The glass and brick building seeks to combine an efficient and flexible internal organisation — featuring 2,000 flexible work spaces, a panoramic 140 seat canteen, and a trading room with 250 work stations — with a variety of specific communal spaces — seen in the main entrance lobby, a transparent trading floor, a sheltered public passage, and the architect's consideration of urban view lines.
The collective spaces are connected by a staggered continuous internal route of collective terraces, all being executed as glass pixels, encouraging informal meetings and communication between employees. This route meanders from the reception upwards through the building, connecting all 17 levels office levels with the communal areas. A series of wooden stairs and bridges allow employees to switch levels or even to walk up to the canteen on one side of the building and down on the other side. All these collective spaces offer views to the surroundings and transparency from outside. The route is naturally ventilated and has a high performance glass fit for the cold Norwegian winter.
The project was developed in collaboration with Norwegian co-architect DARK Arkitekter and various Norwegian engineering firms, with project management by Vedal Project. The development of the new headquarter cluster is a strategic operation concentrating the DNB offices formerly spread out over Oslo at one location, aiming for synergy and a clear identity. "The objective was to translate the social and democratic character of the organisation," state MVRDV, "into a building with excellent working conditions and spatial qualities that would stimulate efficiency, identity and collaboration."
