UCB Pharma Office, Milan

Workitect has created the new layout and design for the Milanese offices of the global biopharmaceutical company UCB Pharma. Bucking the rest of the market, the multinational company UCB Pharma has increased the number of staff by 30% during the Covid pandemic.

Due to the latter, its primary need was to rethink the workspace (without decreasing it) and make its offices more appealing and attractive to and for its employees. Creating a work environment similar to the “culture club” model was the goal they set out from the beginning; a collaborative hub where people are encouraged to communicate and cooperate.

For these reasons and because office work has drastically altered, they had to repurpose the traditional offices. They therefore decided to include within the new UCB Milanese offices, several work areas dedicated to informal meetings, meeting rooms equipped for videoconferences, stand-up meetings, project rooms, library rooms, and creativity rooms.

Lastly, they designed specific spaces devoted to 1-to-1 meetings and focus activities. They created a unique blueprint for the new workplace following the activity-based-working method, which believes that individuals need to carry out tasks in different work settings. Their work is part of a larger project promoted by UCB Pharma, called #Strongeroffice, through which the biopharmaceutical company has reconsidered its working model and introduced a new hybrid working system. Nowadays, employees carry out 60% of their work time at home and the rest in the office