Client projects: Saab Germany
Feeling at home
Saab Germany opens new location in Bremen
The new "Spurwerk" industrial estate is being built between the Neustadt and Woltmershausen districts of Bremen with a mixture of offices, crafts, catering and modern showrooms. This is where the defence company Saab Deutschland has opened a new site for the naval sector. The software development hub is intended to intensify the collaboration between Saab and the German Navy. To this end, a working environment for over 100 employees has been created on 1,680 square metres over three floors, furnished by Kinnarps.
At the reception on the third floor, guests are welcomed with an impressive picture of the vast Bodden landscape of Lapland. Even outside Sweden, Saab wants to create a Scandinavian feeling that visitors can sense as soon as they enter. The colour concept that runs through the entire working environment is also established here: Shades of black, dark grey and earthy and natural colours.
The choice of materials and colours is based on Swedish nature and is intended to create a connection to the brand and the surroundings. Saab and Kinnarps were actively supported by the dealer BKE Fislage in Bremen. The Kinnarps partner not only provided all the customised products, such as the reception desk, but also the light boxes, lighting in the conference rooms, Smart Film for the glass surface as a privacy screen and the installation.
"All Saab offices have been designed according to a concept from Brand Management in Stockholm and based on the Saab showroom concept, so that a consistent look with slight adaptations prevails everywhere in the world."
"All Saab offices have been designed according to a concept from Brand Management in Stockholm and based on the Saab showroom concept, so that a consistent look with slight adaptations prevails everywhere in the world," reveals Brand Design Manager Johan Mångsén. Materials and colours are carefully selected to create a pleasant and sustainable working environment.
Natural materials such as wood and wool are used in particular. Black in various shades with the accent colour yellow and tables with light oak surfaces create a cosy atmosphere. The floor, walls and frames are kept very dark, while the upholstery contrasts with various light natural colours. Yellow can be found in the Fields sofa series, among others, which form small seating oases in many places in the office and are intended for activities and meetings outside of desk work. The Kinnarps Colour Studio was able to meet these colour requirements perfectly.
Feeling at home while away from home
The new employees should feel at home at the site: "Feeling at home while away from home" is the motto. "We have to focus on what the employees need and want," explains Johan Mångsén. Accordingly, there are different workplace constellations in groups of three and four as well as an open space with different desks.
Much can be changed flexibly, as it is not yet clear how the teams, mostly engineers and technicians, will work together. The aim is to create a balance between open workstations and private work areas in order to meet the different needs of the employees. The offices are designed to offer spaces for both collaboration and individual work. Ergonomics as standard with height-adjustable desks Series P and Oberon and the Plus task chair can be found in every space.
As Saab is expanding, the office has to be prepared for all eventualities. "Sometimes we hire many more employees than originally planned," explains Mångsén. At this location, too, the aim was to create enough space for a growing workforce. The offices need to be flexible enough to allow for future changes and growth, and Kinnarps was also able to ensure this with the appropriate furnishings.
"The collaboration was very good at all times, there was a lively exchange of ideas and suggestions."
The high-quality and sustainable interior design should also help to attract new employees, as the Software Development Hub's workforce is not yet complete.
Sustainability and adaptability
A long life for the interior and fabrics was one of the requirements that Saab placed on Kinnarps. Both companies are committed to a comprehensive sustainability strategy. This also means that the life cycle of products should be as long as possible. For example, table tops are replaceable and can be given new components at the Kinnarps factory and transferred to the next life cycle, as is already the case at other Saab sites. When selecting materials, sustainability is a central theme throughout and takes into account both durability and the ecological footprint. Flexibility of the furnishing concept is also crucial in order to be able to react optimally to future changes.
Adaptation at Kinnarps showroom
The visit to the Hamburg showroom was an important step in the development of the office design for Saab. Close co-operation and careful selection of furniture and materials ensured that the new office space met the requirements for design, functionality and sustainability in equal measure. The Saab team and Kinnarps met to discuss interior and its arrangement in the office. This included reviewing blueprints and creating customised designs for the interior design. After initial visualisations and a direct haptic impression of individual pieces of furniture in the showroom, an idea of how the interior solution would look and feel in the new office space emerged. The concept, which was developed in Hamburg, is based on Saab's CI brand design concept and was adapted to the specific requirements of the new location. "The collaboration was very good at all times, there was a lively exchange of ideas and suggestions," reports Johan Mångsen.
Related products
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
-
EN
Change