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Malt, freedom on the horizon.

The linear career path and the sacrosanct permanent contract are no longer an end in themselves, and more flexible, hybrid modes of work have become the new El Dorado. A major player in these new paradigms, Malt is the essential platform for connecting freelancers and employers.

In a post-pandemic world deeply impacted by successive lockdowns, professional norms are being reinvented.

Founded in 2013 by Vincent Huguet, CEO, Hugo Lassiège, CTO, and now led by Alexandre Fretti, the company has experienced hypergrowth in recent years, allowing it to become the largest community of freelancers in Europe in just 10 years.

Today, Malt boasts over 500,000 freelancers, €200 million raised in funding, and more than 70,000 companies gathered around a new collaborative vision. Its unique and avant-garde model has already enabled it to conquer France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and soon Germany.

Its mission: enabling freelancers to find clients and businesses to find the skills they need.

Malt is the perfect illustration of this professional revolution, proving that new ways of collaborating are possible: more agile, more innovative, more flexible.

As silent ambassadors of the brand and a true testament to credibility, the new offices were also intended to address a real image challenge. That of a more mature, more embodied brand, less attached to the 'start-up' image. Although predominant in Malt's history and origins, breaking away from this 'challenger' label was also embracing a change in direction and the associated growth ambitions.

After 10 years of existence and rapid growth, the old premises became too small and were no longer aligned with their ambitions.

It was about investing in a space capable of fully conveying its vision and values, to offer a premium experience to its Malters and clients. More than just an ambitious company, Malt is above all a community of professionals from all backgrounds and areas of expertise, united by the same convictions and a shared vision of work.

A new headquarters, the cradle of the 'malting-pot'.

The company wanted to provide a gathering place and a focal point for its freelancers and members of its European branches. This change of direction takes place in Madeleine, in the 9th arrondissement, in a completely renovated building with a dizzying area of nearly 5,000 square meters. Our mission: infuse the new premises with Malt's DNA, without altering the architectural identity of the place.

"This dreamed-of place is a home for the Malters; flexible, service-oriented, and embodied, celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of profiles."

"By leveraging the plurality and complementarity of our expertise, our teams have succeeded in convincing through unwavering perseverance and high ambitions aligned with those of Malt. This dreamed-of place is a home for the 'Malters', flexible, service-oriented, and embodied, celebrating the diversity and uniqueness of profiles: the 'Malt House'."

Bringing the Malt mindset to life in the new offices.

The first step of the project involved a full immersion into its daily life and reality, through the eyes of the internal stakeholders. For this, we collaborated with Malt ambassadors, who allowed us to precisely gather the needs and outline typical profiles of collaborators. This initial phase of collective and individual interviews notably highlighted the brand's identity pillars. 'Joy and Seriousness'—this is fundamentally what the Malt community represents: a melting pot of diverse, unique, joyful profiles who 'work seriously, without taking themselves too seriously.' Building on this premise, our Design and Build teams laid the groundwork for the story we would tell within these walls, providing them with a space that truly reflected their identity.

The primary challenge was to design a headquarters that reflected the values and identity of Malt.

This story is about a company connected to the 'Future at Work' and deeply committed to the well-being of those who make up its community. Our primary goal was to design a unique identity and allow employees to make it their own. We needed to truly 'inhabit the space' by making the offices an identifiable, inspiring headquarters where people feel comfortable. To embody the 'Maison Malt,' leveraging its visual identity was crucial, so that every space exudes a 'Malt Touch.' The 'Joy' is reflected in the widespread use of the brand's vibrant and warm color palette, which we implemented by creating themed floors based on color.

We drew inspiration from its symbol to design the reception area; a majestic centerpiece custom-made from sculpted wood. We also drew from its rounded shapes in selecting elements of furniture, signage, and decoration.

To further personalize the space, the 'Malt Principles' were brought to life through our team of experiential design experts in themed meeting rooms. Each room had its own theme and universe, entirely inhabited by concepts that illustrate each major tenet of the community. One of Malt's major ambitions was also to place the well-being of its employees at the center and to offer, beyond the comfort of work, a genuine quality of life.

The logo was also a basis for our work, reinterpreted throughout the design process.

This included the implementation of smart and service-oriented spaces that are genuinely useful in daily life. Concierge services, a restaurant, showers, prayer or breastfeeding areas... are just a few examples of services available to employees.

