... the office of architects and interior designers Lepel & Lepel, which won the tender for the redesign of the offices and cafeteria at the UFA headquarters in Potsdam Babelsberg.
Die Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft was founded over 100 years ago and is now the market leader in film and TV production. The administrative headquarters on Dianastraße in Potsdam breathes history in the immediate vicinity of the Babelsberg studios and film park, but the design of the offices in the 90s building no longer met today's requirements for a modern, communicative and functional working environment.
In 2015, the Cologne-based company Lepel & Lepel Architektur und Innenarchitektur was commissioned to plan the redesign. On the Universum Film AG office floor, Lepel and Lepel opened the long dark corridors with small individual offices and divided them into various areas using glass and wood elements, which promote cooperation without disturbing concentration. Neutral white, telegenic blue and warm wood tones were chosen as colors.
In the cafeteria, glamorous gold is added to the colors already selected. The photos were kindly provided to me by the UFA press office.
Here, the Mosáico cement tile floor picks up the shades of blue and gold.
The same pattern with the number 2009 is shown once in shades of sky blue M20, Lind M23 and lagoon M54, other areas have tiles in the colors cream M03, copper M11 and yellow M05. The design itself is reminiscent of wickerwork or cell structures and thus bridges the gap between modernity and tradition or nature.
It continues in the wooden elements that separate the individual sections and thus combines horizontal and vertical lines. In this case, the tile pattern was used as a template to cut out the wooden walls accordingly, although the opposite approach is also possible, because at Mosáico, any desired pattern can also be produced as a tile template.
In the cafeteria, the media industry is also presented with details such as the spot-like lamps, which are reminiscent of the lighting on movie sets. There are areas here with small tables that can also be used for informal meetings, as well as a long table as a centerpiece where the workforce can come together. The UFA motto — “connecting creativity” — is thus visually reflected and implemented.