After publishing an article about Macquarie’s breakthrough head office, The Financial Brand received a number of reader tips about other cool bank HQs around the world. Here are six of them. Click on any photo to enlarge and launch the gallery viewer. Enjoy!
ING – Amsterdam
This head office is designed to represent the ideals of ING: transparency, innovation, eco-friendliness, and openness. The shape of the building has earned a few nicknames including “the shoe,” “the spaceship” and “the dustbuster.” Photos: George Fessy. Architect: Meyer & Van Schooten Architecten.
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ANZ Centre – Australia
ANZ Centre, home office to over 6,500 staff, was designed by by HASSELL and Lend Lease design, architects in collaboration. Interior design by HASSELL Wayfinding by Fabio Ongarato Design. Developer: Lend Lease Development. Main contractor: Bovis Lend Lease. Photography: Peter Bennetts, Earl Carter.
Saxo Bank – Copenhagen
Founded in 1992 in Denmark, Saxo is an internet bank with a strong presence in online trading. The head offices in Copenhagen are designed by 3XN. The architecture has a cutting edge profile. Lines explore the balance between dynamic expression and trustworthy solidity. The open plan centers around a softly-shaped, top-lit atrium with a winding main staircase.
The glasswork from Skandinaviska Glassystem is simply remarkable. A transparent glass-enclosed environment “inspires and enhances the sense of team spirit.”
“In spite the fact that clients primarily meet their bank in cyber space, the physical gesture of the head office is of great importance to the bank’s management,” 3XN says. “In part because of the iconographic quality, in part because of strong conviction that architecture and design plays an important role when it comes to the employee’s performance and dedication to the company.”
National@Docklands – Australia
NAB’s headquarters in Melbourne’s Docklands was designed to accommodate 3,500 employees. The architects at Bligh Voller Nield conducted extensive research to ensure that the project reflected state of the art sustainable architectural features. Features include atriums, sunrooms, verandas, amphitheatres and ornamental pools. Through the middle dividing the building is an external walkway with a large door that can be lowered in windy conditions. Photos: John Gollings.
Bendigo Bank Building
This stunning building is home to over 1,000 employees. The major façade to the west is adorned with colored, perforated aluminium sunscreens. The sunscreens reduce the harsh western sun and provide a visually stimulating reading of the building. Bendigo’s office was acknowledged by the Australian Institute of Architects for its modern design. Photos: John Gollings.
RBS – Stamford, CT
The RBS HQ in Stamford is impressive. The trading floor is the second-largest securities trading floor in the world (3,000 square feet shy of the number one spot). The 103,000 square-foot operation is the size of three football fields and home to up to 1,000 traders who handle around $1 trillion worth of transactions a day.
In the leafy grounds surroundings the UBS property, the bank put up an glass-and-light sculpture. The architectural monument is reported to be the largest of its kind the world.
The 11-story building also provides a number of amenities, including a cafeteria with deli, stir-fry station, sushi bar, soft-serve ice cream and Starbucks; gym with masseuses and saunas; dry cleaning service; and a souvenir shop with RBS gear, gifts and convenience items like gum.