Comfortable safety

New-Work demands

Insurance customers who leave the newly designed Barmenia premises in Düsseldorf – a regional sales centre has been set up for this user group – are sure to remember one impression above all others: the bright Barmenia blue, which has an invigorating presence on the walls. It is a decisive element of the vitalising office design by Brust+Partner, which communicates a new kind of insurance world – a clear step away from the usual sober ambience towards a contemporary, threshold-free place of versatile interaction, adapted to the new-work demands of customers and consultants in the 21st century.

Location, location, location

Two plus points of the basic concept are quickly established. Firstly, an office complex with good transport and urban connections was chosen as the location, which is particularly important for self-employed sales staff, who can use the Barmenia Centre temporarily as a co-working space and meeting place with customers from the region. On the other hand, the floor plan is cleverly utilised. Economy of space determines the arrangement of the functional areas: From the entrance, one walks directly to the reception counter, next to which an atmospheric lounge is placed for waiting people and relaxed conversation.

Changing the place of work

The reception was combined with a storage room and two of the four meeting rooms into a core, which the floor’s circulation space flows around. The office workplaces of the mostly 16 employees are arranged as an inviting open-work space to the side along the numerous windows that illuminate the floor with pleasant light. Spatially separated workplaces with transparent glass walls and the management office follow in the row. The reservation of their own organisational furniture for work materials allows employees to release their desk places for others or to change the place of work.

Island arrangement

An island arrangement at the entrance is dedicated to a relaxed stay: the seating group for customers as well as a communal table for breaks and after-work meetings, which is shielded by a space-dividing and individually playable orthogonal shelving system. Visually and semantically, pictorially designed wallpaper allows distraction from calculations and forms.

What do you consider to be the supporting qualities of a good workplace?

Siegmund Dumm, Brust + Partner: When designing a workplace, it is important that we combine the physical, mental and creative needs of the workers in the best possible way. This requires that we create different working environments for different tasks: Private retreats are needed to allow concentrated work and the discussion of sensitive information. Open work spaces, on the other hand, promote communicative exchange that creates innovation and connection. Finally, areas for active recreation are essential for effective and successful work.

Do you see any comparability in space design for living and for working?

People are always at the centre of a private or professional environment. Therefore, it is necessary that questions of spatial design always start from the needs of the people concerned. This leads to the best possible development of human abilities. Organisational structures and work processes must be harmonised with well-being and appealing design.

Which material-related aspects are decisive for you in the future development of the Workspaces?

Our basic conviction is that the company is reflected by design elements. It follows that the materials used must be authentic: What looks like stone IS made of stone, wooden surfaces ARE made of wood, glass elements ARE made of glass. In addition, overcoming acoustic challenges is becoming increasingly important, especially in open-work spaces. Our solution approaches here relate to the use of artfully designed acoustic ceilings. In addition, the use of matching textiles creates a further effect.