Homebase for New Work

The Times They Are A Changin’ – and that requires a rethink of the work environment. The office is just one of many workplace options – which include home office, ‘third places’ and ‘workation’ – but it is one that is more important than ever: as a touchpoint for the brand and a place for an emotional recharge. Because we are user-focused – and we ourselves are the users in this project – we were able to implement every aspect of our design approach when remodeling our regional office in Bavaria: And the result is similar to a small town in which the paths of people of all stripes cross. One with neighborhoods where you meet by chance and can exchange news. Where libraries allow focused study in the company of others and studios enable professional filming. All interspersed with green oases, sports facilities and open spaces for creative use. And where good coffee, regional cuisine and large tables all spell hospitality.

Transferring this analogy to workplace design, we have defined four basic needs and matched them to four types of office spaces: Basic, collaboration, focus and refresh. Each type of space reflects our values with different characteristics, and promotes diversity, sustainability and wellbeing. The result is a multidisciplinary One Company showcase in which we ourselves have tested our competencies for creating new work environments from conception to implementation – and where we can demonstrate these to our guests, customers and partners. An environment that welcomes feedback and is open to inspiration. Because the change is the only constant.

Trading space for quality

We firmly believe that shared spaces are an asset. Our goal is to operate in generous open spaces rather than in microcosms – settings with daylight and freedom of movement, visual contact with others and an extended horizon. Quality can only be achieved if everyone – regardless of their position in the company –has access to everything, can choose their workplace and, depending on the task at hand, can switch from a desk to the Ergogym and from the meeting space to a kiosk.

Collaboration

Promoting communication stimulates innovation. We don’t want to think in silos but leave room for chance! No two meetings are alike: A personnel interview requires a different setting than a creative workshop, and a team meeting is more casual than a kick-off session with a customer.

Focus

Clearly, some tasks demand maximum concentration – but not necessarily in a hermetically enclosed room. Like in a library, where the presence of others motivates you, but cell phones remain switched off.

Wellbeing and sustainability

As the boundaries between work and life become more fluid, the office can contribute to a healthy lifestyle – for example by presenting alternatives to passively sitting at a desk, promoting movement, and offering change. And through the design of the work environment and the choice of high-quality materials, by integrating products from sustainable manufacturing and ensuring recyclability in the Circular Economy, so that all componentsare seen as raw materials and can be reused later.

We have put a lot more than our hearts and souls into this project. Our conviction, our knowledge, our attention to detail and color, and the joy we experience from different materials – whether fabrics, linoleum or untreated timber surfaces. Not a single square meter was given away, and traffic areas were turned into areas for common use. And even though we have established design guidelines and will gradually implement them company wide, every Drees & Sommer office will be different and tell its own local story. The concept will respond to new requirements and continue to evolve. Just like we will.