Interior Design Award of Excellence: L'Oréal Headquarters Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf
Volker Weuthen
Senior Partner
HPP Architects, Düsseldorf
Ulrich Hartard
Senior Project Manager
die developer Projektentwicklung GmbH, Düsseldorf
An Interior for the Contemporary Workforce
Appearing like a stack of boxes cast in light, transparent, and cuboid horizontal layers, the L’Oréal Headquarters Düsseldorf achieves a harmonious order through clear forms and clean lines. This emphasis on clarity extends to its interior scheme, which was engineered with the changing demands of the modern workforce in mind. Today’s workers prize transparent, flexible workspaces that support collaboration and deep concentration in equal measure. Each floor is characterized by a semi-open meeting zone, around which individual workstations are organized, and the entrance areas of the office floors contain lounge-like “landing zones,” which encourage informal communication. In addition to the open-space areas with a total of 1,000 permanent workstations, the new headquarters provides an additional 890 flexible workstations, including numerous smaller “think tanks”, meeting rooms, phone call booths, and quiet rooms. Employees are encouraged to exercise their preferences in choosing a seated or standing working position, to work alongside their teammates, or take advantage of solitude to pursue a task undisturbed. The spacious 400-seat restaurant and cafeteria offers circular islands with seating as additional retreats, and for breaks in the sun, the 250-square-meter elliptical roof terrace on the adjoining building is easily accessible from the restaurant.
In order to cater to individual needs and preferences in the office interior, 1,000 custom furniture units were developed for the headquarters, such as the L’Oréal product shelf, which is based on the building’s staggered shape. Upholstered seating in casual meeting spaces doubles as storage space for personal items and even features locks for extra security.
