The UNStudio has been proclaimed the winner of the competition promoted by the international software development company JetBrains.  The studio designed a new office building for the company, located in St. Petersburg, Russia. JetBrains currently has 9 offices already located in Europe, the U.S. and Russia.

The project transformed their current premises into a modern immersive campus environment. The main objective was to attract unique talent by expressing its distinct identity to its workforce.
The UNStudio designed a place of true connectivity and openness. It is a place to meet, discuss, mediate and propose creative ideas while taking in views of the Gulf of Finland, the easternmost extension of the Baltic Sea. The atrium forms the core of the new building, as it creates the conditions for physical, mental and environmental health. The ample open space contrast to the office floors, which are based on team and individual focus.

The sense of belonging was very important to the project, not just to the industry, but also to the community and the city of St. Petersburg. The design of the new building focuses on the comfort and wellbeing of every person who works there and of those who simply pass through. 
 

Description of project by UNStudio

UNStudio has designed a new building for the St. Petersburg office of the international software development company JetBrains and has transformed their current premises into a modern immersive campus environment. With 9 offices already located in Europe, the U.S. and Russia, the new building will help the St. Petersburg office attract unique talent by expressing its distinct identity to its workforce.  

The JetBrains campus is intended to be a place of true connectivity and openness, which fully engages people and enhances their everyday lives. It is designed to as a place to meet, discuss, mediate and propose creative ideas while taking in views of the spectacular Gulf of Finland.

In addition to providing efficient and flexible workspace for the organisation, the JetBrains campus creates a sense of belonging to its occupants - not just to the industry, but also to the community and the city of St. Petersburg.
 
Ben van Berkel: “JetBrains is a highly innovative company. They are ambitious, possess a deep understanding of their workforce and have a very contemporary approach to the future of work. This meant that we were able to bring everything that we have learned from designing contemporary work spaces to this design and could create a warm, green, transparent, open and inviting office that stimulates total interaction.”

Connective, Comfortable, Versatile

Over the years, UNStudio has built up an extensive portfolio of office buildings and workspace designs. This has provided us with a deep understanding of what is required of the optimal work environment and the positive impact such spaces can have on the health, wellbeing, creativity - and therefore productivity - of those using them. Within the design of such spaces, both physical vitality and psychological wellbeing are understood to be synonymous, while the creation of community is considered fundamental to the encouragement of communication, interaction, knowledge exchange and creativity.

The design of the new building focuses on the comfort and wellbeing of every person who works there and of those who simply pass through. The campus has been designed in full detail, including JetBrains’ specific approach to work culture, which led to custom made healthy work stations for all 1000 newly housed employees.

Central to the design is the large, vertically stepped, indoor atrium. This generous open space, which connects to an outdoor courtyard and outdoor terraces, simultaneously provides clear and expansive views of the Gulf of Finland.

The atrium forms the core of the new JetBrains community, as it creates the conditions for physical, mental, social and environmental health. This ample open space contrast to the office floors, which are based on team and individual focus, rather than an open-plan approach.

Central meeting rooms, breakout spaces, auditoriums and the central restaurant are all organised along the stepped atrium. Bridges span the large open areas, while carefully designed and intertwined biophilia forms the natural backdrop for all activities.

The courtyard on the podium level provides an intimate outdoor overflow space that is embraced by an active gallery connected to the existing office buildings. In UNStudio’s proposal the galleries are used as an orangery/winter garden for outdoor plants, which can then be placed outdoors in the Summer months.

Facade

The facade design embraces a sustainable approach, blocking heat gain while providing daylight. For the large atrium, a highly transparent stable zigzag glazed facade was chosen, at times spanning five floors.
 
In addition to a soft acoustic shading device on the inside of the glazed skin, cantilevers shade the facade. The lower and upper volumes use a rational grid facade, composed of unitised elements. Protruding glazed ceramic elements provide shading, reflect light, and create a tactility and reflection that will play with the constantly changing light of the skies over St. Petersburg and the Gulf.

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Architects
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Project team
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Ben van Berkel, Frans van Vuure with Alexandr Kalachev and Melinda Matuz, Natalya Kuznetsova, Caterina Micucci, Leon Hansmann, Alexandra Lukianova, Michele de Simone, Raul Forsoni, Saba Nabavi Tafreshi, Derrick Diporedjo, Eva Poulopoulou, Jose Sanmartin, Jahan Tahamtan, Rachel Picot, Alina Tueran.
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Collaborators
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Façade Engineering.- Ramboll Dubai. Structure.- MTM. Landscape design.- LoosVanVliet. Lighting design.- Atelier Ten. Signage and wayfinding.- Optimist Creative. Acoustics.- DGMR. Client’s Project Management.- DBC Consultants. Client’s Local Engineer/Architect.- Spectrum Group. Rendering.- ZOA, AAND3.
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Client
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Area
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38,145 sqm.
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Dates
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2019-present.
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Location
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Saint Petersburg, Russia.
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UNStudio, founded in 1988 by Ben van Berkel and Caroline Bos, is a Dutch architectural design studio specialising in architecture, interior architecture, product design, urban development and infrastructural projects. The name, UNStudio, stands for United Network Studio referring to the collaborative nature of the practice.

Throughout 30 years of international project experience, UNStudio has continually expanded its capabilities through prolonged collaboration with an extended network of international consultants, partners, and advisors across the globe. This network, combined with the centrally located offices in Amsterdam, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Frankfurt, enables UNStudio to work efficiently anywhere in the world. With already 120 built projects in Asia, Europe, and North America, the studio continues to expand its global presence with recent commissions in among others China, South-Korea, Qatar, Germany and the UK.

As a network practice, a highly flexible methodological approach has been developed which incorporates parametric designing and collaborations with leading specialists in other disciplines. The office has worked internationally since its inception and has produced a wide range of work ranging from public buildings, infrastructure, offices, residential, products, to urban masterplans.

Current projects include the design for Doha's Integrated Metro Network in Qatar, the mixed-use FOUR development in Frankfurt, the wasl Tower in Dubai and the Southbank by Beulah development in Melbourne. Pivotal realised projects include the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart, Arnhem Central Station, Raffles City Hangzhou in China, the Mobius House in the Netherlands and the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam. UNStudio has received many awards, the last ones being Red Dot Award product design (2013), Media Architecture Award (2012), National Steel Prize (2012) and 28th International Lighting Design Awards Collector’s Loft (2012).

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Published on: April 14, 2021
Cite: "A place of connectivity and openness. JetBrains HQ by UNStudio" METALOCUS. Accessed
<https://www.metalocus.es/en/news/a-place-connectivity-and-openness-jetbrains-hq-unstudio> ISSN 1139-6415
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