L’Oréal’s 240,000 sqft headquarters at White City’s Gateway Central brings together all 36 international brands and over 1,000 employees under one roof — an ambitious investment in workplace experience and brand integration. Spread across six floors, the space is designed to lead the future of hair and beauty. Rooted in a ‘raw beauty’ concept, the design fuses London’s energy with Parisian elegance through rich materials and refined industrial details.
A Flexible Hub for Learning, Collaboration and Wellbeing
Set on the ground floor, the open, street-facing Academy welcomes over 10,000 industry professionals annually. This flagship training centre features four hair studios, a colour test lab, a treatment room, and an immersive retail space designed to support hands-on learning, content creation, and product storytelling. The innovative space also flexes into an event-ready venue for product launches to runway shows.
Elsewhere across the building, spaces such as a barista bar, community café, boardroom, and library offer moments for focused work and connection. Collaboration zones — including coworking areas, enclosed pods, and flexible meeting spaces — make up a third of the workplace, giving employees autonomy over how and where they work. Wellness is embedded throughout, with dedicated spaces for meditation, prayer, and parenting support, creating a workplace that meets people where they are.
Brand Expression through Furniture
As furniture consultants, we delivered a full-service solution covering workspace planning, consultancy, procurement, visualisation, and installation. Gensler’s design brief went beyond functionality where each floor has been designed to reflect the unique identity of its resident brand while promoting wellbeing, collaboration, and operational efficiency.
The design intent was clear and deliberate. Luxury brands were matched with a monochrome palette and a curated selection of refined products, including Wiesner Hager and Andreu World tables, &Tradition Loafer Lounge Chairs, and Wendelbo coffee tables. Elsewhere, a softer, Parisian-inspired aesthetic defined the remaining brand floors. Standout features included 84 bespoke Boss Qube Pods with additional glass panels, integrated AV, and varied footprints; custom AV-ready boardroom tables tailored to room size; and bistro-style café furniture echoing L’Oréal’s French heritage.
Sustainability and Circular Thinking
Sustainability was a priority from the outset. Furniture selections included chairs made from 100% recycled plastic, tabletops manufactured by Smile Plastics from repurposed cosmetic industry waste, and worktops using biodegradable materials. Boss’s Sia task chair, used across collaboration zones, contains 70.4% recycled content, is 99.4% recyclable, and generates just 58.02kg CO₂e per unit. Upholstered in 100% post-consumer recycled polyester by Camira, it proves that sustainability and great design can work in harmony.
Where possible, UK-based manufacturers were specified to minimise embodied carbon, and our team supported L’Oréal’s internal sustainability reporting with weekly updates covering Scope 1, 2, and elements of Scope 3.
Reuse Strategy for Distribution Centres by EcoClear
Following the successful London HQ project, we led the reuse and clearance strategy through our EcoClear division for L’Oréal’s 30,000 sqft distribution centres in Trafford, Bury, and Nottingham — each supporting 200 employees. Our reuse-first approach aligned with L’Oréal’s circular economy goals and reduced environmental impact.
Audits, moves, and asset tracking were managed end-to-end, with early collaboration between EcoClear and our design team driving smarter decisions and greater impact on carbon savings. Desks, task chairs, café furniture, and storage were reused and redeployed, meeting both sustainability goals and budget parameters.
Across the three sites, 525 furniture items were reused, including 100% of workstations, task chairs, and café furniture, resulting in an overall carbon saving across the L’Oréal project portfolio of 2,952kg CO2e.
Outcomes at Scale
Delivered on an ambitious timeline, the new HQ supports a unified yet flexible working model tailored to L’Oréal’s diverse brand architecture. It showcases how expert furniture consultancy can elevate design, reinforce identity, and deliver measurable sustainability outcomes at scale and across multiple locations.
