News & Trends
Connect users to the home and job of their dreams – Navent Argentina
Navent is a leading company in Latin America founded in Argentina specialized in online classifieds for more than 20 years. The company –which has been growing exponentially since its inception and is now present in 8 countries in the region– is focused on helping people in the search for employment and real estate.
Navent’s new offices in the city of Buenos Aires are located on the 25th floor of a modern tower in the Nuñez neighborhood – a district with a great commercial development – which has panoramic views of the Río de la Plata and the rest of the city.
In order to give the brand a new and unique identity, the new offices of the company had to meet the objective of bringing together its two main locations in the same workspace, each with different cultures and work dynamics.
The challenge of uniting both worlds began with a consultancy job of Workplace Strategy to understand the present activity in both places, unify requirements and establish common criteria.
The conceptual design that was proposed from Contract Workplaces consisted of representing the company’s mission and vision: connecting users with the home and job of their dreams. Thus, “connecting” became both the primary and essential objective of the daily work experience and the starting point for endowing the company with a unique identity.
The project was developed on a 2,500 sqm floor plan from four points of interest, or milestones, that connect the different work groups that are located in the interstitial space. These “connectors” not only allow employees to meet to encourage interaction; they also encourage the agile method of work.
For the operational area, an open-plan design was chosen with the workstations distributed near the perimeter to take advantage of natural light and views to the outside. The oblique arrangement of the desks gives an element of surprise to the layout while transmitting dynamism to the space.
Both the private offices and the formal meeting rooms were located at one end of the floor while the Phone Booths, Meetings and the meeting rooms for few people were arranged in relation to the connectors for public use. In this way, collaborators can go from a spontaneous chat in the stands, for example, to a more private environment in the wide variety of Meetings offered by the project.
The cafeteria, located near the reception, has an extensive bar that articulates the table area with an area that has lounge chairs, suitable both for relaxing and for working in a more relaxed environment.
Regarding the materiality of the project, a wide color palette was used seeking to represent and give identity to each of the brands that make up the Navent company. For this, we worked with different tonal ranges, textures and patterns that, in addition, gave the space a playful and scenographic character.
Graphics and branding had a privileged place in the development of these offices, becoming a leading element in many of their spaces.
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Area: 2500 sqm
Work period: 100 days
Project: Turnkey
Year: 2021
Industry: Technological
Project Manager: Romina Chalcovich
Designer: Javier Pihn
A space to strengthen relationships – AHK Colombia
The project for the new offices for the AHK Colombo-German Chamber –located in a well-known area of the city of Bogotá– focused on enhancing the space of the current headquarters, as a result of different modifications that underused and compartmentalized the space, resulting in a hierarchical environment with few collaborative areas.
The main objective was to create a space more open to urban visuals and with a greater number of areas for collaboration both for the internal client and for the affiliated companies, which will give them the possibility of accessing all the services and corporate infrastructure under a Coworking model.
The architectural project was divided into two phases to facilitate the logistical challenge of construction while the company maintained its commercial activity. In phase 1, the construction of the areas that would house the internal corporate infrastructure, that is, the private spaces of AHK, was carried out. In this area, the workstations of all the employees were organized in islands within an open office in which hierarchies were completely eliminated and additional complementary spaces were generated such as printing points, Meeting Rooms, Booths for 4 people, Individual phone booths and spaces for collaboration and innovation.
In phase 2 the most public project was developed: the areas dedicated to Coworking and the areas shared between employees and affiliates such as the cafeteria –designed under the concept of Work-Café– and the auditorium, designed as a flexible space for conferences or trainings. In this phase, meeting spaces for videoconferences and private offices for clients of affiliated companies were included.
The tour of the project begins in the most public area of the Coworking and ends in the private area of AHK. In this way, the spatial organization is structured while facilitating access control within an organization that is very dynamic and constantly interacts with external users.
