BANKS AND AUTHORITY BUILDINGS

Dear Readers,

everything looks so wonderfully colourful here! That was our first thought when we looked at the projects for the December issue on banks and authorities. Colour of all things for a rather serious construction task! Explanations quickly became apparent: The Stadtsparkasse Wuppertal by bkp doesn’t want to look like a bank but references the local suspension railway with its green ribbed structure, aiming to entice customers to physically visit the bank. At Sparkasse Weil am Rhein by LRO, the stringent structure is broken up by a jaunty green carpet, and the PSD Bank in Friedenau by Ester Bruzkus Architekten exudes a veritable living room atmosphere. What happened? The trend to make banks look welcoming and customer-friendly has been evident in recent years, but the cheerful colourfulness is new. It also characterises the selected insurances and law firms, which, with an optimistic colour scheme, atmospherically reduce threshold fears and provide their staff with an attractive working environment. The design of city halls and community centres is less colourful; here, an appreciative, identity-building material canon of solid stone or concrete, bright surfaces and warm wood seems to prevail. Their common characteristic: The spaces benefit the users! And that’s definitely relevant at the moment! The year 2023, too, has presented us with challenges, and our resilience will continue to be put to the test: climate change and armed conflicts, as well as the resulting environmental and economic problems, have intensified and solutions are not in sight. Spending time in rooms that convey cheerful optimism is therefore soothing. Intelligent interior design can achieve this, as was agreed upon at the Federal General Assembly of the bdia, during which a new board was elected. The new bdia president is Prof. Carsten Wiewiorra, who is assisted by treasurer and vice-president Johann Haidn, as well as vice-presidents Natascha Ninic and Gabriela Hauser. We thank you for your loyalty and wish you a Merry Christmas and the very best for the coming year!

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