PropertyFinder HQ, Dubai

Swiss Bureau has had a long and successful relationship with the PropertyFinder Group, starting with the first office space designed in 2015 in Shatha Tower, Dubai Media City. That project was widely appreciated and nominated for many industry awards, including Best Office Project of the Year at CID Awards 2016.

Due to the rapid expansion of the company, PropertyFinder Group took up the additional space on the same floor in Shatha Tower and commissioned Swiss Bureau to design space that will keep in line with the existing office. The extended area of the PropertyFinder HQ, Dubai has been created to retain the design integrity of the already existing one, yet have a soul and style of its own.

With the elevator lobby being part of the office space, Swiss Bureau had an opportunity to create an impactful entrance area. This was achieved by using a minimalistic, yet engaging central tree feature with a high table around it and a stretch ceiling illuminating the entire space, which gives an impression of vastness. It also metaphorically represents the company’s vision to expand limitlessly.

Wood cladding on the walls adds a sense of warmth in contrast to the colder concrete floors. The flooring acts as a way-finding device to lead visitors to the inner working spaces. A planter feature at the entrance acts as a divider and also continues the previous office concept of incorporating green features for employee well-being.

The company believes in giving its employees varied types of working options. As such, there are traditional clusters of workstations but also more informal work areas, such as a collaboration booth in the shape of a house, which ties to the company logo. Thanks to the use of a bold red seating fabric, this also serves as an accent feature. There is also a high table intended for collaboration work with very sculptural decorative pendant lights above, as well as an informal breakout space with comfortable sofa seating.

One of the key spaces in this office is the boardroom which has a movable wall in between. Thanks to the large writable glass surfaces, it is intended to be functional for employees during the meetings but it’s also meant to host visitors, hence it has a more luxurious design with a grooved wood ceiling. The finishes for this space are a combination of light oak laminate floors with a dark woven vinyl flooring strip, which acts as a walkway wrapping around the office space. It is complemented with concrete walls and white writable back-painted glass on the columns.