The company from Saudi Arabia has entrusted Fantoni with a project for their new Riyadh-based offices.
A leader on the commercial real estate market in Saudi Arabia, the company has chosen Fantoni to redesign the new office headquarters located inside the UWalk shopping centre in Riyadh.
New headquarters and a change of scenery are inspired by and accompany the country’s transformation process, which focuses on diversifying its economy and on limiting reliance on oil, as laid out in the strategic Saudi Vision 2030 plan.
The 4,500 sq m building complex rises in the heart of the Saudi capital, and represents a strategic and easily accessible site in a city with approximately 8 million inhabitants. The building is one of twenty one lifestyle centres owned by Arabian Centres Company that were designed to bring together the shopping experience with entertainment and social interaction.
Not just a mall, but the architectural equivalent of a vibrant society with its thriving economy, and an ambitious nation that is embracing change.
These very elements underly the furniture designed for the building, in an effort to meet the requirements of a busy, dynamic, vibrant and constantly evolving office environment.
The evocative outdoor pergola leads visitors to the lobby area with its Quaranta5 reception desk: its historic 45° profile is the distinct symbol of Fantoni design.
The ground floor houses private rooms, a small multifunctional auditorium, and the administration, procurement and staff departments. The lift to the upper floor leads to several other departments.
A total of 265 employees work on both levels, where functional layouts are fitted with Fantoni’s multipurpose office systems.
Minimalist and elegant, the Sistema 28 collection enables large configurations that are specifically suitable for open-plan contexts. Modularity is at the core of this concept and creates a balance with contemporary architecture by recreating versatile layouts that are easily adaptable to changing company needs.
The Framework collection is the evolution of a highly modular and environmentally friendly office furniture programme that carries the green quality mark. The desks included in the collection are arranged in double configurations and fitted with built-in modules and partition screens, so as to create an activity based workplace designed for individual and team work.
Hub is the versatile collection of mobile office furniture systems that promote informal communication and shared creativity, blurring the boundaries of the different roles and responsibilities within the company. The collection is a constantly adaptable and changing landscape that reflects an increasingly variable routine. It consists of mobile solutions that are designed to enable users to arrange different module configurations and to move them to the location that suits.
The Acoustic Room pods amplify the comfort of open-plan offices. These cosy acoustic pods create private workspaces that can be used for individual or team work. These modular “boxes within a box” come in a variety of sizes to suit the requirements of social interaction and privacy in communal workspaces. Hence, the need for small meeting areas and temporary workstations that require privacy, making pods part of an office well-being policy.
The furniture, colours and textures selected highlight Fantoni’s ability to configure space layouts through a wide collection of functional and green office furniture systems that feature largely in this interior design project.
Credits
Architecture and design: Nicolás Gaito (Head of Design – ACC).
Site supervision: Bashar Qaddoumi (Head of Projects – ACC).
Construction and fit-out: Dar Metal Industries.
Development: Ghassan Abu Mutier (Chief Development & Delivery Officer – ACC).
Client: Arabian Centres Company
Photo: courtesy of Arabian Centres Company marketing dept