Community at the Centre. Online and Offline

The reception area plays a key role for Wardow. This is where the company regularly welcomes representatives from manufacturers, who are here to present their new products. A presentation island with height-adjustable shelves offers the opportunity to arrange products and entire collections as in a classic retail environment. This transforms the lobby into a showroom – an efficient setting for suppliers and Wardow alike to make decisions about future product ranges. When no supplier is visiting, the online retailer can present its bestselling products or the latest bag and luggage trends here. This also creates offline points of contact with the product portfolio for employees. And of course, this area with its adjoining meeting rooms is also ideal for internal presentations and team events.

The open space work areas are demarcated and slightly separated by carpets and acoustic filter elements. The colour palette throughout the building remains reduced and clear, but is implemented in a diverse way. We use furniture, curtains and textiles to add colourful accents, creating a varied environment that is versatile but unobtrusive in design. The result is just the right mix of openness and concentration.

The office also comprises different situations for dialogue and collaboration. These range from meeting rooms behind closed doors to couch landscapes and agile standing meeting rooms with modular whiteboards for collaborative brainstorming. There are also power stations on all floors, which can be used for contemplative moments over a cup of coffee, as well as for spontaneous exchanges.

On the top floor, we created a community hub that is all about coming together – during working hours and thereafter. We use half the floor to create spaces for eating together, relaxing and after-work events. Firstly, there is a spacious kitchen. From small tables along the outside façade with a view of the beautiful UNESCO World Heritage landscape to large tables and a bar, various opportunities exist for planned or spontaneous socialising. A large terrace invites you to after-work barbecues or a contemplative end to the working day, but it is also the ideal place for a coffee break or to hold a meeting with a view.