Client projects: OMNES Education Rennes

OMNES Education Rennes: Working towards student success

Kinnarps travelled to the west of France and more specifically to Rennes to run a project with OMNES Education, a leader in private higher education that has opened four schools there: INSEEC (Management School), HEIP (International and Political Higher Education), Sup de pub (Communications/Event School) and ECE (School of Digital Engineering). A former witness to the Dreyfus trial and the turmoil of the Second World War, the building has been reinvented into a temple of knowledge which now offers four different training courses to these students. The campus represents the footprint of OMNES Education and it plans to attract many French and foreign students in the coming years. The designs adhere to a sustainable and flexible approach so that as student needs evolve new furniture items can potentially be added. Students will now benefit from optimum working conditions to help them succeed in all their projects. The spaces are suitable for all students, whether they are in initial or in-work training.

Preparing for the world of work

 One of the key objectives of this project was also to offer environments aligned to the aim of OMNES Education to train for professional excellence. In practice this meant that the designs created were required to foster concentration for individual tasks, e.g. through Point sofas, which isolate the user by muting ambient sound, and also for work in groups. Whether in classrooms or collaborative spaces, the focus is on increasing the professional attributes of the students and on preparing their entry into the labour market. Work in “project mode” is performed in appropriate settings enabling the students to easily exchange information on the different work projects they are undertaking.

Past beauty meets today’s elegance

The alignment between the values of OMNES Education and those of Kinnarps has created a project linking the past and the future. Refurbished to the latest environmental standards, the building is now home to modern and well-designed office furnishings, whilst also respecting its historical heritage. Kinnarps’ high sustainability ambitions, combined with the CSR approach of the OMNES Education Time TO ACT group, played a key role in this project, where the focus is on students’ awareness of environmental issues. In this regard the site’s “belle époque” architecture embellishes Scandinavian design interiors creating a clever blend between past and future.
 
This touch of modernity nurtures a sense of well-being shared by students and administrative staff, who value these designs and their responses to everyday problems. In addition, a large skylight floods the campus with light and helps students in their quests for inspiration. Light is an important factor in holistic ergonomics – the concept that a successful interior design is the result of an interplay of details in both the physical and the organisational environment. Daylight stimulates the senses, energises us and promotes well-being. This notion of brightness is joined by the desire to create a real “intersection of life” where students meet and exchange ideas, even when they are not in the same class or course. A welcoming and friendly working environment where everyone can flourish freely has therefore been created for this purpose. This also contributes to the success of the students who, indirectly, will feel more committed and motivated thanks to all the provisions for their well-being that the institution has undertaken.

The standardisation of campuses of a large group

This is not the first time Kinnarps has been chosen to set up an OMNES Education campus. Parisian campuses are already benefiting from a unique working experience in their premises. The aim here is to attract as many students as possible, all from within France’s second best student city.
 
To achieve this, the focus was on modularity along with the ability to modify certain spaces according to the work to be produced. In other words, there are classrooms that can accommodate around 40 students and other rooms that work in islands that promote teamwork through ease of engagement. The furnishing must be able to support students for many years, emphasising the durability of Kinnarps products in a context where furniture will be put to the test during its life cycle.

Furnishing their future

Kinnarps interior designs have given students a new way of working and take the concept of well-being in an educational setting into consideration. Harmony has been created and the spaces also offer a new take on biophilia, by inviting nature into its interiors to stimulate students’ concentration and creativity. The campus is now the preferred place for students to learn in peace and quiet, making the most of the interior design to excel and progress before making their long-awaited entry into the world of work.