Just Another Day At The Office

The site chosen for the Walt Disney company office and headquarters in Argentina is located 40 kilometers northwest of the city of Buenos Aires. Edged on the south by the Pan-American Highway and surrounded by residential developments and a very established green environment, the architectural and landscape project benefits from an open area, unusually large for office use and the bonus of several existing, old trees.

- Jimena Martignoni

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Clara Billoch, the landscape designer on the project, took advantage of this situation to create a woodland garden and a series of winding paths that develop around the only building. For her, the idea of a garden is that of “a place which makes people want to come out and walk and of a land that produces food.” With this in mind she proposed a simple but straightforward layout with a park-like area wrapping three sides of the building and an orchard with fruit trees and edibles for local food production, located adjacent to the linear parking area at the opposite side of the park. At the same time, a number of requirements helped to model the project, some of them essential for these kinds of passive spaces and some specifically set by the architects and developers for the site. Among the general requirements for office buildings was the creation of peaceful outdoor areas which help worker morale, with trees for shade and flowers for colour and common spaces where employees can chat with colleagues or have a break to spend some free time on their own. The positive impact of views on employee wellbeing was the main reason to create extensive areas of flower beds on the rooftops. The presence of large areas planted with flowers was one of the specific requirements. Directors and senior executives have their offices at the top floor, opening onto wide open areas where six large concrete planters, three at each side of the building’s roof were built. Altogether the planters cover an area of 1,100 square meters, most of which is open to the entire staff.