Giving 780 Plants a New Home

Project:  Office refit

Location:  Birmingham

Interior Landscaping Contractor:  Mitie Landscapes Ltd 

Awards: Gold Leaf

When Standard Life moved from Wythall to its new office at 10 Brindley Place in Birmingham, it took a little of its old workplace with it. Around 780 foliage plants made the journey to the new 25,107 sq ft space on the building’s sixth floor, where Mitie Landscapes Ltd was tasked with giving them a new home as part of a fresh interior planting scheme.

Rather than start from scratch, the aim was to retain as much of the existing planting as possible and reuse many of the original planters and containers. This helped reduce waste while preserving mature plants that had already become part of the workplace. The relocated collection was complemented by 322 new foliage plants, bringing together established specimens and fresh additions.

The resulting scheme combines planting at different heights, with high-level track planting, hanging displays, floor-standing arrangements and ceramic shelving displays. The installation included 37 GRP liners, 60 fibre-stone pots for high-level track planting, 25 fibre-stone hanging displays, 25 floor-standing displays and 150 bags of Vulcaponic.

With the office opening date approaching, Mitie worked closely with the contractors and fit-out teams to coordinate the installation. Relocating mature plants, however, takes more than simply moving them from one building to another. They need time to adjust to their new surroundings, and the autumn timing brought its own challenges. Shorter days and lower light levels can slow recovery, and while most of the plants settled in successfully, a small number did not survive the transition.

With time to establish, the planting has developed into an inviting feature of Standard Life’s Birmingham office. The mature plants sit alongside the new additions, bringing colour, texture and a welcome connection to nature throughout the space.

The project shows how an office relocation can be an opportunity to rethink an interior landscape without losing what already works. By giving hundreds of established plants and existing containers a second life, Standard Life and Mitie Landscapes Ltd have created a fresh workplace while making thoughtful use of the resources they already had.