from 2020 being a most unusual year, in so many ways, it hasn’t stopped the practice from hitting 20 years in business on the 18th August. Formed by David Kramer and Kris Krokosz, the company has grown from its lofty position at the top of Hagley House in Birmingham and now occupies its own building on The Waterways in Stratford-upon-Avon. David commented that they started off as a couple of guys just trying to break away from their positions in London and as Midlander’s felt Birmingham offered the chance to be a big fish in a large lake as opposed to London where they would be seen as a small fish in a large sea. Ironically, their first project was to design the London offices of Cadbury Schweppes European Beverages, a project which would go on to win them their first BCO for a fit-out of a small project in London and the South East region. The studio went on to design in its next project, arguably the world’s first CoWorking space and that went on to be a finalist at that years FX International Interior Design awards.

Kris is keen to point out that in the subsequent years, we have gone onto win a further 8 regional, national and test of time BCO awards and a finalist on another 6 occasions. As a supporter of The British Council for Offices whose primary objective is to define excellence in office space it has been exceptionally pleasing to have worked for organisations such as Birmingham City Council and be rewarded with the public recognition for top quality design and functionality and provide a benchmark for excellence in workplaces.

Our philosophy on work and the environment is that it can be a key strategy to help people feel a greater sense of belonging, purpose and engagement with their organisations as well as their buildings - A theatre of innovation, creativity, activity and enjoyed productivity. Just following a fad or fashion is not sensible design, instead it should be based on evidence that is pertinent to that particular businesses interests, aims and aspirations.

But that’s just the start of our journey with our clients. Discovering the science is the foundation, but translating this into a creative form is the next key stage, and here we have “Wowed” our clients with sensitive, imaginative and wonderful workplaces which people have enjoyed over the last twenty years. At the end of the day, we are about our people and the people we design for and never has this been more important than in 2020.

The studio has produced an array of creative and imaginative environments for a wide selection of clients, over the last twenty years. From roll out programmes for Network Rail, where we have designed over a million square feet of office space, to European property strategies for the entire Kimberly-Clark EMEA property portfolio. We master minded Birmingham City Council’s portfolio too as well as various projects for Barclays, West Midlands Police, Avaya, Savills, GIA, and many more that are featured on this site.

But now we face a completely new set of challenges, but with our toolkit of services, we have been better prepared to help British business realise the opportunities that COVID has opened up. For more information, contact us on info@squaredot.co.uk or call the studio on 01789 201 000. We’re looking forward to hearing from you and realise the next twenty years.