HQ Volksbank

Award-winning track record with renowned international architecture prices, this extraordinary and innovative space concept at the new HQ of the Volksbank South Tyrol has also earned the affection and recognition of its employees and its customers. This is because the transparent and open ‘space4dialogue’ concept facilitates more communication and dialogue at all levels. To implement this futuristic design of interior space, the architects from INNOCAD and bergundtal employed innovative materials and products, such as the ceiling and lighting solutions provided by durlum.

The Volksbank South Tyrol provides its employees and customers with great ‘encounter spaces’ in the extensive and freely accessible entrance area in its zig-zag-shaped complex of buildings. Highlighted by the apparently seamless LOOP^® metal ceiling, various different areas such as the cafeteria, the ‘Infothek’ and Volksbank branch office all invite people to take their time and to stay a while. The low-key powder grey-white of the metal ceiling, suggestive of three-dimensional space, blends harmoniously with the space and colour concept of the new HQ. Adapted once on-site to the organic ceiling sections, the LOOP^® suspended module panels possessed the required flexibility and create an optical unity between metal and plasterboard ceilings. For optimum acoustics, there is the powder-coated matt-black and perforated backing of the LOOP^® ceiling. Sound is absorbed, enhancing communication between employees and customers, and enabling the different areas each to function as an acoustically private zone.

These restrained colours and the lighting concept help to create a sense of well-being in these rooms. Integrated in the round openings in the metal ceiling, the modern PUNTEO^®-J85 LED downlight complements this perfectly, delivering a brilliant quality of light with its soft transitional lighting. Installed flexibly and with a perfect fit in these openings, the broad-spectrum spot lighting illuminates individual areas uniformly and set highlights without any visual interruption to the smooth appearance of the ceiling. Attention was paid to ensuring that the light alternates between cold and hot, and in this way simulating the natural progression of daylight. Versatile in terms of both versions and applications, the total of 420 PUNTEO^®-J85 LED downlights also deliver perfect lighting conditions when integrated in a plasterboard ceiling.