Innovation Center 'Tomorrow Street', Luxemburg (LUX)

project Concept and implementation the Innovation Centre 'Tomorrow Street' client Vodafone Innovation Centre, Luxemburg (LUX) architecture services WW+, Esch-sur-Alzette/Trier (LUX/GER) building planning architecture / interior architecture OAI LPH 1-2 gfa 1,400 m² gv 3,920 m³  start of planning 01/2017 – 05/2017 realisation 05/2017- 09/2017 photos Linda Blatzek Photography

We used the ‘urban landscape’ concept as a starting point to divide the existing office level of the ‘Vodafone Luxembourg’ headquarters into different workspaces. The operational plane was consequently modelled on a city and divided into ‘streets’ (movement areas), ‘squares’ (cubes), a ‘main square’ (bar), ‘parks’ (meeting rooms) and ‘houses’ (workspaces). The individual workspaces and areas feature a range of different furnishings, arranged in various ways, thereby alluding to the variety of buildings seen in a city.

The objective lies in designing an open space in a bid to foster communication and exchange between various startups while also maintaining a certain privacy sphere. Centre stage is given to the team of Tomorrow Street, which sits at the heart of the action to act as a discussion partner for the startups and at the same time maintain the level of sensitivity required for its activity.

Upon entering the premises of Tomorrow Street, visitors are not in any way welcomed by a traditional reception area, but instead they immediately enter the lounge, which represents a meeting point and place for relaxation and exchange. This way, the working day starts in a communication-friendly atmosphere, in which new contacts can be established.

The lounge can be used at any time of the day for exchanging ideas or for the purposes of a meeting. Behind the bar, a plant wall gives the room a natural atmosphere.

Leaving the muted atmosphere of the lounge, visitors directly enter the working area of the startups, a light-flooded open room. Spatial separations are created through flexible room dividers or the five configured conference cubes. These cubes are small rooms, which can be used for informal meetings, for thinking or for discussing. They are closed on three sides and can remain open towards the hallway or else closed off with a curtain, to ensure increased privacy. From the outside the cubes are white, inside they are all different in that they convey the different atmospheres and special locations encountered on a voyage through our planet.

The team of Tomorrow Street sits together in an open-plan office, to encourage communication and team work.

This office and two further meeting rooms are fitted out with artificial turf and with furnishings from the outdoor arena, conveying the idea of a park or inner courtyard.

A fourth meeting room is located to the south. The choice of this location was made for strategic reasons, to avoid having to walk through several workspaces with all the discussion partners. The glass partitions are black as are the walls and the furnishings, underlining the mystical, intimate atmosphere of this room.

Materials

The floor covering is essentially wood (traffic + public areas = dark, remaining floor covering = light). The exception being three meeting rooms, which are fitted out with artificial turf. The floor covering used in the cubes is adapted to the various atmospheres.

Round suspended acoustic elements are in perfect harmony with the round ceiling lights and give the hallway zone its contour. The outer walls and surfaces of the configured meeting cubes are also sound-absorbing and contribute to good acoustics. The cubes are also clad with grooved wooden panels for sound absorption purposes.