The new office building is well located in the developing urban fabric of Vallila. Vallila is emerging as an attractive area for creative jobs and the financial sector.
Alfred’s working environments were designed with the office of the future in mind. Since the future user is not yet known, the design of the facilities was based on an understanding of the needs and desires of future working environments. The final finished facilities will be tailored to the needs of the future user.
Convertibility has been taken into account in the suspended ceiling and floor solutions so that the space can be divided into different sized offices. If necessary, the floor can be occupied by a single user, or it can be divided into smaller offices. The fixed parts were designed with uniform and rough material surfaces, inspired by the location of the building and the history of the client Onvest. Metal, brick and terracotta, as well as wood, form the basis for other colour palettes.
During the concept design phase, three different types of material solutions were created around the rough materials for the office space as a proposal to future tenants; wood, metal, and brick, all of which work either alone, or in combination with each other. The choice of surface materials was also based on a carbon footprint calculation, with an emphasis on environmentally friendly values in the design.
The entrance floor emphasises the building’s uniform look from the outside to the inside and again through the lobby café to the terrace outside. On the lower floors, light-coloured surfaces are emphasised in the various rooms, while on the upper floors, where the influence of natural light in the interior is increased, the material palette changes to a darker one, inspired by the metallic surfaces and contrasting with the wooden structures of the upper part of the building.
The building is located in a narrow street in Kuortaneenkatu, in the middle of the block, between two other buildings. The visibility of the building is increased by cutting off the street façade at the main lobby with a recess, which rhythms the street space and creates a distinctive entry point.
The 9-storey façade of the office building is divided into two distinct parts: the lower part of the façade is 5-storeys high and fits into the eave line of the adjacent buildings, while the upper part forms a staggered mass, creating a piecemeal composition above the eave line.
The working environment of the future will be a place of working together, where genuine togetherness and the merging of expertise will be emphasised. These factors influence the space planning requirements. The first reduces the need for space and makes the need for space variable. The latter increases the need for team and meeting spaces and creates expectations for comfortable common spaces.
There will also be an increasing focus on well-being at work. The working environment competes with home; the office must be an attractive workplace. It is important for employees to feel part of a larger community and the working environment must enable good interaction.
