The design of Work Lab Santander arises from the idea of creating an integral space where work unfolds organically while integrating essential human needs such as recreation, social interaction, and relaxation. It is a project where both team dynamics and spatial strategies can be continuously tested and reconfigured, with versatility and coexistence permeating every corner of these offices.
With over 6,000 m² of surface area—including a rooftop—and 4.8 m in height, the new Santander offices allow users to experience the concept of work in multiple ways. Using acoustic criteria and usage mapping based on the activities carried out in each area, Work Lab Santander presents a semi-symmetrical, modulated, and reconfigurable layout that allows collaborators to find an appropriate setting for any type of work.
The library area provides enclosed workspaces for activities that require focus, concentration, or quiet reflection.
One of the project’s most important elements is the auditorium. Externally, it appears as a tall volume with rounded corners and a double-sided wooden marimba finish that reveals different textures depending on the viewpoint. Inside, it hosts presentations and group activities, offering a warm atmosphere through its wooden finishes and acoustic materials. The juxtaposed bleachers and semi-curved screen further promote collaboration and collective exchange.
Facing the auditorium, the decompression area functions as an oasis within the project, surrounded by plants and casual furniture designed to offer collaborators a place to relax, meditate, or disconnect during the workday.
On either side of the auditorium, mirrored independent volumes distribute meeting rooms of varying scales, ranging from individual concentration booths to spaces for up to seven participants in videoconference sessions.
Separated from these central volumes, two large wooden mezzanines with metal grilles in Santander’s distinctive red incorporate additional meeting rooms and recreational areas, allowing leisure activities to coexist without disrupting the rest of the workspace while maximizing the project’s functionality.
The offices also take advantage of the rooftop of the commercial complex where they are located. This 2,000 m² space reclaims and redefines the building’s uppermost level, previously occupied by electrical and air-conditioning equipment, transforming it into a sports and recreation terrace.
At its core lies a soccer field accompanied by two tennis courts, alongside locker rooms equipped with all necessary amenities to ensure a complete and comfortable experience.
Leisure areas extend throughout the rooftop, incorporating outdoor meeting spaces with grills and communal tables that foster interaction and strengthen workplace connections.
Conceived as a sanctuary for sports and recreation, the rooftop stands out for its contemporary design and innovative use of materials. Irving grating—typically found in industrial applications such as bridges and platforms—is reinterpreted here as lightweight shading structures that provide shelter, introduce color, and create a dynamic atmosphere. Their vibrant yellow steelwork becomes both a distinctive visual feature and an energizing gesture.
The industrial character of these structures is balanced by oak wood, gravel, and lush vegetation, creating a natural counterpoint to the urban setting while enhancing environmental quality.
More than an extension of the workplace, the rooftop reinforces the project’s broader vision: to respond to evolving work dynamics and the return to the office after the pandemic by preserving the comfort, flexibility, and sense of balance once associated with working from home.
Together, the interior workspaces and sports terrace position Work Lab Santander as a corporate flagship—a testing ground for new spatial arrangements and collaborative strategies where focused individual work, collective exchange, recreation, and well-being coexist seamlessly.
By integrating contemporary design with adaptable work environments and spaces for physical and social activity, the project establishes a new benchmark for corporate architecture, placing human experience at the center of workplace innovation.
