The French spirits manufacturer Pernod Ricard has had its German headquarters in Cologne's "Westgate" on Rudolfplatz since 2012. The office space was getting on in years and therefore needed to be extensively modernized and adapted to new requirements. The result is a harmonious office project that combines lifestyle and design with modern working and the company's brand world.

The conversion - with a total area of 3,000 m² - was carried out by Schwitzke Project based on the design and planning of the Düsseldorf interior design office raum.atelier Goldemann-Sabbak and Hasiewicz. It was developed in the course of workshops with the employees and accompanied through to completion by raum.atelier in collaboration with Schwitzke Project. The result is a new office with 110 workstations that offers open creative spaces for collaborative teamwork, as well as individual telephone booths and special focus rooms for concentrated work. Sarah Frehn, Human Resources Manager at Pernod Ricard Germany, emphasizes the synergies resulting from the flexible New Work: "The activity-based working concept is intended to promote cross-divisional collaboration and further strengthen our corporate culture, which is characterized by conviviality, while at the same time responding to the new flexibility in the world of work." However, the restructuring was not just about optimizing and realigning work processes. Several meeting rooms were also created for the various brands of the French spirits group, which are characterized by their wide range of designs. By expressing the respective brand character, they reflect the diversity of Pernod Ricard's brands.

In addition to the individual work areas, special attention was paid to the prestigious bar in the entrance area, which was designed in close cooperation with the Cologne interior design firm Stil Manipulation and Marian Krause, owner of the award-winning Cologne bar "The Grid". The welcome area was not only intended to be inviting and cosmopolitan. As the central meeting point in the company, it also had to be versatile: whether coffee talk, town hall meetings or monthly after-work networking - it provides the perfect stage for special employee events as well as public product presentations. Thanks to the successful coordination of all the trades involved, the project was implemented smoothly and without delay within eight months during ongoing operations.

www.schwitzke-project.com

www.raumatelier.de

www.stilmanipulation.de

photos:
judith wagner photography
www.judithwagner.com

(Published in CUBE Cologne/Bonn 03|24)