contact_magazine_32_EN

Issue 32
Home-Office
Huber
satellite office
Andersen
Home-Office
Holzwarth
Remote Space
Schneider
Home-Office
Hutter-Zeiler
satellite office
Thompson
Home-Office
Demirci
Home-Office
Gertmaier
Home-Office
Weinzierl
CoworkinG
Thompson/Becker
Home-Office
Pawlovski
Home-Office
Sauter
Is the end of the
classic office near?
Home-Office Dudek
satellite office
Hartmann
Remote Space
Beck
Coworking
Lewis / Green
Home-Office
Hennemann
CoworkinG
Blum und Scholz
Home-Office Mitter
Remote Space
Lebedew
Living and breathing the
New Work environment.
The outdoor office:
TGW Activity Garden.

From the desktop
to the cloud.
© raumpixel.at
We are experiencing a time of restructuring our working world. For example,
working from home has become the current reality in many companies. Our
cover story stems from this topic: remote working as a concept of the future.
More and more companies are gathering the results from the pandemic
experience. Which is why we will be taking a more comprehensive look at
this global development on the following pages.
You can find what you need for this and why the kitchen chair is not a suitable
substitute for an ergonomic office chair from page 12.
There will be no blanket solution for New Work. We can instead expect a
combination of remote work and office work. It is therefore all the more
important to create inspiring interaction zones “to sound out any areas of
friction and force the magnetism of togetherness”, as Luuk Strijbosch, Community
Manager of WeWork China, puts it. Read more about this unusual
coworking hub, nestled in the halls of a former opium factory, on page 18.
An exciting contrast to the working spaces in the vibrant metropolis of
Shanghai is the approach of the TGW Activity Garden. A green outdoor
area was created over 9,000 square metres, where employees can work and
recharge their batteries at the same time. Just the right place to read a few selected
memories from 100 years of Wiesner-Hager, which we have compiled
in our anniversary article starting on page 24.
Whether in print or e-paper form, the new contact once again offers you
exciting answers and inspiring insights into the latest developments in the
world of New Work. We hope you enjoy reading this issue!
Laura and Markus Wiesner

Is the end of the classic office near? ....................................................................... 04
bluebird.space: living and breathing the New Work environment ........................... 08
Useful things for everyday working from home ...................................................... 11
Work ergonomically even at home .......................................................................... 12
AHT: Communicative office landscape with a personal touch ................................. 14
Office of the year .................................................................................................... 17
Offices from all over the world: WeWork Shanghai ................................................. 18
What’s on your desk, Anna Heringer? ..................................................................... 21
The outdoor office: TGW Activity Garden ................................................................ 22
100 years of Wiesner-Hager furniture...................................................................... 24
Showroom ............................................................................................................... 26
Publisher: Wiesner-Hager Möbel GmbH, Linzer Straße 22, A-4950 Altheim, T +43/(0)7723/460-0, altheim@wiesner-hager.com, www.wiesner-hager.com,
thinknewwork.com; Concept/editing: Wiesner-Hager, Mintmind Communication GmbH; Layout: Mintmind Communication GmbH, mintmind.at;
Guestauthor: Wojciech Czaja; Subject to typesetting & printing errors; 05/2021.
contact 3

Office Concepts
From the desktop to the cloud.
Is the end of the
classic office near?
Working where and when you want, or would you rather have a designated desk in the office? Opinions are
divided on this issue. One thing is certain: we are currently in the midst of a rapid process of digital change.
Remote working is becoming more and more established and brings with it numerous freedoms, while the
traditional office scores with social and productive advantages. The solution lies, as so often, in striking a
happy medium.
The growing importance of remote
working.
It’s just before 7.00 a.m. The alarm clock goes off. Just
like every day. On autopilot, we brush our teeth, eat
our breakfast and get in the car. Everything
has become routine. The way to work, but
also the working day itself. Same time –
same station. Little variety, little change.
A situation that is still not unusual for
many employees today. The daily trip to
the traditional office has become established over the
years. It is only recently that the usual structures have
been increasingly broken up, driven in particular by
the coronavirus crisis. Remote working is the keyword.
This means working flexibly from anywhere and requires
no or very little presence in the company.
Working from home, mobile and hybrid working have
suddenly become the new reality for many. Some believe
it is a short-term trend, others see it as a seminal
reality. The fact that we are in the midst of a change
process driven by advancing digitization is undisputed.
To what extent varies from industry to industry and
from company to
company.
Working from home in particular was a widespread
tool used to ensure social distancing during
the crisis. As a result, the discussion about a
long-term shift towards working from home
comes up again and again. Supporters see their
daily work routine within their own four walls.
Visits to the office should only take place for
special purposes such as important meetings.
One objection raised in this case is the lack of social
interaction. Many people noticed this during the
weeks and months of lockdown: they miss the contact
with colleagues. In this context, the limited exchange
of thoughts and ideas inspired in particular by collaborating
in the same room together, is also criticised,
because creativity and innovation need social friction.
Remote work is not the same as working
from home.
Will we therefore make the daily pilgrimage back to the
office after all after the crisis? No, say supporters of
hybrid and mobile working. Many of them do not see
their daily work routine at home or in the traditional
office. They want to decide for themselves when and,
above all, where they work. Generation Z in particular
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is pushing more and more towards free and remote
working. The trend, for example, is to set up an office
in a holiday destination. This new model is called
workation, a combination of work and vacation. Work
is done where others go on holiday. In our latitudes,
for example, destinations such as Dubai, Cape Town,
Mallorca or Greece are at the top of the list of popular
workation destinations, mainly because of the relatively
small time difference. However, you don’t necessarily
have to go far afield for a relaxing workation experience.
