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Barco Headquarters
Barco, a global provider of audiovisual solutions, has just opened its new headquarters in Kortrijk (Belgium) which will bring the company’s 1,250 Belgian employees into one location. At the centre of the 230,000 square metre site is ‘The Circle’, a landmark new building which provides a direct link between head office staff, R&D, production, and Barco’s international customer base.
© Image Jaspers-Eyers Architects - Photography by Klaas Verdru & Philippe van Gelooven
Architect Jaspers-Eyers Architects Location Kortrijk - Belgium Company involved Alucoil Website www.alucoil.com/europe
Designed by Jaspers-Eyers Architects, The Circle is conceived as an open and flexible space which acts as an entry point to the other buildings on site. It is inspired by Barco’s belief that people perform at their best when they can get together easily, and have flexibility over where and how they work.
This belief led the architects to create an open-plan building with flexible work spaces, social meeting points, and ‘bubbles’ for small meetings or collaborative work. On its upper floors, one half of The Circle is devoted to offices, while the other half is a completely open space. Reception and the company restaurant are housed on the ground level of the open area, while a three-tier meeting deck appears suspended in the space above.
The showpiece of The Circle is the Barco Experience Centre. Equipped with the most advanced visualisation solutions, the Centre gives customers, business partners, and staff a place to discover Barco’s latest products.
A key feature of The Circle is the predominately glass façade which allows maximum light to enter the space. To break-up the mass of glass, Jaspers-Eyers Architects added larson® aluminium cladding from Alucoil.
Formed from two sheets of metal and a composite insulating core, larson® has been creatively utilised to provide sun-protection and to accentuate the walkways which move people through the different levels of the building. On the sunnier sides of the façade, three rows of larson® coffering reduce the entry of sunlight, while still allowing the building’s occupants to feel connected to the natural view outside. All larson® elements are finished in ‘Traffic White’, a light cream colour which reflects diffused sunlight into the building.
The colour matches that of the existing structures on site to create a cohesive campus. This sense of cohesion is further accentuated through the use of corridors which connect The Circle to the other buildings which include The Lab (an R&D and testing centre), The Pulse (additional office building), and The Engine (an expansion of the existing production units).
Throughout The Circle, Jaspers-Eyers Architects have utilised glass, concrete, and steel wherever possible. Major spaces, such as the training and R&D facilities, are constructed from concrete supported by columns. This allowed the architects to eliminate beams and provide space for technical infrastructure such as cabling, lighting, and ventilation systems.
Barco’s new headquarters has given the company a home which reflects its values of transparency and connectivity. By uniting all head office staff under one roof, the company believes the new building will strengthen its growth in its three core markets: enterprise, entertainment, and healthcare.
©Image Jaspers-Eyers Architects
Photography by Klaas Verdru and Philippe van Gelooven