While some workers might be reluctant to return to the office after warming to the practice of working from home, it’s likely the employees of Korea’s Hana Financial Group can’t wait to move into the company’s remarkable new headquarters, construction of which is scheduled to start later this year.

Based on a ground-breaking design by NBBJ, the building in Cheongna, Incheon is comprised of a series of looping public pathways that traverse the structure from bottom to top, connecting office hubs with amenity pavilions and community spaces in a park-like environment.

Instead of a traditional, fully enclosed tower with office levels only accessible by elevators, the new Hana headquarters site is energized by a ribbon of park experiences – including plantings, plazas, and sculptural landforms – that continues in a zig-zag pattern up through the building, with programmed terraces and points of interest encouraging office workers and visitors to pause and slow down along the journey.

According to Robert Mankin, Partner in charge of workplace design at NBBJ, the pioneering design is d direct response to the pandemic, and the need to create a “restorative workplace where nature is woven into the design and workspaces are flexible, diverse, and inspiring.”

“Health and wellness are more critical than ever to the success of a company and a community, and our design embraces those concepts.”

The pioneering design also reflects Hana’s corporate culture and values focused on transparency, accessibility and community, and a conscious shift from office towers sealed off from their surroundings.

The public will have access to retail and food and beverage options on the building’s lower lobby levels, as well as the amenity rich mid-level floors, where they can dine and socialize with Hana employees. The two areas are linked by a pedestrian ramp, with pockets of nature interspersed with programmed art instalments and interactive digital experiences.

Depending on the type of work happening there, floor plans at the headquarters feature lounge-type environments for staff collaboration and connection, along with cocoon-style experiences for focused, heads down individual work.

With a client list including Google, Amazon, Samsung, Suning, Microsoft and Tencent, NBBJ is a global design practice with 12 offices, including Shanghai and Hong Kong. Construction of the Hana headquarters is set to begin in late 2021 and be completed by 2024.