Designing
the hub of
energy innovation
Energy Hub
What is the best place for innovation? In 2018, I was thrilled to work on this issue with 12 major industry leaders in the energy and urban development sector. The result – an office community for innovation hub for likeminded companies. I was responsible for developing the concept in close dialogue with the partners involved. My main role was to take care of the creative development across experience and identity.
Read more about the result below.
Innovation across actors
The target group for the Energy Hub are actors who work with energy and urban development. Preferably with a business area that helps Denmark to achieve its climate ambitions.
By creating a framework for PhD students, satellite units from large companies and entrepreneurs, many different perspectives are put into play. An exciting challenge in designing an office community for innovation, however, has been that the different actors have different ways of measuring value and development.
Many different actors are crossing paths in the Energy Hub
Moodboard for the experience of working and creating in Energy Hub
A place of energy
One dogma for the design and layout of the Energy Hub was: energy, community and mobility. Energy Hub was designed to create natural meeting places for small talk. All furniture is designed so that they can be moved around according to whether you hold a workshop, private meeting or large conference. To create the feeling of an energetic rental space, we have used recycled materials from renovation projects around the district to prepare furniture and interiors. It also draws the narrative of the city into meeting rooms and showrooms.
Energy hub + X
The identity for Energy Hub has been developed after highlighting the partnership EnergyLab Nordhavn. Logo and identity are therefore made to support the existing brand as well as supplement with a new dimension.
Identity and Brand guide for Energy Hun
Designguide ensured visuel appealing content from many different perspective
Design guide that combines different partner identities
In the showroom, which is centrally located in the Energy Hub, all partners have been involved in creating important content – elevating technical lingo to reach a broader audience. To ensure a visual common thread across actors, I developed an open design guide with clear rules for format. The design guide focused in several directions depending on whether you were a knowledge institution, business focused or focused on target groups. All actors worked with the design guide, which ensured an overall narrative.
Purpose
In 2017, 12 major Danish energy leaders in the industry gathered in a partnership called EnergyLab Nordhavn. The purpose was to design and develop solutions for energi consumption and production. A showroom for presenting solutions had to be created. A task I as Design Manager in Urban Help was responsible for. Instead of a traditional showroom, we focused on creating a framework for innovation across actors involved in the project. The result was a showroom in the heart of an office community focused on housing companies working with smart city, energy solutions and urban development.
Proces
It took 3 months from the first workshop with project partners to the opening of the Energy Hub. During the project, there has been a focus on various processes on an ongoing basis. Many different actors in the project have been involved along the way. Interior architects, project managers, communications managers and professionals. The parts of the project I was involved in are outlined below:
Design Management
To ensure coherence between products, marketing, brand and experiences in showroom and office community.
Experience
From the initial concept to the collaboration with Design and the architectural firm Barlby Carlsson, I focused on how showrooms, meeting rooms, offices, canteens and toilets should be experienced from many different user perspectives.
Brand & Identitet
I developed Energy Hub as a brand that is closely linked to the partnership EnergyLab Nordhavn and as the platform for the office community. The identity was translated across different online and offline channels
Results
A showroom in the heart of an office community where everyone works towards the same goal.
Large and small companies work side by side in everyday life, sharing experiences and networks. Business and knowledge institutions collaborate in a common space where research and business go hand in hand.
There have been massive visits from delegations from all over the world in the showroom. They have experienced what innovation looks like in the engine room and seen how solutions and results have been created in a Danish community.
The office community only houses companies that can see themselves as an active role in Denmark’s green transition. There has been great satisfaction from EnergyLab Nordhavn’s partners, who have been given completely new opportunities for interaction with each other and with other players.
The experience for designing an office community for innovation is that in order to achieve increased innovation, a flexible framework must be created where vision and goals are clear parts of everyday life and where it is natural to meet across different actors.
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Events, meetings and conferencer
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Different countries have visited the showroom
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Champagne-bottles popped to celebrate new parterships, collaborations or projects
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Companies work in the office hub