Dutch architect Erick van Egeraat recently won the international competition for the new 32.000m2 Sberbank corporate University. As Russia’s largest and oldest state run bank with over 250.000 employees and 20.000 branch offices in the country, the new Sberbank University will provide education, seminars, and team building programs to the company’s top professionals to continuously improve their performance within the corporate standards. The Sberbank University is expected to be completed in 2013. More images and architects’ description after the break.
“To win a prestigious competition is great, but my Architecture is not just an idea, it is there to be build. To meet and exceed any building requirements worldwide is a matter of enduring professionalism and leadership by our office. This, and an overall cooperative spirit amongst the many companies involved in the realization will ensure a striking end result.” Says Erick van Egeraat
The most prominent Russian bank implies the highest standards for its employees and therefore it aimed for the most ambitious educational project in terms of design and quality. The University site is located in a delicate suburban, almost rural setting bordered by woodlands on the South and Istra river on the North.The delicate nature of this environment provided both opportunities as challenges to the development.
According to the Moscow regional state expertise Erick van Egeraat’s design not only met the environmental challenges but ensured a durable balance between nature and development. The University will consist of education and conference spaces, dormitories, guest teacher quarters, teacher housing, a club building and sports facilities. The complex fully integrates sustainable design tools and technologies, putting sustainability in the center of the corporate agenda.
The spacious and picturesque setting allows for a campus model; the program’s distribution on site creates comfortably scaled public spaces that intensifies interaction with the natural surroundings. Education, lodging and sports functions are each clustered in orthogonally defined volumes. Taking into account the climate, all building elements except the teachers’ housing are connected with an elegant and climate controlled colonnade. This colonnade is programmed with recreational, bar, relaxation functions and serves as an identifying backbone of the entire complex.
“The Sberbank University – campus is a benchmark in many respects, it incorporates the ambition of an organization to be transparent, solid and durable. At the same time the buildings meet the highest standards in sustainability. As a non-Russian Architect I can only be proud of be trusted this responsibility by my clients. “ Says Erick van Egeraat
