The new offices of Accenture People Hub can welcome up to 3800 employees, in a total area of about 32,000 sqm. The multinational of strategic consulting and management has just moved into the Milanofiori Nord complex in Assago. The challenge for the architects – Park Associati for the architecture, 967arch for the interiors – has been to transmit the fundamental values of the brand.
Innovation, hospitality, flexibility and integration are conveyed in the creation of high-tech multifunctional and accessible spaces. Starting from the skin of the building, where transparency and opacity alternate across a uniform glazed surface. The dual function of protection and perception is paced by the form of the structure: a blade of glass and steel that forms a sort of prow aimed to the northwest.
The southwestern exposure of the façade calls for screen printing on one side, while the front towards the north and the forest takes on maximum transparency. A balanced operation to achieve greater permeability and closer relations with the surrounding environment. Acting as a binder, also in terms of perception, between the outdoor plaza connected to the nearby subway line, the woods and the interior of the building, the large hall offers material continuity, gathering flows and housing a large portion of the shared functions.
It is like a big salon, with two and three-story zones, to host the reception area, the cafe, training rooms, recruiting areas, a ‘people center,’ an auditorium, and a client area. A series of open-plan zones and specific rooms generate a complex inhabited by a true micro-community, supported by personnel services, a pick-up office, infirmary, laundry and dressing rooms.
In aesthetic terms, and also in the work areas, the careful choice of finishes communicates an idea of hospitality, while the spaces for innovation are represented by their technical equipment and selected furnishings, placed inside a neutral box with accents of color, plants, lights and graphics.
