‘Flexibility’ and ‘transparency’ are not words traditionally associated
with the finance industry. As a typology, the bank is seen as a symbol
of strength, power and security. But with 97 per cent of the money in
today’s economy represented by digital deposits – leaving only 3 per
cent as tangible cash – the taxonomy of space in financial buildings is
being overhauled. Less floor area is given to traditional storage methods,
leaving much more room for a brand’s values to shine.
open
vault
Recognizing that banks not only provide a
public service but are also a place of work,
architects and designers are challenging their
impenetrable roots and instead prioritizing
openness, community and wellness.
ING, the Netherlands’ largest
bank, recently gave 2,800 of its employees a
new home in Amsterdam. Known as Cedar,
the five-storey building was designed by
Benthem Crouwel Architects and Hofman-
Dujardin as more than a bank – or even an
office. Instead, it is a manifestation of the
brand’s purpose to ‘empower people in a build-
ing that opens itself up to society’. Cedar’s
glazed, curved form connects with its sur-
roundings to become part of the urban space
within Cumulus Park, a so-called ‘innovation
district’ initiated by ING that has now gained
support from the Municipality of Amsterdam
and a number of local educational institutes.
A large, landscaped green zone in front of the
building is open to users and visitors, promot-
ing connections between the financial institu-
tion and the neighbourhood in which it sits.
The complex is designed as a one-
stop shop for staff invigoration and empower-ment. Including such amenities as a garden
café, coffee bars, food court and events hall,
the space offers a sense of transparency
and connectivity that seem to counteract
the emphasis banks once placed on security
and privacy. A daylight-filled atrium forms
the connective heart of the building, with
staircases and platforms creating opportuni-
ties for spontaneous meetings and small social
gatherings. Given the freedom to choose
where and how they work, employees can
occupy ING’s various open and collaborative
spaces – although mobile, flexible structures
can be used to create temporary ‘rooms’ when
more privacy is needed. All in all, Barbara
Dujardin and Michiel Hofman say they
created an interior that focuses on wellbeing.
‘You feel the freedom when you walk in.’
ING is not alone in its objective:
the new office for Wells Fargo at Hudson
Yards in New York also takes an employee-
first approach. While both institutions use
on-brand colour highlights and warm, timber
finishes to communicate trust to consumers,
attracting and retaining talent is equally
important. ‘Office space is not a linearthing with one single experience for every
employee,’ says Luc Massaux, design principal
at The Switzer Group, whose office for Wells
Fargo seeks to create ‘a variety of moments
for all moods and all people’. With a reception
area that brings visitors and staff directly onto
the main trading floor, and a variety of open
collaboration spaces and ‘breakout areas’ in
the core offices, Wells Fargo benefits from
a vibe more commonly associated with co-
working brands such as WeWork or Fora.
It’s not that privacy and security
aren’t important, of course. Workspaces are
divided by glass partitions with acoustical
enhancement to offer a sense of seclusion
while remaining visually open to the rest of
the building. On the topic of privacy, Massaux
says that the project was about finding ‘solu-
tions that take those concerns into considera-
tion without sacrificing the new office culture
that design encourages’. LTWork 99