Even the nearby lake or a stay in the mountains provides
a change of scenery
in the daily work routine.
The workation model is an
attractive solution, especially
for digital nomads, but
it requires a lot of planning
and discipline. With the
sun, beach and sea luring
you away from your desk. The costs for accommodation
and work space should also not be underestimated,
especially in the long term. If you choose more distant
destinations such as Bali, probably the most popular
workation destination at the moment, the aforementioned
time difference could also become a real
problem.
The number one reason many workers advocate remote
work is the often long and congested commute.
Those who still want to meet colleagues and are
looking for a quiet place to work can find the solution
in so-called satellite offices or coworking spaces. These
are fully equipped offices that supplement a company’s
head office. They are located outside urban hotspots,
which can avoid driving through city traffic and the
like. Another advantage: work equipment
such as good internet or ergonomic office
chairs are available, similar to at the head
office.
The reinterpreted office.
With all the enticing benefits of remote work, one
thing is clear: good collaboration is absolutely essential
for business success. Particularly in the creative
sector, where it is a matter of finding ideas and innovation,
collaboration is of key importance, and with
it the office as a meeting place. New types of rooms
ensure that work is also possible away from the classic
desk. Open, but small-structured coworking units are
ideally suited to team and project work, as well as the
creative development of ideas. The creative possibilities
for implementation are incredibly diverse: creative
spaces, libraries, working cafés, communication islands,
team offices, lobbies or activity gardens are just
a few examples of spaces that promote collaboration.
External project participants and
freelancers can also be integrated
here. Silent spaces are a counterbalance
to this as retreats for concentrated
work. Classic communication
rooms are being updated for
hybrid meetings. As a result, virtual
discussion partners can be integrated
into meetings using modern conferencing technology.
These new types of rooms also make activity-based
working possible. The aim is to create a supportive
setting through different room shapes and appealing
interiors, depending on the work task.
There will be no blanket
solutions for office design
in the future. It is always
a question of corporate
culture, workflows and
corporate goals as to
whether and how new
working models are used. Last but not least, it is also
a question of personal attitude. For some, the timed
ringing of the alarm clock and the daily drive to work
are a cher-ished routine that gives structure and order
to their life, while others can think of
nothing worse than the grind of the
same daily routine over and over again.
contact 5

Office Concepts
One subject –
Remote work
Michael Friedrich:
When I started at GitLab a year ago, remote work was
still something for the unconventional. I had already
decided on this way of working before the pandemic
and considered it a personal adventure: I want to work
internationally so that I can discover the world anew.
As a native of Linz, I have been living in the Nuremberg
region for several years now. I love living close to nature
and still being connected to the world. And that’s
exactly what my work offers me. I’m a Developer Evangelist
at GitLab, a platform for software developers,
helping our community use GitLab and showing how it
can be integrated with other technologies. From this I
create blog posts, workshops and talks for international
events. My employer does not have a permanent head
office, employs around 1,300 people in 66 countries
worldwide and has made remote working part of its
DNA. I was very excited about this cumulative experience
and was not disappointed.
To be truly productive, it is important for me to clearly
separate my private life from my work, also in terms
of space. I have created a feel-good atmosphere
in my study: with a height-adjustable desk,
ergonomic chair, good lighting and highquality
technical equipment, including
a webcam and a large monitor. The
advantage of an office at home is
that you can surround yourself
with personal things as you like.
For me, it’s currently a Star Wars
kit from Lego, which can also be
seen in the background during video
conferences.
What I really like about my job is the
asynchronous work. Since my international
colleagues live in different time
zones, we use tools that make working
Michael Friedrich is a Developer
Evangelist at GitLab and works
exclusively from home.
Never before has the discussion about new ways
of working and even the complete aban-donment
of the classic office been greater than in
the current situation. Reason enough to capture
two different opinions and experiences on this
together very efficient despite the time difference. We
document everything – every thought, every meeting,
every decision. This makes the overall communication
more objective. No one is obliged to participate in endlessly
long video conferences – everything is prepared
in writing, the meeting is recorded. I can decide for
myself if I want to attend, watch it later or not at all. In
short: I am my own manager.
I exchange private information with colleagues through
coffee chats. We are also given regular friends &
family days off, as they know the dangers of
the boundaries between work and home
life becoming blurred. The other day I
got to know Carlos through #do-notbe-strangers,
a bot that randomly
connects colleagues. When the
pandemic is over, I really want to visit
him in Mexico City. Of course, I
miss the real social contacts, the real
events with software developers and
colleagues. I’m really looking forward
to more analogue encounters, but remote
working itself will remain the right
thing for me for now.
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two opinions:
or office work?
subject. Michael Friedrich has been working
all-remote at the software company GitLab
for a year. His counterpart is Prof Dr Carsten
Baumgarth, university professor for marketing
at the School of Economics and Law in Berlin.
Carsten Baumgarth:
Ever since the coronavirus crisis, the (social) media,
LinkedIn posts and clubhouse discussions have been
overflowing with praise for working from home
– autonomous working, less stress, higher
productivity are just a few arguments
repeatedly put forward (but are hardly
empirically proven).
It may be, but doesn‘t
have to be!
After about eight weeks working
full-time at home in March and
April 2020, I was personally happy
as a researcher to be allowed to use
my office at the university again in
compliance with the regulations in May.
