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Cornwall Council

As part of Cornwall Council’s strategic accommodation review in 2007 Hart Miller Design developed an initial interior brand strategy in partnership with workplace strategist PLACEmaking.

The result was a pilot scheme ‘The Exchange’ which combined resident, hot desk and agile work settings at Truro’s County Hall. These settings formed a benchmark for the Council’s strategic vision to improve collaboration and efficiency across their buildings. The principles of this work were then rolled out to multiple sites.

In 2015, we were invited back to partner with PBWC Architects to build on this strategy for the landmark new Chy Trevail civic building in Bodmin. Our interior design scheme was developed to balance both budget and quality, but above all – with the focus on public access – it had to feel human.

The building puts people at its heart. The workspaces flow from the light-filled central atrium. The blurring of public and corporate space communicates a sense of openness and transparency. Our focus was to ensure that this sense of a shared space could be felt as you navigated the building.

The abundance of trees in the surrounding site is reflected internally with timber screens signposting breakout settings. 3 simple colour palettes vary in tone in each wing, facilitating simple way-finding and adding depth of character to the building.

In 2016 the building won Michelmore’s Southwest Property Awards ‘Building of the Year’, Cornish Building Group’s main award and was The Building Forum – Devon and Cornwall Project of the Year Finalist.

“We were trying to achieve something that was modern, clean, crisp, efficient, business-like, and together with Hart Miller Design, we’ve delivered that for them,” says Ian Stewart, project architect at PBWC.