From flexible working schedules to plants or designs to maximize the daylight, workplace well-being has been at the forefront of the architecture of offices in the last decade. Growing scientific interest and countless resulting studies stress the importance of creating workplaces that positively impact team members’ health and comfort.
The math behind these findings is simple: The more wellness-focused work environments are, the healthier and more productive the employees tend to be, which not only contributes to the bottom line but also helps companies to attract and retain the top talent.
Set to open in 2021, Millennium, an office building based on the outskirts of the Swiss town of Lausanne, embodies much of the latest design innovations to maximize workplace well-being for happy and efficient professional lives.
Innovative Design for Workplace Well-being
Masterminded by the Swiss architecture firm Ensemble, Millennium’s ultra-modern and crescent-shaped design resembles the topography of the Lake Geneva lying in front of it. However, given the Millennium’s future-forward nature, one might easily interpret the crescent shape as a metaphor for a new and brave age for workplaces.
Fashioned as a tech incubator center and already considered one of the most innovative smart buildings globally, Millennium has the world’s first adaptable façade. By recognizing the link between ample daylight and workplace wellbeing, Millennium’s façade taps into a glass technology that acts like a pair of adjustable sunglasses for the building.
The technology was specially developed for Millennium, with help from its own team. Thanks to the smooth, gradual in-pane tint transitions on the façade from entirely clear to fully tinted, office workers enjoy sweeping views of the Swiss countryside, always with the perfect light that suits them.
Amenities to Work and Live Well
The twelve-story work complex is comprised of 15,000 m2 of administrative areas, with a further 3,000 m2 allocated to services such as auditoriums and conference rooms for up to 500 people, car park with 500 spaces accessible from the motorway, as well as a dining area with more than 500 seats.
As the tech companies in it are designing our future, Millennium offers a five-star hotel’s amenities for professional excellence. These include administrative services such as concierge, mail and shipping, event and travel management, and daycare for children.
However, leisure, relaxation, and enjoyment are the central pillars of work-life at Millennium. Executives can catch a yoga or a dance class at the gym, get pampered with a massage or a beauty treatment, relax with a book in the reading room, or go to the hairdresser for a new haircut.
High-Tech Integration for Maximum Workplace Well-being
Creators of Millennium responded to the complex needs of a multi-function work environment with full technology integration using a centralized app for everything in the smart building.
We have implemented a unique way to communicate with building occupants, which takes the human experience to an entirely new level.
Stéphane Galley, Project Manager at Millennium
“When you enter the building, the security gates recognize your identity automatically and send the information to the smart elevators through recognition software. An elevator is waiting for you and takes you directly to your floor,” says Stéphane Galley, Project Manager at Millennium.
Even though the interference with the building’s security and access systems is minimal, the hassle-free security these systems provide is maximum.
As the concept of the first building will have a granted success, a second Millennium already in the pipeline to disrupt the future of work.
