COOP Bank Headquarters, Nicosia, Cyprus
Location:
Nicosia, Cyprus
Year:
2014
Type:
Offices, Retail,Interior, Conference
Status:
International Competition, Shortlisted, Honorable Mention
Size:
22.000 sqm
The office Headquarters were designed to consolidate the Cyprus Cooperation bank’s operations into a single seven-storey structure with five underground levels.
The design features a white faceted aluminum façade with cutouts and patterns, resembling a field of wheat, which makes reference to the bank’s strong historical relationship with the agricultural partnerships.
The core of the convention centre is the concert hall which is designed as a twisted mass of concrete and glass. Additional conference suites, a banqueting hall and an exhibition gallery are dotted around the ground and first floor level.
The offices are spread out on six floors around a central atrium, which features a series of vertical garden panels and an internal plaza of indigenous plants. The atrium is sheltered by a sculptural energy roof which includes transparent photovoltaic panels and light diffusers filtering the sunlight inside the internal space.
Hence, apart from designing a major office building, our objective was to blend its multiple functionality and large scale based on the principles of sustainability in an era when it wasn’t the norm.
Different spaces—from the pantry and kitchen to a multitude of meeting rooms—were created to keep teams close, encourage teamwork and collaboration, having in mind a variety of tasks, functions, and personality types.
Our proposal focused on including different co-working zones such as think spaces, advancing employee wellbeing as well as a nature-focused office design to boost air quality and circulation. Noise issues were also addressed with the choice of the correct cladding materials.
