Genoa – Via XII Ottobre, 1

Interior design: Vemworks – Emanuele Corte, Vittoria Fiorito, Marco Dellatorre. Construction Management and bespoke production by EXTRAVEGA.

The Genoa branch of Axpo Italia extends over the last four floors of the building where the department store La Rinascente once stood. A building dating back to the seventies, located in an area that has undergone a slow decline with the closure of the shopping destination, but that – thanks to this accurate renovation, is now experiencing a new and vibrant renaissance. The headquarters designed by the Vemworks team and tailor made by EXTRAVEGA evokes, in some of its elements, the history of the Ligurian capital and its essential link with the naval universe, translated and reimagined in industrial detail: from the exposed systems to the circular lamps placed on the terrace, a clear reference to the lights of hatches on the ferry decks. Wrapped in a fil rouge that unfolds in the details of the furnishings inspired by the AXPO logo and its innovative philosophy on renewable energy.

The 7th floor is dedicated to the Administrative, Human Resources and Legal Divisions, and it is the only floor not designed as an open space. It consists in a reception, meetings halls, open workstations, single-private offices, soundproofed “back-to-back” boxes for telephone calls, kitchen, break area and press area.

The Commercial Division opens on the 8th floor – customer care, customer center, IT – characterized by meeting rooms, open spaces with workstations, private offices, “back-back” boxes, kitchen and break area, press area, IT office and the“ star center ”or the server main room.

On the 9th floor there is the trading division (Sales and Executives Department) with an area dedicated to executives with private meeting room and trading room with 124 monitors. All the monitors of the trading room, meeting and executive rooms, as well as all glass walls, were provided by TIS the workplace revolution, a company of the EXTRAVEGA group. An internal staircase connects the floor to the 10^th level at which the event space opens. As in the 7th and 8th floors, “back-back” boxes, kitchen and break area. The main feature is the play areas equipped with table foosball and personalized ping-pong table. The lighting on this floor is more subdued, to ensure greater working quality for those who have to spend a lot of time in front of monitors.

The 10th floor is dedicated to Management, with two offices for the Chief Executive Officer and the President, in addition to the boardroom designed with a movable / compact wall to create a versatile and multifunctional space. As needed, the 10th floor can be transformed into a space for corporate events and parties, equipped with kitchen and wine cellar. The terrace is conceived as an extension of the interior, designed in collaboration with a garden design studio. “The tenth floor was a real design challenge – says the architect Corte – as it was originally a windowless volume, approximately 2.05 meters high, with lowered gable ceiling. Inside we have distributed the private offices and the meeting room with a movable wall and a 26-seat table that can be divided into three parts.” Connected to the 9th floor by an internal staircase whose morphology represents the creative imprint of Corte, a large metal cage that creates an unexpected visual effect.