Groupama Istanbul Headquarters

All corporations have their own design guidelines represented by their company theme. For example, Groupama, an insurance company, reflects its identity through red, green, and white, representing reliability, dynamism in pursuing innovation, and the power of stability.

Due to the pandemic, Groupama Turkey Headquarters decided to have half of their employees work remotely, making half of the office need to be emptied. The previous floor plan was based on the amorphous shape of the facade, so there were no straight corridors. The areas were interrupted by walls and furniture. Since the occupied floors were downsized, much movable furniture was in their inventory that had to be used.

An open plan was deemed the best way to create collaborative spaces and increase employee interaction. There are three floors, each with its separate entrance due to the building's design. The differentiated entrances are designed using colors. The floor that hosts the CEO and HR is red, reflecting dynamism. The middle floor has a reception with green, the dominant color from the guidelines, and the third floor has green to reflect reliability for finance departments. Each entrance has a space to gain sunlight inside with a view. Two meeting rooms with phone booths behind them are located on both sides of the entrance. These two glass boxes are semi-transparent to avoid visually separating the area. The line of the roof of each floor empowers the idea of continuity of the open plan decision.

In this project, I was responsible for drawing layouts, making presentations, attending all weekly meetings via video calls or on the construction site, preparing application drawings, drawing fixed furniture, checking inventory, and managing the office's branding. Despite the project covering 2100m2, all the processes were completed in just four months.