How Colas Rail’s brand colours inspired a Biophilic design for their London office

• The client approached Inleaf as they were unhappy with their previous plant provider
• We installed living plants in containers that were colour-matched to the client’s brand
• Durable plants such as Sansevieria Mikados were placed in high traffic areas

Inleaf have provided decorative Christmas trees and decorations to Colas Rail’s various offices for a number of years. Given their positive experience with our service and team, they approach us to take over their office planting scheme as they were unhappy with the quality of displays and level of service from a previous provider.

Colas Rail are well known for their striking yellow logo which makes them easily recognisable, and they wanted to bring this colour into their office. To achieve this, we provided a mix of plants within colour-matched planters and placed them throughout the office.

Planters of various shapes and sizes included tall, free-standing containers to low level table-top displays, and everything in between. Each included a self watering system to ensure the living plants are suitably waters between our maintenance visits.

A variety of plants were used in the scheme, including Monsteras, Mikados, Ficus Elastica ‘Robusta’, Epipremnums, Kentia (Howea) Fosteriana, Agloneamas and Sansiverias. This diverse range was tailored to the office space with a mix of light levels and spaces available. Using a variety of plants also added visual interest; For example Monsteras provided large vibrant foliage whereas Mikados offer a slender and minimal form. This mix added interest and brought both aesthetic and psychological benefits.

Along with the branch-matched yellow planters, Colas Rail chose to incorporate luxury hand finished shell bowl containers for their reception and boardroom areas. These planters create a modern sleek look and complemented the premium spaces. The plants in these containers included Orchids in seasonal colours topped with reindeer moss and leafy Aglaonemas to create a centrepiece for the meeting room.

Inleaf created a similar display in the reception area and lift lobby. These metallic gold planters created an inviting display for clients and visitors. Due to the high footfall in these areas Inleaf chose to use more compact plants. These includes Mikados and a mixture of succulents each topped with decorative pebbles. These plants wont encroach on pathways but still bring benefits of biophilic design.

Colas Rail are extremely happy with the results of our colour matched planters. Inleaf will continue to work closely with Colas Rail to maintain the scheme, and continue to provide Christmas decorations each year.