Digital agency Evoluted’s historic Grade II-listed building traces its roots back to Sheffield’s Georgian origins. Over the centuries it has been used by coffin makers, cutlers and, from the 1870s, John Watts steelworks, which remained until 1999 with the signage still visible on the frontage.
It’s a fixture on walking history tours of Sheffield, with tour groups often stopping outside the office to take pictures.
The building has been named as one of Sheffield’s most haunted by the Sheffield Star due to builders’ claims that, while undergoing redevelopment work, they saw a ghostly little girl (the so-called ‘Lambert Street Ghoul’) who threw chunks of rubble at them – causing the builders to abandon the site. While it may sound far-fetched, many of the Evoluted team profess to have witnessed spooky goings-on (most commonly footsteps on empty floors) while working late in the office.
Originally founded in nearby Chesterfield, Evoluted moved into a small part of the bottom floor in 2009, with its founders ‘allegedly; choosing the location thanks to its proximity to the Kelham Island real ale scene. The agency took over all three floors in 2011, completed an initial refurbishment the following year and bought the building in 2016.
The office underwent a major £100k refurb earlier this year, overseen by Sheffield’s Ovo Spaces, which modernised and brightened the space, adding many more collaborative features to make the building suitable for the agency’s ambitions for the future.
We find out what happens behind the spooky walls of Evoluted’s HQ…
Evoluted’s managing director Giorgio Cassella introduces us to the office…
“It’s been a transformation and a half – the glow-up of all glow-ups! Three months ago I packed up my desk, handed over the keys and said goodbye to our dingy office. A day later, demolitions were underway.
“We’ve transformed our office into a vibrant, inviting and productive workspace which I believe will inspire us to achieve even bigger and better results this year.”
Where is it?
35 Lambert Street, West Bar, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, S3 7BH.
How big is it?
The office is spread over three floors, with the ground floor being the largest. The primary workspace area is located there along with a meeting room, call booths, kitchen and break area, server room, lockers, toilets and a courtyard outside with a bike shed. The middle floor contains more workspaces and a focus zone for quiet work, while the top floor is home to the boardroom (where most client meetings are held), plus a video/production/podcast studio and toilets. Our awards collection is split across all three floors.
There are shared car parks at the front and back of the building.
What happens there?
The recent refurb has added many more collaboration spaces which mean the office is now perfectly equipped for in-person team meetings, private calls, client meetings and creative content production in the studio. We also host some of our team socials at the office, including board game nights and the Evoluted Quiz of the Year (complete with buzzers and everything).
We operate a hybrid working approach so a lot of team members split their time between the office and home, though some are based further afield so only pop in occasionally. Most areas of the business organise team days to coordinate their office time and maximise collaboration.
What sort of work goes on?
As a full-service digital agency, our team use the office to complete a wide range of web design, development and marketing work.
Why is the workplace appropriate?
The workplace is now perfectly set-up to facilitate collaborative and solo working, giving our team a modern city centre base – somewhere that will impress new staff and clients alike. It also dovetails well with our B-Corp ambitions by being designed with sustainability and environmental impact in mind, including automatic lights to reduce energy consumption, low-flow and pressure-regulated water usage and improved recycling features.
We love the building’s character and heritage, and it’s inspiring to work somewhere that combines Sheffield’s proud industrial past with its modern digital future.
Who works there?
The office is used by Evoluted’s 38-strong team of web developers, designers and digital marketers. As a full-service digital agency, many client projects span multiple services, so the extra collaboration spaces the refurb has added are well-used.
Take a tour around Evoluted’s offices…MTV Cribs style.
