Sandwiched on its southside by the Atlantic- facing Adetokunbo Ademola Street V I, and on its northside by our recently completed Project909, the Experience Center is the second building within the same plot that ATO Architects has completed for StanbicIBTC within 18 months.
Its biggest claim to sustainability is its greened up, projected hood which straddles a spikey blue façade cladding and silver alucobond panels reminiscent of StanbicIBTC colours. This suspended, greened up hood kills three birds with one stone: first, it responds to StanbicIBTC’s newly found desire of StanbicIBTC to opt for more architectural expression and differentiation of her branch offices, second, it shades the two ATM booths beneath it and lastly, it protects the curtain wall over an internal staircase from the adverse effect of sunlight.
In the words of our Project Architects, Toyin Caulcrick and Isiaq Nassam, ARCON PMP, the branch office, like its cousin in Opebi (pictured) is representative of their parent bank (Standard Bank)’s desire to demonstrate its status as Africa’s biggest lender in assets, through a raft of branches. This shift in property development strategy by Standard Bank from simple retrofits of existing buildings or interior fit-outs of spaces within larger complexes to iconic branch offices also informed the choice of ATO Architects in the bidding process.
The Experience Center features a double volume banking hall which is equally complemented by the tinted double height curtain wall and its open floor plan ensures the process of lodging complaints at customer care, making a transaction over the tellers and being transferred to back-office managers is a seamless open floor transition and transaction between spaces. Our spatial design is minimalist on blockwork partitions to ensure transactions go on smoothly, peerlessly mirroring the age of digital banking where transactions move seamlessly from interface to interface such that “experiencing space” becomes the theme.
Status: Built
Location: Lagos, NG
Firm Role: Architects
Additional Credits: Project Architects: Toyin Caulcrick, Isiaq Nassam, ARCON PMP