I have my peace and quiet there,
a permanently set up and fully
functional little studio for Zoom
meetings with good light, sound
and camera, my library, my little
research lab (B*lab with eye tracking,
robotics etc.), my art on the
walls. Yes, I could also do all my
teaching, administrative and some
of my research work from home.
But I don’t want to. The half-hour
walk to the office ensures
Prof. Baumgarth is professor for
brand management at the HWR
Berlin (www.cbaumgarth.net) and
since the pandemic also operator of
the Instagram science channel „Brückenbau
Marke - Wissenschaft trifft
Praxis“ (Building the bridge between
brand science and brand practice)
(https://www.instagram.com/prof.
baumgarth/).
I get at least some exercise every day even with the
gym closed and lockdown. The familiar office and
B*Lab environment, perfectly equipped and inspiring
for me, boosts my productivity, and the spatial separation
between home and the office allows me to at least
somewhat separate work and leisure, even though I am
actually always (mentally) working as a researcher, but
rarely perceive this as work or a burden.
You see, I also didn’t only work in the office before the
lockdown, but in the café, park, at companies,
in hotels, at home, on the train etc. I am
in the very privileged position that I
can almost always decide for myself
when and where to work and what
to work on. So I’m always looking
for the places and contexts that feel
best to me, and very often that is
my office at the university. This will
also be the case after the pandemic.
The only thing I cannot imagine and
do not want at all for my team, my
colleagues and my students is full-time
working from home. How lonely,
uninspiring, boring and frustrating
a “working life” would be without
real and human exchange.
I hope we get over the pandemic
soon, don’t debate the office vs.
working from home issue too
dogmatically, and can be much
more flexible and decide where we
want to work ourselves. But please
always with a large share of faceto-face!
contact 7

Interior design
bluebird.space:
Living and breathing the
New Work environment.
New Work is actually an abstract concept
– unless you bring it to life: that is
exactly what Wiesner-Hager has done in
the new Salzburg sales office together
with the consulting firm PINUS.TEAM.
© raumpixel.at
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© raumpixel.at
From the very beginning of the deliberations, it was
clear that this was not a classic showroom, but that
a completely new “shared office” concept was to be
developed. This fits perfectly with the location on the
grounds of the Panzerhalle Salzburg, a hotspot on
Salzburg‘s creative scene, as well as with the company’s
positioning, in which creativity and a concept-driven
approach play a key role. Roomware Consulting was
responsible for the interior design.
The office was designed as a shared office, in which several
companies share office and communication space
in partnership. An intelligent zoning concept ensures
that the companies’ workplaces are clearly assigned
and that privacy is maintained. The site has even been
given its own name: “bluebird.space” is intended to
symbolise its significance as a place for networking
and coworking and a completely novel New Work
philosophy.
Shared office as a model for the future.
Originally conceived as a coworking concept for
freelancers and start-ups, more and more established
companies are now making use of shared office space.
Even without direct cooperation between the companies
involved, a community is created here which
people and companies benefit from in several ways.
Temporary project teams find retreats for collaboration
and the mutual exchange of ideas in the shared office.
The communication rooms are therefore offered
to external companies for meetings and workshops
at bluebird.space too. “In future, practised collaboration
and self-determination will have even greater
significance in organisations, which will be crucial for
employer attractiveness”, emphasises Helene Stainer
from PINUS.TEAM.
It is important to create a commitment for the coexistence
of these many different organisations to run
smoothly. Topics such as respectful interaction with
one another or guidelines such as adherence to the
Clean Desk Policy have also been laid down in writing
at bluebird.space. There are also community managers.
They take the interests of everyone in the building
into account, coordinate internal communication and
the booking of meeting rooms, and ultimately form
the link between everyone working at bluebird.space.
Creative scope.
Industrial style or living room, lounge or working café,
creative landscape or urban marketplace – shared offices
offer great creative scope. “Depending on the task
and situation, coworking spaces are ideal for creating a
huge variety of work environments. These can provide
a supportive ambience. It is precisely this concept that
has been implemented in Salzburg’s bluebird.space”,
explains Magdalena Baum, project manager at Roomware
Consulting. The reception area is organised as a
working café with a large kitchen and bar tables as a
place for informal communication, networking and
relationship building. Mobile workers immediately
get a sense of belonging at the working café. Seating
groups of upholstered and lounge furniture with a
view of the terrace invite you to recharge your batteries
and creative inspiration.
© raumpixel.at
contact 9

Interior design
© raumpixel.at
With bluebird.space, we
are taking a completely
new approach to
office design.
The project and conference rooms ensure undisturbed
meetings and teamwork. All glass surfaces are covered
with privacy screen. Video conferencing tools and
large screens enable virtual participants to be seamlessly
integrated into hybrid meetings. Acoustically
effective curtains and ceilings provide a pleasant environment
for conversations in a quiet atmosphere.
Focus and creative rooms are available for those who
wish to retreat for quiet, concentrated focused. Standing
desks encourage movement and interaction here
and offer an ergonomic balance to the static seated
way of working.
Workshops, creative meetings and training sessions
can be held in spacious collaboration rooms. Here
too, furniture at standing height encourages flowing
and almost unconscious movement. The interior plays
with colours and materials, which inspire creativity
and ideas, but also support critical thinking. Numerous
visualisation elements, such as whiteboards, flip
charts or pin boards, provide assistance in collecting
thoughts and suggestions.
Generous and modern use of space.
The office follows a generous single-space concept.
The area of about 600 square metres is divided among
30 employees at most. There is not an open office, just
open units, i.e. team spaces for four to eight employees.
