New concepts for
the workplace of the future
Microsoft Headquarters Germany
Client - building: Argenta Parkstadt Schwabing MK8 GmbH & Co. KG / Client - working environments: Microsoft Deutschland GmbH / Architect: building: GSP Architekten / Foyer staircase: SkB Architects, Seattle / Location: München / GFA: 30,000 m² / Completed: 2016
Services: Interior Design
Worklifeflow instead of work-life balance
To describe the new way of working at Microsoft Germany, the company has developed the claim "#Worklifeflow instead of Work-Life-Balance". HPP developed the workplace of the future with this guiding principle in mind. By dissolving spatial boundaries, it enables a self-determined way of working and promotes team spirit and individual talents.
Change Management
HPP was not only responsible for the interior design and planning of the working environments, but were also involved in guiding Microsoft in its search for a new location in order to be in a position to offer its employees the best possible working conditions in the future. Right from the start, we supervised the planning aspects of the change management process. Because only if the needs of the employees are analysed from the outset and the people are actively involved in the change process, can each individual become an ambassador and a supporter of a new working environment.
Open building structure
The Microsoft Germany headquarters is comprised of one structure with up to seven storeys and one with up to five storeys; a total of four four-storey blocks, open atria and the central four-storey entrance hall. Access is from either of the two facing sides - one giving on to the motorway and the other giving on to the Parkstadt. Much like a showroom, the building is to be transparent and accessible to all.
Individual requirements
The office environments are divided into four work areas: accomplish, share & discuss, converse and think. Modern working can be understood as a flexible combination of the most diverse working methods: focused individual work, group work and the exchange of ideas and discussion are the essential building blocks. So it was our task to create the ideal working atmosphere for each type of employee and for each form of work.
A workplace of the future in which employees can shape their everyday working lives according to their own needs and requirements.
Demand-driven solutions
On up to six of the upper storeys there are 1,200 hot desks, which are shared by around 1,900 employees. In addition to the work areas, numerous rooms for formal and informal meetings are arranged throughout the office levels - 70 variously-sized conference rooms, 136 focus rooms and around 100 phone rooms are also available.
accomplish, share & discuss,...
Employees who prefer to work in a classical way on their own tasks will find the right working environment in the accomplish zone, which is equipped with desks. For more creative exchange with colleagues they can use the dynamic share & discuss environment. The converse zone provides opportunities for collaborative work in order to facilitate coordination-intensive projects. Finally, the think zone with its cubes and lounges offers a retreat for highly concentrated work.
...converse und think
Colour quadrants
Each of the building's various working zones has been assigned a colour: blue, yellow, green or red. In addition to the basic neutral palette with its warm grey tones, all accents within an area are designed in varying hues of the respective colour. This results in gradations of colour that range from intensely luminous to unobtrusively pastel.
Each of the various working areas of the building
has been assigned to one of the colour families.