L’Oréal Offices – Buenos Aires
Contract Workplaces incorporated creative wall finishes and playful materials to design the L’Oréal offices in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
L’Oréal Argentina is a world leader in the cosmetics industry and has been in the country since 1962. When the company decided to change its workspaces to reflect and accompany its work culture, it entrusted the design of its new headquarters to Contract Workplaces.
The project was developed over an area of 2,800 m2 divided into two floors of the Centro Empresarial Libertador, one of the most innovative and avant-garde AAA corporate towers in Buenos Aires. The building, located in the north of the city, in the thriving neighbourhood of Núñez, has an open perimeter and large windows with panoramic views of the Río de la Plata and the immense metropolitan region.
While the 8th floor houses the operational area for approximately 215 staff members in unassigned desks, the 7th floor is used for the Academy, the dining room and the modular training room.
The project was based on a flexible and dynamic office concept capable of providing a variety of options aimed at facilitating meetings and collaboration between people. For that purpose, a work typology organised in “neighbourhoods” was chosen, where, as in big cities, one can find areas for quiet activities and group experiences, patios, terraces, cafés and more social spots. Under this paradigm, space was distributed according to the activities to create a seamless work experience.
The layout was organised around a central space, with amenities, support areas and private rooms. The different “neighbourhoods” were located around the perimeter of the floor, and included an operational area with unassigned workstations and touch down meeting spaces and focus areas. This layout favours the use of natural light and the building’s privileged views of the city and the river.
The eight neighbourhoods into which the floor is divided are separated by different specific typologies for collaborative activities with few people: bubble rooms and man flex. These are private offices that may be used as meeting rooms for four or five people, which are identified by their colour (blue and maroon), their rectangular shape and their location within the boundaries of each neighbourhood.
Support areas, such as copy points, storage areas, medical offices, lactation rooms and lockers for all employees were also considered.
Regarding the aesthetics of the project, the entrance of the two levels was differentiated by setting the reception area of the Academy on the 7th floor in white and the entrance to the operational area on the 8th floor in black. The colour palette chosen for the rest of the project was neutral and not very saturated colours in the furniture, with some occasional accents on the walls.
Steel-grey modular carpets were used in the operational and transit areas, while vinyl flooring with a wooden texture was used in the reception, Work Coffee, dining room and Academy lounges.
To complete the look & feel, special care was taken in the design of the lighting to suit the purpose and use of the space and to highlight sectors and places of special interest.
The result was a flexible and reconfigurable office where every detail reflects the company’s purpose: “creating the beauty that moves the world”.
Design: Contract Workplaces
Photography: Andrés Negroni
