Caring is Sharing!

Communication, collaboration, concentration and contemplation: Providing the optimum environment for the respective activity was the overriding goal that Beiersdorf was committed to achieve. Working on the basis that flexibility and functionality are equally important, and that collaboration and sharing are key, but at the same time that space is allowed for individual freedom and different work styles, a value-based philosophy was drawn up that now forms the basis of the new global workplace strategy and the design of the Hamburg campus.

In essence, this means that a choreographed canon of room modules for focussed work and retreat, discreet and informal conversations while sitting or standing, concentrated contemplation while lying down, small workshops and big presentations, and even for spontaneous meetings and co-working situations is found throughout the new building – creating an intelligent landscape with a high level of offerings with which employees can identify. The company’s values are given a spatial context with a natural confidence on the six floors: The topic ‘care’ is not only understood as skincare, but also as interpersonal relationships, a culture of respect and care for the environment and for society.

This is first evident on the entrance level: In the Working Café and Campus Restaurant, every employee is welcomed with a grand gesture. Functioning as the centrepiece of the campus, a transparent and lively community space has been created on the ground floor, which can be used as an extended workplace at any time of day.

The Collaboration Hub on the first floor is also available to all campus employees. The floor plan, which is networked with other buildings, serves as an agile interaction zone with a variety of formats and spaces that are just as dynamic as the collaborative exchange that takes place here. The levels above form the Office, which also accommodates different working styles in a wide spectrum of spatial settings.

In order to create strong, value-added identification motifs in the 51,000 square-metre space, which each employee can adopt at will, we focused on flexible design in addition to adaptable communication and collaboration formats. This means that the whole space from floor to ceiling can be utilised in an agile way and be changed with minimum effort: Textile curtains can be opened or closed as required, acoustic partition walls can be moved, green, modular room dividers can be relocated, and furniture configurations changed. Even carpet tiles can be easily replaced, the wayfinding system on the ceiling rearranged, and the closed room modules repositioned. Depending on the situation, each area can therefore take on a new form whenever needed. Thus the 140 metre-long corridor, which runs through the building like a highline, is transformed from a classic access area into a spontaneous meeting zone, turning the act of coming together into a valuable experience.

What is more, different conference areas within the headquarters have their own unique atmosphere, making them memorable places that engender intuitive orientation: for example, experimental interaction zones such as the Garden of Creativity or the Playground, workshop-like spaces such as Under Construction and In the Clouds, communicative places like the Stage and the Power Station as a central café, hybrid-use areas such as the Urban Labs or the large Conference City Blocks.

In order to bring Beiersdorf’s corporate values – care, simplicity, courage and trust – to life not only in the new work philosophy, but also in the interior design, we focussed on using natural materials and plants, a pleasant feel, simple geometries and the central motif of skin. As a key design element, various shades of skin colour are found in the interior design, contrasting boldly with the corporate colours of blue and white. In various nuances, densities and overlays, these colours characterise the respective areas and create a pleasantly warm atmosphere in combination with the carpeting, wood, textile and solid surface materials.