Coming on strong
In terms of lifestyle, Fossil is one of the most innovative companies in the world. The requirements placed on the new administrative centre (administration headquarters) and its additional outlet store in Grabenstätt, Germany, were high: it had to provide an optimal work environment for the changing needs of various departments. And that in the large transparent space of an open office. This was a challenge that Bene’s RM Room Module addressed and achieved in a balancing act between flexibility and superior quality. "What vintage are you?TM" This question is at the heart and soul of Fossil. The American watch made vintage its style-building principle and the brand represents an uncomplicated lifestyle.Founded in 1984, the company turned its watches into trendy accessories and packed them into tin cans with a retro look. Accessories including handbags, leather goods, belts, sunglasses, jewellery, jeans, clothes and electronics followed. Nostalgic details, col-ours and other evocative effects are an integral part of the brand’s presentation, that stir emotions.
The company expanded and is now represented in over 90 countries. In 2000 Fossil opened its first stores in Germany and business flourished. When its three existing loca-tions were bursting at the seams, Fossil decided to build from scratch in Grabenstätt. Fossil Europe’s head office is situated directly on highway A8, which connects Salzburg with Mu-nich. "Between 60,000 and 80,000 cars pass by every day, and a lot of customers stop by", says Maximilian Wimmer, project manager of the administration building. "The location has high exposure. We wanted to show our colours and what our brand stands for. And people should feel comfortable here." Fossil has an open corporate culture with a flat hierarchy. Transparency and communications are key values, and these are expressed in the architec-ture of Haumann & Fuchs, Traunstein.
Marketplace office
The building was designed to house approximately 250 workstations and has an H-shaped floor plan consisting of two long wings, each 15 metres wide. The north tract is 65 metres long, the south one 60 metres. These wings flank the customer entrance, situated by a pond to the west, in an enclosing gesture. Below the glass skylight in the high atrium, with its galleries in the middle, the ground floor offers countless possibilities to display products. In addition, the north wing houses the largest Fossil store in the world. The south side of the ground floor is located directly onto the slope and contains a large, funnel-shaped arena with steps, designed for lectures and employee training sessions. It is also used for presenting new materials and new models. The centre of the building is like a market place. It’s a place to communicate and enables people to enjoy and maintain eye contact straight across the building and over several floors.
"Our departments are all developing at different paces. Some areas are growing very fast. It is important that they can quickly increase the number of work stations whenever neces-sary", Wimmer says to explain the requirements. Office furniture that adjusts to meet these changes that can define spaces and build groups was essential. In workshops with the em-ployees, Bene was able to find the perfect solutions: using the RM Room Module. Most work is done in an open office, so this hybrid between a dividing wall and shelves is ideal to provide the necessary differentiation and fine tuning for individual needs. It became a room-shaping element in the large, transparent open area. Its restrained design and white surfaces create an overall calm impression. The specific alignment of the free-standing cabinets, tables and the RM Room Module also makes it possible to create secluded niches. "The thing I find so ingenious about the furniture concept we chose is that it’s a modular system - with only a few components we are able to map out the individual space requirements, very flexibly, without a lot of effort," says Wimmer.
An all-rounder
The RM Room Module is configured so that everyone can work with it. In Fossil’s version, its light, aluminium frame is open at the bottom. It has a white panel starting at table height, metal storage space and is equipped with pinboard elements. The pinboards can be per-sonalised with photographs, notes and other utensils. This element is about 1.13 metres high. That shields people from intrusive view and gives them the privacy they need for con-centrated work. And it is exactly the same height as the white bottom cabinets with their natural coloured add-ons that usually stand at right angles to the tables in the halls. They offer additional storage space and demarcate the borders of the individual workplaces from the open office. As soon as you raise your head you can see over the cabinet walls and right through the airy frame of the RM Room Module to see the entire office.
For anyone who needs more storage surface there is another row of shelves above the viewing window. It can be accessed from both sides and used for two adjacent work sta-tions. Sometimes, in place of the upper shelf there is a second broad strip of pinboard. The maximum height of the RM Room Module is 1.90 metres. That leaves plenty of space for air and light beneath the acoustic ceiling. Simultaneously it also defines a consistent optical upper line of all the dividing elements. Next to these open dividing walls and shelves peo-ple can work back to back, face to face, in pairs, in groups of four or even alone.
Communicative and concentrative
The RM Room Module proved its credentials for its multifunctionality during planning: the Call Centre is located in the western part of the north wing on the second floor. Groupings of four tables are separated here by an RM Room Module. There are two cabinets between the groups of four and the hallway. An acoustic ceiling, the carpet on the floor and the fur-niture create enough sound protection for about 2,000 telephone conversations every day to comfortably occur. Around Christmas this number goes up to 4,000. The white cabinet walls provide lots of storage for books and filing. Here there are work spaces in groups of two, separated by a 1.13-metre high RM Room Module. With pinboard walls and a writing counter, of course. Over the cabinets to the other side, where further desks are docked, you look out into the surrounding natural landscape. The other departments also have per-fect, bright workplaces with an external view.
Quite deliberately, there is only one services area in the north wing. "The people from the south wing have to go over there too. That keeps everyone moving and you frequently meet people", says architect Kastner, project manager at Haumann & Fuchs. "Communication works incredibly well. No one wants to go to the conference room here." Instead, you just meet casually and lean on the wooden railing of the steel cable balustrade and watch what’s going on. Of course there are also some of Bene’s standing tables and playful, round stools that encourage balanced posture. Many of these break-out configurations have an Idea Wall from Bene’s PARCS series. This promotes relaxed communication and often results in spontaneous presentations.
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