Everything that a company or organization does or does not affects the way in it is perceived by its customers; of course, within this variety of realities, corporate architecture is included and how it may come to represent a brand, being able to strengthen its overall image.
One of the roles of architecture itself has always been to transmit messages of diverse nature constituting a powerful element of informative and persuasive communication. In this regard, the architect acts as a translator of culture and corporate image, making them tangible, turning them into something physical. Whether interior or exterior, architecture is the communication channel for brand qualities.
On the one hand, corporate architecture reflects the company virtues and primary elements; on the other hand, the architecture features have effects on the aforementioned company or brand, such as the space aesthetics, its functionality, the work environment or the ability to be productive or not.
As architects, we will consider not just the corporate identity manual of the brand, company or organization and the value proposition that offert to its final customers, but also the building’s functionality; we must always remember that the corporate buildings are scenarios in which the interaction between customers, the public and employees takes place. It is also important to know each and every one of the factors of the company. Another item to highlight is that the aesthetic criteria of image and architecture evolve over time, so the buildings need to be flexible, having the ability to allow changes and renovations.
We have performed the adaptation of the brand image to architecture on several occasions, Kuwait’s Credit One is one most clear cases. Because it is a company that offers logistics and automotive services, the project took inspiration from the characteristics of a modern car and therefore, the materials, colors and shapes are a reflection of them. The aluminum of the exterior suggests an industrial nature that ends in a streamlined appearance of the building; The mirrored louvers of the front façade generate an image that is modified in the eyes of drivers; modernity and innovation are represented by light emitted from the building interior and that makes it glow in the dark. The orange, the brand’s corporate color, is almost ubiquitous.
Buildings have always been part of a society image and, what is more, often they become iconic for a particular location and even to a particular brand. Our Hisham A. Alsager Cardiac Center is an example of this and of how an architecture can, beyond the functional, add value to the company or organization. The building exterior nature is intended to be a landmark in the city and in its interior, red gestures and the positive connotations that it transmits in close connection with Holism are the differentiating elements that talks about the hospital building’s corporate culture.
As with all the works whose function is to act as a brand identity’s representative element is particularly important the global, unique, functional, durable and high quality detail; this one can be seen, for example, in soils, panels; Custome made details which are born and developed during the artwork conceptualization process.
Representative and corporate architecture is fundamental to transmit all the strategic brand values, such as in the wonderful Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, which was conceived by UN Studio. Its geometry evokes a DNA spiral alluding to the knowledge that is stored in it, heritage of the brand.
The Allianz-Arena soccer stadium, located on Munich city, goes beyond the brand representation and aims to teams playing at home and their fans feel identified during a match; To do this, Herzog & de Meuron decided to use a specific lighting for each of these teams.
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