WORK AT HOME

working home

A central concern in the design of this working environment was – as the responsible architecture firm Die Planstelle comprehensibly writes – to formulate a place, even a real “working home”. “The fundamental attractor for the presence in the office is to appeal to all the senses and to create a feel-good space for encounters and self-efficacy in terms of colours, textures, haptics, acoustics, climate and light.” Having been spun off from a parent company, a Munich-based media company needed to create a location that could absorb and bundle the energy of the young digital team and transform it into a positive effect for everyone. The 600 square metre office space that was ultimately chosen offers 400 square metres of office space for around 37 permanent IT workstations; a sharing factor of 1 to 3 distributes the presence of the 100 employees in line with contemporary work processes.

meeting points

In the centre area, those present have ergonomically angled desks in different clusters that form small islands. Each of these offers space for at least two screens. In the centre axis of the open-plan office, there are three rooms for team meetings or individual retreats. Specific lighting technology allows the use of different lighting scenarios to optimise the atmosphere. Two focus offices have been positioned to the side for concentrated work. On the opposite narrow side of the floor is a slightly separate area, the “marketplace”, which, in addition to the coffee kitchen, has a differentiated usage programme. In addition to catering, it offers workstations by the window, spontaneous meeting points for informal group discussions and equipment with mobile bar tables, glass whiteboards and a large screen for workshop formats. As well and intensively as these freshly designed workspaces have been accepted by the workforce, it is safe to assume that a new “home” has indeed been created here.

What do you think are the key qualities of a good workplace?
Liane Ackermann: There are many different reasons why people like to use a workplace. This is due to the individuality of the users and the corporate culture. The more well-founded and thorough the basic assessment is, the better the space will support the respective working methods. Detailed enquiries and genuine participation processes develop the right quality, in which successful planning leads to a cosy working environment.
Do you see any similarities in interior design for living and working?
At first glance, you can see that living now includes a working part and should meet more complex requirements due to 24/7 use. However, the heterogeneous user group requires a more multifaceted balance between generic and unique in office space planning. The aim of a good room design is to create the best possible sense of well-being in the context of functionality and user needs. This is what we have in common when designing living and working spaces.
Which material-related aspects do you consider to be the most important for the future development of workspaces?
In our everyday working lives, we are increasingly merging with our digital work tools. The physical space surrounding us, in which we sit while we interact digitally with people, only seems to fade into the background. As multi-sensory beings, sensory impressions are essential for our well-being. Feeling ourselves and others, as well as receiving feedback on our self-efficacy, is a key factor in this. In future, the interplay of plants, light, materiality, texture and odours will play a central role in the planning of attractive workspaces.