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BANKEN UND BEHÖRDEN • BANKS AND AUTHORITY BUILDINGS TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

T he canteen in the basement of the German HSBC headquarters in Düsseldorf was
a typical child of its time. While the building, constructed by HPP Architects in
the 1970s, still radiates a timeless elegance with its listed red granite façade, the wind-
owless staff canteen was getting on in years. Technology, lighting, and functionality
no longer complied with current standards; there was a lack of both daylight and an
ambience. The bank now wanted a cosy and communicative ambience with various
possibilities for employees to communicate. At first, TTSP HWP Seidel fundamentally
redefined the angled and inefficient layout of the kitchen and seating area and crea-
ted smoothly interlocking functional zones. The number of seats could be increased
from 150 to 200. However, the architects deliberately avoided distracting from the dif-
ficult situation by merely using bright colours and lots of white. Instead - using the
structural conditions - different room areas with different heights and levels of bright-
ness were created. A central aspect of the concept was the close collaboration with
the lighting designers from Licht Kunst Licht. Jointly, the designers created an optimal
illumination and developed a solution for the missing daylight: a 22-metre long lumi-
nous wall with intelligent lighting control to recreate the lighting moods over the cour-
se of the day. This so-called circadian lighting solution was one of the main parame-
ters which mad eit possible to reach an agreement with the authorities on the opera-
Die Holztische wurden speziell für die Kantine entworfen. • The wooden tables were specially designed. tion of the canteen and kitchen without direct daylight.

Clearly structured and high-contrast design

The materiality and colour scheme was determined by the guiding principle of contrast.
Die Möblierung reagiert auf verschiedene Vorlieben. • The furniture reacts to different preferences.
The anchor point for this is the black Bitu terrazzo floor, which takes up the hard stone
look of the façades and the building. Laid without joints, it merges the polygonal floor
plan into a uniform surface, thus lending the room a spacious appearance. In addition,
the floor covering is durable, hard-wearing, and has good acoustic properties despite its
hardness. The architects contrasted the black floor in the seating area with a white cei-
ling. Between these two poles it was easy to work with materials of different colours
and textures; contrasts between light/dark, warm/cold, and matt/glossy were staged.
Functionally, the seating area is divided into four sections with different lighting, ceiling
heights, and furnishings: the largest area with long wooden benches underneath a white
ceiling is the central meeting point for larger groups. The custom-designed wooden fur-
niture creates warm highlights, which, in turn, are juxtaposed with filigree black seating.
However, the central point of contact for the visitors is the freeflow area with the all-
black food counter. It extends in front of the partition wall towards the kitchen, which
is covered with oversized white tiles. An area furnished with bar tables and bar stools
for a short snack or an espresso is oriented towards the building core, while a narrow
area with groups of tables of four is arranged along the exterior wall. Framed by struc-
tural supports and a lower ceiling, it is quieter and also suitable for confidential con-
versations. Behind it, the aforementioned 22-metre long luminous wall extends like a
panorama over the entire width of the room.
Atmosphere similar to daylight and relation to the outside world
Der Freeflow-Bereich, die Essensausgabe, wirkt futuristisch. • The freeflow area has a futuristic effect.

The "Panorama Window" shows a work by artist Stephan Kaluza. For his "Rhine
Project", he travelled 1,233 km along the Rhine and documented the river by taking a
photo every few minutes. The image selected for the HSBC canteen is printed on fol-
ded plasterboard to create depth and density. It is illuminated with linear, 1.5-meter
long Tunable-White LED profiles, which are concealed behind the glazing on the cei-
ling. The light colour gradually changes from warm 2,700 Kelvin in the morning to
cold 6,000 Kelvin at noon and back to a warm light colour in the evening. Similar
floor-mounted RGBW LED light profiles make it possible to let the light graze upwards
over the river scenery to emphasise and intensify its texture. At sunrise and sunset,
these lighting elements immerse the scenery in an atmospheric orange light. The wall
immersed in light offered the architects a great opportunity to work metaphorically
without being purely decorative. The chosen Rhine motif proved to be ideal: firstly,
the river has a thematic relationship to the City of Düsseldorf; secondly, the proporti-
ons of the wall make it an ideal support for the potentially infinite motif. Despite the
confined space, the processes in the seating area and kitchen work excellently. The
carefully balanced design by TTSP HWP Seidel provides a clear and calm background.
The use of acoustic ceiling elements contributes to very pleasant acoustics, despite
the many sound-reflecting surfaces and sources of noise.

160 • AIT 12.2018