Our latest work for UK real estate investor Create. The chal­lenger property developer tasked Run For The Hills to develop the brand identity and interior design for its latest workspace devel­op­ment which reflects its mission to push the sus­tain­abil­i­ty agenda in real estate and society by recon­nect­ing the urban landscape with the natural world.

Coal House, which launched summer 2023, is an inspiring and pro­gres­sive workspace in the heart of Cardiff. It’s undergone a stylish industrial-chic refur­bish­ment to give sustainability-conscious busi­ness­es the oppor­tu­ni­ty to thrive in an ultra-green envi­ron­ment, with all the perks.

Our branding brief was to work up the visual brand identity, graphic language and to design a stylish website for prospec­tive tenants.

Central to the creative work was to give the development’s branding an urban sus­tain­able heart, making sure all of the key eco-benefits of the new workspace were prominent on the website and messaging.

For the brand palette, we used a stylish charcoal and green mix, to appeal to the envi­ron­men­tal­ly con­science target demo­graph­ic. We designed an urban deco graphic language for illus­tra­tions within the brand world, loosely based on the building’s archi­tec­tur­al fen­es­tra­tions, animating a series of these patterns for the website, which were also used on interior archi­tec­ture details.

The side scrolling website is full of motion graphics and video, bringing the project to life for prospec­tive tenants.

In terms of the building’s physical trans­for­ma­tion, Coal House has a dramatic new dark façade, softened with lush planting and atmos­pher­ic lighting diffused behind the warmth of corten archi­tec­tur­al cladding. The new reception lobby is sign­post­ed by an illu­mi­nat­ed canopy and hero signage beckoning to the airy atrium space styled by our interiors team.

The interiors brief was to create a show­stop­ping lounge-style atrium space in Coal House. To infuse the design scheme with eco-stylish touches and an urban twist, but first and foremost to create a warm and inviting, buzzy shared lobby which workers and guests would love to use. Featuring a help-yourself coffee bar, café seating, com­fort­able lounge areas, Zoom Rooms and bookable meeting space.

Using biophilic design prin­ci­ples, the eco-friendly design maximises the sense of light, using a natural materials palette of materials, botan­i­cals and colourful art, giving an informal, stay-for-a-while hos­pi­tal­i­ty feel.