Situation

BMW Group’s new premises houses the group’s state of 3D printing facilities. As they continue to grow in surface and importance, the premises have to accommodate, not only the expected workstations and staff/crew-specific installations but should also be a place of training, presentations, meetings and even exhibit for customers and visitors to discover BMW Group’s expanding capabilities and the company’s focus on developing the technology of the future.

Solution

New Order developed a strong design identity for this prime place. The resulting new spaces are user-centered and highlight, through their flexibility and integration of technology, the company’s focus on innovation.
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The Training room is a multi-purpose and flexible space designed to house training sessions, courses, workshops, large presentations as well as concentrated, focussed teamwork. It is an energizing place for both internal as well as external BMW Group divisions, exposed to the outside, luminous, diaphanous and full of carefully chosen contrasts. From the outside, at street level, passers-by see a cohesive landscape of multiple levels and a variety of atmospheres: lounge areas, a large atrium with a high-bar/leaning table, and even an exposed swimming pool-like working area. The fixed wooden structure embraces the open play space and incorporates hidden working areas, acoustically isolated but not cut-off from the rest of the room.

The atrium takes full advantage of the height of the room, creating a dramatic change in topography within the room and with a capacity for about 75 people. Images can be projected to either wall for further immersion. Ambient lights have been incorporated under the structure itself, effectively creating a floating effect. This feature also offers the possibility to change the overall atmosphere of the room and adapt it to different event types and ambiances.

The training room is also equipped with a fully functional kitchen with a massive central plinth for get-togethers, presentations and working sessions too.

New Order also designed the premises’ meeting and comms rooms, integrating the technology completely, hiding it in plane sight, but also designing a fit-to-measure table, the NODS table, 6 meters long, slim and sharp top, with a strong and dynamic understructure.

Images: Benjamin Anthony Monn