40 years experience of designing and managing studios and workplaces
40 years experience of designing and managing studios and workplaces
Bill Reed
Director
MA Dip Arch hons ARB
Sam Reed
Surveyor
BSc hons MRICS
Background
Reedspace was founded in 2000 to develop what became the Courtyard in Bracknell. Bill had already developed several small office buildings in London and sought to apply the lessons learned on a larger scale. By focusing exclusively on developing, designing, building, and managing a single building type, Reedspace has gained a deeper depth of expertise.
Each new building is shaped by lessons learnt from previous projects, supplemented by continuous feedback from occupiers within an evolving regulatory framework. The best workspaces consistently feature a mix of open-plan and cellular space, a solid exposed structure, and high ceilings, along with maximum daylight and natural ventilation.
Bill has looked after the Courtyard and its tenants since practical completion. Sam joined Reedspace in 2020. This continuity is unusual. Most property assets change hands between developers, investors and managing agents, sometimes several times within a few years. At the Courtyard the people who manage it are the people who designed and built it.
What this means for occupiers
Because Reedspace has designed, built and managed the Courtyard, the depth of knowledge available to occupiers is considerable. Bill Reed Architecture offers prospective tenants complimentary space planning, informed by direct experience of what works in these specific buildings. Jon Wicks of Generations Construction has worked on the Courtyard for over 20 years, so maintenance is handled quickly and with a thorough understanding of the buildings’ construction.
There is no third-party managing agent. Reedspace is both the landlord and the managing company, which means there is no conflict of interest and no delay in decision-making. Problems are resolved directly, and changes to lease arrangements or building configurations can be discussed and agreed without delay.
Reedspace also tries to accommodate occupiers whose space requirements change during the course of a lease. Two occupiers have expanded into adjacent buildings with interconnecting openings, and four have taken one floor only rather than the whole building until they needed the additional space.
Occupier retention
The longest-standing current occupier has been at the Courtyard for nearly 12 years. Six companies have occupied more than one building, either expanding as they grew or returning after taking space elsewhere.
Most Courtyard occupiers renew their leases until external factors require them to move. Former employees of Courtyard companies have moved to new businesses and subsequently returned to the Courtyard with their new firms.
Reedspace regards long-term occupier retention as the most meaningful measure of the quality of both the buildings and the management.
OUR STUDIO
The Kings Terrace studio was developed in 1987 and has been our base ever since. The front facade became the Reedspace logo, and it is on a cobbled mews in the Camden Town Conservation Area.
It lies halfway between Euston, St Pancras and Kings Cross stations to the South, and Camden Market to the North.
Large format photographs by Peter Cook.