Sony Music appointed AECOM to fit out its new Madrid HQ. Our design approach won out for two clear reasons: the methodology proposed in the initial stages of the project to understand the firm’s real needs and how to use the new space to suit those needs, along with our previous experience in creating innovative spaces that raise productivity and foster collaboration.

Sony Music’s previous Madrid head office was located in a 1980s building in a residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of the city. No longer in keeping with Sony Music’s brand identity, the age of the site and its outdated interiors were creating operational problems. Space was being wasted, there was limited flexibility to accommodate future changes and there were too many enclosed spaces but not enough meeting rooms, preventing open communication and ideas sharing.

The new HQ is centrally located on the Paseo de la Castellana, the buzzing avenue in Madrid that connects business and commercial parts of the city. The team’s concept was to shift the internal culture away from one of isolated working to a highly collaborative work environment, with music at its heart. In this new atmosphere, employees can take ownership of the brand and live it.

This approach led not only be the design of the work spaces, but also a client area that includes an auditorium for events and concerts to be used by artists, the press, client and employees

AECOM’s Strategy Plus team has helped Sony Music create a vibrant, contemporary work space that reflects its brand values and the digital age of music, providing an integrated, flexible space for staff to enjoy, bringing artists and their record label support teams closer together.