Case: Visma Finland

Open and innovative Visma Campus

We have received a lot of good feedback from our staff about our facilities and are very proud of them.
Eliisa Valkonen, People and Culture Director | Visma Finland

Define

Design

Deliver

The Rautatalo renovation project in the heart of Helsinki started shortly after the darkest wave of the pandemic. The ambitious goal of Visma Finland was to create an open and innovative office, the Visma Campus, which connects all building floors and serves as an open workspace for Visma employees and customers.

Visma is a leading provider of core business software. Visma provides business-critical cloud software to more than one million companies and public sector customers in Europe and Latin America. The Visma Group comprises more than 200 companies in over 20 countries worldwide. Visma’s core business in Finland consists of several subsidiaries.

Facilitating a shared vision

The Visma Campus project started with an extensive analysis of the current situation. The information gathered helped to create a clear vision of the working environment that would best meet Visma’s future goals and challenges. The pandemic has changed how we work, and the refurbishment aimed to support this change.

Visma Finland consists of several companies, each with its management and characteristics. As the change affected the entire Rautatalo estate and all the departments working in it, it was essential to create a shared vision, taking into account the different needs of the departments.

To gain an overview and understanding of the culture and practices of the organization, the vision for the future, and the objectives of the change, we organized

interviews with key stakeholders
surveys of employees, and
workshops for the core team planning the change of working environment.

Towards change by piloting and engaging

Visma’s new campus was designed to pilot new ways of working and ensure the space’s flexibility for future use. In addition to several different collaborative areas, the redesigned premises were designed with various adaptable, soundproof workspaces of different sizes to support hybrid work in multiple ways. Own workstations were abandoned, and the number of workstations was significantly reduced.

As the physical space was transformed, the technology was also upgraded to support a virtual visitor experience. The aim was to provide high-quality live streaming of events and seamless delivery of workshops, including remotely.

Visma Campus Community lounge bug screen

Visma Campus Rautatalo lamp detail

Visma Campus Rautatalo teal kitchen

Visma Campus Rautatalo lounge detail 02

Visma Campus Rautatalo Lounge detail

Building history as a source of inspiration

The Visma Campus was designed as a whole, with different floors serving different purposes and the office being versatile and attractive. There were three pilot floors, with the main focus of the design being the renovation of the 2nd floor. The floor was designed to include a Visitor Lounge open to visitors, a Community Space for events for 20-30 people, and a variety of meeting spaces. The visibility of Helsinki’s Central Square created an opportunity to showcase Visma’s activities to the outside world.

“As the Rautatalo is a building designed by Alvar Aalto and protected by the State Council, the interior design concept was created with respect to the architect’s legacy. The interior materials chosen include brass and marble, which can also be found in the public areas of the building. Aalto’s classics were favored for the furniture selection,” says Ida Broms, interior architect at Agile Work, who was responsible for the interior concept.

It was a significant change for us, but it was worth it, as the change in approach brought much-needed flexibility to our premises. We also feel that the spaces are much more supportive of encounters.

Eliisa Valkonen, People and Culture Director, Visma Finland

Moving forward with agile development

This major project to transform the working environment has reached a stage where a large part of the renovated premises has been completed and put into use.

The pilot project resulted in the Visma interior design concept and a concept book summarising the principles of the space concept. These principles are now being applied to the 7th floor of the Rautatalo building, which will be completed in spring 2023. The concept book aims to guide Visma’s premises design in future projects.