ZURICH has moved hundreds of employees into its new headquarters near Fleming Way - and the Adver had an exclusive tour of the six-storey site.
The insurance giant has invested around £35 million into the 100,000sq ft office block which contractors Skanska started building in August 2020.
I last visited Unity Place when the main pillars and floors had been finished. Safe to say, the main atrium looks rather different now.
EXCLUSIVE: The Adver had a look around Zurich’s new eco-friendly Swindon town centre offices pic.twitter.com/Aa6YJugSIE
— Daniel Angelini (@Adver_Daniel) November 17, 2022
A staircase highlighted with blue lights zig-zags up to the top tier while light flows in from the windows and preserved oak and olive trees planted around the lobby catch the eye.
Balconies from each floor surround this space, but there is no loud noise echoing around because white panels which look like ceiling decorations under industrial steelwork absorb some of the acoustics.
After getting a guest pass, I'm allowed into the ground floor canteen area which also has an enormous TV screen and a staircase to the mezzanine that doubles as a sort of leisurely lecture theatre.
The office floors each have different layouts and are mainly open-plan, featuring several sitting or standing desks and computer stations, a few diner-style booths, larger tables for meeting spaces, enclosed individual seats and tables, catering stations, and plenty of plants.
There are small closed-off rooms that can seat two people, or - for even more privacy - tall soundproofed rectangles that look like phone booths.
Eco-friendliness is a big focus for the building - a screen above the reception desk boasts of how all the power comes from renewable electricity.
Chief sustainability officer John Keppel said: "We had exhausted the workable life of the TriCentre so this was an opportunity to kickstart central Swindon's re-development and build the best business space in the area.
"The building's design encourages people to walk between floors, so the lifts aren't used much. Some staff in our old building didn't know what was on the floor below theirs because they had no reason to go there.
"We re-used rubble from the structures underneath the ground to form the concrete base of the building, leftover cement has been melted and made into artwork, rainwater collected on the roof waters the plants, the list goes on.
"All the furniture is made through zero-water manufacturing and is sourced from UK and Wiltshire businesses. There are only four printers in the whole building to encourage our staff to go paperless and only print if it's absolutely necessary."
The top floor includes a leisure area with a piano, air hockey, and table football as well as a roof terrace for socialising in the sunshine (if there is any) and a beehive.
The car park has 13 car spaces, all with electric vehicle charging points, and several motorcycle bays. Cyclists can store their bikes in a ground floor area which is connected to a drying room, lockers, and showers.
Just over half of the building will be used by Zurich itself while spaces on three of the floors will be sub-letted to other companies. These areas are still being finished off.
It is hoped that the impressive offices and nearby new bus boulevard will inspire other big-name businesses to be part of Swindon Borough Council's Kimmerfields re-development scheme.
Mr Keppel added: "We've been part of Swindon for so long, it's important to have a presence in the community and help the area's development.
"We look forward to Fleming Way being completed and changing the face of central Swindon and the journey from the train station."
The council is set to buy the building and then lease it back to Zurich on a long lease.
Council leader David Renard said: "Unity Place is an excellent building both on the outside and on the inside.
“It’s a great addition to Swindon’s skyline and a shining example of what a private business can do to improve the local area.
“The eco-friendly features of the building are something that everyone should be aspiring to and we’re proud to be the home of such a state-of-the-art office.”
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