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Feature Friday: Lorena Iraldi

It’s time for the latest edition of our on-going Feature Friday interview series as we speak with Loerna Iraldi, partner at Milan-based Paloma Architects.

WOD: Let’s start off with your current role. Tell us more about it…

LI: “I am a partner of Paloma Architects and I deal with architectural and interior design. I have a great deal of experience in the field of Workplace Strategy, but my experiences range from the field of retail to residential. My role as a partner of the company is to lead the design team, to follow every aspect of the development of the project and to maintain close relationships with the final customer.”

WOD: What was it that initially attracted you to a career in the workplace sector?

LI: “I started working in the world of the workplace when I was a junior architect, with no experience, and I was immediately involved in the importance, for the life of workers, of being able to enjoy a well thought-out, pleasant, functional space. I have experienced the enormous changes in this sector and today I am enthusiastic about how much more attention is paid to the issue of well-being for those in the workspace and how many opportunities there are for an architect to be able to best express their vocation in offering design for high-level spaces-very high.”

WOD: What would you define as the key issues relevant to your client base at the moment?

LI: “Today the customer is focused on being able to guarantee employees and consultants spaces that are functional for new types of work. It is now well established that operational discussions, especially by activating smart working in a consistent way, must take place in spaces designed to be technologically advanced, comfortable and flexible. The attractiveness component that a space must have both towards young people and not so young ones should not be underestimated.

It is categorically requested that everything be thought of from a sustainability point of view, this too by now an essential element. So many opportunities to design with stimulating ideas that can end up being very different from each other. This is great for me.

Today’s scenario and the needs of the customer require to deepen the change in progress, to study, in order to give concrete and updated answers. It is increasingly necessary to create teams with heterogeneous specific skills that can build complete answers with an always updated point of view.”

WOD: Can you provide some examples of recent projects you have worked on?

LI: “The project that I would like to present clearly shows that a strong change in the world of work has already taken place in a decisive way. The project concerns the headquarters of Legance-Avvocati Associati in Milan: operations remain on one side linked to the need for privacy and concentration, for which the presence of closed offices is required, but equally important are the reception spaces, spaces of relationship, such as the cafeteria and the restaurant for business lunches and leisure, intended as a moment that also strengthens production capacity, offering an important break during stressful working days.”

Read the full Feature Friday interview with Lorena, as well as interviews with all of our previous guests, by joining WOD Digital today.