Getting it right from day one: how early input from Innov8 helped shape a better building.
Element is a 39,707 sq ft Grade A office building at Birchwood Park, designed for modern occupiers. While advising on layout and amenities wasn’t part of our formal remit, we spend every day watching how people use space, what works, what doesn’t, and where value is really created. That insight allowed us to shape a building that functions better for tenants, from day one.
shaping space with first-hand experience
When we were brought in as the managing agent, Element was still in development. While our official remit hadn’t yet begun, we saw an opportunity to add value. Drawing on our day-to-day experience watching how occupiers use space — what works, what doesn’t, and where buildings often fall short — we offered advice on layout and amenity provision that would better meet tenant needs.
One key intervention was to reconfigure the oversized café and lounge area, which had more seating than the building could ever fill. Instead, we recommended adding a well-equipped gym with high-quality showers, electronic locker and premium kit, creating the kind of feature that adds real value to tenants without compromising shared space.
Designing for what People really value.
Getting the amenity mix right is all about balancing experience with practicality. In a business park setting, an onsite café is a great “nice to have”, but it often adds significant cost to the service charge without always delivering clear value. A well-designed gym, on the other hand, while more costly to install, delivers a direct benefit to employees. It supports wellbeing and encourages office attendance , helping to short-term occupiers into long-term tenants.
We also fed into the design of key shared areas — including reception, breakout spaces, and landscaping — to ensure the building not only looked good, but worked better. Everything was considered with day-to-day use in mind, helping future-proof the space for both tenants and the landlord.
"Our experience working with IPS has been nothing short of transformative. Since we moved into Element at the beginning of 2023, we’ve seen a remarkable improvement in our work environment. The attention to detail in maintaining a clean, organised, and functional space has allowed us to focus more on our core tasks without the distractions of facility issues."
— Dave Cosslett, SFIT, tenant at Element
the results
Thanks to early collaboration and a focus on real-world functionality, Element is now a space that not only looks good but works hard for both tenants and the landlord. It's a great example of how small changes during development can lead to significant long-term value.
This project shows how Innov8 adds value far beyond traditional property management — advising developers early to create buildings that actually work for the people using them. We’re more than just a safe pair of hands — we’re a proactive, flexible partner who cares about the long-term success of every space we manage.