Law firm White & Case

The law firm White & Case Oy moved to Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki. The firm had first given up its old office that got ruined by water damage. The design of the new office was begun from scratch, with the exceptions of an art collection and small items taken from the old office.

As companies, White & Case and Audico have cooperated for several decades, which made it clear that Audico, and particularly Mikko Tenhunen, should be in charge of the audio-visual solutions of the new space. “Confidence and habit,” IT Manager Marjaana Laitinen says. “We’re used to things being taken care of without unnecessary exertions, and the end result has always been of high quality. These two factors made it crystal clear to us that cooperation with Audico should be further continued”.

Even though White& Case has distinct boxes that need to be ticked to make sure that offices around the world have a cohesive look, whether you’re in Australia, Italy, Brazil, or Kazakhstan, in Finland office, they used a local company, Audico to provide AV solutions and that saved a lot of money, time and effort. "It was much easier to plan things with a company located in Espoo, near Helsinki. Many times we saw the benefits of a half-an-hour drive, particularly in situations that required fast maintenance or other technical support”. Audico’s Project Leader Tero Torenius was often praised for his work. ”During the renovation, Tero almost became a part of our work community,” Laitinen and Pesonen laugh, reminiscing about the incidences during the renovation.

After the corporate executive committee had given it's Finnish office a special permit, Olli Mäkinen, who is in charge of Audico’s AV control and programming, flew to White & Case’s headquarters in New York. The purpose of the trip was to meet the architects of White & Case and get Mäkinen acquainted with the technical manuals. Project Sales Manager Mikko Tenhunen, on the other hand, began close communication with White & Case’s office in the Philippines, where the company's project management was located at the time. “Starting from a list of accepted microphones, we received precise guidelines on what the spaces should have. The services Audico had to offer matched well with the given requirements and instructions”.

On a group level, White & Case has set out specific standards for not only brands but also functionalities that ought to be found in offices around the globe. “For example, the shine on a table’s surface and the acoustics of rooms must be on a certain level. These are because we host many video conferences, and e want different offices to look the same on-screen”. Thus, equality is one of the main principles of White & Case. Work is done with the same equipment and knowledge whether the person working is the CEO of the company or just a rookie lawyer in a skyscraper in Singapore or a Finnish Heritage Agency-protected building on Aleksanterinkatu, Helsinki.

The new offices of White & Case have different kinds of meeting rooms: a waiting room filled with natural light, four conference rooms, two equipped with the necessary setups for video conferences, and one multi-function room. The largest of the spaces can host up to 20 people. One room can be transformed from a conference room into a classroom-like space or a relaxed lounge with a bar and sofas. The chosen AV solutions are adjustable according to the setting of the room.

”Works like a charm,” Laitinen and Pesonen summarise the designers’ side of the project management during the renovation. Mikko Tenhunen from Audico emphasizes that what made this particular project special was incorporating AV into the design from the very beginning. “Our spaces are so pretty and functional that we’re often asked if our office can be rented,” Laitinen says. The results are functional office spaces and an invoice that did not go over budget due to audio-visual solutions. The global management was also pleased with its decision to let Audico execute all audio-visual plans and solutions. “How could anyone be unhappy when everything works?”