For Sweco's new office in the Wonderwoods building in the heart of Utrecht, Hal2 designed and realised a 1,300 m² workplace that brings together identity, circularity and spatial clarity. The result is a working environment that supports the way people actually work, moving between focus, collaboration and informal exchange, while making sustainability visible and tangible at every turn.
The Wonderwoods building is known for its striking green facade. Rather than mirroring this character directly, the interior was developed with its own logic: a calm, considered materiality that carries the same values. The layout responds to the building's generous views of surrounding greenery, with sightlines deliberately preserved to bring in light and a sense of openness.
At the heart of both floors sits a blue-grey multi-functional cabinet wall, a recurring element that anchors the plan, organises storage and display, and creates a natural place for people to meet. It connects the two levels and gives the interior a strong, consistent identity. This element also links the Utrecht office to other Sweco locations designed by Hal2, creating recognisable continuity across the organisation.
The entrance landing on the second floor sets the tone immediately. Custom display pedestals present scale models of Sweco's engineering and architecture projects under glass, a deliberate curatorial choice that turns the arrival moment into an introduction to what the organisation actually does. It is identity made spatial, without a single word of text.
Circulation and routing are treated as active design tools. Sightlines, material transitions and spatial variation guide people through the building intuitively. Meeting zones and focus areas flow naturally into one another, supported by materials and colours that signal function without signage.
Furniture details carry the same considered quality. The ribbed cylindrical table bases in the social zone are a case in point: a tactile, sculptural form that softens the open floor and gives the Fika area a distinct spatial character. Paired with solid oak tabletops and a bar counter clad in recycled plastic panels, the zone becomes both a design statement and a demonstration of circular material choices made visible in daily use.
Sustainability is present throughout, not as a claim, but as a series of concrete decisions. Workstations are fitted with circular and biobased materials. Carpet tiles by Tarkett are specified for durability and material recovery. The recycled plastic bar counter is fully demountable, designed explicitly for a second life. Custom joinery is built without adhesive connections, allowing full material separation at end of use.
The office is not a copy of other Sweco locations. Custom joinery, carefully chosen colours and subtle references to the organisation's engineering identity create a sense of place that is specific to Utrecht, while leaving room for the space to grow and change with the people who use it.
