Creative Office: Headquarters Of Sweco In Stockholm
If there’s one company that knows its office should act as a portfolio as well as a place of work, it’s Swedish design and engineering firm Sweco. With a head office based in beautiful Stockholm, Sweco offer architecture, structural engineering, building service systems and project management services that all encapsulate a commitment to long-term economic, ecological and social sustainability.
From the very first glance it’s clear to see this is a talented company who practice what they preach, incorporating their beliefs and methodology into an office design that was created by their very own architects! The first thing that strikes me is Sweco’s fantastic use of colour. Boardrooms and meeting rooms are tactically decorated to elicit just the right emotions for a successful meeting, whether that’s calm and tranquillity (green) or enthusiasm and excitement (red).
Even the blue and mulberry coloured dining and chill out areas have been carefully considered in order to keep staff happy, productive and stress-free. Sweco don’t let this rainbow colour palette take over their office design though. Rather than the entire space being one big exercise in colour blocking, these splashes of colour are used as an accent alongside a predominately white building, brightening up what could have been just another generic office.
This extra edge doesn’t stop at the colour palette either. Sweco also incorporates plenty of glass into their office design to not just prove that sustainability can be trendy, but to maximise the circulation of refreshing natural light. Not only does this make the whole space seem infinitely bigger, but provides continuity between rooms while holding onto an element of privacy that a completely open plan space would eliminate. Did you notice the wall art as well? Geometric shapes flow fluidly from the walls to the glass and add to the clean and natural atmosphere. Depending on how you look at them, they almost look like stones, tree branches or even a dinosaur’s skeleton!
Credit: Sweco / Photo- Måns Berg
This feeling of naturalness and, well, sustainability is further echoed through natural wood grain stairs that break up the floating white stairwell. This whole area looks like something out of a film, giving an impression of weightlessness that’s sure to inspire the architects who work around it.
Sweco have succeeded where many companies fail, using their office design as a means to showcase what they can do for clients while illustrating how seriously they take their approach to sustainability. The whole building seems clean, vibrant and healthy, and is a great lesson in the creative possibilities that lie in architecture. What do you think of Sweco’s Stockholm headquarters? Do you have a favourite feature?
– Victoria Crawcour