On the other hand, thanks to the branding experience –which starts from an urban style, closely related to the Berlin subway– it was possible to capture an identity and a stronger character in the space. Both the typography and the colors and the textures used are directly linked to the architectural and stylistic atmosphere of the transport system of the German capital. And this concept also extends to all graphics; from the names of the spaces to the billboards applied, the entire intervention is an interpretation of the aesthetics and architecture of the Berlin metro network.
The result was a modern office space, which offers different possibilities for interaction and communication and which not only facilitates internal dynamics; it also favors fluid contact with customers and affiliates. In short, a positive catalyst when it comes to strengthening Colombo – German relations.
Area: 494 m2
Duration: 287 days
Country: Colombia
Project: Turnkey
Year: 2020
Activity: Foreign Representations
PM: Carolina Espitia, Andrés Álvarez.
Designer: Robert Nieto.
When the heart of the brand makes the workspace beat – GSK Ecuador
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is among the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world (and one of the largest in Ecuador), focused on improving people’s quality of life through research. And although its commercial operation is located in the city of Quito, it has a large workforce presence throughout the country.
The GSK offices, entirely made by Contract Workplaces, were developed on a 518 sqm floor located in ‘Torre 6’, one of the most emblematic and modern buildings in the city.
This prominent pharmaceutical company, which has a large multinational presence, has developed its own strategy for all its workspaces and has a design guide that specifies the use of colors, the dimensions of the furniture, the types of finishes, the design chart, ergonomics guidelines, etc., for all its locations.
One of the main challenges of Contract Workplaces was to develop a proposal for a conceptual design with its own character that would also meet the parameters and requirements established by the company. With this in mind, the heart of the GSK logo was taken as a starting point to turn each of the office spaces into the beat of that heart, a place where users could feel at home.
The office was distributed in three different areas: public, semi-public and private. The public area was made up of the reception, together with meeting rooms of different capacities. There we opted for a palette of neutral tones with some wooden accents in order to give the spaces a more formal character.
In the semi-public area, the “heart” of the office, the collaboration spaces and operational positions were located as part of the transition to more private areas. The choice of a range of bright colors together with the curved lines of the furniture created a cheerful and pleasant atmosphere that contrasted with the formality of the public area.
The workstations were located on the ventilated side of the plant in order to take advantage of the natural light. And, to break the linearity of the desks, a counterpoint was proposed with the suspended ceiling formed by heart-shaped clouds located in different directions.
In the private area, the Coffee area offers an atmosphere with a more homely and informal style. In this space, we worked with a palette of tones complemented with various shades of wood in the furniture and ceiling, and with color accents in the graphics.
The search for the best standards in ergonomics and comfort stands out throughout the project. This is true not only in the acoustics of the meeting rooms but also in the choice of furniture, and ranges from the chairs in the operating, waiting and meeting areas, to the desks, all of which are adjustable in height to suit them to the way of working of each user.
Regarding the design of the office graphics, and although it was already pre-established by GSK, the proposal to create a more local identity using names and icons from different places in Ecuador in the meeting rooms was gladly accepted.
The end result was a unique, functional and welcoming environment for users, which met the global growth standards of GSK, but with its own personality and charm.
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AREA: 518 sqm
WORK TIME: 90 days
TYPE OF WORK: Turnkey Project
TYPE OF INDUSTRY: Pharmaceutical
YEAR: 2020
PM: María José Castro
Designers: María José Morchz/Mario Molina
The design as a reflection of history and tradition – Takeda Argentina
Takeda is a pharmaceutical company founded in Japan in 1781 that maintains a deep respect for its history and tradition. Its values of integrity, justice, honesty and perseverance have enabled it to become a large global company with more than 30,000 employees. The company’s transformation into an international benchmark was consolidated in 2018 when an internal reorganization of its parent company was carried out, strengthening its image and highlighting its values.
In the context of this expansion, Takeda invited Contract Workplaces to participate in a competition to design its new offices in the Núñez neighborhood, in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our challenge was to create a balanced workspace, capable of reflecting the strong oriental tradition combined with the constant search for innovation and the avant-garde.
