Booking Holdings Offices – Bucharest
Gensler incorporated a variety of lighting and finishes to complete the Booking Holdings offices in Bucharest, Romania.
Booking Holdings, the world’s leading provider of online travel and related services, appointed Gensler to design its first ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Bucharest, Romania. The space was designed with Booking Holdings’ specialised and highly skilled talent in mind, with the aim of fostering collaboration opportunities across its brands such as Booking.com, Priceline, Agoda, Rentalcars.com, KAYAK and OpenTable.
The office concept designed by Gensler features dedicated areas that are reminiscent of global continents including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia, with the entrance and reception being heavily influenced by Romanian design. The space is conceptualised for occupants and visitors to start in Romania and travel the world as they move through the office. Each area’s distinct regional identity is mirrored in the use of colours, patterns and textures in carpets, tiling, furniture and furnishings, artwork, and planting.
Gensler’s design incorporates 160 workstations, plus a diverse range of spaces including focused work zones, corridors, touchdown and collaboration areas, meeting rooms, and private phone booths for 300+ employees. The corridors are the thread connecting each space, with angles and pockets carved out as destination points to step aside or sit and chat, keeping in mind that travel is never linear, and each journey provides moments of unexpected interest.
Playing on the idea of holiday photographs, frames are used architecturally to separate spaces and articulate portals to walk through. These were incorporated into the workplace as moveable suspended screens, layering different types of glass. In the open collaborative spaces, there are eclectic picture walls, with each employee having an assigned frame to display a photo of their choice. This adds a personal touch to the office and brings employees together in a sociable way, furthering the bond between the brands newly under one roof.
Design: Gensler
Photography: Calin Stan
