A round-up of the hardworking shortlist for corporate offices (5,000- 10,000 sqm)

KOI – Royal Metropolitan España, Madrid, Spain

A dark and out of date building has been transformed into a tranquil and light filled space featuring skylights, terraces, nature and fountains. From the outside the building has a glass skin, materialized in a plastic form with a series of undulations which softens its corners and emphasizes access to the building, providing vast amounts of natural light. Inside, the light filled three-storey central atrium functions as the heart of the building. A garden on the roof offers a landscaped terrace full of areas and corners for collaborative work.

Standard Chartered Bank Shanghai Headquarters – Woods Bagot, Shanghai, China

This new five storey office (also pictured in the main image) adopts the client’s “Future of Work Now” vision of consolidating numerous offsite workspaces into one single workspace, by releasing excess capacity and adapting a hybrid working model for the China market. The design team have divided the headquarters into specific zones serving different purposes and needs. It features desk areas for task-orientated work, a café for connection and collaboration, a library, an activity room, flexible workspaces and an innovative think tank lab for startups within the bank. A peaceful tea bar in the new guest relations area pays tribute to this important Chinese ritual.

Norske Shell Headquarters – Magu Design, Stavangar, Norway

The inspirational new Shell offices are designed as an activity-based workplace, providing the opportunity for diverse types of collaboration, both physical and digital as well as space for calm and privacy during more focused work. The warm and contemporary material palette features travertine, mahogany and brushed matt bronze. Details of red and green onyx give the interiors character and a strong identity while golden pink shades to sand-coloured and burnt orange-red tones provide a cosy atmosphere.

Tyro Payments – Geyer, Sydney, Australia

This innovative 6,000 square metre workspace spanning six floors is designed specifically to support and nurture a neurodiverse workforce in an inclusive environment. A variety of workspaces accommodate a full spectrum of sensory preferences. It includes spaces with complete acoustic separation for those sensitive to auditory stimuli, and uses colour and texture to define each space’s function, allowing for an intuitive experience. Lighting levels vary throughout the workspace to accommodate individual preferences, with 50% of workstations near windows and the rest deep within the floor plan. Seating on the periphery of social spaces offers a place for those who prefer to observe rather than engage directly.

UAD Campus in ZITOWN – The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Co., Ltd. (UAD), Zhegiang, China

This office building for the Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University offers a striking, contemporary space. With bright white interiors, the prefabricated architectural space features a triple-height lobby, a greenery wall decorated with plants set between steel and cement and a photovoltaic glass skylight. Column, beam and floor are all made from a precast structure while the floor is made of partial composite floor slabs to minimize the cast-in-situ concrete volume.