Breaking away from the expected codes of professional spaces allowed us to draw closer to the markers of layout and decoration found in one's home. The goal was to impart a more intimate ambiance to the spaces, encouraging employees to reinvest in their workspaces. Elements originally present in the structure, such as the walkways on each floor or the numerous shutters adorning the facade, served as a starting point for enhancing the desired 'home-like' atmosphere.

"This story is about a company connected to the 'Future at Work' and deeply committed to the flourishing of those who make up its community."

Generous cushions, fluffy rugs, large sofas, down to vases and decorative albums. The second direction of the project was to design spaces for serendipity and cohesion, capable of strengthening the sense of belonging among Malters. To bring the community together, it was essential to focus on common areas and maximize free movement within the premises.

We capitalized on these codes, enriching them with furniture and decorative elements that evoke a more authentic feel, reminiscent of a private home.

Fully aligned with the company's mission, the design of a co-working space quickly emerged as a necessity. Located on the ground floor, this space for social connection and collaboration, open to all, has been fully furnished and equipped. It is freely available to freelancers registered on the platform, through a reservation system. To enhance meeting places, several tea rooms and relaxation areas are spread across the 7 floors, while the outdoor courtyard offers a more informal and friendly exchange space.

Conceived as a living space, a meeting place, it embodies the very essence of the company and the joyful mix it represents. The quality of the cuisine, its responsible commitments, and the always warm welcome echo its fundamental values. Modularity was also the key principle of the proposed layouts, through consistently intelligent, flexible, and adaptable spaces. The dining room is the best example, as it transforms on occasion to become an event and reception venue.

The internal restaurant, named 'Malting-Pot,' remains the nerve center of Malt.

Truly focused on hybridizing modes of work, Malt aimed to make every space usable for work. To promote mixing and team mobility, the emphasis was placed on flex office by opening up spaces as much as possible, making them non-assigned and accessible to all. For example, anticipating the battery issues inherent in mobility, charging cables were integrated into all desks. The ambition: to take a step further in the services offered to employees and truly enhance comfort at work.

"Modularity was the guiding principle of the proposed layouts, with spaces consistently designed to be intelligent, flexible, and adaptable."

Alexandre Fretti

Client testimony.

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5000 > +

Tech

Malt

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Owkin, the biotechnology of tomorrow reinventing itself today.

This ambitious project for the future of healthcare is led by two visionary figures: Thomas Clozel MD, former assistant professor in clinical onco-haematology, and Gilles Wainrib, a pioneer in the field of machine learning in biology. For Owkin, a better understanding of complex biology means better outcomes for research and for patients. This simple adage has helped the company to raise $300m in funding and investments from international biopharmaceutical giants and venture capital funds to become a biotech unicorn. 

Founded in 2016, the Franco-American biotechnology company Owkin combines the best of artificial and human intelligence in service to biopharmaceutical and academic researchers.

Owkin is reinventing traditional medical rationale and pushing at the boundaries of innovation using a shrewd blend of AI and data. 
The methodology opens the door to innovative ways of identifying new treatments, developing more accurate and effective diagnostic tools, hastening clinical trials and reducing risks. Advancing more sustainable and effective healthcare solutions is no longer a utopian dream, it's reality that transcends fiction, enabling Owkin to formulate treatments which are optimised for each of its customers.

Providing Owkin HQ with a corporate identity.

Factory rose to the challenge working collaboratively with Owkin every step of the way. Embracing the hallmarks of artificial intelligence, new technologies and the human touch that are so close to the company's identity, we took an architectural approach. Our aim was to offer a unique user experience in every space. We wanted to mirror the company's philosophy of hospitality and hybridity, infusing its essence into every room of the Parisien office. 

How do you make a location the metaphor for a company's success and meteoric growth?

The challenge was to provide an architectural and decorative setting that matches Owkin's ambitions for the medical biotechnology sector.
The entire Factory team pushed the boundaries of its imagination, to bring life to a unique place which reflects the image of Owkin. Every material, every piece of furniture, every creative decision carries the brand's DNA throughout the 2,300m2 of office space.

So how do you design high-performance spaces to accommodate the intellectual and creative potential of Owkin's team? We wanted to imbue the atmosphere of the space with the team's distinctive personality and to embody their values: energy, talent, responsibility and friendliness. Of course, productivity was a key expectation of these spaces, but a workspace isn't just for working.

The challenge was to provide an architectural and decorative setting that matches Owkin's ambitions for the medical biotechnology sector.

