The historic floods that struck the state of Rio Grande do Sul in 2024 completely submerged the two pavilions that housed the headquarters of Ste, making it impossible for the company to return to its former offices. Once the water levels receded, estúdio254 was invited to design the company’s new corporate workspace. More than simply rebuilding workspaces, the challenge was to transform a moment of loss into an opportunity to restore employees’ sense of confidence, belonging and collective identity.
The proposal reinterprets the two existing pavilions, transforming them into work environments capable of reflecting the company’s culture and daily dynamics. The design process began with interviews with the organization’s leadership in order to understand work routines, operational needs and institutional values. From this dialogue, the project strategy was defined, combining flexibility, collaboration and well-being in the workplace.
A key design decision was the specialization of the two buildings. The south pavilion now houses the administrative and back-office departments, while the north pavilion accommodates the technical sector, where engineers and other professionals develop the company’s projects.
In the south pavilion, the layout organizes workstations around a large central open workspace that encourages collaboration among teams. Meeting rooms and specialized spaces for departments requiring greater privacy – such as human resources, finance and customer service – are positioned along the perimeter. To allow future spatial adjustments, a raised access floor system was adopted, facilitating access to technical infrastructure and enabling long-term flexibility. The staff break area was conceived as an informal gathering space, recognizing the importance of moments of pause within the work routine.
In the north pavilion, building systems are distributed through the ceiling, guiding the organization of the layout. Workstations are concentrated in the central area and arranged in fixed clusters that group professionals according to their fields of activity. A continuous circulation path surrounds this central workspace, connecting technical meeting rooms dedicated to tasks that require a higher level of concentration. Between these rooms, open areas featuring colors associated with the company’s identity function as breakout spaces for informal conversations and quick meetings.
Lighting design, material choice and the presence of natural elements contribute to a balanced work environment. The simplicity of the materials and the collaborative organization of the layout reinforce the relationship between well-being, efficiency and organizational culture, demonstrating how architecture can act as a tool for reconstruction and transformation.
Design:
Lead Architect: Samantha Diefenbach
Photography: Leonardo Krug
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