Completion: 2013
area: 23 700 sq.m
Cooperation with Outotec began in the fall of 2012, when the Gullstén - Inkinen was commissioned to design the interior for the new offices in Espoo Finland. One of the main factors/reasons behind the move was the desire to give up the room offices and move to an open plan office environment.
The aim was to create functional spaces that support all the diversities of project work. Outotec wanted the interior design to help improve the company's internal communication.
The implementation has three phases. First phase was finished when the Safiiri 1 and 2 were completed in June 2013. GI is the interior designer in all of the phases. The execution in phases provides an opportunity to acquire user experience and feedback on the design solutions and approach. This input and user experience is very important and is applied to the design in the later phases.
Interior and furniture solutions were designed to be as flexible as possible to support the constantly changing situations of project work. Visually the interior design is very subtle. The staff break areas are located in central locations encouraging employees to casual and informal encounters.
Designer comments about the project:
"When moving out from traditional office room set-up into a more open plan solution, to a so-called multi space office model, for some it naturally means a detachment from the old ways of working. Initially, this can be experienced as a negative thing, but almost every time the user finds that the new approach actually supports the set project objectives and increases comfort. An internal change management plan, communication and clarification of objectives play an important role throughout the project. So it’s not enough to design a modern office. When the guiding principle in the design is transformability, the rules of behavior by which the space is used become the most important tool in the design process. The designer should remember that an open plan office does not suit all work models. On the other hand, when the space is open and the “view/landscape” surroundings are familiar, people adapt their behavior automatically to the environment."
