Horizon Finance Hub Open Office

Horizon Finance Hub Open Office

Horizon Finance Hub Open Office is an award-winning interior space design project that represents a sophisticated synthesis of Turkish-Islamic cultural heritage with contemporary workplace architecture, spanning 5,500 square meters and accommodating 450 employees within the Cargo Building at Istanbul Atatürk Airport. Designed by Ece Gulagac and Ozkan Gulagac of OGE Architects and completed between January and July 2024, this open office environment for Turkish Airlines Accounting and Financial Control Offices exemplifies a data-informed approach to workspace design that prioritizes collaboration, efficiency, and cultural identity integration. The design draws profound inspiration from regions including Khorasan, Hejaz, the Balkans, and Andalusia, incorporating architectural elements, local motifs, and color palettes characteristic of Turkish-Islamic civilizations to create a workspace that fosters employee belonging and strengthens team spirit while maintaining functional excellence. The spatial organization addresses significant architectural challenges, particularly the initial ceiling height limitation of 2.40 meters, which was overcome by removing the closed ceiling system and relocating mechanical infrastructure to the service floor above, thereby maximizing vertical space and creating a more expansive atmospheric quality. The design employs parametric design tools to optimize workflow efficiency and employee well-being, implementing an open-plan layout that facilitates natural interaction while maintaining structured zones for focused work activities. Material selection demonstrates a careful balance between traditional craftsmanship and modern performance requirements, incorporating CNC-milled panels featuring Turkish-Islamic patterns, digitally printed glass partitions, high-performance acoustic panels, ergonomic furniture systems, and adaptive lighting solutions that enhance both comfort and productivity. The integration of cultural motifs serves dual purposes: reinforcing corporate identity while creating visual interest and spatial definition within the expansive open office environment. Strategic placement of service areas and meeting rooms functions as spatial dividers, segmenting the large open office to improve proportion, functionality, and user comfort without compromising the collaborative nature of the workspace. Sustainability considerations inform multiple design decisions, including the implementation of energy-efficient HVAC systems, recycled materials, biophilic design elements, and smart technology solutions such as IoT-enabled meeting rooms, sensor-driven lighting, and noise-control systems that enhance adaptability and environmental consciousness. The production methodology employed a modular and prefabricated approach, facilitating quick installation and minimal site disruption while maintaining cost-effectiveness and flexibility for future adaptations. Research underpinning the design involved both qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including user interviews, observational studies, workplace efficiency analysis, surveys, and focus groups with all 450 employees and managers, whose input directly influenced spatial organization and functionality decisions. The workspace design encourages dynamic workflow patterns by incorporating flexible meeting spaces, shared workstations, and informal gathering areas that support diverse work styles and collaboration patterns. Graphics and cultural motifs are strategically deployed throughout the space to strengthen corporate identity and help employees develop a sense of connection to their environment, addressing psychological and emotional dimensions of workplace experience. The project demonstrates how contemporary office design can successfully integrate cultural heritage with modern workplace dynamics, creating environments that are simultaneously functional, culturally meaningful, and technologically advanced. Horizon Finance Hub Open Office received the Bronze A' Design Award in the Interior Space, Retail and Exhibition Design category in 2025, recognizing its outstanding creativity, practicality, and innovative use of materials and technology. The Bronze A' Design Award designation acknowledges designs that are distinguished by creativity, ingenuity, and astuteness, representing skillful and strikingly creative artifacts that authenticate the vast experience, imagination, and resourcefulness of their designers. This recognition highlights how the project successfully blends form and function, offering solutions that enhance employee well-being and workplace efficiency while respecting and celebrating cultural heritage. The design serves as a model for future workplace environments that seek to balance cultural identity with innovation, demonstrating that corporate spaces can be simultaneously efficient, engaging, and culturally resonant. The A' Design Award, organized annually since 2008 across over one hundred categories, represents one of the world's most prestigious design competitions, featuring a rigorous evaluation process conducted by an experienced grand jury panel that assesses entries through blind peer-review to ensure impartial and meritocratic recognition of design excellence.

Open office design, cultural heritage integration, Turkish-Islamic architectural motifs, collaborative workspace solutions, sustainable interior design, parametric spatial planning

— Adam Dawson