St. Catherine’s British Upper School
eDje is lead Interior Architects in the conversion and refurbishment of a disused 12,000m2 factory in the northern suburbs of Athens. The conversion is for a new Upper School for St. Catherines British school, selected as a Showcase School by Microsoft, which is a program set up by Microsoft in collaboration with upper schools to transform education and integrate technology into their classrooms, the building and lessons. The interiors of the project reflect the forward vision of the school, and have been designed to create a comfortable and inspiring space for learning, incorporating key features to enhance new ways of learning whilst integrating technology into their lessons. The project is due to be completed in May 2020 and has been accomplished with the support and guidance of Microsoft and in collaboration with external IT and media consultants.
Pfizer Digital Hub Thessaloniki
Pfizer’s Global Digital Hub in Thessaloniki was the first undertaken by Pfizer as part of the company’s continuing effort to maximise digital technology for the development of medicine. The Hub is home to a highly technical team who conduct work in the fields of artificial intelligence and big data/analytics, and require spaces for demonstration/innovation. Thessaloniki is a city with historical and architectural importance in Greece, which is reflected in its culture, colours and materials. The choice to house the new Digital Hub in Thessaloniki was of great significance to Pfizer, and incorporating the local culture was embraced enthusiastically by the client. Wellness was a key design element brought in through the space layouts and colours, the introduction of windows and skylights for natural lighting as well as additional ventilation to enhance indoor air quality. All key design elements in creating a comfortable environment for its users. Preference was taken on sustainable materials, carefully selected to tie in and enhance the interiors. A fully inclusive agile environment was designed for the Digital Hub incorporating new ways of working for Pfizer, supported by a highly technical acoustic strategy, creating open plan agile spaces that offer privacy when required. Internally the space was laid out to form neighbourhoods of fixed workstations accompanied by touchdown and break out areas carefully positioned adjacent to desk. Two large agile areas were designed with sliding partitions of writeable surfaces, sustainable cork pinboards and acoustic felt panels for teams to work. A town hall with a capacity of 260 people was designed at the entrance of the main building, leading to one of two working cafes. Fixed meeting rooms and free standing booths were designed too for meetings. The campus is shared with the Global Business team who are housed in two of the smaller buildings on the site, a total area of 1500m2 and who work in open plan spaces incorporating workstations, break out spaces and collaboration zones. The project is complemented with the nearly completed Wellness centre and training rooms, due to be occupied in May 2021.