Scan Magazine | Special Theme | Nordic Architecture & Design Special – Sweden
ing needs to be re-drawn, torn down or rebuilt to cater for future needs; we’ve created an environment where the client can develop the architecture to suit their requirements without the need for architects, designers or builders.”
Codesign’s flexible solution for the innovation hub Epicenter has been nominated as Sweden’s best-looking office (Sveriges snyggaste kontor), the winner of which will be announced in November this year.
We’re really interested in the users, what their needs are now and will be in the future,” she explains. “When we took on the ABF Building, for example, our task was to create the meeting place of the future. But when we asked the people using the spaces, through 2,000 surveys and interviews with them, we realised that there were all these people moving around these corridors who never actually met. Our job became to create a space where they could really meet.” Similarly, Codesign recently took on the task of building a new primary school in Bjuv, and the firm went straight for the pupils. “Our client is the municipality and the principal, but it’s incredibly obvious that the really important people are the children. You have to understand why some kids would rather sit under the principal’s desk doing their homework, why certain spaces don’t work for the kids,” says Lervik. Now, the firm is producing a documentary series about the project in order to describe the thinking behind their approach to inclusive architecture.
Flexibility to suit the client’s needs The Epicenter project – an innovation hub in downtown Stockholm providing 112 | Issue 105 | October 2017
3,500 members with flexible workspaces – takes the idea of inclusive architecture to the next level. Here, the spaces have not just been designed with the users in mind, but can be continuously modified by its tenants. “It’s full of flexible design features such as movable walls with consideration for future ventilation and lighting needs,” says Lervik. “It’s a sustainable environment where noth-
Lervik is convinced that more and more people are drawn to the higher meaning that makes the foundation of Codesign; yet, the firm is currently working to outline the benefits of a usercentred approach in numbers and graphs. “We know that this is an investment that works – we see it every day. But sometimes people need to see figures, which is why we are developing an index to measure soft values before and after a project’s completion,” she says. Moreover, the firm is broadening its offering to be able to help clients with all customer touch points – not just the spatial and strictly architectural. “Where does architecture begin, and where does it end? Our new brand studio will help clients with the holistic experience of a place, including signage, art direction, strategy, experience design, the whole lot.”
Web: www.codesign.se Facebook: codesignswe Twitter: @CodesignSwe Instagram: @codesignswe