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Mallol Arquitectos designed the offices for Liberty Latin America in Panama City, Panama.

Liberty Latin America landed in the city of Panamá in 2019 with the vision of becoming one of the leading telecommunication businesses of the region. They established their headquarters in Costa del Este, one of the liveliest and most modern sectors in the capital. The lot itself spans beyond 3000 square meters, a space that meets the requirements necessary to develop the project and to house 300 new collaborators.

Since the earliest days of the project, we envisioned the design as one that revolved around the collaborative experience of man, one that favored the inter-professional relationships of the already existing members of the team and the newest members of the company. A design that favors humanist principals, one based in the creation of spaces and paths that encourage casual encounters. Encounters which generate a positive experience and that foster an environment of transparency and warmth. With this in minds, it’s no coincidence that the floor plan itself shows the cafeteria as the center of the main circulation system, this generates a productive informality where each collaborator can perform their job in a space that is more welcoming and more engaging.

These are the moments which create an inherent unity within a growing organization. These shared encounters make up better, they allows us to learn from one another by creating a collective experience between teams that in turn gives the space its own identity.

As we’ve previously mentioned, the wellbeing of the collaborators is crucial. This focus guides the key design aspects of the office and allows us to generate spaces that are both functional and productive. An early sunlight analysis study allowed us to determine which façade system would be the most beneficial to the largest number of collaborators, one that would offer the most sunlight to the most amount of people. In order to avoid monotony in the design and in the experience of the every day work life, we incorporated a varied combination of work styles. The interior is connected to the marvelous outdoor world through an incorporation of plants and flowers native to the rain forest region.

In terms of materiality, we believed it was important to consider vivid colors in a subtle manner in order to create a lively, yet calming environment. Behind the unassuming, semi-opaque ceiling mesh lies an intricate and fun system of bright orange colored ducts. Open spaces that offer multiple uses tend to be quite loud, in order to reduce the acoustic clamor that might ensure, we implemented a series of absorbent and reflective materials that mitigate the noise. Central working hubs are segregated from the main circulation system with a system of curved glass panels and terrazzo-style granite finish. The space has a combination of cooled toned floors, dark wood lamination, semi-opaque white ceilings with orange ducts all come together to form a space that’s fresh, illuminated and original; the perfect stage for the day to day life in Liberty Latin America.

Lastly, we would like to reiterate that we are very grateful to have been a part of every single aspect of the project, from the larger designs to the smallest detail. We were able to even select the decorative elements that went on the various shelves and tables around the office. We also had the chance to design the signage and the branding of the business within the spaces themselves. We are incredibly pleased with the project and how the design is able to convey a complete, harmonized, and humanist space that welcomes everyone for years to come.

Design: Mallol Arquitectos
Design Team: Joaquín Salvador, Luis Miguel Puleio, Melissa Couto, Daniela Mayorga
Photography: Fernando Alda