Onoffice magazine

Although now a global giant, sports brand Adidas is still based in the small German town where its founder Adolf “Adi” Dassler and his brother Rudolf Dassler – the father of rival sports brand Puma – were born more than 100 years ago. Since the 1990s, the brand’s headquarters have been situated in a decommissioned Second World War American military base, nestled in the Bavarian countryside. In this green and leafy landscape, Adidas has built a campus-like embassy, comprised of…

Every good design has a strong story behind it. Tapping into the area’s local history or referencing the company’s heritage are tried and tested ways of creating something meaningful. If there’s no story, it’s hard for architects to invent one. But when your client happens to be Jung von Matt, Germany’s best-known advertising agency, a shortage of creative raw material is never going to be a problem. Like all successful advertisers, JVM specialises in creating myths and narratives to hawk…

Most workplaces try to impress from the front, prioritising receptions and client-facing areas – but machine tools producer Trumpf’s recent factory extension in Hettingen, Germany, is arguably the most beautiful back of a building we’ve ever seen. Sitting in the Swabian Alps just south of Stuttgart, the Trumpf factory has been growing in fits and starts over the years. “Like most typical middle-sized German factories, aggregates have been added over time, creating a factory hodgepodge,” says Frank Barkow, from Barkow…

The Passivhaus institute in Darmstadt, Germany, was established almost 15 years ago. However, out of over 15,000 Passivhaus buildings worldwide (nestled mostly in regions of Germany and Austria) you can count the number of accredited UK projects on one hand. A domestic project and training and education centre in Wales share the accolade with one London house, a student residence block at Leeds Metropolitan University, and a row of houses in Scotland. “We are at a turning point,” explains Gavin…

When thinking of the inner circle of European signature designers – apart from Konstantin Grcic and, of course, Dieter Rams in his day – big names seldom emerge from Germany. For the contract market, at least, that is most probably because most German furniture companies work with anonymous in-house designers – similar to the US model.  One exception in the US is Bernhardt Design, a company which is distributed in Europe through Danish firm Danerka. It stands out due to…

Architect Jürgen Mayer is making waves internationally and in his native Germany, and his latest office project, ADA 1, is an arresting new addition to the city of Hamburg inspired by the maritime locationIn Hamburg’s conservative inner-city lake district, a distinctive office new build by Germany’s rising starchitect Jürgen Mayer, of Berlin-based practice Jürgen Mayer H, shows how the fusion of innovative office design with the surrounding landscape can boost a country’s design confidence. Rounded windows pop out of the…