A whole world of business – the „Handelsblatt Media Group“ with its 1000 employees – takes up
a forward-looking working environment of 20.000 sqm in their new headquarters in Düsseldorf.
This venue is not only located in the attractive urban quarter „Cartier Central“, but also presents itself as a space particularly conducive to communicative encounters, with a special emphasis on chances for people to meet.
Our design goals strived to support “the promotion of economic expertise“ with a tangibly exceptional interior architecture. In addition, this architecture lets the visitor experience first hand the identity of print and online brands, in the context of the digitalization of media. For example, we implemented the design premise “Handelsblatt journalism has three dimensions“ (on paper, as digital content, and live) in the design of the foyer and the restaurant and “town hall“ areas: Right from the start, the foyer shows the interplay of the analog and digital realm. For example, a round meeting point and attached swap meet for analog print media constitute a static counterpoint to a dynamic multi media wall two stories high. The adjacent area, the “town hall“, is a meeting place with a central open forum, specially lit.
The multi-functional seating arena is set against a longtable cafe bar, which is illuminated impressively by an installation of 400 floating wine glasses. Benches with presentation spaces and an integrated lounge gird the entire room.
A room dividing “portal” made from copper, integrated with a dividing glass wall, sets the “town hall“ apart from the restaurant. In the restaurant, large moveable dividing copper screens separate the food counters, as well as the main space, from “Focus Rooms” on the other side of the room. These visibly detached seating lounges offer a possibility to retreat, to eat, or to discuss. The “town hall“ and restaurant areas can be combined for larger events. Our modular and mobile architecture thus allows flexible options for various types of gatherings and conventions.
Black and white, the classic colours of the printing press, are the main colours in our concept.
Black and reflecting interior finishes enlarge the rooms visually, and creating a seemingly infinite space that the guest becomes a part of. Grey is the colour of the basalt and polyurethane floors, where it serves as a quiet, spacious background against which other visual elements are set: The corporate identity colours red and orange place accents against this background. The orange elements are taken up in copper sheets, which, together with whitewashed birch plywood, form spatial elements.
These two materials also allude to printing presses and printing papers in our design.
The upper six office stories of the publishing house and the “sky garden“ take up the Handelsblatt motto of the 360 degree process, and are designed around the chromatic circle, evolving vertically from bottom to top. This comes together with black, white, and grey, which created different interior themes with several furniture manufacturers. This is supported by film applied on the interior glass walls, which cycle through the colours of the rainbow. These films on the one hand mirror, but also change the core colour of the building level in a unique and ingenious way. They also help shape the external appearance of the building.
In this way, tailor-made communication spaces combine to form a straightforward overall design.
This design places personal contact first, and mirrors what the brand personality of the “Handelsblatt Media Group“ stands for.
