Britain's first indoor office helter skelter

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Britain's first indoor office helter skelter

Feb 26, 2009

 The economy may be on a downward spiral.

But designers of a new office development have come up with a novel way of lifting morale during the downturn.

They have installed a see-through helter-skelter to take staff from the third to the ground floor reception area in an exhilarating seven seconds.

Catering for media-related businesses, the Electric Works office complex in Sheffield opens on Monday, complete with the novel descent.

Made of steel and plastic, it is 87ft long with a 40ft drop.

It will inevitably give the health and safety police palpitations, but that's all for the better according to designer Toby Hyam, who says it is intended as a 'statement about risk-taking'.

He said: 'We have put quite a lot of thought into what this is all about and we wanted to make a big effort to make this place special. We won't be putting another helter skelter in anywhere else.

'We know that it will be a novelty at first, and we don't know whether it will wear off, but if you are having a meeting with a client and people are whizzing past, it will be memorable.'

Office manager Deborah Walsh said: 'I think the helter-skelter is a brilliant idea and we will constantly have people moving in and moving out, so there will always be somebody new to try it.'

For the less adventurous, the options of using the stairs or a lift remain.

The project is the result of a public private partnership between landowner Yorkshire Forward, developers Scarborough Development Group and Sheffield Council which has bought the building.

It stands on land between the city's railway and bus stations and is aimed at people working in the creative industries and media, from freelancers who work alone to companies of up to 75 people.

The centre of the building will be known as the 'club area' and will be available on a subscription basis costing £50 a month. For this, members will get access to all communal areas and meeting spaces.

Other services, such as the hire of lockers which include mobile phone and laptop chargers, the provision of a business address and a reception service, will also be available at an extra charge.

A conference room, which seats 150 people in a theatre-style environment, is also available, and offices on the upper floors of the building are up for rent with prices starting at £16,000 a year.

The building will be run by Mr Hyam's company Creative Space Management which also runs Round Foundry media centre in Leeds and is working on several other Yorkshire projects.
 

By Chris Brooke

Source: Daily Mail

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