Skip to main content

AXEL SPRINGER, BERLIN

  • categories

    Workplaces

  • area

    Europe

  • brand

    UniFor

  • projects

    OMA

When Axel Springer, the major European media and technology company, decided to make the transition to digital media, they undertook a visionary upgrade of their Zimmerstrasse headquarters, in the heart of the city near the former Berlin Wall, with the addition of a new building created in partnership with internationally renowned design firm, OMA. The building was imagined as a challenge to the traditional work environment with two-thirds devoted to spaces imbued with the power to inspire innovation — a project entrusted to UniFor's deeply rooted know-how.

OMA collaborated closely with UniFor to imagine flexible, informal office spaces free of partitions of any kind, allowing for spontaneous conversation and meaningful interaction to take place. To do so, the design teams — led by Rem Koolhaas of OMA — came up with a completely custom-made system of tables, pods, seats, and panels.

The workspace incorporates innovative use of electrification, which even extends to the seating such as the "donuts", a series of modular upholstered seat solutions.

Offering privacy and seamless soundproof design, an array of cylindrical pods in three unique sizes make space for intimate meetings, important phone calls, or simply for accessing a deep level of focus and concentration. 

The new Axel Springer building allows visitors to enjoy three of its levels. The ground floor is open to the public for events and exhibitions as well as being the site of restaurants and study areas. On an upper floor, the meeting deck gives observers an up-close perspective on what it means to work for a major media company.

The public garden is a space for all to convene and reflect. UniFor's contribution reaffirms its position at the forefront of workspace innovation and sensitive collaboration with leading designers and architects — not only in the professional realm, but also in cultural and communal settings.

HSBC, HONG KONG

HSBC,

  • categories

    Workplaces

  • area

    Asia-Pacific

  • brand

    UniFor

  • projects

    Foster + Partners

In the center of Hong Kong, near the harbor, the HSBC headquarters building is located on the former site of the City Hall. Originally designed by Norman Foster between 1979 and 1986 and reimagined by Foster + Partners, it is considered one of the city's most innovative architectural feats, encompassing three adjacent towers — scaling twenty-nine, thirty-six, and forty-four stories, respectively. In the tallest central tower, the fifteenth floor is home to the HSBC private client center, also known as the QRC Suites. Designed by Hassell, the floor is defined by rooms and small suites, a terrarium, and an apartment partitioned by UniFor.