The award winning HKS Building, in the heart of revitalised King’s Cross, is the new home of global advertising company Havas and the result of the consolidation of the organisation’s 10 sites across the capital into one base for its 26 brands and 1,600 employees. The brief from Havas’ CEO Yannick Bollore was ‘to create the most exciting agency space in London, full of innovation and creativity’. The HKX kitchen and restaurant is very much the heart of the building and vision and is used extensively outside of core eating hours for informal meetings.

Tricon was appointed to the project working alongside MCM Architecture and initially worked to develop the foodservice strategy as a component of the overall workplace strategy to inspire creativity within the workforce & unleash the full potential of its people. Through extensive consultation with all the key stakeholders core themes were established which were used to form the concept of the ‘Vertical Village’. The Creative Café was one of the destination spaces created throughout building to enhance interaction and collaboration between the brands. The ‘Pitch Rooms and Event Spaces are all supported by local pantries and tea points.

While Tricon recognised that a plethora of food and beverage outlets would be available on the Boulevard and with King’s Cross and St Pancras just minutes away, the key objectives that had to underpin the provision of the services can be summarised as:

• Provide a central “hub” for all staff to meet informally, not only at lunchtime but throughout the entire day.
• Promote integration and collaboration between teams.
• Add a competitive edge as an employer and assist in recruitment and retention.
• Deliver a catering service that is efficient to operate, and which achieves the optimum balance of service levels and subsidy

The project received commendation in 2018 as the BCO best fit out in the workplace in London.