OFFICE BUILDINGS

Dear Readers,

what do office spaces look like when interior designers/architects design them for their own purposes, acting as both clients and planners? This happened in Stuttgart, at Mörikehof. In the former industrial quarter from the Wilhelminian era, the Space4 museum designers now have plenty of room for their ideas and a colourful working environment that employees look forward to every day. At On-EarthStudio in Xi’an, China, it is also an existing building that now houses their office- and research rooms. These have little in common with German workplace guidelines, but the low-tech solution of plywood, structural steel and black wooden slats is all the more atmospheric. In the new Fabrik Office building in Obersendling, the Danish architectural firm Henning Larsen has designed 3,500 square metres of office space for itself and the consulting group Ramboll – with furniture and ceilings made from waste wood, carpets made from recycled plastic out of the sea and fixtures made from former formwork boards. But the other 30 or so projects we researched on the subject of offices and administration are also characterized by the conscious use of space and materials and present appropriate and independent solutions. Determining the perfect amount of office area required has not become easier with home offices and desk sharing, but it matters. The Office Report 2025 by pro m2 in Düsseldorf, which verifies sustainable office models based on data, can help. Do you already have plans for the autumn holidays? Several new museums are currently making a name for themselves and attracting visitors with fresh concepts: the German Oceanographic Museum in Stralsund, the Erlebnismuseum Perlmutter in Adorf and the “Museum Island of the Future” in Bremerhaven which Janina Poesch took a look at. We will report on the latter and the beautiful city on the North Sea in the next issues. And Dominik Reding proves in Bei Liebe klickt’s! that it is sometimes worthwhile to visit even ugly, carelessly designed office spaces. Even in “musty offices”, the right decisions can sometimes be made. Imagine if they had been well-designed rooms…

Best wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect