Project Overview
Global luxury group, Kering, wanted to create a showcase space to position themselves at the forefront of e-commerce. Situated in a historic listed building, we transformed their six floors to seamlessly align their digital and IT teams in the same space, enabling them to collaborate and strengthen relationships. The result? A modern, progressive workspace that raised its profile, inspired colleagues, clients and visitors, as well as creating a vision of bringing a chic Silicon Valley to Paris.
Unispace partnered with Kering from the initial strategy through to construction to transform their six floors in just four months.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Laurent Soulat - Principal, Client Development
Agnex Piteux - Designer
Dana Serrano Phung - Principal, Delivery
Project Brief
Despite having so many luxury brands in their portfolio, such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, Kering didn’t want any connotation of these names, making sure the workplace reflected Kering as a parent group. As a juxtaposition to their luxury brands, we created a disruptive design that reflected Kering’s position at the forefront of e-commerce. Raw, urban materials such as concrete, wood and metal gave an understated yet timeless feel in a modern, sophisticated aesthetic. The design still respected the 19th Century listed building, and we meticulously protected the historical elements by installing more than 12,000 sqm of floor protection.
Project Innovation/Need
Spaces for productivity
We implemented a variety of areas for teams to choose from based on their working preference, ultimately boosting employee satisfaction and increasing productivity. These three types of zones catered for flexibility in the post-Covid workplace: ‘me spaces’, ‘we spaces’ and ‘social spaces’.
We positioned ‘me spaces’, such as phone booths, alcoves and workstations, in quieter corners of the floorplan to allow for independent focus work with minimal disruption. The larger ‘we spaces’ were designed with flexible furniture for problem-solving, formal meetings and team collaboration. Kering wanted to ensure at least 30% of the floorplan was shared to strengthen team relationships and closely align their digital and innovation teams, so these project areas were nestled into open neighbourhoods throughout the floorplan, to feel inviting and inclusive.
Spaces to connect
Social spaces encouraged teams to meet with colleagues, chat take a break and feel a belonging to the company. The large cafeteria allows groups to gather on long tables or smaller tables for intimate conversations. These smaller tables had innovative raised platform seating and padded felt cushions with a table tucked into a well in the floor.
The space also needed to house events so we built the Agora, a large auditorium with flexible furniture that could be used for town hall meetings, team presentations, collaborative sessions, fitness classes as well as hosting events. Accordion bleachers can be extended for five tiers of extra seating or pushed against the wall for extra space.
Design Challenge
Bringing Silicon Valley to Paris
Kering wanted a disruptive design that still respected the history of the building, so as a juxtaposition to their luxury brands, we used raw, urban materials such as concrete, wood, and metal to feel understated yet timeless in a modern, sophisticated aesthetic. We included recycled cardboard made from egg cartons in the phone booths for acoustic padding, plus booth seating, cushions and pouffes that were made from recycled felt.
We commissioned local artists to paint art expressions on the walls and added fun elements such as flea market lamps and a unique meeting table, surrounded by 12 swings instead of chairs, to boost employee happiness.
Protecting a historic building
The building Kering chose is steeped in history, located in the heart of Paris, and built at the end of the 19th Century by Jacques-Paul Lequeux. Some parts of the building are listed and protected by architects of Buildings of France so our team meticulously protected these elements, such as the terrazzo, stained glass windows and the chapel, during the works. In addition to this, the team on site installed more than 12,000 sqm of floor protection to ensure we respected the history of the building.
We paid particular attention to acoustics and well-being, and successfully achieved Gold-LEED certification, and the building itself is BREEAM-accredited as Very Good. Unispace ensured we were on track for accreditation with recycled materials used in our design that have good absorption and also have a sound ecological approach.
Sustainability
As a world-class luxury group, Kering promotes modern and sustainable luxury with its major brands such as Gucci, Saint Laurent and Balenciaga, and has committed to the Fashion Pact following last year’s G7 Summit to preserve our planet.
Kering’s own company sustainability mission revolves around Care, Collaborate and Create. These are the three pillars that shape Kering’s 2025 Sustainability Strategy to embody and drive their ambition of crafting tomorrow’s luxury.
So it was only natural that they wanted their Paris headquarters to reflect the same values. Kering wanted a start-up garage design as a juxtaposition against their luxury brands, so we used recycled cardboard in the phone booth wall panels for acoustic padding, which was previously used as egg cartons. Booth seating, cushions and pouffes were made from recycled felt,
As a result, the workplace is now Gold LEED standard and the building itself is BREEAM-accredited. The Unispace team ensured we were on track for accreditation with recycled materials used in our design and ensuring all on-site waste was sustainably recycled.
Interior Design - Corporate & Commercial
This award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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