Bath financial services consultancy and software provider Altus has appointed commercial interiors specialist Paramount to create an “inspiring workplace” as it prepares to move to its new headquarters in the city.
The 9,445 sq ft office at the heart of the flagship Bath Quays regeneration project will meet the fast-growing firm’s post-pandemic hybrid working requirements while also creating an inspirational, attractive, sustainable and eco-friendly workspace, pictured.
As reported by Bath Business News last month, Altus – along with Bath-based chartered financial planning group Fidelius – will be the first tenants in the showpiece 44,470 sq ft No.1 Bath Quays office scheme.
The building, Bath’s first major new office development for more than a generation, pictured below, offers the type of modern office accommodation capable of competing with recent schemes in Bristol and stemming the flow of fast-growing firms moving out of the city.
Altus, which employs around 100 people, has signed a deal to move its headquarters to the top floor of the five-storey, energy-efficient building.
It has engaged experts from the Bristol office of Paramount to work on the design of its new base, starting with a company-wide staff survey and several stakeholder engagement sessions.
From these, the Paramount team have designed a scheme that includes a range of meeting places, easy access to video conferencing, privacy, enhanced acoustics and plenty of collaborative social space.
Paramount client lead Carly Willis, pictured, said: “Paramount create places where people want to be; workspaces that inspire employees and embrace wellbeing.
“We have relished working closely with Altus to create an inspirational, attractive, sustainable, and eco-friendly workplace for a company at the forefront of bold local authority plans to revitalise Bath as an economic hub.
“Our objective is an uplifting workplace that is both a showcase to clients and a joy for staff – high-end destination space that encourages positive interactions between staff and clients.
“Bath is a stunning city, famously steeped in history. We are proud to play a part in ensuring it enjoys a vibrant commercial future, creating a workplace that will help Altus – and Bath as a whole – go from strength to strength.”
Paramount lead designer Bethan Helling said the words ‘collaborative’, ‘spacious’ and ‘fun’ came up time and again during the engagement sessions and coloured her work in more ways than one.
“Finishes have been carefully selected to be soft and calming yet also happy and bright and we have been particularly mindful of enhancing light and space, avoiding dark colours and keeping the space as open as possible,” she added.
“A calming base palette is unobtrusive and minimises visual stress, but we have also added uplifting colour accents to add life to the space.”
Timber finishes will provide warmth and bring natural texture and rounded corners provide soft transitions and easy movement between spaces while angles have been used throughout in desk positioning and floor finishes to create more interesting sightlines.
The office, which also includes a terrace offering views over the city, is in the final stages of development, with Altus staff expected to move in by mid-October.
The move will represent a significant milestone for the business, which was founded in 2005 by a small group of friends on a mission to speed up financial services with superior technology.
Acquired by Canadian software company Equisoft last year, it supplies specialist consultancy services and market-leading automation software to more than 150 clients in the investment, pensions, insurance and wealth management sector.
Altus consulting director Martyn Evans said: “Paramount are very much like Altus in size, culture, values, and their team just ‘got us’.
“They are very receptive to our ambition to provide an inspiring workplace for our staff while focusing on environmental consciousness.
“Our new HQ will provide the next step in the growth of our business and will provide an inspiring place to work for current and future staff.
“We are delighted to be moving the business to No 1 Bath Quays and to be part of the city’s regeneration journey.”
The 4.5-acre Bath Quays project incorporates a blend of historic buildings and contemporary architecture and will become a key strategic site for the city centre.
Bath & North East Somerset Council leader Kevin Guy said: “We are delighted Altus has chosen No.1 Bath Quays for its new headquarters.
“This is an excellent endorsement of our commitment to delivering market-leading, next generation workspaces to help attract skills and talent to Bath.”
