For the revitalisation of BayWa AG’s corporate headquarters in Munich, we developed an overall interior design concept that would unite the exterior and interior spaces, and thus culminate in a uniformly harmonious overall look. The user experience was at the heart of our approach here: we wanted to focus on working environments that would provide employees and visitors alike with a sense of well-being, and which would take function and brand equally into consideration.

 The brand inspired the emergence of an interior design and style language tailor-made for BayWa: based on the brand’s core values of trust, innovation and solidity, we developed a design policy to define the choice of colours and materials, the shapes, brand communication and workplace typology. The result was a more subtle use of colour, high-quality materials with a distinct surface feel, and uniform details that are consistently applied throughout the whole of the building.

 A place in which the BayWa brand comes alive.

A NEW WORKPLACE CONCEPT

20 floors. 1,500 workspaces. 47,000 square metres. 3 years of remodelling. One brand. One building. One story.

Built in 1969, what used to be Munich's third-highest skyscraper was so dated by 2013 that a revamp was inevitable: the façade and building systems were outdated, and the spatial design of single-occupancy and cubicle offices no longer met the requirements of a modern workplace.

Since the building shell itself was in solid structural condition, BayWa AG decided on a complete refurbishment. While renovation was taking place, an interim solution was required for regular operations; RBSGROUP was able to help locate suitable space by providing requirements management services and conducting feasibility studies.

After a space-efficient occupancy plan was completed, the move into the temporary offices took place on just two weekends in October 2014. The next step was to define basic design policies for the renovation of the high-rise that would reflect the change in corporate culture.

We adopted an approach that promotes open structures and also takes into account the needs of individual groups: from the office where highly confidential work takes place to an open plan area with non-territorial workspaces for sales staff. We developed concepts for this that could be integrated into the complex existing structures of the building. Throughout its entire duration, the project was also accompanied by change and communication measures, which RBSGROUP coordinated. In November 2017, the planned move back into the building was finally conducted.

YEAH-YEAH

Drees & Sommer was awarded the iF Design Award 2019 for the BayWa Headquarters project in the category Office / Workplaces.