This is What Work Looks Like Today: Contemporary Workplace Concepts á la PLY
How and where would we most love to work? Or rather: how can spaces support creativity, productivity and wellbeing? The architects of the Hamburg-based PLY Atelier planning office always ask themselves these questions when starting on a new project. “The perceived quality of life should increase when entering a room” is an important mantra for everyone working at PLY, says CEO David Einsiedler. With a unique combination of ambience and functionality, PLY designs are synonymous with modern life and work. Each project is defined by the signature PLY style, a very individual expression featuring design icons from the 1920s to ‘50s, vintage interior objects and bespoke solutions based on modern technology: the projects by PLY Atelier mirror an individual vision and credibility while succeeding in creating a balance between life and work. Workspaces designed by PLY encourage communication between the different groups of people in an office environment.
Under the direction of David Einsiedler, Clara Zachariassen and Joke Rasch, PLY Atelier manages interior design projects from initial sketches to handing over the keys and beyond. The studio also develops bespoke products for projects and clients and supervises their production, for example the PLY STOOL series, the K 831 PLY luminaire and Flex-Bench, an office-furniture system featuring sliding tabletops, as well as bespoke built-in and one-off furniture. Since the studio’s foundation in 2011, the PLY architects have been designing office, retail, hospitality and hotel interiors, as well as exhibition spaces. The following selection introduces projects by which PLY Atelier has become known internationally as a specialist for contemporary workspaces:
Project Collins (Hamburg, 2014)
For the 3,000 square metre offices of Otto Group’s Hamburg-based Projekt Collins e-commerce start-up, PLY Atelier developed a concept that links up, both functionally and visually, three building sections of different styles and ages. Diagonal concrete pillars in the newer part of the building and the historic clinkered façade in the old part form the brackets that frame Projekt Collin’s new home. The workstations for 250 employees are defined by both clear functionality and an almost domestic colour and lighting concept. The sandblasted old concrete surfaces were contrasted with a coarse-weave carpet, while open-pore wood brings a warm note to the functional environment. In addition to height-adjustable workbenches for teamwork, each of the three floors features different retreat zones, ranging from telephone booths and small gardens with specially developed Eames swings to various types of meeting spaces and large kitchens and cafeterias. The meeting areas are entirely equipped with magnetic whiteboard walls or with walls treated with blackboard paint: no idea is lost and thoughts can be structured. The lighting concept includes the K 831 PLY as workplace lamp and refurbished, LED-fitted vintage lamps for the halls. Originally used in industrial plants, powerful LED ceiling floodlights provide additional illumination.
Deloitte Digital (Düsseldorf, 2016)
A functional-creative and atmospheric workspace was created in an old arms factory, featuring impressive joists and a room height of more than four metres in certain parts. The open-plan digital studio caters to two different use scenarios based on project work. When you enter the studio, you find yourself in a large kitchen with an open fireplace. It’s a place to come together with both colleagues and clients: to share breakfast in the morning, for lunch or for a spontaneous cup of coffee or a social drink after hours. Adjacent to the kitchen is the company’s co-working space, which, during workshops and sprints, is also accessible to clients. Green wall gardens create a natural and vibrant ambience. The specially developed, flexible work areas in the rear part of the building are only accessible to employees: it’s the place where the teams of designers, developers and consultants are based and come together on a project-specific basis. The highly functional office design was tailored to modern ways of working and to open team and communication structures that include clients and partners in the form of co-working projects. Altogether, the different spaces meet the requirements for contemporary concepts of quality in life and work.
Converse (Berlin, 2015)
Converse’s European headquarters, located in the Bikini Haus at Bahnhof Zoo in Berlin, were completed in June 2015. A combination of showroom and office space for 50 employees is based on two floors. PLY was responsible for all interior fittings, including direct and indirect illumination and the design of large parts of the office for the legendary footwear brand. Inspired by the look of skateboarding arenas, the surfaces of worktables and built-in furniture were finished with multiplex boards, while the kitchen areas feature sawnwood surfaces. Used as a versatile storage solution, the tubular steel system furniture by Berlin-based company System 180 features monochrome surfaces that match the floors and walls while the neon-yellow shelving frames provide colourful accents.
Geometry Global (Hamburg, 2014)
For the Hamburg branch of brand activation agency Geometry Global, PLY Atelier developed a varied and modern workspace based on a capacious open plan concept covering more than 2,000 square metres of floor space. There are also different types of separate rooms into which one can withdraw for official meetings with clients, for team meetings or for informal brainstorming sessions among colleagues. Furthermore, there is an arena for larger events such as presentations and a library for quiet and focused work, as well as several kitchens and lounge areas. Altogether perfect conditions for an open work culture, which come very close to creating a quality of life that feels like ‘home’. The interior fittings underline the agency’s open approach and culture, bringing the different disciplines closer together. Also developed by PLY, a sustainable and energy-saving light concept entirely based on LEDs provides flexible and warm illumination. Employees can individually adjust the light above their workstations.
Collabor8 Co-working Space for Otto (Hamburg, 2017)
As part of Otto Group’s Kulturwandel 4.0 programme, a former 1,700 square metre storage facility on the 8th floor was converted into a co-working space featuring different zones for different types of use. Since January 2017, both internal and external workers and partners have been using the space for open and creative work. With Collabor8, PLY Atelier has developed a ‘new work’ concept that meets the most varied demands and supports mobile working as well as creativity, communication and exchange among staff – whether it’s a team, an individual or a spontaneously formed group, whether it’s quiet and focused work or exchanges around a table, in small flexible work units, in the coffee lounge or in the library. Forming the heart of the space, an arena that can accommodate more than 100 people is used for presentations, talks or panel discussions. PLY also developed special tables that can be combined into various units to form what’s known as ‘Flex Space’. Sixteen mobile workstations can be arranged into units of 2, 4, 6 or 8 to support a high level of flexibility and to facilitate teamwork.
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