Particular attention was paid to good room
acoustics, the efficient and flexible use of space, and
state-of-the-art technology.
Helene Stainer concludes: “The project was implemented
in 2020 under exceptional conditions. The
obstacles never jeopardised the successful teamwork
though, and the much-praised result has become even
more attractive to employees and customers than
conceived in the original plan.”
Markus Wiesner, Managing Director of Wiesner-Hager,
is also satisfied with the final result: “With bluebird.space,
we are taking a completely new approach
to office design. In this respect, this project is ideal as a
role model for future office space planning.”
Are you interested in bluebird.space and want
to get to know the New Work environment
better? Then contact us at
salzburg@wiesner-hager.com.
We look forward to seeing you!
10 contact
The best place to switch off is on the terrace and in the
recreation rooms. Employees can come to rest here
and re-sort their thoughts. Lounge furniture automatically
leads to a relaxed posture. The private retreat
can also be used during the working day to exchange
information digitally.
© raumpixel.at

Trendwatching
Useful things for everyday
working from home.
Slack.
Personal. Efficient. Online.
It is rather difficult to coordinate quickly and
personally with colleagues when working at
home. The team messenger Slack makes collaboration
online as easy and personal as possible.
Team members can communicate, send messages,
share files, or make audio and video calls
in any variation in a Slack workspace. Slack can
also be connected to numerous other apps, such
as Twitter, and is available in different versions
for small to very large businesses.
© Slack
Sony SRSXB12.
The Sound of Office.
© Sony
Perfect sound quality for the music library or video
conferencing: that’s what the compact, powerful
Sony SRSXB12 wireless speaker offers. With
EXTRA BASS, it delivers rich, powerful sound –
for up to 16 hours thanks to high battery power. It is
also waterproof and dust-proof – ideal conditions for
moving the video call to the beach.
Philips Senseo Milk Twister.
Indulgent Break.
A good coffee break should not be missing even when working from home. With
the SENSEO® milk frother, you can turn these precious minutes into a real moment
of indulgence. It provides amazing velvety froth and gives you the freedom to make
a variety of different hot and cold coffee specialities quickly and easily.
© Philips
contact 11

Office Life
Ciao kitchen chair!
Work ergonomically
even at home.
At the kitchen table, on the sofa, or even in
bed? Where did you set up office at home?
It’s no problem to make yourself comfortable
with your notebook on the sofa for a short
time. However, for a longer-term move to
working from home, care should be taken to
ensure an ergonomic working environment.
The ergonomics of sitting.
Static sitting can lead to serious health problems in the
long run. In the worst case, there is even the threat of
a slipped disc, because the human body was originally
designed for movement. How the lack of physical
activity causes damage to the musculoskeletal system is
easily explained:
The spinal column consists of bony vertebral bodies
and the cartilaginous intervertebral discs (with a soft,
gelatinous inner core), which lie between the vertebral
bodies. The intervertebral discs serve as a buffer, or
cushion, to balance out pressure. The intervertebral
discs are supplied by nutrients through the compression
and decompression of the spinal column. This
12 contact

Keep moving.
Even small changes in
position will keep
your discs fit.
happens, for example, when walking, changing the
sitting posture, standing up or lying down. Nutrient
fluid is pumped into the intervertebral discs by these
micro-movements. A lack of physical activity, and
static permanent sitting lead to a deficiency in the
intervertebral discs. As a result, they lose elasticity,
become cracked, the gelatinous mass can then escape
and eventually cause a herniated disc.
Full backing even working from home.
First and foremost, it is therefore important to switch
from the kitchen chair to a suitable office chair that
allows for dynamic, free-sprung sitting. This must be
height adjustable and provide good back support. The
right desk should have a sufficiently large work surface.
Integrated height adjustment is also an advantage
here. Below you will find a checklist for how to
adjust your office chair correctly:
Space requirements for your office at
home.
Ideally, your office is located in a separate room at
home. This should have a room height of 2.5 metres
with a minimum size of eight square metres. A
window provides sufficient fresh air and daylight.
The workstation should be arranged parallel to the
window so that light can enter from the side, which
in turn avoids glare and reflections. In addition,
curtains and blinds create the necessary darkening.
If daylight is no longer sufficient, artificial light with
an illuminance of around 300 lux is required in the
immediate working environment. If you still work
on a laptop, you would do well to get a larger screen
as well. The use of an external keyboard and mouse is
also beneficial.
Despite all efforts to set up workplaces as ergonomically
as possible, the cause of musculoskeletal disorders
is not only unsuitable office chairs or incorrect sitting,
but continuous sitting in general – combined with
static working behaviour and intensive VDU work.
The key to better health in the office is therefore to be
found in the interplay between human movement
behaviour, a room with a feel-good
atmosphere and the ergonomic workplace.
Select the armrest height so
that the forearms rest on
them relaxed.
Adjust the backrest pressure for
dynamic, free-sprung sitting,
balanced to the body weight.
With the correct seat height,
the upper and lower legs are
at a right angle.
Sit on the whole seating surface.
With the back resting fully
against the backrest.
To keep the blood circulating in your
legs , keep a hand’s width of space
between the back of the knee and
the front edge of the seat.
Adjust the backrest height so that
the lower lumbar region is supported.
Both soles of the feet should be
firmly planted on the floor.
contact 13

Reference story
AHT: Communicative
office landscape
with a personal touch.
The new working environment at
the cooling system specialist AHT
is modern and individual. The company
specialises in the manufacture
of ready-to-use refrigeration and
deep-freeze systems for trade and industry.