The conceptual design has as its starting point the link between this new headquarters and its parent company, respecting the artistic and spatial concept “Force of life” introduced by the prominent Japanese designer Kashiwa Sato. The idea is based on a set of basic natural elements that represent the source that nourishes life, and on the links between people as the driving force that allows tackling the greatest challenges.
The project was developed on the 14th floor of the Torre Raghsa, located on Del Libertador Avenue, a large rectangular plan of 2,100 m² that opens three of its four sides to generous views of the Río de la Plata.
Next to the access area, the Reception and Customer Service sectors were located along with the lactation room, an office and itinerant work positions.
The operative area was arranged in Open Plan on both longitudinal faces of the plant, seeking natural light, views and a better spatial quality. The workstations were organized on islands that have height-adjustable tops that alternate Coworking spaces equipped with armchairs and small cafeteria spaces for healthy recreation, all in line with the Wellness concept.
The complementary spaces (Meetings, Phone Booths and copy spaces) were located in the center of the floor, close to the core of the existing building. The project also has meeting rooms of different capacities and a Board Room for more than 20 people, all finished with high quality materials, acoustic elements and intelligent lighting control. For its part, the dining room offers different use alternatives: a bench seat, a high bar and tables with folding lids that allow freeing up space to adopt an auditorium layout with capacity for 60 people.
On the front façade facing the river, different options were placed for collaborative work that invite interaction between the different areas. Each of these spaces has the necessary technological support.
The result was a work environment that offers a variety of typologies for the different activities carried out in the organization. All with a high quality of the materials used and an aesthetic that maintains the characteristic subtlety of the East, along with some specific color details within the institutional palette.
Architect Designer: Jeremías Saraco
Project Manager: María Laura Speranza
Area: 2400 sqm
Term of the work: 105 days
Location: Buenos Aires
Type: Turnkey Project
Year: 2020
Country: Argentina
Activity: Laboratories & Health
Design: Contract Workplaces
The company’s DNA as a unifying concept – Colbún Chile
Colbún S.A. is a Chilean company dedicated to the generation of electric power with more than 35 years of presence in the country and 25 plants installed. As part of the renovation project of its central offices located in the Las Condes district, Metropolitan Region, the company undertook the intervention and remodeling of its 9 floors together with Contract Workplaces in a four-stage plan.
When analyzing the set of the existing plants, we found that they had a common pattern: the workspaces were disincorporated. There were no common areas and of collective use, which made it difficult for the collaborators to meet.
When approaching the new project developed in 6,000 m² and distributed in 9 floors, the five aspects that reflected the DNA of the company were taken into account: integrity, innovation, excellence, collaboration and passion.
The conceptual design revolved around the generation of a common language that could unify the entire project. To this end, three alternatives were created that apply to each floor according to the requirements and character of each one: “Customer Focus”, “Team Focus” and “Collaborative Focus”.
Stage 1 focused on the “Collaborative Focus” on floors 14 and 20, where the work teams were located. The general match was based on the unification of the plant through the implementation of a layout in Open Space with the closed offices located on the perimeter, but with a fluid visual connection throughout the entire floor.
In the center of the plant, the collaborative areas (Brainstorming, Informal Meetings and Meeting Box spaces) were located together with the operational area, so that different instances of interaction between collaborators could be generated, be they formal or informal. In order to reinforce the integration of the team, the same type of furniture was defined for all members of the campus. The Work Coffee was also located in the central area, underpinning the intention of strengthening ties and meeting opportunities for teams.
Regarding the materiality of the project, a palette of colors and textures with its own character and identity was defined. The use of natural elements such as the texture of the wood together with the presence of a profuse vegetation in all areas, generated a warm and welcoming atmosphere that increased the sense of belonging of the collaborators. The choice of neutral tones in the carpet and the equipment reinforced this idea.
The search for a common imprint and language for the entire project, added to the need for greater integration of the teams, resulted in a wide, interconnected, collaborative and functional workspace. In this way, the new Colbún offices reflect an image consistent with the company’s identity.
