KONE People Flow adds to everyday comfort and enables encounters in We Land office building

The renowned lift manufacturer KONE has partnered up with NCC to create an optimal design for the We Land office building. From the earliest stages the company has accompanied NCC in the project to make We Land’s vision come true.

KONE’s involvement in the We Land project in Ruoholahti, downtown Helsinki, started with KONE’s own media monitoring: Business Development Manager Matti Unelius of KONE remembers having first noticed mentioning about the project in the local news.

”It said in the article that a premium-standard office project was being planned for an unbuilt plot. It was the targeted high standard that triggered our interest in the project. We launched an active search for ways to offer our competence at the earliest design stage possible,” he reminisces.

It turned out the project was being developed and built by NCC. Matti Unelius continued his search until he found the correct contact at NCC. He contacted the client to offer the People Flow design service for the project by which KONE helps the client ensure smooth communications in the buildings and improve the end user experience during the operation.

At a joint meeting NCC told KONE about the significant potential that the project offered particularly with regard to the user experience. The anchor tenant who wished to remain unknown at the time had clearly pondered over the lift concept and set high expectations for the service standard in this respect. KONE joins the design team.

”Normally we would only have asked for capacity calculations from the lift company. The People Flow solution delves much deeper into the subject matter considering all parties, including interaction between the users. I am extremely happy with it – the People Flow design is based on research which brings reliability,” NCC Senior Developer Heikki Alén summarises.

Albeit important due to the coronavirus pandemic in particular, People Flow is much more than just clearing bottle necks through managing the movement of people. An interesting account on the other dimensions offered by People Flow for the property in question is given by the above-mentioned mystical anchor tenant Deloitte, one of world’s largest companies offering expert services.

KONE creates an interface for Deloitte’s culture of encounters

NCC’s vision of We Land is a new-era office building that serves the entire neighbourhood and makes Ruoholahti even more attractive as an area.

In practice this means making sure, already in the design phase, that the local businesses can offer their services to the building users. Part of the spaces at We Land are open to all; for example, there will be a fine dining restaurant on the top floor. There will be a world-class concierge service to ensure high customer satisfaction. We Land is primarily an office building, but also an attractive venue outside office hours, which will have a positive impact on the entire city district.

NCC’s company vision is to renew the industry with sustainable solutions whereas Helsinki is pursuing  carbon-neutrality by the year 2035. We Land helps reaching these targets by utilising recycled materials such as the copper of the façade cladding which is 100% recycled, and, especially, by adding green elements and energy efficiency.

The companies to occupy the spaces at We Land will be able to enjoy all this, and even more: the building has an exceptionally advanced overall planning and design with regard to people flows and the spaces. Offering possibilities for interpersonal interaction came high also on Deloitte’s list when the company was looking to place their Finnish headquarters. KONE People Flow is the perfect match for this demand.

”Now that the problems are getting all more complex we need many different competencies to find the solutions. We as an expert service provider find it really important that the physical environment supports togetherness and daily encounters to make multidisciplinary co-operation successful and to prevent the silo effect,” Managing Director of Deloitte Finland Tomi Pitkänen describes.

This means avoiding unnecessary partitions and making all spaces as adaptable, multi-use and comfortable as possible. There must be space for private work when needed, but otherwise people will encounter each other naturally. This goes also for the executive personnel, since leadership is nowadays provided by and large through physical encounters.

On the other hand, the world is changing quickly which can cause the demands to change too. As an example, Tomi Pitkänen brings up the coronavirus pandemic which could require dividing the spaces in a new way, at least temporarily.

”Or take the public health reform ‘sote’. How should an office be like in order for it to allow for the adaptability that can house 200 people to collaborate with each other in the creation of the national health service reform? Everything we do is motivated by finding that positive influence which is truly meaningful to our stakeholder groups. We also want our office spaces to support us on our journey by creating inspiring encounters and environments,” Pitkänen says. Deloitte values sustainability the same way as NCC. ”We Land is becoming a pioneer also in sustainable development and energy efficiency. This has been extremely important to us as the end user.”

Leader in its field

”Since we are looking for a new headquarters in Finland and want it to be top quality inside out, not to mention in line with sustainable development, it goes without saying that KONE is a global player in its own right. Based on our experience we can always rely on the solutions of KONE, and this applies to both the hardware and the software,” Tomi Pitkänen describes.

Now that the design phase is closing and the construction about to start Tomi Pitkänen praises KONE’s design and co-operation along with their well-working hardware and software:

”As I see it, Deloitte’s scope started at the interface created by the People Flow design. I love KONE’s way to approach the solutions from the end user viewpoint which in this particular case meant clarifying how people could be brought into movement and in contact with one another in a smart way, in their own business environments.”

The equipment which KONE delivers to support and manage people flows is designed to meet user demands in a holistic manner. The pieces of equipment communicate both with each other and the remaining building service technologies. Powered by People Flow, Deloitte can start to create the corporate culture of encounters they have chosen for their headquarters to solve future challenges.

 

This article was published on KONE's web site www.kone.fi.