The seven-storey building with a shell limestone façade on the corner of Alsterufer and Alsterterrasse was built in 1931 by Rudolf Brüning as the administrative headquarters of a mineral oil company, and the large relief next to the entrance is a reminder of this. The German headquarters of BAT (British American Tobacco) has been located here since 1976. The name of the Batig-Haus, which is now a listed building, is derived from the parent company of the German subsidiary (British American Tobacco Industrie Germany).

The Ratschko architecture firm had already adapted the design of the offices in 2009, but the structure of the cellular offices and corridors had not been changed. In spring 2022, the Group then commissioned several offices to carry out a study on the conversion and expansion of the head office as part of the company's cultural and strategic transformation. The design approach that won the contract for Ratschko was simple: remove everything that was superfluous and keep everything that was necessary and useful. The office's study came to the conclusion that modernization would be more sustainable, faster and cheaper than a move to a new building - and would also help to strengthen the identity of the traditional location. All floors were almost completely stripped back to their original state, fire compartments and airlocks were rearranged and the building services were completely renewed. The result is spacious, coherent areas with views across all axes of the building, covering a total area of 8,500 m². The redesign of the working environment follows the "activity-based working" principle: flexible office spaces, team workspaces, telephone boxes, concentration workstations, seating areas and cozy alcoves - all accessible via short walking distances. A communal kitchen and a representative "family table" are the ideal center of each floor.

To provide even more space for the varied working day of around 350 employees, the architects also created a lobby in the reception area as the centerpiece of a versatile conference floor. It also includes a lush green inner courtyard and a "black box", the former computer center converted into a multimedia auditorium. On the seventh floor, the final floor, there is now a club restaurant with a view over the Outer Alster. In this way, contemporary design was harmonized with the different expectations and habits of the workforce in close cooperation, also in order to achieve a self-evident appearance across the floors and uses. Sustainability and longevity were key planning principles.

www.ratschko.de

Photos:
Jakob Börner
www.jakobboerner.com

(Published in CUBE Hamburg 01|25)