Nice Work: Nurus

Comfy sofas, stylish break-out spaces and ergonomic task chairs make working at Allianz Turkey not just a pleasure but productive, too. This seating and more comes courtesy of Turkey’s long-standing, design-led professional furniture manufacturer Nurus, and helps create an activity-based working environment ideal for 21st century knowledge workers.

Because the world of work has changed significantly this millennium, for knowledge workers in particular, the workplace has been transformed. Individual offices are long gone, and even conventional workstations are increasingly a thing of the past.

Instead, today’s offices are decked out to foster collaboration and generate ideas. At the same time, workers increasingly juggle myriad tasks. To help with all this, workplace designers are introducing layouts and furniture which encourage such behaviours, and which boost productivity and well-being. Nurus has anticipated these trends, producing ranges to complement the new thinking.

In activity-based workplaces, standard desking is replaced by a variety of ‘zones’ for agile workers. And to create a homely feel, office designers and furniture brands like Nurus are tearing up the rulebook. In Istanbul, global insurance company Allianz has moved into one of the region’s best examples of an agile workplace. Since October 2015, Allianz Tower has been home to Allianz Turkey. The striking skyscraper by FXFowle Architects stands on the Anatolian side of the city, in an area which will soon become a financial district when all the government’s financial departments relocate there.

Allianz’s 1,700 employees – who previously operated out of two addresses – are housed on 22 floors. This relocation has allowed the business to strengthen social relations and knowledge transfer between employees, and Nurus’s products are one of the major parts of this transformation.

Aukett Swanke designed the open-plan workspaces, social spaces, cafés, quiet areas and many meeting room configurations for the meeting, resting, gathering and fun needs of staff and visitors.

A bold colour palette for each floor gives areas their own personality and complements the company’s theming, which is based on the activities it sponsors. Hence orange is used on the administration or ‘golf’ floor; the corporate or ‘sailing’ floor is purple; and the ‘games’ floor, complete with jenga, puzzles, sudoku and darts, is green.

SHC Architects turned to Nurus to help encourage activity-based working among staff. Much of Nurus’s furniture is adjustable, stackable or can be folded away, giving staff even more freedom in how they use their new home. What’s more, many of these pieces have integrated technology, allowing staff to charge mobile devices, for example.

The lounge areas on each floor are furnished with Nurus’s 4U square seatings, which offer four sitting areas in different volumes. With its unique design, 4U has been awarded Red Dot and Design Turkey awards.

For the meeting rooms, Nurus’s folding table Nest is on show, allowing staff to create a number of table configurations by joining several together. And its Me Too task chairs are modern classics that give staff the ergonomic support needed for prolonged periods. Me Too’s user-centered design has been honoured with IF, Red Dot, Good Design and Design Preis Nominee awards.

Meanwhile Nurus’s Alava lounge chairs on wooden legs were chosen for the gaming room. Designed by Munich-based industrial designer Stefan Brodbeck, Alava is a modern take on a club chair. Alava’s eco-friendly design has been recognised by Green Good Design while also picking up a Good Design Award and receiving German Design Award nomination. With its 1960s retro lines, the Greta sofa invites staff to relax, chat or have informal get-togethers on the golf floor, its fabric squares complementing the square-shaped products around it. Greta has also been honoured with a Good Design Award and has received a German Design Award Special Mention.

With its well-laid out floors, vibrant colour palette and variety of zones, Allianz’s new Istanbul home is flexible and welcoming enough to accommodate the multiple generations now present in the workplace, giving them the freedom to make the most of their working week.

© Architonic