The Singaporean bank’s 10-storey training campus designed by MOD features new spatial typologies for learning.
June 5th, 2013
Over the years, OCBC Bank had found its training facilities struggling to keep pace with the innovations made to the organisation’s training curriculum and learning techniques.
And so recently, the bank appointed Ministry of Design (MOD) to design a new and larger learning campus. The brief given to the designers was clear, but challenging: to create spaces that would redefine the classroom, transforming it from a passive teaching space to become an active learning space.
A wall art installation featuring learning-based words near the entrance of the campus
Located in Singapore’s Central Business District, the new 10-storey campus is four times larger than the old facility, and serves as the bank’s regional training hub.
The campus office
MOD began the design process with a study of OCBC Bank’s existing premise and pedagogical processes, as well as interviews with key staff. And from its findings, it set out to create four new spatial typologies of learning labs.
Agora typology learning lab
On level 4, the Agora typology learning labs are inspired by the historic forums of old with their mini amphitheatre-style step seating; these seats face each other to encourage dialogue and exchange for both teacher-led and group-led discussions.
Inside-Outside typology learning lab
Inside-Outside typology learning lab
On levels 5 and 7, Inside-Outside typology learning labs feature intimate niches that appear both inside and outside the main space. These inverted spaces allow for group-led learning scenarios to take place more easily or naturally alongside instructor-led learning.
Inside-Outside typology learning lab
On levels 6 and 8, Pod typology learning labs are fronted by pods which, together with the unique spaces they create, provide a sense of discovery, variety and choice to encourage active learning.
Pod typology learning lab
On level 9, Island typology learning labs are oriented around a central island, allowing for continuous visual interaction through glass view panels, which put the learning experience on display.
Stairs to the mezzanine level
Secondary lounge space
Apart from the learning labs, other key spaces include a double-volume naturally lit lounge (which has a stage for events), an intimately scaled secondary lounge space, a mezzanine level overlooking the double-height void, and a dynamic and flexible event space catered to both large and small events.
Event space
The materials and colours selected draw from and reinforce OCBC Bank’s corporate identity.
Double-volume lounge
Art also features prominently. In the event space, a ceiling trellis radiates to form an abstraction of OCBC Bank’s logo; in the double-height lounge space, a hanging sculpture designed by MOD hovers from above; and at the entrance, greeting visitors is a wall art installation that incorporates gently pulsing words relating to the learning experience.
Ministry of Design
modonline.com
A searchable and comprehensive guide for specifying leading products and their suppliers
Keep up to date with the latest and greatest from our industry BFF's!
The Sub-Zero Wolf showrooms in Sydney and Melbourne provide a creative experience unlike any other. Now showcasing all-new product ranges, the showrooms present a unique perspective on the future of kitchens, homes and lifestyles.
Suitable for applications ranging from schools and retail outlets to computer rooms and X-ray suites, Palettone comes in two varieties and a choice of more than fifty colours.
Savage Design’s approach to understanding the relationship between design concepts and user experience, particularly with metalwork, transcends traditional boundaries, blending timeless craftsmanship with digital innovation to create enduring elegance in objects, furnishings, and door furniture.
Marylou Cafaro’s first trendjournal sparked a powerful, decades-long movement in joinery designs and finishes which eventually saw Australian design develop its independence and characteristic style. Now, polytec offers all-new insights into the future of Australian design.
Indesign celebrates Ken Woolley’s ‘thinking architecture’: Indesign and Space Furniture proudly celebrated the achievements of Ken Woolley on November 18, as the most recently selected Indesign Luminary recipient in the surrounds of the beautiful Space Furniture showroom, Alexandria.
How do you design a campus that encourages students and staff to linger? And how do you foster a sense of connection in a vertical tower block?
Every professional working on a high-rise project has a clearly defined vision of how they are going to utilise their expertise to bring about transformative, commercially successful results. AMP Capital design director Eve Clark is one such professional.
The internet never sleeps! Here's the stuff you might have missed
Salone del Mobile 2024 is only a few weeks away, so we’re highlighting here seven special events, spaces and installations that we’re certainly planning to check out.
We spoke with Jeffrey Wilkes of WILKESDESIGN about the John Portman-designed building, which has been infused with touches of local culture and colour.