The new Milano Headquarters for Banca Ifis

One Works, in collaboration with RBS Design Group, DEERNS and Paisà, have completed the project for the new Banca Ifis headquarters – one of Italy’s leading financial firms specialized in business credit services and solutions and acquisition and management of non-performing loan portfolios. Focusing on the historical identity of the building and a strong vision of the future, the new offices interpret the Banca Ifis brand through a range elegant characteristics and sustainable elements, including a dramatic 260sqm green wall façade.

Sitting in the heart of Milano, next to the Porta Venezia Gardens, the new headquarters is the result of a deep retrofit process of the existing 1950’s building with the aim of adapting it to the best international standards of safety and energy efficiency, while respecting the environment. The presence of the building within the urban block has been redefined with a 260m² green wall, one of the largest in Milan, presenting characteristics that are reflective of the Banca Ifis brand. Comprising 30 types of plants, shrubs, flowers, and herbs that emphasize the seasonal colors, the wall generates a beautiful natural environment within an otherwise harsh urban environment, while supporting the reduction of carbon emissions.

With a total area of approx. 4,000m² across six floors, the elegant new office hosts over 340 flexible workspaces, exhibition facilities, training and recreation areas with four multifunctional terraces referred to as the green lungs of the workspace. These new green spaces, seen as a new workplace concept, go beyond their primary function of workspace to becoming a place to live, collaborate, exchange ideas, and relax.

“The interior spaces of the new Banca Ifis headquarters marry a concept of a flexible and dynamic workplace, where innovation and sustainability create the perfect habitat for a new approach to work. The interiors have been designed to represent the company’s values and identity that is oriented towards innovation and the future, but also to its historical origins” said Leonardo Cavalli, Managing Partner of One Works. “Key drivers of the project are the result of a process of interaction and organizational analysis, where people are at the center and the space reflects – thanks to the joint work with RBS Group – comfort, technology, flexibility with very high-quality standards. While externally, with one of the largest green walls in Milan, the building fits into the urban block like a green lung, becoming an integral part of the sphere of life not only of employees but also of citizens”.

Between historical identity and future vision, the project interprets the new headquarters of Banca Ifis through strong characterizing and sustainable elements, while carefully preserving and enhancing the architectural features of the historic building. This is an approach – redevelopment and retrofitting the existing – that is particularly dear to One Works, which has curated important urban regeneration projects, focusing on the role that architecture can and must have in redefining the face of the contemporary city by stitching together the urban fabric and revisiting parts of the historical city.

Click here to find out more.