The design team gets its finger right on the button with the interior design and features for this small space delivering interactive and digital banking, where screens even deliver real-time weather

Details

Client:National Bank Of Greece
Design: Allen international
Fit-out: The Interiors Group
Size: 180 sq m
Completion time: Four months

Project Details

The National Bank of Greece (NBG) is the nation’s oldest and largest commercial banking group, and with its new subsidiary brand iBank it is also leading the way in the use of interactive technology and customer-friendly design.

Designed by Allen International, a Londonbased consultancy specialising in design for banks and other financial services, ibanks are to be found in high streets and in shopping malls across Greece, combining state-of-the-art banking services such as internet, mobile and phone banking and auto-payment systems with the kind of service you should expect from a local bank branch.

Taking the theme of interactivity as its inspiration, the design team at Allen International visualised each branch as a ‘digital gateway to the ibank brand’: the entrance to the flagship branch in Athens, featured in this article, for example takes the form of a ‘digital portal’. This uses backlit LED screens to display graphics and promotional videos, while various interactive technology and digital signage are enticingly visible to passers-by.

Inside, the Athens branch offers interactive digital banking services on one side and personal consultation and customer information services on the other; with this in mind, Allen International created different looks for each side. On the left, ATM machines and entrances to consultation rooms are set into a textured wall made of moulded panels of polished plaster, while digital touch points on the right-hand side are built into a seamless black glass wall.

One difficulty in designing the Athens branch was the narrow footprint of the retail unit, which was emphasised by its high ceiling. ‘We addressed this challenging floor plan by elongating the sense of perspective for customers when they first enter the branch, turning a negative into a positive,’ says Richard Benson, design director at Allen International. The designers used wave-shaped panels with embedded spotlights to create a false ceiling, so that the room seems long rather than tall and narrow. A ‘vertical garden’ at the rear of the space provides a focal point which can be seen from the entrance.

Digital technology company C-nario supplied the digital signage for the branch, including 16 screens (three of which are touch screens) and five projectors.

A dozen screens are arranged in a row in portrait orientation, enabling the display of synchronised content across multiple screens. The touch screens, placed in an interactive area labelled My Interactive Wall, enable visitors to use banking services directly via the screens.

Digital screens have also been suspended above the floor where they function as virtual skylights, displaying a virtual sky and clouds that move and change in real time to simulate different weather patterns. ‘We were keen to implement this strong contrast between natural materials and interactive technologies, and to break away from the purely hi-tech aesthetic that customers may expect from such a concept,’ says Benson.

While all this interactive gadgetry makes it possible for customers to do most, if not all, their banking digitally, the ibank concept is also big on customer service. A bar in the centre, designed by Allen International and made of solid corecomposite materials with imbedded lighting, functions as hub where ibank staff can guide customers through the banking services and help new customers to open accounts.

On the left of the store, an area known as the ‘amphitheatre’ incorporates customer seating into a stepped wall with retractable side tables and power points, where customers can access the internet and charge their mobile devices. Sliding wall panels enable the area to be opened when events are not taking place.

An ‘i-lounge’ at the back of the branch is designed as a relaxing area where customers can enjoy refreshments while they test out communal iPads and other mobile devices and download banking applications.

On the rear wall of the i-lounge, a vertical garden, constructed and maintained by local horticultural design specialist Vita Verde and with its own system of hydroponics, gives a pleasing contrast to all that digital technology. The lounge is furnished with a Bix Lounge sofa from Steelcase, Kala chairs by Kastel and a table by Design Plaza. All in all, ibank doesn’t really feel like a bank at all.

The interactive nature of the ibank concept is its greatest success, but it was also one of the greatest challenges for its designers: ‘Meeting security measures and maintaining customer safety within the self-service area of the branch during extended hours (when the rest of the branch is closed) was tricky,’ says Benson. ‘The integration of a discreet security-screen system that enables the self-service area at the front of the space to be locked off and yet still feel a part of the whole space when the branch is fully open was also a design challenge.’

So could ibank be the future of banking?
‘We believe that this project is truly pushing the boundaries of branch design, says Benson, ‘and that it challenges people’s perceptions of how a high street branch should look and function. Initial responses to the project have been amazing, and we hope this will give many clients the appetite to challenge traditional thinking on branch design across the world.’

This article was first published in fx Magazine.