At the court garden

A special location

The location is “ganz was B’sondres”, as they would probably say in Munich – and you can recognise it from the typical arched windows in the interior shots: The world of work presented here resides on Odeonsplatz, in the reputable heart of the Bavarian metropolis. Diagonally opposite the Theatine Church, on the upper floor above the historic Hofgarten arcades, it is a pleasant place to work, with two cafés below and the Hofgarten behind you. The designers from Schmidhuber Future Work quickly came up with their convincing interior concept for this stimulatingly windowed and correspondingly bright floor. The rectangular floor plan, which had previously been completely gutted, was divided lengthways into three roughly equal areas, with the access and toilet block located at the centre of the outer ends. The client, the Berylls Group, a consulting agency in the automotive sector, has distributed 20 stationary workstations across 550 square metres of office space, each of which is divided into two or three offices facing the city or the park side.

Flexible

Three technically optimised meeting and workshop rooms were also integrated, which are used for office discussions or client meetings. In order to fulfil the requirements profile of Berylls Homebase with its functions as a communicative intersection and exchange platform for consultants, but also as a quiet focal point, spatial transparency, which is achieved through discreetly framed and partly curved glass surfaces, is combined with high-quality acoustics and flexible privacy and shading media – the style-defining curtains. This functional design language is complemented by cosy elements based on the use of real wood and leather. There is also space for a semi-open kitchen, which offers a restaurant-like atmosphere. You can choose between a quick coffee and a chat at the elegant kitchen block or a comfortable seat in the soft armchairs at the round table.

What do you consider to be the key qualities of a good workplace?
Martin Lersch (SCHMIDHUBER): Even if the natural needs of people largely coincide, every industry and organisation has specific requirements and needs. There is therefore no one-size-fits-all solution for a good workplace. Only a deep understanding of the specific processes and characters of an organisation leads to a suitable place for good work. This is why we programme spaces on the basis of well-founded workshops, which initially start away from functions and design in order to ask the fundamental question in advance: How do we want to work in the future?
Do you see any similarities in interior design for living and working?
The home has established itself as another place for good work, so that the boundaries between living and working are no longer clear-cut. Work-life blending can therefore also be applied to offices, which should be more than just places for work. They are living spaces in which we spend a large part of our waking hours. Therefore, they should not only be shaped according to functional and legal requirements, but also show emotions and identity. However, this is not about the personal identity of a home, but about the identity of an organisation with its own culture, values and vision.
Which material-related aspects do you consider to be the most important for the future development of workspaces?                                                                                                                                                                    Sustainability and health will play an increasingly important role in the design of workspaces in the future. Materials that release substances into the air make us ill and therefore have no place in our offices. The issue of resources will also be reflected in interior design. Furniture and materials that have not yet reached the end of their life cycle can be reused in projects. The skilful combination of new sustainable materials with recycled products will become a decisive and measurable factor in the design.