© Metcon
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The AHT company’s main
building, constructed in
1908, already tells a long
story. Over the years, more
and more serious damage has
occurred to the building, making
a complete renovation
unavoidable. Remodelling
work finally began in December
2019. One year later, the
first departments moved into
their new working environment. The construction
planning was carried out by Metlitcka Consulting,
while Essl Design took care of the corporate interior
design. Wiesner-Hager was entrusted with the entire
furnishing concept.
Attention to detail.
An open and communicative office environment
was an important goal of the conversion project for
AHT. The new main building is characterised first
and foremost by its modern appearance. It combines
the social and productive aspects of collaboration in
an ideal way and seamlessly integrates future requirements
such as hybrid working. Trends such as
desk sharing or individual meeting options were also
essential specifications that were integrated into the
office concept. The individual areas were personalised
with great attention to detail. Sayings on the walls,
colour-coordinated floor design, and one-of-a-kind
items like ice cube-shaped light fixtures add character
and personality to the space.
Ergonomics as a must-have.
From the very beginning, it was clear that the ergonomic
functionality of the workstations was very
important to AHT. Electrical, height-adjustable
desks support different positions and ergonomically
sophisticated office chairs enable dynamic sitting.
A soft zone for meetings with a lounge feeling has
been set up in each open office. In addition, there is a
central waste bin in all offices and small technology
islands, which are intended to encourage conscious
movement. For example, the shared printer per floor
was deliberately placed near a regeneration area.
Preference was also given to the use of plants and
natural lighting in the form of daylight lamps, as well
as dimmable floor lamps at the workstation.
Space zones for New
Work.
A coherent, fresh colour concept,
also based partly on the
corporate design, runs through
the entire office building and
creates a uniform but at the
same time varied flair. Even
the entrance area, with bar
tables and chairs in the style of
a working café, is inviting for
short meetings and informal
gatherings. From there you can
head directly to the kitchen.
Where design meets functionality.
High benches serve as
seating, but are also equipped
© Metcon
© Metcon
contact 15

Reference story
© Metcon
with integrated waste bins. This system is found in all
regeneration areas.
There are four different conference and meeting
rooms, named after AHT products, to choose from to
suit the needs and situation. They have modern technical
equipment and therefore support new working
methods such as hybrid meetings or webinars. The
offices are open space. A cabinet and locker system is
integrated into the space, which is especially suitable
for coworking, desk sharing and temporary working in
open office spaces. Modern partition elements, which
also serve as sound insulation, provide the necessary
shielding. Lounge areas between the workplaces are
inviting for short meetings and provide alternative
zones to counterbalance classic desk work. Large plant
troughs support the visual zoning of the work areas
and blend into the overall colour concept.
© Metcon
“A new way will open new doors” – We can only agree
with this statement from the AHT Office. With the
new and personally designed main building, fresh
ideas and new possibilities are guaranteed.
Project data:
Office space: approx. 1.000 m²
Construction planning: Metlitcka Consulting
Corporate interior design: Essl Design
Furnishing concept: Wiesner-Hager
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Award
Office of the year:
Two Golds for
Wiesner-Hager projects.
In 2020, real estate service provider CBRE once again presented the “Office of the year” award for
the most beautiful offices in the country. Wiesner-Hager projects won the first prize in two categories.
ACP TEKAEF, specialist for print and digitalisation solutions
from Upper Austria, impressed in the “SME” category.
The entire furnishing for this project was provided
by Wiesner-Hager. Roomware Consulting was responsible
for the interior design. The high standards that
ACP TEKAEF set for the new location’s design
can be seen as soon as you enter the building. Hard
and soft materials have been coordinated to create
a pleasant lightness and a feel-good atmosphere.
Exposed concrete and hard, wipeable surfaces alternate
with soft textiles and warm wood tones. The
deliberate use of natural colours and organic forms
is a style that runs through all rooms.
Wiesner-Hager congratulates ACP TEKAEF and
Schönstil for the award as Office of the Year!
© Lorin Canaj
Divided into six categories, CBRE selected the most
creative and beautiful offices. Offices at home were also
included for the first time.
The interior design company Schönstil from Vienna won
the “Young Companies” category. The ergonomic etio
double workstation from Wiesner-Hager was chosen for
the workspace. The office’s appealing interior design is by
Yvonne Meindl-Cavar (Schönstil).
© raumpixel
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Offices from all over the world
A rush like
back then.
© Linehouse / Jonathan Leijonhufvud
In a former opium factory in Shanghai, work
is now colourful and cheerful. The New York
coworking provider WeWork, in cooperation
with the Chinese design firm Linehouse, has
created a retro-tropical Oriental bouquet here
that kind of blows your mind.
Opium has played a major role in Chinese culture since
the Qing Dynasty. In the 19th and early 20th centuries,
when the opium trade with Europe was at its peak, numerous
opium factories sprang up all over China, especially
in the port cities of Hong Kong and Shanghai.
One of them still stands in the Jing’An district in the
north of Shanghai city centre, a beautiful brick building
with magnificent industrial charm. But instead of the
psychic joy that the juice from the poppy seed capsule
once brought, the people working here today mainly indulge
in an intoxication of colour. Because: For several
years now, the former opium factory has been used as
a coworking space by the globally active provider We-
Work.
