HEI Rentals

2022
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Heavy industry branding and headquarters' interior design

In collaboration with: SANY Group, Cordinate Decoration

HEI is a data-driven, one-stop platform for equipment rental services. It is committed to enhancing the efficiency of equipment rental services using the internet, the IoT and algorithmics. Despite its strong association with SANY, the 3rd-largest heavy equipment manufacturer in the world, the services will not be limited to its associate brands. The aim is to build a third-party platform that connects the resources of all parties in the equipment leasing business, making the traditional offline leasing transaction business more transparent, efficient, and collaborative.

Branding

The aim is to convey a strong, robust brand identity to accurately represent the heavy construction industry, while maintaining a distinctive and friendly service-oriented image to the end client demographic, predominantly comprised of Millennials, and express the company’s innovative and collaborative attitude.

The design of the logo follows the general form of an excavator’s bucket, while resembling a waving hand at the same time. We studied the ratio of related emojis and sticker-icons as a reference point for the visual expression to appeal to our end clients, who are mostly from the digital generations. We tried to emphasize the curvature of the palm, to create a friendly and smiley aesthetic which conveys the service-oriented brand position.

HEI headquarters Interior

Area: 1853 m²
Budget: CNY1000/m² (approx.$150/m², all hard costs included)
Construction: Client-side team
City: Guangzhou, China
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The office interior design of the HEI headquarters took place concurrently with branding. To maintain consistency and avoid unnecessary revisions of the interior design in relation to changes in ongoing brand development, we joined the remote branding and interior teams working together online, to allow closer cooperation and real-time updates on the feedback received from different departments of the client company.

With the objective of maximizing employee capacity and flexibility of function, and to accommodate the rapid growth of the new company, we divided the separate floors into two distinct functional units. While 1st floor is geared towards being more flexible and multi-functional, the 2nd floor in designed to provide a highly efficient and dynamic workspace for the largest number of employees possible.

1st floor ( area of 200m²)
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We used the relatively small area of the ground floor to our advantage, designing a bold and imposing 60-square-meter staircase as a centerpiece surrounding by open reception area and open workspace, to set the tone for the whole space which express the company’s image and values. To facilitate the installation of this central staircase we were obliged to create an opening in the ceiling of the ground floor creating in effect a small atrium, which gave the whole space a more grandiose and open feel.

Stairs can be used as seating for large group events, including in house conferences and product launches, and offers a casual setting for meetings and solo work on a day-to-day basis.

A meeting room and 2 reception rooms are situated in the lee of the central staircase, serving to provide privacy therein without necessitating the construction of any dividing walls, allowing us to keep the entire floor open planned.

To boost a more flexible usage of space, the open workspace can be separated by a folding partition into a closed space for holding large conference.

2nd floor ( area of 1500m²)‍

In the wake of the staircase, eight meeting rooms, phone booths, printing cubicles and communal cafes comprised into a central island, form a continuous route which facilitates easy access for all surrounded workspaces.

To meet the functional requirements of hosting 240 employees, the primary workspace is arranged along windows and aligned with river, providing well-lit and refreshing view in what is effectively a very densely packed space.

HEI Rentals

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