Penguin Random House UK
You’ll find colleagues from Brand, Audio, HR, Facilities, Transworld Publishing, Michael Joseph Publishing,
Vintage Publishing and Penguin Random House Children’s Publishing.
Getting here
The Embassy Gardens office is located next to the American Embassy. The nearest stations are Vauxhall (underground and overground) and Nine Elms (underground). Both are step free stations. You can also find further information on accessible travel at tfl.gov.uk.
Enter the building using the revolving door.
If you would like to use the wider (width – 0.9m), non-revolving and power-assisted DDA door, our receptionist will assist you.
Both doors are operational between 08:00 and 19:00. Outside of these hours, the number to gain access and leave the building is displayed on the window by the door entry points.
To ask about accessible parking, please let your recruiter know. Parking is only available for visitors with an accessibility requirement.
Taxis can drop off and wait for pick-ups at the front entrance. There is a small curb from the drop-off area to the pavement, which is then level to the front of building. There is a slight difference in pavement height on approaching the front of the building (which is delineated by a slightly different coloured stone).
The entrance is to the right side of the building opposite the sunken garden.
When you arrive
The reception area has a range of seating. Visitors must sign in here. The reception desk is at two heights (left: 0.9m and right: 0.75m) to enable wheelchair users to use. A hearing loop is available at reception, but this is not transferable to meeting rooms.
Tap your access pass on the electronic glass gates (width – 0.9m) and then turn right to reach lifts to all floors. The staircase from reception leads to the Restaurant on mezzanine floor. New colleagues will be given a Facilities tour, starting at reception, on their first day.
The main bank of lifts is just beyond reception. The lifts are 1.2m (depth) by 2.1m (width) and can accommodate up to 1350kg. Lift doors are 1.1m wide.
Select the floor you wish to visit and the screen will tell you which lift to use. Pressing the accessibility button on the bottom of the lift keypad before selecting your floor activates the text to speech, so that the console will tell you which lift to enter.
Press the G Button to return to ground floor or ‘M’ for the mezzanine where the restaurant is located.
When you come out the lift, signs will show you where different divisions (the publishing houses and central functions) sit on the floor. Access passes are needed to go through the double doors (width – 1.7m). If you need assistance with operating the doors, please contact Facilities.
Just beyond the ground floor bank of lifts you can swipe your access pass to enter the back staircase which will take you to all floors.
There are two main staircases, one in the front and one towards the back of the building which run from the ground floor to the top of the floor and they are the main fire evacuation routes.
Another staircase connects the bike store with the mezzanine level. At mezzanine level coming from the bike store / lift lobby, signs show you where the lifts, showers, toilets, and accessible bathrooms are.
Example floor layout
All floors are step free and level, and accessible by lift.
Each floor contains a shared seating area that can be used for any colleagues or visitors. People choose to meet, work, or eat here as they please.
Each floor contains many meeting rooms, usually allocated to a nearby team. These are either bookable on the screen panels outside each of the doors, or via our meeting room booking system. They all have seating and a table, but differ in their capacity or the technology available.
Each floor contains a kitchen that has a sink, coffee machine, fridge, glassware, recycling, food, and regular waste bins, free hot drink supplies, a cold drinks tap, and boiled water tap.
Restaurant and coffee bar
The restaurant is located on mezzanine level and is accessible using the lift, both staircases, or stairs from reception. There are no steps within the restaurant, and it is on one level. The restaurant is open Monday-Thursday for breakfast (8.00-10.00) and lunch (12.00-14.30). The weekly menus are available on our intranet, Roost, and posted on noticeboards across floors. There are microwaves and water taps all colleagues can use. It can be noisy when busy, so you are welcome to take your food away to a quieter spot to eat – please leave your cutlery and crockery in any of the kitchens.
The coffee bar is on the ground floor, next to reception. There are no steps in the coffee bar and it is on one level. It is open 08:00-18:00 (Monday to Thursday) and 08:00-15:00 (Friday) and serves hot drinks and snacks. There is a range of seating including sofas, armchairs and small tables. Visitors (once registered at reception) are welcome in this space.
Toilet and showers
There are female/male bathrooms on each floor.
There are accessible and gender neutral toilets on every floor by the lifts.
There are free period products available in all female and gender neutral toilets.
There is a wheelchair accessible toilet in the lift lobby next to lift C.
There are accessible and gender neutral toilets on every floor by the lifts. Free period products are available in all female and gender neutral toilets.
The main shower facilities are on the mezzanine level (follow the shower sign). These contain individual shower cubicles with a small step to get in and an accessible wet room (follow the wheelchair sign).
There are lockers, sinks and hair dryers within the shower facilities. You can sign a locker out for the day at reception. If you travel in 3 or more days a week you can request a permanent locker via the Facilities Support Hub.
The wet room is wheelchair accessible (door width: 0.9m). There is a seat attached to the shower wall (height: 0.45m; max seat load: 125kg), grab rails (height: 0.75m) and a shower curtain people can pull around the space. The wet room also contains a toilet and sink – both with grab rails. There is also an emergency cord.
Other building facilities
There are plenty of regularly refreshed free books that colleagues can take from our community bookshelf on the mezzanine floor.
There is also a wellness library on the 3rd floor next to where the HR team sit, where you can borrow books related to health and wellbeing.
Colleague-voted Penguin Reads books are available from the walled shelving unit inside the restaurant. Soon a library curated by the colleague inclusion networks will be installed here too.
The first aid room is located on 5th floor East.
If you need first aid, dial 8401, select option 1, and give your location and contact number. A list of First Aiders is also available on Roost.
The first aid room is not locked (unless occupied) and contains first aid supplies, a chair and single bed and a phone.
The room can be used by parents who need to pump breast milk. There is a fridge, although anything stored is at the users’ own risk.
People can use this room securely to take medication (e.g. insulin shots) and the room is lockable from the inside if people need privacy.
The reflection room is located on 5th floor East and can be used at any time for reflection, prayer, or meditation.
There is bike storage at the back of the building on the ground floor. Please collect an ID tag from Reception on the first day you are cycling into the office and attach it your bike.
The Tech Support Hub is on the 5th floor. Here colleagues can help with hardware and software questions, or you can raise a ticket through the online Support Hub.