KPMG’s head office in Lisbon has just been given a new floor, following an extension project carried out by Vector Mais and designed by the Openbook atelier, which has resulted in an engaging and inspiring workspace for 160 employees, with the great novelty of the Kalm Garden, a refuge that invites you to slow down from the hectic pace of everyday life.
Horto do Campo Grande developed a proposal aligned with the interior architecture project, signed by Openbook, which focuses on well-being, efficiency and sustainability, and which included a careful selection of plants and materials that meet the design and functionality specifications that the project required.
“It was the detailed briefing and the environment idealised by Openbook that guided our choice of plants and solutions for this project; for the multiple functions they would take on in the different environments: decorative, delimitation of areas, acoustic barrier, purifying, etc, and which on the other hand best adapted to the lighting conditions of the site and the maintenance needs”, says Vera Clara, landscape architect and head of the Green Spaces Construction Department at Horto do Campo Grande.
Among the species supplied and planted by Horto do Campo Grande, Chamaedorea elegans and Dieffenbachia seguine stand out in open spaces for the harmonious and balanced result they give to the places where they are planted. In areas with a higher concentration of people, Philodendron Imperial Green and Spathiphyllum were chosen for their air-purifying properties. The plants – Ficus lyrata, Monstera deliciosa, Strelitzia nicolai and Howea fosteriana – were placed in pots to create natural accents in strategic areas of the office. The vases were made from ficonstone, a durable material with a luxurious finish reminiscent of coral and projecting the enchantment of the ocean. This finish is achieved through a special technique where the colours are sprayed by hand in multiple layers, resulting in truly unique pieces. All the vases received an interior insulation treatment, carried out in the Horto do Campo Grande workshops, a technique used in the Horto Collection flower boxes, which not only guarantees watertightness but also prolongs their durability.
In the Kalm Garden, the aim of which was to create an ‘oasis of serenity’, Dypsis lutescens, Nephrolepis exaltata and Plebodium aureum blue star were selected to contribute, along with the other materials chosen, to achieve a calm and organic environment. ‘A proposal based on the concept of biophilic design, through which architects and interior designers incorporate elements of nature into built environments, transforming them into inspiring and invigorating places that promote physical and emotional well-being’, explains the engineer and interior designer Vera Quintas, coordinator of the project.
As neuroscience shows, proximity to nature has a positive effect on human physical and mental health. The inclusion of natural plants and other elements of nature in the decoration of spaces is not only beneficial from an aesthetic point of view, but also for the benefits of purifying the air and promoting calm and concentration.
Various studies have shown that all human beings need to connect with nature because of the positive effects it has on their daily lives and, for this reason, the introduction of plants into our homes and corporate environments, where we spend a large part of our time, in addition to the natural beauty they provide, purifies the air and promotes calm and concentration. “A concept that materialised perfectly in the Kalm Garden, which aims to inspire through its visual aesthetics, but also to induce a sense of calm, happiness and security, stimulating job satisfaction and employee productivity”, concludes the architect Vera Clara.
Horto do Campo Grande was also responsible for creating an impressive vertical garden made up of natural freeze-dried plants – a conservation process that uses a drying technique that removes moisture from the plants while maintaining their foliage, texture and integrity. “Vertical gardens are a creative and functional solution for making the most of available areas, making environments more “alive” and inviting, and also a way of highlighting a space through difference and innovation. In this project, the aim was to create a natural “spot” with great visual impact that would promote a healthy and pleasant microclimate. As this is a corporate environment, a 100% natural freeze-dried lichen vertical garden was our proposal, as it doesn’t require irrigation, natural light and is undemanding in terms of maintenance”, explains Vera Clara.
“This was a challenging project that fills us with satisfaction and pride. Being chosen for our technical expertise is an acknowledgement of our commitment to quality, not only in the solutions we apply, but also in the service we provide, from support at the start of the project, on the most viable and innovative landscaping solutions, to their implementation and maintenance, always in close coordination and dialogue with the teams, in this case Openbook and Vector Mais. But the real value lies in knowing that we have contributed to transforming the experience of yet another corporate space into a healthier and more beneficial daily experience for KPMG employees, meeting the company’s operational needs and creating a space that is both functional and inspiring.” concludes Vera Clara.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE PLANTS IN THIS PROJECT
© Companhia das Cores for Horto do Campo Grande
