NavInfo, Beijing

NavInfo is China’s leading provider of digital map, telematics and dynamic traffic information services and the big data vertical application service based on positions.
After seeing the interior design that VAN AKEN designed for Navinfo’s Mapscape in Eindhoven, Navinfo’s CEO was very enthusiastic and VAN AKEN was commissioned to design the interior of the headquarters in Beijing. Thirteen floors of offices (2,300 workplaces), facilities, restaurant, fitness room, experience center etc., a total of 30.000 m2, was realized.

The planet is a starting point for the design concept. The world map is divided into 13 zones that correspond to the 13 floors of the office tower. These 13 zones all have a different kind of landscape, for example the coast, a tundra, the desert or an urban structure. Colors, materials, shapes and details that appear in the landscapes have been used to design each floor. This allows you to relate directly to the place on earth where you work in the building and work in that atmosphere.

The design of the lobby is mainly based on the navigation, the compass. This is reflected in the large wooden compass incorporated in the ceiling. There is also a business restaurant with 650 seats in the building block, shaped around a large patio. This was a great opportunity to design the restaurant as if you were eating in a park.