Fidelity International’s largest UK office at Kingswood Fields is set within Surrey’s rolling green belt, and surrounded by Ancient Woodland. As part of Fidelity’s plans to accommodate extra staff, BD were appointed to consider a site-wide regeneration for the thriving campus – already home to a raft of their business. This includes technology, marketing, customer services and finance departments; an onsite deli and restaurant; gym, plus running clubs and campus walking routes.
Our brief focused on developing a fluid and contemporary setting across the masterplan, facilitating connections and interactions through a thriving heart – alongside a radical enhancement in biodiversity. We have so far worked on three key spaces for Fidelity: the Heart Zone; Pavilion; and a redesign of their core parking facilities.
The Heart Zone project has delivered the thriving new core required for the campus. The branching, irregular space includes the Gateway Plaza and links the three main buildings onsite: Beech Gate House, Kingswood Place and Windmill Court.
Our key design ambitions were:
• To create a healthy, joyful, green heart that inspires employees during their daily work.
• To frame and enhance the views of the red brick architecture.
• To optimise the function and flow of people by providing clear and joined-up routes and clever signage.
• To foster community and interaction through social spaces.
• We wanted to achieve all of the above through the principles of ‘biophilic design’: bringing the natural world into our design to improve human wellbeing.
Our vision was to enrich the heart of the site through a series of design highlights reminiscent of natural landscapes: river, meadow, mountain, woodland. As such, our initial designs started to draw in elements of rain gardens, open courtyard, incidental seating, naturalistic ornamental planting, and edible landscape pockets.
We also wanted the Heart Zone to feel coherent, connected and improve navigation throughout the wider site. An important aspect was therefore the rationalisation of levels to seamlessly link the buildings and avoid steps wherever possible to improve flow and accessibility. Careful consideration to the sequence of arrival from the Gateway Plaza to the reception entrance was also a key consideration for us.
Surface profiles and details have been designed to direct surface water runoff into a central rain garden that wraps around the Kingswood building. Planted with damp-tolerant plants and encompassed by amphitheatre seating, this focal point ensures a visually attractive and hardworking, multi-functional landscape. Permeable paving to drop-off areas also absorbs surface water as part of the sustainable drainage strategy.
Our soft landscape designs create a green oasis at the heart of the campus. As part of our biophilic approach, the design has incorporated a variety of species-rich habitats – including dappled shady woodland, wildflower meadow, and flood-able landscape. Together these create an attractive and sensory-rich workplace setting, which is constantly growing and changing with year-round visual interest. This promotes people’s wellbeing and connection to nature, as well as combining and enhancing the site’s existing biodiversity.
Heart Zone won the 2022 Landscape Institute Award for ‘Excellence in Horticulture and Planting Design’, and features tall, swaying stands of grasses that turn blond in autumn; herbs and shrubby structure; plus spring to autumn-flowering colourful perennials to extend the season for pollinators.
Our work also proposed a number of feature trees throughout the site: semi-mature ornamental trees; fruiting orchard trees; and specimen screening trees. This tree network defines the spaces and contributes to the sequence of arrival, directs key views, and provides year-round structure.
We have thoroughly enjoyed working on the masterplan and three projects across Fidelity’s campus: contributing to the successful planning applications, technical design and overseeing the landscape construction works on site.
Client: Fidelity International
Architects: HLW
Landscape Budget: Confidential
Status: Completed 2021
“The spaces provide an enticing environment for employees to take a break, relax and socialise. The provision of these lush green spaces will certainly have an impact on the users health and wellbeing.”
Landscape Institute Judges’ comments. Overall Winner for 2022 ‘Excellence in Horticulture + Planting Design’
“The heart space is looking beautiful.”
Christopher O’Connell (Site Supervisor - CBRE)
