REVITALISED VILLA

Art Nouveau

As the saying goes: you can’t buy style, you have to have it. Well, when it comes to designing a harmonious and sophisticated place in which to live, work or relax, it is always a safe decision to choose good architecture as the basis – as in the case of the Heidenheim Art Nouveau villa, which was recently sensitively renovated and revitalised by Wolf Planung for the company’s own location. Here, the dignified historical ambience of the 1907 building is combined with contemporary utilisation requirements to create a pleasant interior design that is characterised by both a good floor plan and high-quality surfaces and details. The restrained colour concept keeps the wooden panelling around the windows and the stucco work in white, while the walls are painted in a warm, light shade of grey. The preserved oak parquet flooring is covered with a beige carpet, while colour accents in sage and pink correspond with the historic tiles in the entrance area.

Layout

The internal layout of the building, which originates from the villa typology, accommodates the spatial programme of the new Wolf working environment: The barrel-vaulted hallway is continued as the entrance area and central meeting point for employees and customers and welcomes them with a coffee bar and an adjoining seating area. Directly adjacent are workstations and a large conference room – which formally references the preserved ceiling stucco and has finely tuned lighting as well as a lounge bay window for productive discussion breaks. Great importance was also attached to the flexible furnishings, which use height-adjustable tables, mobile stools and modular seating, as well as to the various meeting options. These are also distributed on the upper floors with additional office space and a telephone box. On the garden floor, large French doors invite you to step out onto the terrace – a relaxing advantage when your office is located in a villa.

What do you think are the key qualities of a good workplace?
Heidi Apetz: A balanced ratio of communication areas, retreat and recreation areas. At the individual workplace, where concentrated work takes place, good acoustics and well thought-out lighting design with artificial light and daylight as well as flexible ergonomics are crucial.
Do you see any similarities in interior design for living and working?
As planners, we create spaces and atmospheres that characterise people’s everyday lives, both at home and at work. It is therefore logical to adapt the design principles and materiality of both areas. However, the design of working environments requires particular clarity and expressiveness in order to create a sense of identity, to appeal to a wide range of users and to develop the qualities of the functional areas in a resilient manner in everyday working life. This clarity can be expressed in the spatial structure, the colour concept or the materiality.
Which functional aspects do you consider to be the most important for the future development of workspaces?
Many fields of activity benefit greatly from direct communication and interaction, from people coming together in the workplace. It is crucial that the workspace has an attractive effect and places the needs of the employee at the centre. From a functional point of view, however, the focus should not only be on the communication areas, but above all should also offer the opportunity for quiet and concentrated work. Only in this way can the collaborative workspace be convincing in all areas.