As a new location as opposed to a refurbishment, brand impact is integral to get noticed and talked about in order to gain share of an increasingly competitive market. I-AM designed a street presence that exudes a blend of core traditional S&P brand qualities combined with quirky & unexpected contemporary styling, reflecting the metropolitan location and representing S&P’s partnership with Christie’s International Real Estate.

Strong, stylised digital displays presenting uniquely commissioned films of the local area alongside properties for sale or to rent, replace the rash of property cards prevalent in the sector. This opens the view to the striking interior, and the entire design is linked by an expression of character house-window framing, a device used at a range of scales inspired by the notion of windows as the ‘eyes’ of any property.

Once through the signature transparent red door, the new site pushes the boundaries of interaction inside an estate agency branch, being one of the first agile-working models in the sector. Bringing cues in from the best of new-style collaborative workspaces, I-AM created a flexible, open environment where the S&P team ‘hot desk’ with laptops and a variety of seating – from bar style tables to booths with interactive map tables – offering a more relevant, contemporary range of discussion spaces for consultations with vendors, landlords and property seekers.

In keeping with the Strutt & Parker brand expression I-AM have developed throughout the family of offices, playful and humorous touches are also incorporated. Miniature models have been used to create scenes reflecting both domestic life and S&P’s links to land and countryside. An easel in the window with a digital screen is a nod back to the brand’s collaboration with Christie’s International Property and the connotations of art. The site opened to great acclaim and much buzz in the local area; new listings are immediately well above expectations.

Photography by Alex Winship