In September 2023, Beiersdorf AG opened its new headquarters in Eimsbüttel, uniting approximately 3,000 employees from two locations within the Beiersdorf Campus. This forward-thinking workplace—designed around New Work principles—fosters dynamic collaboration both inside the building and across its outdoor spaces. Mertins Landschaftsarchitektur shaped the expansive grounds, grounding the design in the company's core values: transparency and environmental responsibility toward nature, people, and the wider community.

The team began by opening the outdoor spaces to the urban streetscape. Within the inner campus, they created a rich tapestry of intensively and extensively cultivated areas—spaces equally suited for breaks and focused work. From the site's natural topography, functional demands, and the building's design emerged a garden landscape that anchors the New Work environment, featuring multiple inspiring gathering spots. Visitors entering via the garden entrance encounter a blooming passage that unfolds like a natural extension of the architecture itself—a seamless journey from building to garden to wilderness. The planting strategy mirrors this transition: geometric block plantings near the building facades gradually soften into mixed plantings, then dissolve into a matrix composition with scattered highlights, finally opening into a delicate wildflower meadow. Employees wander through a sea of blue and white blooms—an echo of Nivea's iconic color palette. Winding paths meander through the landscape, opening into intimate gathering spaces. Islands framed by evergreen hedges offer quiet zones for individual work, team collaboration, or outdoor lunches. Neutral grass borders frame the entire garden landscape along its northern and southern edges, punctuated by specimen trees at strategic intervals. Solitary plantings around the garden islands further enhance the spatial composition.

When the laboratory building gained its third wing, the water landscape surrounding the striking lecture hall received a corresponding redesign. The garden's signature green island motif reappears here, planted this time with low-growing grasses. Cantilevered specimen trees frame a silvery focal point: the carefully selected multi-stemmed Gleditsia triacanthos Skyline. Their pale yellow foliage harmonizes beautifully with the grasses while infusing the space with a luminous, shimmering quality. The arrangement creates multiple sightlines to the lecture hall from different vantage points.

www.mertins-hamburg.de

Photography:
Arnt Haug
www.arnt-haug.de

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 01|25)