“I can still clearly remember the very first impression”,
says Luuk Strijbosch, community director of WeWork
China, who manages and coordinates the US coworking
offshoot in the Middle Kingdom. “I had just come to
Shanghai, it was raining cats and dogs that day, but as
soon as I entered the building I could feel an incredibly
strong energy.” Today, after rigorous but at the same
time careful conversion and renovation measures, the
former factory complex shines as a lively, vibrant hub
with colourful people – 1,300 members in total – and
even more colourful architectural interventions. His
favourite place, Strijbosch says you can’t blame him, is
the atrium with its green steel staircase spiralling upward
like a cheerful sculpture.
This is thanks to the Chinese design and architecture
firm Linehouse. Founded in 2012, the company specialises
in offices and contract architecture, and its concepts
strive to combine traditional Chinese influences
with a fresh but elegant language. “And I think”, says Briar
Hickling, one of Linehouse’s two executive directors,
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© Linehouse / Jonathan Leijonhufvud
out of Grandma’s living room, wildly patterned fabrics,
colourfully mixed materials, seemingly floating globe
lamps, various rubber tree plants and lots of ivy-green
colour.
© Linehouse / Jonathan Leijonhufvud
“the result is not only bold in a cultural sense, but also
conveys an incredible sense of joy, warmth and security.
Where else can you find chic vintage-look armchairs
alongside wood, steel, brass, wild wallpaper, crazy tile
patterns and traditional Chinese ceramics? We wanted
to build a happy living room. And I think we succeeded
in doing that.”
The heart of the revitalised WeWork factory is the former
inner courtyard, which has now been covered with
glass, extended by a flanking steel structure and developed
into a large, heterogeneous atrium. “We really
wanted to celebrate this space”, Hickling says. The ingredients
of this lush, retro-tropical Oriental bouquet are a
sleek, elegant bar, mid-century furniture like something
Colourful striped terrazzo with different colours and
aggregates was used on the floor and in the parapet area.
The floor was cast solidly, the vertical parapet was delivered
to the construction site in individual prefabricated
parts and then bonded with mineral adhesives, sanded
and oiled. “That part was very costly in terms of materials
and logistics”, the designer says. “And financially, terrazzo
isn’t exactly a bargain either in these quantities and
manufacturing methods. But when you look at the old
massive stone base of this building, you immediately notice
how the old and new enter into a beautiful dialogue
with each other. In a way, it seems to me that we owed
it to the building to take that element and reinterpret it
with a modern building material.”
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Offices from all over the world
The cool terrazzo floor is complemented by visually
warm and tactile absorbent materials such as wood,
textile and brushed brass. The furniture is a wild mix
of brands from all continents – from Tiwu to Muuto
to Why Not. In the corridors you will discover art by
contemporary artists. And in the toilets and conference
rooms, you’ll come across newer and crazier wallpaper
and tile products every few feet, which Briar Hickling
designed herself with her partner Alex Mok. “Enjoying
living and working”, says the pair, “is something holistic
for us. And if you take the job seriously, the design work
extends to the very last tile joint.”
WeWork operates around 800 coworking spaces in more
than a hundred cities worldwide – including exotic business
destinations such as Haifa, Suzhou and Monterrey.
The factory with 5,500 square metres in Jing’An is certainly
one of the most spatially powerful and atmospherically
awesome coworking landscapes the New Yorkbased
hub provider has ever created. “In the last ten years,
work has changed massively”, says Luuk Strijbosch.
“Today, it’s more about people from different industries
and offices interacting with each other and exploring
areas of debate for collaboration than it is concentrated
work. Here, in this place, we’ve created a real centre of
gravity where it’s hard to escape this magnetism of togetherness.”
A rush like back then, only different.
Wojciech Czaja
© Linehouse / Jonathan Leijonhufvud
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What’s on your desk?
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© Gerald von Foris
What’s on your desk,
Anna Heringer?
© Anna Heringer
She is an Aga Khan laureate and one of the most exceptional contemporary architects.
Her favourite building materials are earth, clay, straw, wood and bamboo.
And when she’s not standing in the mud on some construction site in Vorarlberg
or Bangladesh, preparing the foundations with animal buffaloes or electric vibratory
equipment, she can most likely be found in her studio on the Bavarian-Salzburg
border in Laufen.
“I love this room”, Heringer says, pointing to the ancient vaulted ceiling and thick
pillars of conglomerate rock. “The house was built in the 15th century and already
served as an inn, military hospital and textile shop. And now it’s an
architecture firm.” She sits with her two employees on the ground floor, another
workplace is rented out as a coworking space, and her apartment is on the floor
above. “And right across the street is the tax office, which is pretty handy when
I need confirmation that I’m good for an application or for one of my many
projects abroad again.”
She’s not big on new things. And certainly not on fancy office furniture. “Too
clean, too angular, too synthetic”, she says. “And to be perfectly honest: perfection
stresses me out. I need things old with a patina. And all but a single lamp has
been given, swapped, and in some cases even found on the street. I practice what
I advocate professionally: upcycling, circular economy and saving material and
energy resources.”
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The old wooden box comes from our kindergarten
in Zimbabwe.
A table from our old junk shop. On top are
colourful silk patterns from Bangladesh.
My desk top is nothing more than a wooden
board that I have coated with clay casein. A
leftover material sample from Traunstein.
The old armchair comes from my family.
My parents always bring me herbs and flower
stalks. These are primroses.
Yeah, I work on an apple. But the apple is covered
with a pear. On principle!
The classic architect’s lamp! I love it!
The shelf was thrown out by the parish priest
years ago. There’s a bunch of old labels on it:
ordinariate, church tax, faculties, licenses and
personalia kleri.
Order? It’s more a mixture of chaos and intuitive
knowledge of where things might be.
