Finnish design expertise has again been awarded in Russia.
Best Office Awards
It was the third time GI participated in the Best Office Awards competition. The competition awards the best office design projects in Russia in altogether 10 categories. The organizer OfficeNext is a well-known event organizer in the architecture and design fields. The award ceremony was held 16th May in the Art Play design quartier in Moscow.
This year GI was awarded first prize in the Lighting Design category with the interior design of SIAB Bank’s premium club in Saint Petersburg.
Jury assessment:
“The outside views are wonderfully framed, the use of natural materials, technology innovations and ecological theme. Nordic design principles are perfectly combined with the architecture in Saint Petersburg.”
SIAB Bank Premium Club – the idea behind the design
The idea was to create an exclusive interior design but also, as importantly, to generate dialogue between the bank and its’ clients. Themes such as “Nature”, “Wine cellar”, “Chess” and “Golf” are included in the design of the meeting rooms. The space solutions in the work area follow Nordic democratic principles instead of traditional Russian hierarchy.
Previous success
The SIAB project was also nominated in the Comfort and Ergonomics and Grand Prix categories. GI won the Comfort and Ergonomics category in 2012 with the design for V Kontakte, the largest social media site in Russia, and in 2011 for the design of Nokia’s HQ in Moscow. This year there was 100 projects that entered the competition and a new category Best International Project was introduced. Year by year the number of participants, as well as the reputation has grown. GI is one of the most successful companies to ever participate in the competition. The awards gala was shown live on Russian Today television programme. GI’s SIAB Premium Club interiors was the only project shown in the broadcast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxEgcQHlhnw&list=UUI-JLc7fB6aX2G85NuJlHAQ
Jari Inkinen CEO comments on the Russian clients:
“Local businesses see the importance of facilities as a way to improve the corporate brand. The success in the competition has brought us many new and interesting projects. The marketing methods differ significantly from Finland. In Russia you need to be present and ready to react to the smallest signals that the clients might send. The mornings after the award ceremonies have been a good example when clients begin calling us after being inspired to do something to their own spaces.
OfficeNext Talks – conference
Jari Inkinen also gave a presentation about workplace development in the OfficeNext Talks conference that took place before the award ceremony. Jari’s comments about the conference:
“It’s amazing to see how fast the world is developing in Russia. I’ve participated in the conference few times before and can only wonder how actively our neighbor wants to learn new things. The conference was three days long and included topics such as Healthy work environment and Sustainable development principles in commercial construction.”
Gullstén–Inkinen Design & Architecture
Established in 1988 by Hanna Gullstén and Jari Inkinen. GI is specialized in designing work and customer environments and improving office and commercial buildings. Gullstén–Inkinen has operated in Russia since 2007. The company turnover in the previous fiscal year was 2,7 million EUROs of which about 10 % came from export to Russia, Scandinavia and to the Baltic countries. This fiscal year the turnover is budgeted to be 3,2 million EUROs of which 25 % exported services.
