Understanding the Challenge
Havas is one of the world's largest communications groups. For the redesign of its Bogotá office, our team joined a design competition to create a workplace that reflected its creative culture. The challenge was to:
Redesign Havas Village Bogotá after relocating to a new office.
Adapt the workplace to a hybrid work model.
Transform an existing fit-out with minimal structural changes.
Work within a tight budget while reusing furniture, finishes, partitions and technical infrastructure.
Designing the Solution
Instead of starting from scratch, the project focused on maximizing the potential of the existing space. The solution focused on:
Maximize the value of the existing space.
Create a fresh workplace identity through branding, graphics and color.
Balance creativity, functionality and cost efficiency.
Deliver a workspace that reflected Havas' collaborative culture.
The project sought to transform an existing office into a workplace that supported collaboration, creativity and everyday experiences.
Introduce a variety of collaborative workspaces in different sizes to support multiple ways of working.
Use Havas’ brand colors to reinforce identity throughout the office.
Create new points of connection and interaction between employees.
Foster collaboration and enhance the overall employee experience through thoughtful spatial design.
Make every intervention count within a limited budget.
Understanding the Community
Havas is a global communications group with a creative, agency-driven and highly innovative culture focused on technology and emerging trends.
The company is positioned as a Great Place to Work, emphasizing people, collaboration and experience.
Offices are named “Havas Village” + city (e.g. Havas Village Bogotá), reinforcing a global network of connected creative communities.
The “Village” concept defines Havas as a collaborative ecosystem rather than a traditional corporate structure.
Teams work in a hybrid model with evolving spatial needs and occupancy levels.
Bacatá 2074
Bacatá 2074 explores a speculative vision of Bogotá as a future, technological and highly creative city. “Bacatá” refers to the original Muisca (Chibcha) name of the territory known today as Bogotá.
As a global communications group, Havas shapes the identity of the cities where it operates. This project questions its long-term impact on Bogotá and how it could transform the way the city is experienced.
The concept merges Bogotá’s cultural identity with a futuristic layer of technology and innovation, creating a spatial narrative where tradition and progress coexist. The office becomes a physical interpretation of a future “Village” rooted in local context and global vision.
Iteration and changes
The project evolved from a highly conceptual competition entry into a constrained execution phase after winning the commission, requiring strong collaboration with the client.
The initial proposal was highly futuristic and speculative, driven by a strong conceptual narrative.
After selection, the budget was significantly reduced, shifting the project towards reuse and cost efficiency.
The design was repeatedly adjusted with the client to align concept, budget and execution.
High-cost elements such as custom lighting, installations and new visual systems were removed or simplified.
Existing brand assets and communication materials were used to define the final visual language.
Despite these iterations, the core spatial concepts from the research phase remained unchanged.
The final design balances creativity, functionality and budget constraints while preserving the core spatial vision defined during the concept phase.
Built Offices
This project taught me that successful design goes far beyond creating concepts. Bringing an idea to life requires collaboration, adaptability and continuous coordination across disciplines. Throughout this process, I gained hands-on experience in:
Supporting the project from concept development to built execution, ensuring design consistency throughout every stage.
Strengthening client communication by presenting proposals, gathering feedback and translating business needs into design decisions.
Coordinating with construction, budgeting and supplier teams while balancing design intent with technical and financial constraints.
Adapting the design through continuous iterations during construction, solving unexpected challenges without compromising the overall vision.
Collaborating across multiple disciplines to deliver a complex project from concept to reality.
