AON Office, Italy

Aon Italia, a group active in risk and human resources consulting, insurance and reinsurance broking, asked Il Prisma to develop the creative and design concept for their headquarters in Milan. The design team created a place capable of supporting the company’s new mindset, but also an iconic and engaging space, which houses a variety of experiences. The concept of the interior spaces places the person at the centre. The design concept embraces the idea of creating a physical place where Aon’s identity and founding values would be visible. The company logo is used as a characterising architectural element, extruded, copied in series, broken down and reassembled into multiple architectural and graphic elements. The double-height hall in the entrance area, composed of a set of portals showing the “A” of the company logo in negative, as well as the trapezoid-shaped grid and the diagonal fences that serve as room dividers and add character to large surfaces, are among the most illustrative examples of environmental branding intervention.

The building is spread over nine floors – the ones in direct contact with the outside (ground, first and ninth) are intended for customers and are characterised by a sober and elegant architectural language that celebrates the Aon brand in every detail. The customer journey starts from the welcome area with an iconic walkway gallery, which stimulates the exploratory journey through a playful act of seeing and being seen. Thanks to the metaphorical language of architectural elements, the visitor feels completely immersed in the corporate identity and values. On the top floor, there are special areas, such as a cocktail bar and cinema room, which offers customers experiences that are very different from a simple meeting room. Indeed, they are designed to put people at ease and stimulate the relationship with the brand. A large panoramic terrace intended to host events, offers a privileged point of observation upon the city and, metaphorically, the future.

The new workspace is an agile and smart environment in which every employee can have at her/his disposal an entire building, rather than merely an office or a desk (the floors from the second to eighth are entirely dedicated to the employee experience). Conceived as thematic floors with different architectural connotations, they offer the Aon employees a wide range of experiences – from the liveliest and most energetic to the calmest and more meditative ones – capable of responding to the entire spectrum of daily needs. Depending on their needs, people can choose from spaces for socialisation, relaxation and taking care of themselves, collaboration and co-creation, exploring the digital world, finding inspiration in nature, carving out a moment of meditation in silence, or perhaps immersing themselves in a mind-nurturing reading. Socialisation areas are differentiated on each floor precisely to avoid the formation of single non-interconnected islands. This produces a live and constant vertical flow, which favours a continuous movement of encounters, exchanges, creative cross-pollination across the central core. From group to individual, from movement to stillness, from body to soul, the new building is a single space to be lived and told, in multiple ways.