Oscar Acoustics HQ

Ben Hancock, managing director of architectural acoustic experts, Oscar Acoustics, had a clear vision in mind when he started planning the company’s new headquarters in Rochester, Kent.

Having outgrown its previous site in West Kingsdown due to impressive business growth, Oscar Acoustics developed a 16,200 sq ft state-of-the-art facility on a former cement works. 

Ben worked in partnership with Richard Baron, partner at Urban & Rural, having both studied together at the Canterbury School of Architecture.  Urban & Rural brought to life, two individual buildings which form the new heart of Oscar’s national and international operations.

Putting brickwork at the centre of the development’s design, the buildings use premium quality, high-performance materials to achieve a timeless style that sits harmoniously with the surrounding Arts & Crafts housing.

wienerberger’s Retro Barn Stock bricks were selected for their aged look and feel, helping to achieve the desired 1920s Manhattan factory aesthetic alongside timber cladding, heritage windows and fittings on the main building. The bricks are also used alongside the road-facing side of new industrial units. 

The main office building uses Retro Barn Stock to create a brick façade that cloaks the main warehouse, cleverly obscuring it from the roadside. A number of feature walls inside the building also use brick including the main reception and Ben Hancock’s office, where 170-year old original Indian doors are set into wienerberger bricks to create a memorable centrepiece.

The second building comprises of six, two-storey units, occupied by Oscar Acoustics’ innovation facility, international sales hub and further warehousing for its Britain-bound acoustic spray products.

Oscar Acoustics and Urban & Rural were supported by main contractor, WW Martin, and the project management team Ball Hall to deliver the project. 

Ben Hancock said: “Urban & Rural designed a fantastic development but due to our line of work, it only felt right that I be involved, particularly at the design stages. Within my initial design concepts for the Oscar Innovation Centre, I had the idea of using bricks that would capture a timeless look and feel, blending in seamlessly with the natural surroundings but without losing its contemporary feel.

“This was an architecturally ambitious project to deliver a long-lasting building. We wanted to combine a rustic look with state-of-the-art facilities that place staff welfare at the heart of its design. The final look is as unique and visually eye-catching as I’d hoped, thanks in part to our brick contractors, East Kent Brickwork, who did a fantastic job of finishing with recessed mortar to match the tumbled bricks.

“Importantly, these new premises will allow us to expand, giving us the ability to hold larger amounts of stock, shorten the lead times for our customers and improve the efficiency at which we can work. It’s a real landmark moment for us, finally having a place that has been designed from the ground up to suit our unique needs.”