Conversion of the Berlin office of the BDA – German Central Employee Association

The offices of the BDA are spread over six floors in the “Haus der Deutschen Wirtschaft” in the heart of Berlin directly on the River Spree. The offices will now be updated for digital working models with flexible workplaces. Under the design direction of Sebastian Felix Ernst of ERNST- office for architecture, an organisational and design concept was developed for gutting the building and redesigning the interior as well as the building structure.

The motivation for the modernisation was the desire to foster interdisciplinary collaboration in the team and to respond to the modern development of office work with flexible and varied workplaces. Against the backdrop of massive changes in the world of work due to globalisation, automation, digitalisation and individualisation, the individual office as a regular place of work has been called into question.

The analysis and survey of employees and management on their ideas for a new working environment conducted by Combine Consult were translated into a spatial concept that provides for different room typologies for communication, collaboration and exchange in addition to the small individual work spaces. An exposed stairwell forms the communicative centre of the design, around which the new zones for exchange and teamwork are grouped. The ground floor has an inviting foyer and conference rooms with an unobstructed view of the Spree, which can also be used and rented out for events.