Following the growing presence in Italy and expansion throughout Europe, Herbert Smith Freehills moves its headquarters to the heart of Milan and entrusts the project to Cushman & Wakefield for the creation of spectacular and extremely comfortable work environments.
Two years after the opening of its office in Italy, the international law firm Herbert Smith Freehills moves to new spaces designed by the Design & Project Management Team of Cushman & Wakefield: 1,300 square meters spread over two floors in a prestigious building in Via Rovello 1.
HSF is an expanding reality and the main goal transmitted to the designers was to strengthen its image on the Italian territory by creating a headquarters that, through design, is able to reflect the quality of the services offered by the company.
The first step was the total strip-out of the existing layout to ensure conceptual and formal uniformity in the entire space, while respecting the architectural characteristics of the historic building.
The architectural, furniture and color choices combine the character of the building with the desire to obtain a contemporary and refined space that guarantees the wellbeing of employees thanks to welcoming, bright and comfortable workplace.
After a careful study of the materials, wood was chosen to characterize the customer areas mainly with tailor-made furnishings.
The reception area is the core of the project. Behind the reception desk, sliding wooden panels with fixed and adjustable sunshades separate the internal environment from the building.
To calibrate the proportions of the pre-existing environment, an oblique wall, covered with wallpaper, was positioned to delimit the new meeting room. This wall also becomes the centerpiece of the informal waiting area.
The Library-Lounge area, characterized by a domestic mood, is conceived as a single environment, but takes on a double function thanks to a large retractable sliding door, which divides the space defining the lounge area used by both customers and internal staff.
Wood is a characterizing element in the interior design also present on the doors of the cabinets and on the bookcases enriched with patterns in different essences.
A special emphasis was given to the two main meeting rooms by creating a coffered ceiling which, together with the arches of the windows, makes the space more scenographic. The false ceiling was custom-made (by Ferrari Arredamenti, like all custom-designed furnishings) to accommodate the lighting and audio-video technological systems.
In the task area -mainly consisting of individual and double offices- minimalism in design and technology prevail, expressing brightness and a sense of transparency.
Every detail expresses the attention to ergonomics and environmental comfort. from the metal false ceilings with integrated lighting, the acoustically high performing double-glazed partition walls and doors, as well as the selected high-quality furnishings, supplied by Cardex: task chairs (Herman Miller), workstations (Estel), meeting room seats (La Palma), break area (Arper).
In particular, the container system by Dieffebi guarantees functionality, good storage capacity and also a touch of biophilic design thanks to the possibility of integrating greenery within the furnishings.
Greenery (provided and maintained by HW Style) is present in every environment, in the form of single plants or vegetable walls, as an aesthetic element, but above all as a source of wellbeing and relaxation.
Credits
Strategic Planning Advise: Paola Migliavacca
C & W Design Project and Project Management: Eleonora Prassino and Eleonora Bellini.
Company: Brusban Company Srl
