Leipzig, Germany, July 6, 2023. The design of offices has a significant influence on employee satisfaction, creativity and efficiency. The newly designed office working environment of the consultancy company Drees & Sommer SE offers its employees ideal conditions in Leipzig now. The office concept was planned and implemented by the firm’s inhouse New Work experts who strongly focus on sustainable materials and an activities-based choice of where to work.
The enlarged office offers space for around 140 staff members. But there are 99 fixed workstations only. This is possible thanks to a desk-sharing concept and remote working. Drees & Sommer moved in this office in Leipzig in 2012. The location is 650 square meters larger now. So, the total office area is 1,750 square meters. There are 35 new workplaces, six meeting rooms and three so-called ‘Chatpods’ – a room-in-room system, where employees can make confidential phone calls, for example. The office is fully designed for activity-based work. Users can choose where to work, depending on what they do.
Focus on Users
Remote working has become more popular, but the office has not lost its relevance – on the contrary: the office plays a more important role than ever before. What is not possible remotely, must be done in (and by) the office. And this is particularly the case for the personal – and informal – exchange between colleagues. ‘We have designed our new office with an uncompromising focus on the needs of our employees – based on a survey carried prior to the conversion. We have created an office working environment where things are possible that are not possible when working at home or somewhere else. Our mixture of open workplaces, rest and recreation spaces and encounter areas aims to encourage communication,’ explains Drees & Sommer Partner Jörg Wohlfarth, who heads the office in Leipzig.
In combination with a large kitchen and extensive vegetation to create a good indoor climate, this makes for highly concentrated working in an attractive environment. ‘We have furnished the office with regional products made by carpenters and furniture makers from Leipzig. The rooms are designed and equipped differently to offer fitting settings for a variety of occasions. For example, there are meeting rooms in three different variants: classical with a table and chairs, a room with standing tables and a room with a lounge character,’ explains Susanne Glaubitz, senior planning manager for Modern Work at Drees & Sommer.
Sustainability Meets Urban History
The renovation measures are guided by holistic sustainability aspects. For example, both the acoustically effective slat walls and the chatpods from the manufacturer Impact Acoustic were made using certified Cradle to Cradle materials. The parquet flooring by Bauwerk Parkett and the carpet tiles by Tarkett are also Cradle to Cradle certified. In addition, the carpet tiles bind fine particles and thus reduce the concentration of particulate matter in the air. The idea behind the Cradle to Cradle concept is that processes, materials and buildings should be designed in a way that they are healthy for people and safe for the environment. Cradle to Cradle certified materials are free of harmless substances, unmixed and totally recyclable.
‘Every Drees & Sommer office is unique in its design details and tells its own location-specific story. The walls in Leipzig are decorated with pictures of local scenes. The rooms have the names of Leipzig’s squares,’ explains Susanne Glaubitz.
After conclusion of the construction work in the new area, Drees & Sommer will start modernizing the old part of the office and align the design with the new standard. Renovation of the reception area will start in fall already. Conversion of the other office rooms to a modern working space is scheduled for spring 2024. In addition, there will be a minimum of ten employee car spaces with charging stations in order to promote environmentally friendly mobility.