The TÜV Association stands for technological safety and digital security, as well as sustainable standards. Its core tasks include connecting people, boosting interaction between politicians and businesses, and fostering knowledge transfer between its members. The TÜV Association remodeled its offices in Berlin to create a contemporary working environment. The outcome is a workplace for small, focused groups, big committee meetings, or even hybrid conferences. The interior designers, TÜV Association and Wilkhahn worked hand in hand to create the new outfitting concept. From the color scheme to the materials to the space accommodating multi-usage options perfectly, they coordinated everything down to the last detail.
An All-Round Office Facelift: The Agility-Driven TÜV Association Chooses Wilkhahn Furniture
The modernization of the TÜV office on the bank of Berlin’s river Spree was all about communicating, workforce identification with the employer and transparency. The project was spearheaded by interior design studio Susanne Philippson. The team came up with an open-plan, versatile working environment approximately 1,200 square meters in size. The space reflects and applies the Association’s values and requirements. The upshot is an agile workplace that embraces movement, collaboration and deep work in equal measure. What’s more, it features seminal Wilkhahn furniture.
Versatility throughout – from big meetings to workshops
The office is a mix of open-plan workspaces, lounges, quiet rooms for deep work, a bistro, and several multipurpose conference rooms. Conference rooms K1 and K2, which are separated by a mobile glass partition, are a particular focus. If required, this partition can be opened fully to create one single large space, making it ideal for assemblies, hybrid conferences, or large meetings with lots of attendees. “Our goal was to create workspaces that reflect our association’s desire to have its finger on the pulse. We wanted the premises to be agile, user friendly and future proof,” comments Dr. Joachim Bühler, director of the TÜV Association. “Wilkhahn didn’t just understand our remit, but translated it into furniture and spaces that made our employees’ and guests’ day-to-day lives noticeably easier.”
The furniture chosen is from the Wilkhahn Confair Next range, which was custom developed for requirements like these. This furniture is versatile, high quality and intuitive to use. The mobile concept enables spontaneous changes of room and taps into diverse scenarios – from focused meetings to open-plan workshop formats.
Precise planning and a collaborative partnership
From the outset, the TÜV Association liaised closely with the interior design studio and Wilkhahn. The team analyzed usage requirements, room structures, and furniture options. Lots of products were trialed on site at Bad Münder to check out functionality and ergonomics. The TÜV Association liked the Wilkhahn products so much that it carried out the furniture planning almost exclusively with Wilkhahn. “We chose Wilkhahn wherever we could,” comments interior designer Susanne Philippson when asked about the collaboration.
Customized requests were met regarding the design of surfaces and covers. Shades of blue echo the TÜV Association’s corporate design and create an attractive link between the architecture, brand, and furniture. Occasional pops of color in salmon and turquoise are also scattered about.
Inspiration from Orgatec
The idea for the furniture arose at Orgatec. During a visit to the Wilkhahn stand, Reiner Heublein, co-owner and CEO of Susanne Philippson’s studio, spotted the new Confair Next range and was immediately impressed. The clearly structured design, high-quality materials and intuitive-to-use items perfectly matched the project’s goal of reconciling functionality and quality with design awareness.
The concept is complemented by Timetable Lift tables in the conference rooms, which flip up to save space and whose height is electrically adjustable via rechargeable batteries. IN office task chairs with Trimension® technology also feature in the workspaces. Yonda lounge chairs in lounges and informal spaces, as well as Occo chairs and Occo bar stools in the bistro have a residential sensibility and offer ergonomic comfort.
By liaising closely, planners, customers and Wilkhahn have managed to pull off an attractive, seminal concept throughout that is bound to appeal way beyond the German capital.
