Domicile focuses on social responsibility
Kværnerbyen in Oslo was once a center for the iron and metalworking industry. Today, the area has been transformed completely, and a new quarter has emerged.
Many of the old buildings still stand, but have now been converted for other purposes. Kværnerhallen is the domicile of ISS Facility Services, Norway, and the workplace of over 360 administrative employees. Kværnerhallen also includes training and course center facilities for all the local Norwegian branches of ISS.
HOLMRIS B8 delivered and installed the furniture for the new head office. The interior design reflects ISS’ values as a workplace: Respect and responsibility – towards customers, employees, the environment and society in general. Sorting office waste at source has been implemented as a natural element of this design.
Choice of furniture suplier
On choosing their furniture supplier, ISS attached importance to the same qualities as they measure themselves by: Social responsibility, environmental responsibility, quality, supply reliability, and good services at competitive prices.
The workspaces are spread throughout four floors. Each floor has administrative workspaces, where employees work in teams, touch-down workspaces, and rooms that can be used for small meetings or as project or quiet rooms. The individual work stations are shielded by sound-absorbing desk screens and tubs containing green plants.
Function and design of different areas
The storage modules are specially designed by B8 with integrated plant tubs for this particular design. The meeting rooms are designed according to their function, taking account of the meetings’ varying purposes and structure.
There is thus a varied selection of meeting rooms, ranging from small meeting rooms with space for three people at a round table, to meeting rooms with video conference facilities, and larger meeting rooms seating 20. Informal areas with kitchenettes, bar counters and lounge furniture ensure variety on all storeys and give employees the opportunity for more informal meetings.
No ISS employees have cell offices
Management also use the open-plan office space, which ensures a good work flow and flexible decision channels, supporting the company’s core values. Managers in Scandinavia are known for often giving up their own offices in order to share open-plan space with and close to their staff.
This is related to the management style that is often used in complex, knowledge-based organisations. In such organisations, management’s role is to support the values on which the corporate culture is based, and which define the company in relation to internal and external stakeholders.