Area: 1.436 sqm (floors 14° – 20°)
Term of the work: 485 days
Location: Las Condes – Santiago
Design: Contract Workplaces
Type: Turnkey Project
Year: 2020
Country: Chile
Activity: Energy & Mining
Architect Manager: Consuelo Larrea
Conceptual Architect: Celina Barranco
Development Architect: Jorge O’Ryan
Furniture: Giuliani / Cerantola / Contatto
Graphic Design: Camilo González
The office’s evolution based on the user experience – UTA Colombia
Universal Travel Assistance is a company that has been offering comprehensive assistance services to travelers for more than 40 years, with service centers around the world. As part of the Zurich Insurance Group, it has a staff of more than 3,000 employees distributed in 21 countries.
The project for the company’s new offices in the city of Bogotá was developed on a 254 m² plant, within a business complex made up of class A office towers occupied by large multinational firms, excellent access roads and a wide range of complementary services.
In keeping with the vision of the company – to be the best travel insurance and assistance provider in the world in terms of service and customer recognition – the project concept was conceived from the point of view of user experience with a evolution to an office with a modern sense, that promotes suitability and service based on trust, the avant-garde mindset and security so important in that point of connection and possibilities between people and the world. This concept is already materialized from the access, where the client has his first contact with the company in a wide welcome area, with perspective and friendly.
The layout design is organized around a central circulation axis that distributes the different project requirements on both sides. The boardroom and Coffee Point, serving both employees and customers, were strategically located to function independently without the need to traverse the operational area.
For their part, the jobs were organized in Open Plan and have a collaborative work area to favor worker interaction and informal meetings. The closed spaces for the Meeting and Management Room were located on one of the perimeters of the plant and have glazed fronts to favor natural lighting, also allowing natural lighting to enter the open plan, along with an adequate acoustic treatment that helps to maintain privacy and concentration.
The image of the project as a whole appeals to a sober, timeless and elegant style. Different resources, textures and tones were combined to generate the necessary emphasis in each of the spaces. While wood helps to materialize the dividing wall of the cafeteria in a simple and effective way without interrupting the contribution of light to the Reception, the ceilings with the exposed facilities and the exposed concrete slab in the operating area contributes to define functional areas.
Within the chosen color palette, corporate blue stands out, intended to highlight the brand image but without saturating it. The furniture, modern and with simple lines, accompanies and complements the choice together with a lighting design that punctually highlights the circulations and helps to delimit the spaces.
Area: 254 sqm
Term of the work: 191 days
Location: Bogota
Project Manager: Carolina Espitia
Designers: Sergio Franco, Laura Alvarado
Type: Turnkey Project
Year: 2020
Country: Colombia
Activity: Other Industries & Services
Design: Contract Workplaces
The integration as a premise – Sigdo Koppers Chile
The Chilean company Sigdo Koppers was looking for a change to its offices –distributed on 9 floors of 580 sqm each in the same building– in order to adapt to the new times, improve its image and consolidate its position as a market leader. With these premises in mind, Contract Workplaces faced the project’s challenge, which consisted in generating collaborative spaces (that did not exist until the moment), minimizing private offices and setting an open-plan layout to favor the visibility and interaction of collaborators.
The process began with a Workplace Strategy consultancy in which a deep analysis of the organization was carried out to understand its DNA, the use of space and the expectations regarding change. Through this process, it was necessary to detect the relationships between the different areas and the best location for managers and their teams. Strategies to improve the integration of all sectors were also investigated by approaching the areas that worked more closely and that at the moment, were separated into different floors. It should be noted that the first stage of the habilitation only contemplated the intervention of floors 1, 6 and 7.
The dining area was located on the first floor. This plant had a large wooded garden that was in disuse, so its value was enhanced by creating a terrace that is integrated as an outdoor workspace.
The sixth floor, organized in an open plan, was destined to the engineering area. Here, bench-type workstations with a larger surface area were arranged so that collaborators could have more space to locate several monitors and comfortably display plans and documentation. On the other hand, the seventh floor kept the private offices and the boardroom, so only a small intervention was made to update the spaces and their proportions.
