The five best things about working in Stratford London

It’s an important factor that many take for granted but something that brings great joy and value to your working days: the neighbourhood in which you work. 

Stratford is much transformed since the years running up to the Olympic Games. Now, it’s a place filled with unique restaurants, dining options and lunch spots. At Westfield you’ll find a mammoth shopping experience, cinema and bars for post-work socials with colleagues, while IQL itself brings together popular high-street chains with beloved local independents. 

Being at the heart of London’s Olympic legacy also means you are surrounded by world class fitness facilities, should you want to build exercise into your day. The Aquatics Centre, London Stadium (and running track), Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, and CopperBox Arena are all within a short, 15-minute radius of Stratford’s Centre.

There aren’t many parts of London that boast acres of green space that’s free for public use. Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, which neighbours IQL, is undoubtedly one of the best things about working in Stratford, London. 

The Park itself is 560 acres of curated gardens, walking trails and planted wildlands, complete with café and opportunities to explore. As much as this brings opportunity to exercise, it also brings opportunities to relax and enjoy nature. 

The benefits of spending time in nature are long documented and those who work at IQL, or indeed in the wider Stratford area, can enjoy Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from dawn until dusk. 

As part of the investments made in infrastructure for the Olympic Games, Stratford now has two stations (Stratford and Stratford International), with access to the Central and Jubilee underground lines, as well as overground services, TFL Rail, Docklands Light Railway and Greater Anglia services. 

Stratford International now offers high speed trains to London St Pancras, meaning a myriad of locations are only minutes away. And in 2021, Stratford Station even surpassed Waterloo as the busiest station in London!

Stratford is also serviced by a healthy number of bus routes, and it is proposed that it may become a stop on the Stansted Express in the not-so-distant future. 

What does this mean? Well, it means that your commute, or getting to and from meetings across the city, is likely to be made much slicker and easier, through Stratford’s exceptional transport options. 

East Bank is set to be a new cultural district for London; a new home for some of the UK’s largest organisations in the Arts and Education sectors. 

East Bank is set to bring thousands of students and visitors to the area, as well as jobs. BBC Music, UCL, Sadler’s Wells, The V&A, and UAL are just a few of Stratford’s new residents, set to open between 2022 and 2024. 

Of course, everything we’ve covered so far makes life better when you step outside of the office. But what about inside? 

IQL has a number of different workspaces, designed and constructed to offer employees an optimised working experience. We’ve funded research and used it to inform our spaces; what do workers need to be happy, what can we implement that improves collaboration, and how do we maximise the health of those who work in our offices? 

We’ve created exceptional office space, in which people can do exceptional work. And each of our buildings also play their part in saving the planet, with sustainability built into the design. Read the break-down here.