A building designed with a brand-new approach
The Törökbálint HQ of Telenor was designed by ZDA – Zoboki Design and Architecture known as the architects behind the Palace of Arts in Budapest. Before selecting the site and developing the office concept, Telenor consulted its employees. This is how the idea of “one company, one building” emerged to promote employee collaboration. Telenor announced a tender for designing the new HQ. Briefed about the core concept, tender-winning ZDA enjoyed maximum freedom in designing the new building. The winning design was based on a fundamentally new office concept encouraging the interactivity and creativity of its occupants – providing a huge per capita floor space and several solutions unprecedented in Hungary.
Pioneer in the office market
Interior spaces were designed to enhance the quality of work and build the community through their transparency and flexibility. The design phase took two years, while the construction project using special green solutions took two and a half years. Key design considerations included environmental quality which resulted in a modern building organically embedded in the landscape.
“I dare to say that we redefined the concept of workplace ten years ago – not only for Telenor, but also for Hungary as whole. With its high-profile interior spaces, flexible units supporting both individual and teamwork, the Telenor House has been and still is a unique building in the local office market. From a design aspect, we were given a free hand and we still rely on the experience accumulated during the project in the office market. The building was so future-proof that we changed virtually nothing on it over the past decade. If we could do it all again, we wouldn’t do anything differently today”, said Gábor Zoboki.
The concept is still up-to-date which is proven by the fact that in their feedback given to the company many Telenor employees still praise the building’s special atmosphere enhancing workplace quality and providing a great community space. In internal eNPS surveys evaluating employees’ willingness to recommend Telenor as an employer, the working environment has proven to be a key factor. When recommending Telenor to their friends and acquaintances, 48% of employees mentioned the workplace environment first. Other important considerations include the special atmosphere of the site, large green areas, sports facilities and outdoor terraces.
“We work in a dynamically changing industry that presents exciting challenges on a daily basis. We consider it very important for our employees to spend their working hours in an inspiring space at the Telenor House. In addition to state-of-the-art offices and community spaces, the gym with large windows overlooking a green area and outdoor sports grounds are also popular with our colleagues, as well as our cafe and the barbecue terrace. Being a family-friendly workplace, we are proud that the building is also used by colleagues’ children, especially during school holidays when we even hold a summer camp at the site. And last but not least, two years ago we were among the first large enterprises that became a dog-friendly workplace. Now any Telenor employee can bring their dogs with them to the office every Friday”, said Judit Endrei-Kiss, Chief HR Officer of Telenor Hungary.
One of the largest environmentally conscious investment projects in Central Europe
Upon its inauguration, the Telenor House was one of the largest environmentally conscious development projects in Central Europe, and it is still one of the most state-of-the-art and environmentally friendly corporate headquarters in Hungary.
Constructed 10 years ago with sustainability in mind, the building occupies only 7.55% of the 8-hectare plot owned by Telenor. The HQ is deliberately not separated from its environment with a fence that makes it organically embedded in its green surroundings lying right next to a Natura 2000 special nature conservation area. The complex has highly environmentally friendly building control solutions including a geothermal heating and cooling system which is still one of Hungary’s largest such systems using renewable energy. 60% of the hot water consumed in the office building is supplied by a solar water heating system with a total surface of 168 square meters. Thanks to its energy efficient design, the building can save the CO2 emission and power consumption of 500 households per year. Between 2017 and 2018, Telenor reduced its annual paper waste and electronic waste volumes by 33.3% and over 68%, respectively.
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Telenor House celebrates 10-year anniversary! Here is how employees see it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6e8vpO2HgU&feature=youtu.be
A photo gallery of Telenor House: https://www.facebook.com/pg/telenorhungary/photos/?tab=album&album_id=10157245340261125