Given the dimensions of the floors, the design contemplates the location of all workstations and meeting areas on the perimeter to make the most of natural lighting. The glass enclosures of the private offices and meeting rooms collaborate to create a diaphanous and transparent atmosphere.
Regarding the image of the offices, the key concepts that guided the design process – display, connect and transmit – were materialized in noble elements such as stone, copper, concrete, iron and wood, matching with a sober color palette with some vibrant touches. And to reinforce this image, details that refer to the mission and trajectory of the company were also included, such as the crane hanging from the ceiling of the collaborative area.
The project also had technological support. Room reservation systems were implemented at the entrance to each meeting area, and also videoconferencing equipment and interactive flip-type screens, to generate information that could then be sent to users via Wi-Fi.
Finally, in order to facilitate the cultural change that this transformation meant, a Change Management process that engaged the entire organization was put into practice. This resource was sought to accompany each and every one of the collaborators in the change process, managing their expectations and helping them to integrate the new workspace into the new work dynamics.
Area: 4165 sqm
Term of the work: 450 days
Location: Las Condes, Santiago de Chile
Type: Turnkey Project
Year: 2020
Country: Chile
Activity: Energy & Mining
Project Manager: Nora Sepulveda
Designer: David Oyarzo
Design: Contract Workplaces
10th Anniversary of Contract Workplaces Uruguay
In 1996 Contract Workplaces was founded in Argentina, with the spirit of becoming the only company specialized in the design and construction of workspaces in the region. In 2011, and as part of its regional expansion plan, it expanded its operations to Uruguay, settling in the country’s capital. Today the company has two of its own offices in Montevideo: one in Tower 4 of the World Trade Center and the other in the WTC Free Zone.
Paradoxically for a company in this field, the beginnings of the operation were in the garage of an office building! “Our initial growth was so fast that we had to incorporate new collaborators and, between the uncertainty of all kick-offs and the immediate lack of space, we got that place and a few pieces of furniture on loan. After a while, we were able to rent an office in the same building, get out of the ground, and design and build our first office,” says architect Daniel Flom, founding partner and Executive Director of Contract Workplaces Uruguay.
A glance of his work in Uruguay
The first two commissions in Uruguay were for leading multinational companies in their fields: agribusiness and coworking. Those first successful projects were followed by many more. “From our beginnings, one of our main differentials has been to fulfill the commitments assumed with our clients: works on time, on budget and with the agreed quality. This allowed us to quickly generate close ties with the organizations we work with, who recommend us and request our services again”, adds Rafael Flom, economist and also founding partner and Director of the company.
The wide coverage of services and specialization in the latest trends in workspaces were the pillars that led Contract Workplaces to position itself as leaders in corporate architecture in Latin America, and Uruguay is no exception. “Other keys to success are undoubtedly the determination of a high-performance team, the trust of our customers and that of our suppliers. Architecture and construction in general, but work at Contract Workplaces in particular, are strongly teamwork. Achievements and failures are always shared, ”adds architect Flom.
Today, it has 10 years of experience in the country and more than 200 works carried out for various industries that exceed 60,000 square meters designed and built, positively impacting the work experience of more than 10,000 people. Some of the projects executed in recent years were for clients such as WPP, Mercado Libre, Oracle, Fucac, Starcenter, Deloitte, World Trade Center, Bayer, Mapfre, Pfizer, among others.
A look into the future of work
We are in the midst of a huge transformation in the way we work. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only accelerated trends that were emerging but would have taken years to reach mass adoption; people’s vision of the future has also changed. So what is the future of the office in the new post-pandemic normal?
Many analysts believe that the world of work will change, but that, in essence, it will not be that different from how it was before the pandemic; human beings are social beings, we need contact and social interaction. In this sense, the office can – and must – become a positive experience and a desirable destination for workers. The work environment will strengthen its role as a management tool to create culture, generate a sense of belonging and purpose. It will be the necessary framework for innovation, serendipity, learning and the creation of bonds of trust between the members of an organization.
