Robert Walters

A special concept is the basis for the new office of the recruitment organization Robert Walters at the Amsterdam Zuidas. The new workplace has been decorated completely based on neuroscientific research. The result is a unique working environment marked by a sense of community with an open, interactive atmosphere. A place where everyone feels comfortable, voluntarily wants to visit and can get the best out of themselves.

UNIQUE WORKPLACE CONCEPT

The assignment for the design of the new workplace was ‘to create a place where people would feel welcome, a sense of community reigns and where we like to meet each other’. Hoogerwerf Projectinrichting, responsible for the realization of the project, presented the groundbreaking idea to decorate the new office based on the results of thorough, representative, neuroscientific research. Intensive conversation with a representative group of employees served as a starting point to map the desires and needs. Based on the findings, employee profiles and associations were drawn up. With the insights gained from this, the office was divided into six different areas: the Grand Café, the Teamwork Zone, the Tuscan Garden, the Sales Arena, the Interview Zone, and the Work Landscape. Next, during so-called fMRI-scans (3d brain scans) various mood boards with all kinds of colors, text and interior styles were shown. The scans showed which brain areas where activated and which emotions where provoked when seeing the different mood boards. The scientific report that was assembled from the results, formed the starting point for the definite design. It turned out that the foundational atmosphere was predominately favored to exist of wooden battens combined with black. This is reflected in the Grand Café, the Interview Zone, the Teamwork Zone and the Work Landscape. At these places, mainly round and organic shapes have been used, since they are being perceived to be pleasant.

GRAND CAFÉ AS HEART OF THE COMMUNITY

The Grand Café is the central point of the Robert Walters community and has a direction connection to the other areas. It serves as a reception zone and meeting place for guests, relations, and employees. From the central hall, you enter a chic lounge with reception and coffee bar. Characteristic is the hospitable restaurant setting. It breathes a warm welcome with a friendly, professional, and hotel-chic appearance. You can have lunch there, drink coffee, relax, have a drink, work together with colleagues. The place also lends itself well to be used to organize events and interview clients. Eyecatcher in the Grand Café is the big bar of 12 meters long. Which is being accentuated by a stylish floor design, assembled of floors from the Amtico Signature collection, extended throughout the entire space. The tight graphic pattern in black-white creates a tough and chic look perfectly corresponding to the hospitality feeling.

UNWINDING IN THE TUSCAN GARDEN

The Tuscan Garden is an important area in the office. It literally creates a buffer between the Sales Arena and the Work Landscape. When you enter from the Sales Arena, your brain gets time to reset, and you will arrive in the Work Landscape in a calmer state of mind. The other way around, this place offers to possibility to create peace of mind and prepare well one more time to achieve maximum performances in the Sales Arena. The buffer zone has deliberately been designed to lower your level of stress. You cannot just quickly walk through it. A winding route around the planters lowers your speed and brings you to the here and now. Furthermore, the Tuscan Garden also serve as a ‘haven’ to de-stress and unwind for a moment. You can flop down on the diverse comfortable seating in among the greenery or seek relaxation in the yoga room. Due to the royal vegetation and natural elements like the olive trees and lavender, you imagine yourself in a Tuscan landscape. Just like the Grand Café, LVT-flooring from Amtico has been applied here. Installed in laying pattern Pavestone, stone design Sepia from the Form-collection forms a beautiful natural base for the indoor garden. With its soft structure in a mix of cream, beige and sandy tones, this floor tile contributes to a relaxed atmosphere and a sense of calm and peace.

PROJECT DETAILS

Design Hoogerwerf Projectinrichting
Photography via Hoogerwerf Projectinrichting 
Products Grand Café: Amtico Signature 1,0PU AR0STE31 | Tempus Soothe and Signature 1,0PU AR0STE13 | Tempus Echo – executed in laying pattern Woven
Tuscan Garden: Amtico Form 0,7PU FS7S4390 | Sepia – executed in special laying pattern FP107 Pavestone