The Financial Park

A living, breathing bank for the future

Norwegian financial institution SR Bank wanted its new headquarters to give something back to their customers and the region.

Together with Oslo architects SAAHA, we entered and won the competition, designing a contemporary typology for a bank with an all-wooden construction.

Location Stavanger, Norway

Client SR Bank

Status Completed (2019)

Typology Office

Area 22 500 m2

The premise was that future workplaces made from natural materials, offer not only a healthy and inspiring environment but also substantially contribute to reduce the carbon emissions of the building process. Together with the Swiss engineering team Création Holz we wanted to create a visible and innovative timber-construction that inspires a unique spatial experience.

Occupying the entire triangular lot, it is one of the largest wooden buildings in Europe. The form and massing of the volume however ensures that the building fits in scale with the surrounding urban context. The roof slants towards the small neighbouring wooden houses, so as not to overshadow them, opening a dialogue between the old and the new. The glass facade is contrasted by the warm, organically shaped wooden interior.

The architectural and social heart of the Financial Park building is the atrium. The main circulation stems from and flows through this central space, with the sculptural and structural timber staircase ascending upwards, carrying people from the entrance hall up to the seven floors above. The internal spaces and structural skeleton of the building are visible through the glass façade, welcoming people in from the street. The laminated beech girders and the timber joinery details are left exposed and expressed. The narrative of how the building is made is clearly readable and celebrated.