Opening up workspaces also means breaking down relational barriers within the team.
In this way, Factory and Owkin have increased the number of spaces conducive to the creation of networks and collective intelligence, by designing leisure, rest and co-creation areas to improve the quality of life at work.

Owkin: building its future in an historic building.

The combined strength of Factory's strategy and real estate research teams generated ideas conducive to team-building. The first step in this ambitious project was to find an exceptional location to accommodate the intellectual and relational energy of Owkin teams. In search of the best location, not the best margin, our Real Estate Strategy team set its sights on a 20,000m2 freestone building as a showcase for Owkin, ideally situated in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. 

Because we stop at nothing, we took up the challenge of redeveloping Owkin's spaces despite a tight deadline. Our mantra for this project? Just do it! 
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"Our mantra for this project? Just do it!

Our teams were seduced by the unique location, the building's robust nature, combined with the period cachet of Haussmann's boulevards. The architecture was perfectly suited to accommodating Owkin's ambition.   
"The building's robust nature, combined with the period cachet of Haussmann's boulevard was perfectly suited to accommodating Owkin's ambition."

The Social Club, the foundation of Owkin's collective intelligence.

The cornerstone of the project was to strengthen the Owkin's social dynamic. Because performance is based, above all, on the strength of human bonds, the entire design logic of the project was based on the emotional dimension. 

This ideological footing enabled us to agree on a founding concept: the "Social Club".

As a result, the Haussmann-style flats were opened up with an eye to the ergonomics and day-to-day functionality of the space. Above all, we wanted people to really get to know each other and to develop team spirit at work. 

The basis of our design logic was to create spaces that encourage open-mindedness and the free flow of communication and ideas between employees. 

Behind each employee, each manager, are passionate men and women who share common values. 
These same values and desires drive them to these professional premises every day.

### Of course, at Factory, we always follow through on our ideas. We were inspired by the premium décor of illustrious social clubs: in our choice of top-of-the-range materials; and using the constraints of blending in with the natural ornaments of the venue: - cut stone, mouldings, terracotta tiles, etc.

Elegance and simplicity create an atmosphere of tranquillity on arrival. The cycle parking, replete with repair kit and secure changing rooms, delights Owkin's fine team of cyclists. In an already magnificent setting, a spiral stone staircase leads up to the 1st floor, leaving plenty of room for social interaction. 

On the ground floor, the reception area offers comfortable, open-plan lounges in a refined setting.

A large living room is dedicated to catering, breaks and in-house events. It has been designed to generate new stories every day, the stories that strengthen Owkin's corporate culture today. 

Because productivity and performance require a good balance of concentration and breathing space, we couldn't overlook the design of break-out rooms.

The meeting rooms and modular spaces, decorated with exceptional materials, set a new tone for  and collaboration and group work.

As the nerve centre of social and convivial spaces, this recreation space has been designed for all, with a basketball hoop, bookshelves, board games and musical instruments available to employees at all times. Work hard, play hard.

Cosy lounges are partitioned from the open spaces and encourage small group discussions. Other individual spaces have been designed to encourage seclusion. The whole is a real bubble of productivity and concentrated efficiency, away from the hustle and bustle of the streets below.

The second floor has been designed as a place conducive to concentration.

### In short, this is a workplace combining subtle nuances of history and modernity, character and warmth, productivity and fun. All with a view to fostering relationships. 

The work was carried out at the same time as the employees took possession of the premises, enabling us to provide an after-sales service that was much appreciated by Owkin. It was a marvellous challenge to ensure and perpetuate the wonderful history of this company within budget and to tight deadlines. 

Zanago Sanou

Client testimony

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2000 > 5000

Owkin

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Voodoo ups its game for corporate culture.

Voodoo, a French unicorn specialising in smartphone video games since 2013, has made an incredible ascent. It's been a real success story for the founders of this start-up, which is now the world leader in the 'hyper-casual' mobile games segment. With over 5 billion downloads and 300 million active users a month, the company is fast becoming one of the big names in gaming. With characteristic humility and against the grain of its motto, "We entertain the world", Voodoo has lived through its success discretely. 

Voodoo, a French unicorn specialising in smartphone video games since 2013, has made an incredible ascent

Beyond the qualities of its technical and creative productions, Voodoo's managerial mindset is in phase with new professional paradigms. Far from worrying about a shiny but misleading façade, the company has focused its efforts on the story it tells within its walls. With this in mind, Voodoo came to Factory, entrusting us with an internal development project dedicated to corporate culture, quality of life at work and productivity.

