Time Out moves office after 20 years
Last week Time Out moved office.
‘What’s the big deal?’ we hear you cry. Sure, people move office all the time, but they didn’t work in Universal House aka Time Out Towers. This wasn’t just any old office, oh no. This was special. Time Out had inhabited this eccentric, beautiful old department store on Tottenham Court Road for the last 20 years. Yes, the toilets didn’t flush, people got stuck in the lifts and we occasionally had visits from cheeky mice but it was home.
You could feel the ghosts of thousands of issues past, the chatter of hundreds of interviews and the flickering of millions of London events. It was an inspiring, messy, hot (and then very cold) place to work but it had a very big place in all our hearts.
If you were lucky enough to visit, the one thing you’ll definitely remember is the carpet. Those mustard paint splatters are etched on to our retinas!
Admittedly, I am a sentimental old fool, but I think I’m not alone in mourning our former workspace.
Here’s a few things we’ll miss about Universal House:
The incredible views from the balconies on the eighth floor.
Sob.
The wood-panelled meeting rooms.
The lovely tiled toilets (shame about the plumbing).
But mostly just the carpet.
Oh the laffs we had.
So long Tottenham Court Road. Smell ya later. Covent Garden, you better watch out. We’re the new kids on the block and we mean business!
In case you’re wondering, we now reside in a swanky office at 125 Shaftesbury Avenue. Everything works and it’s all very shiny! Sure, this is a much more grown-up office. I just wonder how long it will stay like that!
By Sonya Barber