B. BRAUN

Taiwan offices

The basic design concept for this project was to create an “open office” space in which people can work, communicate, interact and share experiences anywhere within the office. As the client is involved in the manufacturing of medical devices, the aim was to provide a working environment characterized by a clean, bright appearance, flexibility, and a sense of being in harmony with the concept of health.

CREATE AN “OPEN OFFICE” SPACE IN WHICH PEOPLE CAN WORK, COMMUNICATE, INTERACT AND SHARE EXPERIENCES ANYWHERE WITHIN THE OFFICE.

Flexible partitioning is used to delineate the spaces within the office. In this way,every individual zone is integrated with the external vistas, enabling people within the office to experience the changing natural environment at different times of day. Asregards the use of color and the keynote styles, the design followed the appearance of B. Braun’s global headquarters in Germany by using a cement gray, exposed ceiling to achieve a sense of height, together with stainless steel light fittings and air conditioning vents that have a slightly “mechanical” feel to them, creating a powerful visual effect that combines the modernist with an industrial vibe.

Referencing the fact that B. Braun first established a presence in Taiwan in 1989, the lockers in which employees keep their office equipment are numbered using icons the design of which is based around the number “1989.”The entrance lobby has a recessed ceiling that matches the shape of the floor. The circulation leading in from either side of the entrance is divided into two curving routes, one for visitors and one that leads to the area in which employees work; the curved design of these routes adds a touch of bold simplicity to what is basically a rectangular office space.While the interior spaces are mainly white and gray, they are embellished with purple and green – the main colors used by Braun – and with two-dimensional iconic motifs symbolizing the company’s business areas, thereby strengthening the corporate identification aspect of the design.

In this office, employees do not have their own assigned desks. Every day when they arrive at work, each employee takes their “suitcase” out of their locker, and then finds a space anywhere within the working area to begin work for the day. When it is time to go home, they put their equipment back in the locker before leaving. The large-sized lockers are arranged in the main pillar, behind a glass screen with a white-board surface on it that employees are free to write on, thus turning this into an additional “meeting space.” We decided not to use traditional office desks and chairsfor the design, instead using workstations that resemble tree branches to embody a sense of corporate vitality.The height of the desks can be freely adjusted, giving employees the option of working while sitting or while standing up; this makes for enhanced flexibility, and also creates a healthier office environment. To summarize, this design emphasizes the concept that every element in the design should be multi-functional.