Liquid Frontiers

The transformation of the location and the positioning of the new mobile telephone operator were reinforced by a series of measures devoted to both the comfort of employees and guests and to communication with the outside. Central elements in this process are the textile panels which line the gently curving main circulation spaces of the radial plan at every level, concealing the technical infrastructure which is essential to the operation of the offices. At the same time these sequentially organised dividing elements create a dynamic panorama, which gains extra appeal from the unpredictability with which they are experienced.

The images on the panels were created by three influential graphic designers with highly individual styles who were invited to investigate Hutchison’s “core values” from their own independent perspectives as a means of accentuating the atmosphere of the spaces. The difference between these three approaches means that the panels play a key role in helping people to find their way around the building. This same is true of the circular scale which runs across all the panels and which allows employees and visitors to constantly position themselves in relationship to the 360 degrees of the continuous radial space.