Pinsent Masons, Dubai

The law firm that breaks the mold.

Awarded ‘Most Innovative Law Firm in Europe’ in 2015 and ‘Law Firm of the Year’ in 2016, Pinsent Masons pride themselves on their drive to be different. Besides leading the industry in innovation, they are known for their expertise, their global reach in their commitment to help their clients wherever they are and their focus on their people having also been ranked as one of the most diverse firms and one of the best workplaces for women.

Developed by ISG, Pinsent Masons’ new Dubai office showcases everything that they celebrate about themselves as a firm. Their location selection is the first example of this. One Central is the latest development in Dubai comprising commercial, hospitality, entertainment, and residential components in Dubai’s central business district. Staff and visitors to the office, both local and international, will benefit from the centrality of the location, as well as the variety of hotels, and food and beverage areas that will soon populate the area.

The C1 Tower at One Central is LEED Gold certified, premium office space that features an atrium space providing an abundance of natural light. This feature atrium encourages connectivity, transparency and fosters collaboration amongst staff and was the perfect opportunity from a design perspective to demonstrate Pinsent Masons’ commitment to knowledge through the introduction of a library wall.

The library wall showcases to visitors all of the beautiful law journals that staff often need to reference while in one of the quiet booths integrated into the wall, as well as a plant wall with their logo integrated demonstrating their commitment to sustainability, and plenty of spaces that allow them to personalize the office. Also key to the layout, and one of the largest design challenges, was in Representing Perkins+Will, Laila Al-Yousuf’s brief to provide “offices that weren’t offices” to the partners. A central facilities zone with meeting rooms, booths, phone booths and print areas separates the general open plan working area from the partner area giving them the ability to interconnect but also the privacy of an office, with ample storage space, excellent acoustics, and on a very efficient footprint which meant that they were able to give the firm room to grow into with the inclusion of collaboration zones that visually breaks up the open plan but is modularly designed for day 2 desking.

Pinsent Masons is ‘approachable, bold and connected’. The space is both welcoming and refined which is achieved through the use of light materials, and subtle textures. Glass, which plays into their values of transparency, is used in different ways throughout the office to enable staff to feel connected but still allow them the private spaces they need to focus. The space is simple and honest with subtle features that add to visual interest but are still functional, and not distracting. The project was designed to meet LEED Gold standards which demonstrate Pinsent Masons’ transformational change ideal, through the selection of materials, lighting, inclusion of natural light throughout, and plants that are integrated throughout the office that complement the plants on the facade.