Projects
Northeastern Switzerland Office
Northeastern Switzerland
Client
Confidential
Area
800 m²
Status
Implemented
Workplace · Consulting · New Work · Concept · Planning
Anyone developing in the medical field works on things that must function at the critical moment. For a research-driven company in north-eastern Switzerland, we designed a space of around 800 m² that brings this ambition to life: office, workshop, tinkerer's garage, and a test operating room, from the site selection to execution.
Precision you can see.
Making research visible.
The centerpiece of the office is a double visual connection between the boardroom and the test operating theater. Through the window, one can see the person in the room. On the large screens in the meeting room, one can follow in real time what the surgeon sees through the microscope. Decisions are no longer made far from the action, but with a direct view of it.
The metallic wall claddings reference surgical steel, a material that represents purity, durability, and precision. Values that the company lives every day thus become a surface that can be touched.
Think alone, grow together.
Good development requires both: quiet for individual thought and friction within the team. Concentrated workstations, a workshop, a tinkerer's garage, and a social area are therefore not separate worlds, but rather interlink with one another. The space deliberately fosters collaboration, thereby activating the team's collective intelligence.
Just as important are places for play and coming together. Often, it is precisely there, in a relaxed atmosphere, that the conversations arise which move a project forward. We developed all of this together with the employees, in design thinking workshops using personas, spatial modules, and ground rules.
Light, reflection, time.
In medicine, light is both a tool and a source of insight. In the design, we worked with reflection and refraction, using reflective metal surfaces, glass, and lenses reminiscent of a microscope's optics. Daylight moves through the spaces throughout the day, making time palpable.
Round windows and deliberately placed visual axes connect the laboratory, meeting rooms, library, and workstations. Those passing by can see what is being worked on. Those inside remain connected with the team.
The tinkerer's garage.
Many of the most successful ideas originated in a garage. The office's highlight plays with this metaphor: a real garage door, behind which people tinker, build, and discard. When open, workspaces and workshop seamlessly merge into one another. Workbenches, microscopes, and 3D printers are within sight, and a sketch turns into a prototype that very same afternoon.
Calm as a foundation.
Where precision is required, calm is needed. Acoustics were the top priority in this project. Wall claddings, ceiling canopies, and acoustic carpet work together, integrating naturally into the architecture. You don't see any measures; you feel a space where you can work with focus and speak openly.
07
Facts & Figures
Customer
Confidential
Status
Implemented
Area
800 m²
Photography
Jasmin Hess
Partner
De Vorm (Furniture)
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Listening is our first draft.
Every project begins with a conversation. Tell us what you have in mind: a new working environment, a restaurant, a space for the future. We bring an open mind, curiosity, and experience in strategy, interior design, and lighting. We'd love to meet at our studio on Gutstrasse in Zurich. Or wherever your project is coming to life.