Nature as a role model

Place of well-being

The project of the Karlsruhe-based IT service provider Disy, together with the designers of feco-feederle, to create a working environment that would transform the “office from a place of work to a place of well-being” was ambitious. As a supporting idea for the realization of that ideal, a design concept developed that was based on the phenomenon of organic growth, as found in nature, but also in very old cities.

Of course, a Best Workspace must not lack the balance that, despite all the comfort, also ensures the appropriate productivity per workstation to allow the company to prosper – 130 employees are to be accommodated. The longitudinal rectangular building in the southeast of the city, between City Park and the railway tracks, offers economically usable floors with plenty of light. The plans include 2,800 square meters of gross floor space on three levels, including an attic floor that houses the spacious company restaurant with its own terrace facing south.

Land, Air, Water, Energy and Urban.

In contrast to the classic solution with a corridor axis and offices flanking it at the sides, the focus here is on various spaces for interaction, each of whose polygonal outline forms an individually shaped “spatial island”. The work desks and room dividers are arranged around these and along the window bands in the open space. Due to their slight displacement, this creates an organic-looking positioning in contradiction to the rational-orthogonal grid of the architecture, which emphasizes the principle of what has grown ergonomically with use and thus opens up different perspectives in the workspace and, with them, inspiring perspectives.

The planners also developed a thematic meta-level of five thematic areas for the spatial organization of the office space: Land, Air, Water, Energy and Urban. These are subject to a holistically understood interplay of colors, forms, materials and furniture, which endeavors to offer the employees, who are only present temporarily and often change between presence work and home office, an office world that is located and, in a sense, perceived as “home”. To this end, a wide variety of space-creating elements were used: glazed or semi-open zones, lounges, conversation niches, or vaulted interior arbors.

As a designer, how would you briefly and succinctly define the term “New Work”?

Sven Kaun-Feederle: For us, New Work means the path we take together with our customers for sustainable working landscapes. In contrast to a classic office structure, we designed an agile working landscape for Disy: with an open team area and supplementary room zones for communication, concentration, co-creation and meetings. In addition, areas in which employees experience themselves as a community are important.

There is a lot of talk about sustainability at the moment: Do you have a basic approach to this?

In close cooperation with the client and its employees, we develop interior design concepts that are future-proof and sustainable. For the company, this is a secure investment in the future. For the Disy team, this means appreciation, a feel-good factor and good working conditions. High-quality and environmentally certified products are indispensable in this context, as longevity and thus sustainability are a high priority for us.

Is it possible to respond to the home office trend in office design, or should there be a clear distinction between private and office interiors?

Due to the long time spent in the home office, employees have often set up their own working world at home. This is very individual and not generally transferable to the employer’s office world. Nevertheless, today homelike aspects are almost always incorporated into the new working landscape to create a feel-good atmosphere. In an appreciative hybrid environment in which people can work optimally, team spirit can be experienced and the headquarters becomes the “heartquarter”.