Voodoo makes space for its ambitions.

We needed to find a more spacious working environment, conducive to the free expansion of Voodoo, which had barely 100 employees when the project was launched. A property search for the ideal premises was the first step in accommodating 500 employees.

"Voodoo's ambition was too provide employees with productive workspaces, to parallel previous achievements and deliver new ideas."

After several months sharing a co-working space, Voodoo wanted to take flight and move into its own professional environment. 

The ultimate aim was to take over a high-capacity space. The ambition was to invest in a work base that was as tranquil as it was remarkable, a standard-bearer for its corporate values and a vector of collective pride. A place to match its ambitions, imbued with an atmosphere conducive to team synergy and creativity. 

### True to its status as a challenger, Voodoo did not want its head office to be a showcase for its success, but rather to design modular, functional premises.

Voodoo's ambition was to provide employees with a productive workspaces, to parallel previous achievements and deliver new ideas.

A playground as practical as it is iconic.

Nestled in a historic, Haussmann style building, this edifice is an architectural jewel of this Parisien district's heritage. Somewhere between exuberant and discrete, the heart of this incredible place is a central courtyard with a subdued atmosphere. A breath of timeless air, undetectable from the outside, lends a magic allure to this location that blends modernity and history.

No setting could have been more fitting for Voodoo than the Poste du Louvre, a landmark in the Parisian consciousness.

Imbued with the capital's industrial influence and history, the building was the perfect option to meet the Voodoo's aspirations for development. Firstly, it provided a practical solution in terms of capacity, and secondly, the emotional charge of the property added real soul to the head office. An architectural symbol as iconic as the company's status in the mobile gaming sector. 


### "An architectural symbol as iconic as the company's status in the mobile gaming sector."

Our mission didn't stop at finding the perfect place to house Voodoo's employees, the Factory team also had to come up with a creative concept to shape this diamond in the rough. To protect Voodoo HQ's finery and elevate its proud appearance, we imagined the layout of the premises inspired by the Japanese philosophy of "Wabi Sabi" - the art of living based on the complementarity and balance of Yin and Yang - as an invitation to celebrate the beauty of imperfection and of ephemeral, modest things.

Perfectly imperfect offices.

Our strategy was guided from the outset by several key objectives, including the design of spaces dedicated to creativity, and places to recharge one's batteries. Quality of life at work was a priority in our shared vision, so we designed spaces that inspire both performance and satisfaction.

The tenets of Wabi Sabi served as the foundation for all the project's architectural and decorative choices, with simplicity and minimalism as drivers in the design. 

"The tenets of Wabi Sabi served as the foundation for all the project's architectural and decorative choices."

Factory used its full creative flair to deliver the project with the same attention to detail and exacting standards that characterise Voodoo's own design projects. We deployed simple but first-rate materials, within a framework of beauty without fuss. Far from the excess and abundance of our time, we capitalised on the utilitarian function of furniture and decorative elements. No gadgets, just the essentials. The motto "less is more" perfectly reflects the mindset of the project and has guided our teams every step of the way.

### "The motto "less is more" perfectly reflects the mindset of the project and has guided our teams every step of the way."

The use of wood and the natural tones of beiges and browns, supported by raw, textured materials, allowed us to pay homage to the interactions between humankind and its environment. We didn't want to saturate the decor, or integrate other colours, so as not to distort an interior design that "stands on its own". 

Beyond the apparent minimalism, we wanted to give the space a reassuring, warm aura. The idea was to induce a feeling of well-being conducive to the creation of qualitative experiences in the workplace. A fine demonstration of Voodoo's managerial culture and values, through the lens its workspaces.

### "The greening of the spaces and the choice of materials with their natural abrasiveness have played a major role in creating a place shaped by nature."

Carpets provide softness and warm acoustics, while insulating boxes create spaces that feel like safe bubbles. Plants and the choice of materials with their natural rough edges have played a major role in the creation of a space shaped by nature: a subtle alternation between indoors and outdoors to offer employees a place to get away from it all. Open-spaces, hybrid places for relaxation and concentration, have been designed to allow people and ideas to circulate freely.

### "Adaptability was the key word in designing a space that embraces imperfection, while striving for impeccable quality."

This 9 month project was a constant balancing act. Adaptability was the key to designing a space that embraced imperfection, while striving for impeccable quality. 

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Voodoo

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The energy to change the world.

