Page 144 - AIT0417_E-Paper

BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

W henever one talks about market research today, the keyword “big data” is
quickly mentioned. This means that a lot of information is nowadays above all
digitally gathered and evaluated. The largest German market-research institute, GfK,
has of course realized this for a long time already and has an appropriate “Big Data
Hub” in Berlin. The team of between 30 and 50 employees was until now spread
across the whole city. A new office was now not only to bring the employees together
under one roof but, at the same time, serve as a pilot project for the venture of the
whole GfK into a new office era. As experts for innovative working worlds, Vitra and
our IFUB* office as the cooperation partner on site were commissioned. The new, cen-
tral office facilities are in Berlin’s Oberbaum City, formerly also known as “lamp city”.
The whole site used to serve for producing light bulbs before being turned into office
spaces between 1993 and 2000. The only evidences of the industrial past are unfortu-
nately just the historic brick façades. The rented premises on the second upper level
were also only partly suitable for the planned open-space concept. Although the
bearing structure of the old industrial building with its large distances between the
supports is ideal for open structures, as a first step many of the conventional office
cubicles added during the renovation of the site had to be removed. Result: airy, bright
rooms which make the original spatial effect of the factory building visible once again.

Ein Podest separiert die Lounge vom Gemeinschaftsraum. • A platform separates the lounge from the common room. Ceiling- and wall elements of structural steel

Vitra custom-fitted the new, open and flexible office concept exactly to the requests of
the occupants. During workshops, these had already been participating intensely
involved before the start of the planning. Various workstations in the open space give
the employees the possibility to either work with full concentration on their own or in
teams, as needed. To ensure the necessary quietness in the work areas, the reception,
Auch an der Decke kam das von den Architekten ... • For the ceiling as well, the architects ...
tea kitchen, espresso bar and lounge were placed in a separated section. At a large
table and the counter installed there, not only random encounters between guests and
employees take place but also meetings and small office parties. But there are also
separated rooms for undisturbed meetings and intense team work. In the context of
in-depth design planning, the concept was jointly elaborated by Vitra and IFUB*.
Particularly important was to bring the existing “renovated to death” rooms back to life
again. In addition to the already mentioned walls, the suspended ceilings were thus in
part removed. Then these ceiling sections were newly covered with a grid ceiling spe-
cifically developed for the project. Roughly welded structural steel was deliberately
used for this. It is to bring the former industrial charm back into the building whereby
the structural steel still looks elegant thanks to the white lacquering. Randomly sus-
pended elements – acoustically effective foam cubes – enliven the rigid grid and enhan-
ce room acoustics. A practical side effect: The number of the cubes and thus the acous-
tics can be flexibly adjusted depending on the requirements of the specific place. As a
reference to the old light-bulb factory, classic, large light bulbs with modern LED tech-
nology were furthermore freely suspended from the grid. In addition, the grid con-
struction was also used as a space-structuring element in the form of partitions.
Depending on the needs, the occupants are able to attach whiteboards, plant boxes
and storage shelves to them. With white hooks, the partitions can be used as clothes
racks. As regards the furnishing, office furniture serially produced by Vitra and the Vitra
... entwickelte Gitterraster mit Akustikwürfeln zum Einsatz. • ... developed a grid structure with acoustic cubes.
subsidiary Artek was combined with a series of custom-made products. For the built-
in cupboards, the plant boxes and the lockers, the same birch multiplex panels were
used that are characteristic of the workstations for focussed working in the Hack sys-
tem. The special structure of the material was emphasized by deliberately placed butt
joints, visible edges and matching grip holes. This concept is optimized with grooves
matching the grip holes. These grooves can be very easily labelled by the users with
commercial plug letters. Also in this style is the large built-in cupboard which adds a
special accent to the common room. An espresso bar, a printer cabinet, storage space,
lockers and two seating niches for waiting and meeting are here combined into one
element. As the central access point of the office, the entrances to the tea kitchen and
the WCs are also exactly right here. Good acoustics is ensured by the back walls of the
open niches consisting of wooden acoustic panels painted the same colour as the
walls. In the same room, the counter was combined with the slightly elevated, com-
fortable lounge. The floor of the platform as well as the fronts of the large built-in cup-
board is designed to look like a “toppled cupboard”. The lockers and the design of the
room numbers were not left to chance either but are designed from multiplex panels
in a similar shape and can be easily written on. The separated meeting rooms from
the time before the conversion were upgraded regarding their atmosphere with colour-
ful wall graphics into which magnetic whiteboard surfaces are integrated.

144 • AIT 4.2017