Amazon’s London HQ brings together 4,000 staff in their fantastic new residence in Shoreditch. Known as Principal Place the site has the growing capacity for over 5,500 staff in total and has food and beverage facilities spread across 15 floors.

Amazon has enjoyed rapid expansion over recent years and Tricon has been engaged to work with the client team on several projects across their European estate, including London, Dublin and Luxembourg.  For Principal Place, Tricon worked directly with IA interior Architects and the Amazon team to develop the initial foodservice strategy.  This involved reviewing the previous London office’s catering facilities, analysing relevant catering data and reviewing the employee demographic profiles provided by Amazon.  Tricon carried out also extensive research into plans for the surrounding area in regard to planned F&B outlets and, along with our detailed knowledge of current food trends, developed a strategy and design brief that met Amazons requirements.

One of the initial key statements from Amazon was an aspiration to work with the local businesses/vendors by bringing them into the master-plan, as ‘pop-up areas when the building is full, to invigorate the offer which would be managed by the master caterer.  This would serve also their wish to move away from a corporate ‘canteen’ environment.

The new office building has a futuristic industrial style and work by local artists is displayed throughout.  It offers employees extensive F&B amenities with the main café on the first floor alongside the coffee bar, hospitality to meeting rooms on the second floor and a second coffee bar at level 10.  The building provides light and airy open plan work spaces with adjustable sitting/standing desks for all employees, a large auditorium for employee events and two large outdoor spaces offering views over London. The development also includes locally half an acre of public piazza and events space as well as retail, cafes and restaurants, offering al fresco dining.