McCann Worldgroup Headquarters Madrid

MCCANN WORLDGROUP HEADQUARTERS MADRID McCann Worldgroup is a leading global advertising agency. As part of its Vision 2021 a radically collaborative way of working is being implemented. MWG Madrid approached Studio Banana in order to support this transition, foster a novel workplace culture and design its new headquarters in the same spirit. To this end we embarked on an experimental co-design journey with MWG's creative and executive team and Studio Banana's team of architects, product and graphic designers, workplace strategists and communication experts. The result is a holistic project where all aspects are highly integrated at multiple levels. Not only did we create an evocative and inspiring workplace for 550 collaborators, but also the way-finding system, the bespoke design of the desks as well as new working methods and rituals. The main underlying goal throughout the project was to create an environment supportive of innovative work dynamics adapted to the renewed ethos of the brand. Set in a 1950s textile factory, the project strips the host building down to its bare essentials, preserving its industrial feel as scenic backdrop, and subsequently colonizes its three floors (6.200 m2 / 66.700 sqft) through a strategy of built "huts" (harboring private offices, meeting rooms, project rooms, teleconferencing rooms etc) that punctuate the space and delineate carefully-sized open plan areas. Each of the latter hosts a project team, thus supporting the sought out cohesiveness and collaborative work culture. The figure-ground dichotomy between the huts and the open plan areas generates a fluid circulation concept and an array of in-between spaces, which have been enlivened in order to boost new kinds of interactions and serendipitous moments. Besides this, some of the huts’ walls are appropriable (whiteboard, cabinet of curiosity, brandable interfaces etc.) allowing the collaborators to use them freely and integrate them in their work dynamics.