21st August 2019 | IN OFFICE DESIGN | BY SBID ShareTweetPinterestLinkedInProject of the Week This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a historic high-rise given new life with contemporary design concepts. The new office space is designed with sleek, contemporary elegance and the creation of unique angular dimensions. The design was developed with the preservation of historical monuments in mind as the building was placed under preservation for its historic, architectural quality. The elegance and generous proportions, together with a mix of unusual, high-quality materials and a striking lighting design concept, distinguish the office areas and conference zones across the four floors. With regard to the architectural quality of the building and the demands of the customer, the combination of materials used was inspired by the building’s original era – with modern interpretation. Black marble, brass, carbon and glass runs throughout the entire interior design scheme. Sector: Office Design Company: Landau + Kindelbacher Project: Real Estate Office of Landau + Kindelbacher Location: Zurich, Switzerland What was the client’s brief? The Swiss branch of a property developer wanted us to take on the interior design for their new representative office. Including office areas and a conference zone over a total of four storeys with an area of about 100 square meters, and at the same time to take monument conservation into consideration. What inspired the interior design of the project? The Hochhaus zur Bastei, designed by the famous Zurich Architect, Werner Stücheli and completed in 1955, is considered the first high-rise building in the city of Zurich. Situated directly on the Schwanzengraben, the tower block sets an urban development accent and acts as a gateway to the city. As an example of high architectural quality, the Hochhaus zur Bastei was placed under a preservation order a few years ago. With regard to the architectural quality of the Bastei tower and the representative demands of the customer, a unique material combination of black marble (polished Nero Marquina), brass, carbon and glass was selected for use across the floors, walls and ceilings. As a reminiscence of the architecture of the 1950s, the classical materials are newly interpreted in their use, colourfulness and gloss value. Like a passe-partout, the resulting spatial effect frames the view and allows the low room heights of the existing building to retreat into the background. Designed with a sleek, contemporary elegance and generous proportions, the mix of unusual, high-quality materials and accentuated lighting systems help to distinguish the office areas and conference zones. In contrast to the black space continuum is the high-gloss furniture, highly polished brass elements and golden lighting channels to make the design features stand out and illuminate against this dark, black backdrop. What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project? The greatest challenge in this project was to combine the conditions presented by the existing situation with the requirements of a contemporary office world. What was your team’s highlight of the project? The furniture and fittings were mostly designed and individually installed on site by Landau + Kindelbacher. A speciality is the floor pattern with the brass seams as a visible, high-quality separation. The subject of ‘seams’ is mirrored again and again in the whole design – from the integration of direct and indirect lighting in the cooling ceiling to the special furniture. Why did you enter the SBID International Design Awards? We consider the SBID International Design Awards to be an excellent platform for presenting us and our projects to an international audience. Questions answered by Gerhard Landau and Ludwig Kindelbacher, Managing Partners at Landau Kindelbacher If you missed last week’s Project of the Week featuring a show home which blends artistic, Oriental concepts with modern design, click here to see more. We hope you feel inspired by this week’s office design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire Landau + Kindelbacher | SBID International Design Awards