Traditionally, the office was thought of as a place to group people behind a desk within a fixed schedule, where experiences used to happen without much planning or control but as a result of everyday activities. Today, by contrast, the economy and technology have transformed workers into a workforce of mobile consumers, so the workplace experience is becoming a vitally important issue that deserves to be designed and managed with much detail. All elements of the environment (physical, virtual and social) are carefully articulated to inspire and engage employees. Each interaction is painstakingly designed to create deep emotional connections.
Also, models such as ABW (activity-based work) acquire greater value due to their flexibility and great adaptability to the needs of a world that will continue to change more and more rapidly. This will allow the offices to function as hubs for face-to-face collaboration while sustaining digital cooperation. Technology will play a central role in blurring the boundaries between the physical and virtual world and in preserving corporate culture.
“Faced with this new reality, the commitment of Contract Workplaces – more than ever – is to accompany clients in the process of conceiving and defining their new work models, probably hybrids, and the activities that will be supported there,” says Daniel Flom.
Contract Workplaces affirms its local positioning and is committed to continuing to create innovative work experiences that promote the development of companies and their collaborators, enhancing their talent.
VF Offices – Santiago
Contract Workplaces has designed the new offices for clothing branding agency, VF Corporation, located in the Lo Barnechea commune of Santiago, Chile.
VF is a regional company specializing in the commercialization of clothing brands that are strongly determined by a particular lifestyle in both urban and natural settings.
Our concept proposal is as follows: to project a lifestyle onto a working style, in order to get collaborators to identify with their new offices, which are to become a means of support that favors the consolidation of their working culture. To that end, we have designed the office as a “total landscape” for all collaborators to see as a means of support that will allow them to freely perform their working activities, whatever they may be. The spatial proposal used the “ward” strategy, whereby closed spaces have been incorporated as subspaces by means of sculptural elements, “rocks,” which arrange space strategically by differentiating areas into public or private, as well as individual or collective.
One additional challenge this project entailed was getting working and branding spaces to coexist in the same place. In order to address the branding aspect and bring each of the “lifestyles” to life, every brand’s placement strategy was deployed; and by taking advantage of the building’s potential for communication in an urban setting, a perimeter of circulation was added to the eastern façade, supported by a large mural or “street sign”, which will project brands into the public space from the sixth floor.
SOURCE: Office Snapshots
Telefónica Offices – Quito
Telefónica opts for a project line that is capable of transmitting the same concepts as its vision as an organization, aiming to highlight innovation in technology and links, and contemporary design in its spaces.
The fluidity, the opportunity to work in different areas, the variety of situations in typologies, are part of the client’s interests in achieving a differentiated project, highlighted in Ecuador and with strong aesthetic suggestions that impact both their clients and within their own organization.
From the design point of view, simplicity was prioritized in the creation of a layout that was easy to read, despite the complexity in the organizational structure. This, in turn, presented great challenges in its execution since it is a vertical organization with the purpose of achieving more horizontal areas among its employees of different hierarchies.
In the search of an innovative project that inspires freshness and comfort, the project proposes a harmonious and easy to read route, as well as differentiated spaces such as collaborative spaces.
The concept of open office is clearly what links all spatiality, and it gives rise to new work areas that make possible the different links between the team.
The trends are based first on a stripped architecture, which is linked to the available budget. Thus, it was decided, for example, to leave the concrete slabs in sight, as well as all the facilities, in the reception and open office areas.
The architecture and equipment points to a more Nordic style where white and light wood tones predominate, in association with simple lighting for each room. Colorful equipment and different typologies were chosen to decorate the place.
The straight and curved lines blend in harmoniously in the course, as well as certain surprising breaks in chosen spaces.
In addition, geometric designs were applied in decorative painting, achieving walls with 3d effects taking advantage of the opportunity that the chromatic palette offered us.
The trends of open office as a large container of collaborative spaces, are addressed in all aspects: collective spaces, private spaces, semi-private, relaxation spaces, multimedia rooms, flexible and mobile spaces. All this accounts for the great variability achieved, giving the opportunity to enjoy a harmonious and logical project with an architecture designed to work efficiently.
SOURCE: Office Snapshots
