Barco

Constructed in two years, Barco’s 230,000 m² One Campus unites all 1,250 Belgian Barco employees under one roof. The all-glass, circular construction of its main building – The Circle – is a landmark within the Flemish city of Kortrijk and beyond. Developed by renowned architectural firm Jaspers-Eyers, the building regularly hosts major events and frequently functions as a backdrop for video productions and television shows.

A platform to perform 

“One Campus has undeniably been a major investment for Barco,” says CEO Jan De Witte. “That’s why we’ve set clear goals in terms of what we wanted to achieve with the building from the very start. After several months in use, we can safely state that these objectives have been met or exceeded: the customer experience is highly valued, we’re attracting the right talent with a contemporary, next-generation work environment, and cross-functional collaboration within Barco has seen a significant boost, further feeding the innovative muscles of Barco.”

Johan Heyman, Barco’s VP Operations further added: “What’s more, we’ve managed to reduce our footprint through efficient space allocation. The R&D department, for example, which includes testing facilities and setups, is housed in one part of One Campus: The Lab. And in 2017, our production unit will move from Kuurne to Kortrijk as well, in a new One Campus building called The Engine. Here, we will focus on further improving our process and production capability including initiatives such as lean line manufacturing.

Proper recognition

In November, One Campus and architectural firm Jaspers-Eyers won the European Property Award for best office development. A jury consisting of several renowned architects, project developers, building consultants and journalists evaluated no fewer than 2,100 projects. In early December, One Campus competed with numerous prestigious projects from Asia Pacific, Africa, Arabia, and the Americas for the award of Best office Building worldwide at the International Property Awards in London.

In addition, Barco partner AVC Gemino won the European Aluminium Award for the atrium walls in the new Barco campus. These minimalistic, 6.5-meter high walls are constructed of aluminum frames that precisely follow the ellipsoid curve of the floor and ceiling concrete slabs on which they are anchored.

Spirit of collaboration

“One Campus is, ultimately, the result of the combined efforts of architects, contractors and Barco employees,” comments Jan De Witte. “In this way, it is also the physical manifestation of our spirit of collaboration. After nine months of use, we can confirm that the building indeed inspires extraordinary momentum. As more than just a new building, it represents a new way of working that will propel Barco into the future.”