A world-renowned player in the production and supply of energy, Total Energies is the world's 5th largest energy company, ranking alongside some of the biggest names in French industry. The group is constantly pushing back boundaries and setting ever higher standards, with its ambition of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. 

It's an approach that's bold as it is vital under current environmental conditions. Reflecting the group's ambitions since its creation, this project represents a genuine revolution on both a human and industrial scale.

Total: building digital foundations for the future.

Digital transition, an increasingly important societal issue, is a major challenge to both the survival of brands and the sustainability of businesses. As prime contractor for the entire project, we rose to the spatial planning and architectural brief with the necessary rigour and expertise.

During the devastating, unprecedented pandemic of 2020, Total appealed to Factory to design the Total Digital Factory. 

Against a backdrop of far-reaching changes for Total, the idea was to design a polymorphous venue ready to accommodate a multiplicity of skills and professions in a dedicated hub in the heart of Paris. Ideally located in France's Silicon Valley, this nerve centre of digital transformation brings together developers, UX designers, data scientists, information system architects and many other specialised professions dedicated to the success of the project.

### "A dedicated hub in the heart of Paris, ready to welcome a multiplicity of skills and professions."

This is a workspace dedicated solely to collective intelligence, where agility and flexibility are the essential ingredients for uninhibited creativity. We faced two major challenges: on the one hand, we had to reconcile productivity and shortened decision-making processes to successfully incubate Total's projects. On the other, convincing and generating the support of external audiences to join this large-scale project, as a driving force in the digital transition.


Breaking down the walls of corporate tradition.

There was no question of embarking on a project of this scale without devising a tailor-made strategy. The key challenge for this project was to bring out the best of the site, despite the fact that it was not bespoke for the purpose. With a view to multi-sector recruitment, the early stages of the project were based on the expectation that the remaining 90% of the workforce would be recruited.

After a month of collaborative project workshops with the first employees of the Digital Factory, a conviction emerged that the conventions of the typical employer needed to be deconstructed. The aim was to develop a state of mind driven by innovation and unique to the Total Digital Factory. The result of this creative iteration between our teams and the Factory's future occupants, needed imperatively to be spacious, but no less conducive to team cohesion.

### "This creative iteration between our teams and the Factory's future occupants, needed imperatively to be spacious, but no less conducive to team cohesion."

We also wanted the professional spaces to subtly embody Total's DNA and values, without ostensibly displaying the brand. The layout and decoration, supported by a graphic and experiential storytelling, created a common thread running through the entire space. Factory's talented identity design team came up with a concept similar to a new brand, under the acronym TDF.


TDF, at the crossroads of a new reality.

So the technical world and the guidelines for digital ergonomics and interface design guided the decoration and signage of the space. The involvement of TDF employees in this project meant that together we could design a space that really met their day-to-day needs. At Factory, we're convinced that a positive user experience in the workplace has a measurable impact on the well-being and productivity of teams. That's exactly what made this design so special and so successful.

Naturally, the theme of digital transformation was an obvious one.

The cold materials and colours associated with technology have been softened by warmer details and tones. The idea was to create an indefinable space at the frontier of a new generation, dedicated solely to innovation and creativity. Ambitious as this large-scale transformation project was, we reinvented the digital elements with a hybrid approach. Digital works of art were used to represent the crossroads of the present and the future. This is particularly true of the screens in the entrance hall, an artistic installation that is also useful for bridging the gap between the project's different professions. Our experimental approach combined inspirations from the world of start-ups, hotel-restaurants  and new co-working concepts, all of which have given life to TDF's unique workspaces.

### "Ambitious as this large-scale transformation project was, we reinvented the digital elements with a hybrid approach."

With the perfectionism that characterises our teams, we designed the 5 floors of workspace down to the last millimetre, to turn TDF into an intelligent production tool. With the technical world and the theme of digital transition having been implemented, we couldn't envisage designing this project without incorporating Total's principal desire: to encourage collective intelligence. A catering area on the ground floor cleverly combines agile meeting rooms and convivial spaces. The rest of the space is designed to encourage new ways of working together, such as stand-up meetings and flexible offices. 

### "Make TDF an intelligent production tool".

TDF's spatial planning was designed to reflect its squad working protocol, making interaction essential to encouraging co-creation and productivity. Comfort, agility and team connectivity are therefore at the heart of the place's promise to TDF employees. A great challenge for the Factory teams and our client Total.


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Energy

Total Digital Factory

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