There’s all kinds of stuff on the shelf: clay
models, old geodesic triangles and figurines from
Rajasthan.
These are designs for an eco-tourism village made
of rammed earth in Andalusia, a co-project with
Martin Rauch.
Japanese characters on bamboo paper, a truly
beautiful gift from Chinese architect Wang Shu.
Wojciech Czaja
contact 21

Office Life
The outdoor office:
TGW Activity Garden.
The positive effects of nature on work and health have
already been recognised by some companies. Which is why
the intralogistics specialist TGW has picked up on a new
trend: the Activity Garden. These are outdoor areas where
employees can work, recharge their batteries and entertain
themselves.
© TGW
Our gaze often wistfully wanders from our desks to the
outdoors, especially in the spring and summer months.
There is only one consolation in the office: to maybe
catch a few rays of sunshine after work. But what if you
could simply move the workplace outside?
This is possible in the Activity Garden. This is a new
trend of creating dedicated outdoor areas for employees.
From shaded workspaces, to barbecue areas for after
work and weekends, to a variety of sports options, the
Activity Garden is designed to give workers a break
from office work.
Sport, leisure and work.
The intralogistics specialist TGW has already put the
“Activity Garden” concept into practice. An extensive
outdoor area covering 9,000 square metres has been
created exclusively for employees and their families. A
motor skills course is available for coordination, balance
and endurance training. Strength, agility and speed
training is possible at various stations, for example
climbing courses or a standing rope swing. “We can
only successfully implement our international projects
with motivated employees. Which is why we want
to create an environment where our employees feel
comfortable and can fully develop their potential”, says
Harald Schröpf, CEO of TGW Logistics Group. For
more sporting activities there is also a running track, a
sports field and pavilions for yoga and fitness.
If you want to go outside in nice weather, you can use
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© TGW
© TGW
one of the outdoor workplaces or move
meetings outside. You can also get some
fresh air with so-called “walk and talk”
meetings. If you have conversations outside
in the Activity Garden instead of
in the confer-ence room, you can enjoy
the weather and do something good for
your health at the same time. After all,
numerous illnesses are the direct result
of a lack of exercise. Walk and talk meetings
also activate brain power, which in turn sparks
new ideas. Simply walking a bit outdoors in between
also clears the mind and boosts concentration.
“Many of our 2,000 Upper Austrian employees
use the Activity Garden for sport and fitness, for
balance during their lunch break or for outdoor meetings”,
adds Schröpf.
Outdoor facilities are particularly well suited to informal
communication and enjoying breaks together. The
chance to be outside motivates you to go for a walk or
have lunch on the bench in the shade. Barbecue areas
offer the option to spend time together after work.
The area is also open to TGW employees on weekends.
If they like, they can use the Activity Garden
with their family.
Alternatives for everyday life outdoors.
If you don’t have an Activity Garden yet but still want
to benefit from nature and sunshine, you can also create
a bit of an outdoor feeling in the office. Plants on the
windowsill are often all it takes to bring the necessary
green into the room. Regular ventilation gets rid of
stuffy air and boosts concentration. A view outside is
also motivating. Lunch breaks can be used for a walk,
or to eat outdoors.
So good news for all daydreamers: you don’t necessarily
have to stay in a dark office until the end of the working
day. Sunbathing and productive work can be perfectly
combined.
© TGW
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Anniversary
100 years of
Wiesner-Hager furniture.
The kind of furniture used on the high seas, the years when women kept the company
afloat and the reasons why Wiesner-Hager secured a leading role in the theatre are
just a few examples of exciting anecdotesin the company’s 100-year history.
Take a seat!
From a carpentry shop to a
furniture joinery.
The Wiesner-Hager company dates back to 1849, the
year when Josef Wiesner opened up a carpentry shop.
Rudolf Wiesner and Sebastian Hager took over the
business in 1921. They created a second leg for the
company to stand on by setting up a furniture joinery
in the course of a conversion. However, their precise
reasons for choosing to specialise in furniture production
are not completely known. Was it strategic foresight,
a spontaneous idea or just simple coincidence?
Only a later statement made by Theresia Wiesner gives
an insight into the decision taken at that time: “There
had already been a joinery workshop during the First
World War which had mainly dealt with kitting out
barracks, but it needed orders. So it seemed like a good
idea to add a furniture joinery to the business.” At the
start, the focus was on making
simple folding chairs
for cinemas and garden
furniture. Even so, initial
plans to export furniture had already been drawn up
by the mid-1920s. Before long, an order came in for
a large consignment of furniture to England. Understandably
enough, this was a great cause for celebration.
From 1928 to 1930, an English trading company
organised the dispatch of 144,000 items of Wiesner-
Hager garden furniture. Some ended up as deckchairs
on passenger liners, while others were shipped to
various English colonies, especially to India.
The priming and polishing department, 1938
Wartime years pose a tough test.
As with many companies, the wartime years between
1939 and 1945 represented a struggle to survive for
Wiesner-Hager and were accompanied by numerous
human tragedies. Of the 104 employees called up
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Wiesner-Hager
garden furniture and deckchairs

Austria may be small, but it has powerful brands that
spread its reputation all over the world. In the field
of culture, we have the Salzburg Festival. In regard to
furniture, there is Wiesner-Hager. When Clemens Holzmeister
designed the Großes Festspielhaus in 1957, he
turned to Wiesner-Hager and had the company create a
special form of seating which has truly proved its worth
right up to today. We ourselves celebrated our 100th
anniversary in 2020, and now the Salzburg Festival
wishes to congratulate the Wiesner-Hager company on
its 100th anniversary.
