Continuing developments in the office environment has resulted in a sort of cultural rift between the container and its contents.Whereas the interiors – mainly due to the widescale availability of new computer technology – have changed their layout and range of functions quite radically, the architectural shell does not seem to have found the most fitting materials or design idiom yet. Sometimes it is tempting to overdo it, almost always resulting in mediocre results. It is better, as in the case of L’Oréal headquarters, to focus on innovation, concentrating on the main features of the interiors and tending, in contrast, towards rather neutral architecture.
The company’s multi-firm set-up posed the problem of the clash between collective and individual identity, this called for a layout privileging the corporate brand without detracting
from the various separate company identities, so it was decided to create spaces to be shared alongside special dedicated spaces for definite activities.
Problems associated with the excessively piecemeal nature of work had to be solved. The solution was to provide areas serving maximum communication purposes without penalising those requiring greater privacy. In this respect, the colour scheme of the various brands and spatial continuity right through the overall environment played a key role, obtained by introducing wide glass surfaces.