Tropical working environment

Design Ippolito Fleitz Group – Identity Architects
Location Herrenberg, Germany
This workspace gives vacation-vibes. The official motto here is "Maledives" and gives the employees a thropical feeling while working.

Yay spirit

No real advertisers would be involved if the client of this project, the internationally active advertising agency Roman Klis, did not come up with an associative name for its new premises: “Maldives of Design”.

This title is due, among other things, to the fact that more than 110 employees from 21 nations are employed here and thus a clear sign is to be set for the fundamental cosmopolitanism and content-related versatility of the company at its location in Herrenberg, Württemberg. On the other hand, it also reflects the imaginative design concept – borne by a “Yay spirit”. In the creative industry, it is not without reason that a playful moment is regarded as an essential generator of ideas and process paths.

Experiencing nature at work

The chosen motto of the “Maldives” associates the tropical archipelago, the ocean, the spectacular experience of nature condensed in one place – precisely this should move the employees to manoeuvre themselves out of the routine of pragmatic solutions on their own initiative.

The Ippolito Fleitz Group and Porsche Consulting developed a colour-intensive new-work landscape on three boomerang-like floors for this purpose: the central protagonists of the tropical theme are found in the green – these are the omnipresent green plants often used in suspended troughs.

Health aspect

Users confirm their mentally relaxing and physically refreshing qualities. They bring about an increase in humidity from 18 to 44 percent and reduce symptoms such as dry throat, coughs and headaches. Sickness notifications decreased by 50 percent and the fatigue factor dropped.

Natural tones

Rosé and natural tones characterise a working landscape of softly meandering walkways and multiple tables lined up along the sides of the windows, alcoves for informal conversations, counter-like bar tables for agile discussions, lounge areas and separate meeting rooms.

The “nudging principle”, which takes a holistic approach to behavioural psychology, was taken into account in the planning. It uses subtle design cues, but also digital cues and interventions, to help make processes easier, more intuitive and thus less stressful. Finally, the easiest way to come up with new ideas is to look up: The colouring of the ceiling, which runs from a calming blue to an agile white, widens the visual and mental space.

"We put over 2,000 plants in this office. Completely crazy - but for a good reason: they improve the air quality, dampen the noise level and put us in a good mood. That's design from the user's perspective."
— Peter Ippolito, Gunter Fleitz

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

Peter Ippolito: Fundamentally, a good workplace is a place where I like to be, not a place where I have to be. This is the case when its design is authentically derived from the values and purpose of the company and makes them spatially tangible. When innovation and collaboration processes take place there that are integrated into the spirit and culture of the organisation and allow employees to participate in its landscape of meaning and values.

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

Clearly, workspace needs to be rethought for home as well. How do we weave remote work into real floor plans, and how can we create typologies at home that make it possible to experience a flowing yet perceptible transition between living, working and leisure? There are many solutions for in-between spaces that avoid having the computer on the dining table. For this, we have to make furniture more flexible and create a minimum of discretion and ergonomic comfort even in a small space. For us as designers, this is an invitation to be creative and a great opportunity.

Which functional aspects are decisive for you in the future development of workspaces?

The office of tomorrow is a place where values and the meaningfulness of what is done there are negotiated. In photographs of new office projects, one rarely sees workplaces, but mostly lounges, cafeterias, communication spaces. This impressively reflects how the image of what we imagine work to be has changed. And also what functions the workplace has to fulfil. Today, we mainly organise communication instead of desks.

Details
ClientRoman Klis Design GmbH
CityHerrenberg
CountryGermany
ArchitectsIppolito Fleitz Group-Identity Architects
CompletionSeptember 2019
SectorCommunication
Project typeReconstruction/ Modernisation
Gross floor area m21.988
Number of employees90
Solutions
Lighting-
Flooring-
Acoustics-
Workspace Furniture-
Conference Furniture-
Lounge Furniture-
Greenery-
Technology-
Gastronomy-
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