Helga Rabl-Stadler,
President of the Salzburg Festival
The new Salzburg Festspielhaus, 1967
for military service, 35 did not return. At the start of
the war, Wiesner-Hager still managed to get by as a
supplier to the military. Wiesner-Hager also became a
member of the German bentwood cartel, which placed
orders for the Wehrmacht from Berlin. In fact, the
company made even larger investments: In addition to
chairs and stools, recliners were also required for field
hospitals and so-called “sleigh boats” had to be produced
as a means of transporting war matériel and the
wounded. For these reasons, it was especially women
who kept the business going during the war, enabling
the company to stay afloat for a long period of time
during the war years. As the war continued, shortages
of manpower and materials led to the complete closure
of the company for a few months. Production only
resumed at the start of 1946.
Curtain-up! We‘re off to the theatre.
Wiesner-Hager soon recovered after the Second World
War. The prevailing mood of optimism was driven by
demand. Moreover, the 1950s ushered in a great period
of prestigious cultural projects: Many renowned
cultural sites, such as the Vienna State Opera,
the Burgtheater or, a little later, the Brucknerhaus in
Linz, were fitted out with chairs from Wiesner-Hager.
The company also maintained a long-standing connection
with the Salzburg Festspielhaus. Built by Professor
Clemens Holzmeister, the old Festspielhaus featured
a large auditorium which had already been fitted out
with 1,200 chairs by 1935. High levels of quality and
long-standing expertise in furnishing projects ensured
that the new Festspielhaus was completed in cooperation
with Wiesner-Hager at the end of the 1950s. Even today,
audiences in the Salzburg Festspielhaus still sit on the
original chairs from 1960.
A shift towards furniture design and
architecture.
Product design and development have become increasingly
important since the 1960s, resulting in a new and
evident attachment to architecture. Franz
Schuster was one of a number of renowned
architects who established close links
to Wiesner-Hager through years of collaboration.
For example, Schuster designed
various ranges of wooden chairs that still
do a roaring
trade in some antique shops
today. Schuster brought his extensive
experience to the field of
furniture design. He firmly believed
in bringing low-cost but
aesthetically pleasing furniture
to the market. Wiesner-Hager
was the ideal partner for his
ideas. In those days, almost no
other company was able to offer
items of furniture produced
Model 341,
Design: Franz Schuster
in large quantities and consistent quality on an industrial
scale, while at the same time infusing them with the
soul of creativity.
© Dorotheum GmbH & Co KG, auction catalogue of 3 June 2020
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Showroom
Curtain up for two
all-round talents.
May we present: the two Wiesner-Hager newcomers, batch skid-base chair and delv conference chair,
which are turning out to be real all-round talents. While batch combines comfort and functionality,
delv impresses with intelligent mechanics and versatility.
batch: Hard core, soft shell.
The batch skid-base chair combines a minimalist design approach with
technological sophistication: the graphic two-component shell has a hard
core and a soft outer shell. This means that batch offers excellent seating
comfort despite its flatness – you don’t feel the usual pressure points on the
edges. The dense stackability of up to 30 chairs at just 2 metres high is the
prerequisite for space-saving storage. The chairs are connected in rows by a
linking element integrated into the frame gliders. batch can be linked and
stacked mixed, with and without armrests.
The “high density” stacking chair is ideally suited for use in large rooms and
multi-purpose areas such as congresses, conferences or seminars. Optional
seat and row numbers that can be fitted without any tools are available.
Although the plastic shell consists of two different components, the overall
look is consistent. Its angular design combined with the graphic skid frame
made of 12 mm round steel is reminiscent of simple line drawings as a starting
point for minimalism and reduction. An attractive selection of shell
and frame colours as well as two upholstery options create a wide range of
individual appearances.
Design: Andreas Krob
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delv: The smart conference chair
The innovative ergonomic concept of the delv conference swivel chair
combines a dynamic seating philosophy with trend-setting kinetics: the
new twist-balance mechanism replaces classic mechanism concepts and
increases ergonomic effectiveness. It impresses with its 360° swivelling
seat and back. This supports the spine’s micro-movements and stimulates
the supply of nutrients to the intervertebral discs. delv adapts to
its users – thanks to automatic weight recognition. This is particularly
advantageous for conferences and desk sharing when several people use
the smart conference chair. The combination of high-quality materials,
ergonomic innovation and contemporary design makes delv the ideal
choice for prestigious offices.
delv promotes dynamic sitting without any additional controls. The
twist and balance mechanism combines the advantages of a synchronous
mechanism without the complexity of classic mechanisms. It
enables automatic weight recognition with a few flexible components
by allowing the materials’ kinetic forces to act. A preloaded spring
made of high-strength polymer plastic reacts when you sit down: the
more weight on the spring, the greater its resistance. This automatically
regulates the backrest’s leaning pressure and creates an intuitive sitting
experience. Fine adjustment is not necessary, as the spring’s preload is
designed to be very well balanced for a wide range of users from 50 to
120 kilos.
Design: Andreas Krob
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Rethink your Office.
Seven scenarios for office space
planning after the coronavirus.
On the way to normality in the working world, it is necessary not just to overcome (short-term) healthpolicy
obstacles, but also to rethink sustainable developments in office design. While we are currently
mainly occupied with measures related to physical distancing in the office, companies will also face
many changes in the long term after the coronavirus. Seven scenarios for the office working world are
of special significance.
You can download
our detailed white
paper here.