Open Lounge in Zurich, Switzerland by NAU Architecture

Article source: NAU

Raiffeisen’s flagship branch on Zurich’s Kreuzplatz dissolves traditional barriers between customer and employee, creating a new type of “open bank,” a space of encounter. Advanced technologies make banking infrastructure largely invisible; employees access terminals concealed in furniture elements, while a robotic retrieval system grants 24 hour access to safety deposit boxes. This shifts the bank’s role into becoming a light-filled, inviting environment – an open lounge where customers can learn about new products and services.

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

• Architects: NAU Architecture
• Project: Open Lounge
• Location: Zurich, Switzerland
• Client: Raiffeisen Schweiz
• Area: 400m2
• Competition: 1st prize, December 2009
• Completetion: January 2011
• Photographer: Jan Bitter

Entrance View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Consultants:

• Media: iart interactive
• Digital Production: Rippmann Oesterle Knauss GmbH
• Lighting: Sommerlatte & Sommerlatte
• Site Supervision: Archobau AG
• Mechanical: PGMM Schweiz AG
• Electrical: Mosimann & Partner AG
• Costs: PBK AG
• Acoustics: Braune Roth AG

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

This lounge feels more like a high-end retail environment than a traditional bank interior. Conversations can start spontaneously around a touchscreen equipped info-table and transition to meeting rooms for more private discussions. The info-table not only displays figures from world markets in realtime, but can be used to interactively discover the history of Hottingen, or just check the latest sports scores.

Entrance View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Elegantly flowing walls blend the different areas of the bank into one smooth continuum, spanning from the customer reception at the front, to employee workstations oriented to the courtyard. The plan carefully controls views to create different grades of privacy and to maximize daylight throughout. The walls themselves act as a membrane mediating between the open public spaces and intimately scaled conference rooms.

Information Table (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Portraits of the quarter’s most prominent past residents like Böklin, Semper or Sypri grace the walls, their abstracted images milled into Hi-macs using advanced digital production techniques. While intricately decorative, the design grounds the bank in the area’s cultural past, while looking clearly towards the future.

Information Table (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Created in conjunction with iart interactive, the Info-table in the lounge offers customers a chance to check the latest stock quotes, or the daily news. The touchscreen also allows one to learn about the history of the area and the personalities prominently displayed on the bank’s walls. Most importantly it acts as a magnet for client and advisor to meet around casually, before deciding if they should move to the adjoining meeting rooms for further discussion.

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Displayed information is updated realtime from the web through programmed RSS feeds. New figures pop up like animated soap bubbles.

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

NAU is an international, multidisciplinary design firm, spanning the spectrum from architecture and interior design to exhibitions and interactive interfaces. As futurists creating both visual design and constructed projects, NAU melds the precision of experienced builders with the imagination and attention to detail required to create innovative exhibits, public events and architecture. NAU has quickly garnered recognition as an accomplished creator of fashionable interiors for retail, hotels, restaurants and residences. Its dedicated teams offer a personal touch, working with clients to align design approach with the appropriate market. Distilled in clear, contemporary forms, the designs of NAU promote modern, flexible solutions that engage and welcome.

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Interior View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Wall Detail (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Open Lounge (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Street View (Image Courtesy Jan Bitter)

Tags: Switzerland, Zurich

Category: Lounge

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 5th, 2011 at 4:26 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.