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Haller Kitos Display eleven 22

MART Rovereto, Italy In the convergence of alleyways flanked by the classical Palazzi dell’Annona and Alberti, you will find the entrance to the Museo d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea di Rovereto e Trento (MART – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art) by Architect Mario Botta and Engineer Giulio Andreolli. The abbreviation evokes the English word ‘mart,’ or market hall; the central rotunda which is the entrance to the exhibition areas, can certainly be interpreted as such. The 40-metre circular halo functions as a public plaza. With its glazed pavilion-style roof and the clamping ring made to look like an eye, its shape reminds the viewer of the Pantheon in Rome. The monumental size of the construction mesmerizes the visitor. Designed for

the profane life, the ground floor houses a café, shop, checkout, coatroom, and auditorium, all doing justice to its market hall character. The interior design of the bookstore and likewise the library in the basement, with the USM Haller Modular Furniture system, also reflects the functional aspect of these areas. The severe linearity of the layout of the Haller shelves distinguishes itself from that of the (Schinkel) paradigm, classicallyschooled architecture. Its material character does more to accentuate the contrast: You can do nothing but bask in the opulence of the facade covering in yellowish pietra dorata, the coolness of the steel paneling of the Haller shelves and counters in matte silver – as unobtrusive as it is stylish – and be astounded at how well the timeless, unembellished design suits the architectural environment.

Adidas-Sport GmbH Cham, Switzerland The corrugated iron facade slides like a curtain behind the sound barrier on the A4 highway and distracts the eye for a brief moment. Four oversized heads are emblazoned on it like stars. These heads do not belong to famous sports champions, as you would expect, rather they represent random passersby. Nevertheless, the corporate design is evident – the facade refers to Adidas and Salomon, each of which occupies one floor in the building. It was the first building built at the Brunnmatt residential and industrial park in Cham, with grounds of 39,000 m2 along the A4 highway. A ‘sporty and dynamic’ atmosphere also dominates inside the building, where the red covering of the tartan walkway guides movement through the space, which is

otherwise divided up only by USM Haller Modular Furniture. Despite all transparency and communicative networking, matte silver USM Haller shelves – contrasting with the dark grey carpet – guarantee a certain intimacy at the 85 workstations. There are no signs of a hierarchy – even senior management is not ‘screened off.’ According to the Director of Marketing, the classic design of the Haller line guarantees ‘individuality within unity.’ The functionality and the technological character of the furniture designs were factors that convinced senior management. Now with sports shoes on the shelves, you have ask yourself whether the shelves are meant to do homage to the shoes or the shoes are meant to be the finishing touch to the shelves.

30 St Mary Axe London, United Kingdom Londoners call 30 St Mary Axe, Swiss Re’s new London headquarters, designed by Foster and Partners, ‘the gherkin’. It rises over a historically significant and architecturally interesting site, and with its 40 storeys and 180-metre height, it is the second tallest building in the City of London.The glass façade covers a surface of 22,000 square metres, and each of the over 5,000 diamond-shaped glass panels is customized, criss-crossing the façade diagonally and creating a spiral form, the image bringing to mind a pine cone. Swiss Re will initially occupy floors 2 through 15. Floors 16 to 34 will be rented to others.The spectacular glass-domed restaurant and lounge bar on the 39th and 40th floors will be shared by tenants of the building. The circular floorplate is broken down into six roughly rectangular areas planned along a 1.5 metre grid. Here, the USM Haller and Kitos Modular Furniture were used. The open plan offices (approximately 800 workstations) were furnished with Kitos tables and Haller shelves and cabinets. The 50 smaller office units with one or two workstations were outfitted with Haller corner desk combinations and Haller shelves. In terms of colour, the USM Haller Modular Furniture is elegantly restrained. The light-grey of the Haller shelves harmonizes with the dark grey of the carpet and the light ceiling. It allows the strong geometrical principles to take centre stage: the analogy of ellipse to diamond, circle to rectangle.

Roche Nederland BV Woerden, Netherlands Pins lift the projecting cube that functions as a brise-soleil off the floor and above the landscape in the part of the building where the Roche Company, active in the pharmaceutical industry, occupies four floors. The first floor houses the cafeteria as well as rooms for meetings and conferences,

while the second and third floors house the marketing department. The fourth floor is home to internal departments such as IT, accounting, logistics, HR as well as the company’s senior management. The main idea was to have an open floor plan without the space looking like a huge ‘soccer field.’ Interior designer Nino Graziosi started with the functions – such as work, relaxation, meetings, lounging,

archiving – and arranged them to create a coherent concept. ‘We didn’t put walls around people, but rather around functions,’ is how Graziosi explains his concept. Walls are not so much meant to be vertical elements, as these are inherent in the furnishings supplied by USM’s eleven22 furniture system. An intensive process preceded the selection of the furniture system. The General Manager

responded to USM’s philosophy of using ‘work’ as the theme. He has found in USM a partner that analyzes the working processes of the future, because, as he explains, ‘a working atmosphere and the way people deal with one another – the so-called soft factors – are important to me.’ The fact that eleven22 impressed the General Manager, who describes himself

as relatively conservative, is due to the somewhat transitory nature of the furniture design. ‘I don’t believe that we will ever make do without a central office infrastructure, but I also don’t believe that everyone will still have his or her own desk in ten years. It seems to me that eleven22 is a wonderful product for introducing this process in a simple and natural way, and for allowing

it to grow and evolve. Everyone, or almost everyone, has a workstation, but the workstations are uniform, and thanks to the infrastructure, anyone can work at any workstation.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; However, Graziosi relaxed this uniformity in areas that are dedicated to relaxation and conversation. For example, such areas have freestanding elements like the cubic cafe /kitchen enclosed by limed

oak in the corridor, or the meeting rooms enclosed by blue and yellow coloured glass. In order to highlight the functional arrangement of the workspace, Graziosi created zones that are defined by the materials used for the ceilings and floors. Dark parquet flooring, for example, marks the traffic routes. Carpets in beige and brown tones accentuate the work areas.

Cave à Vins, Anglet Biarritz, France Create, store, exhibit: This trilogy from the world of art also applies to wine. It requires artistic creativity to elicit from the juice of the grape the qualities that make it a good vintage. Storage requires the care of a curator who looks after the depository of an art museum, and the presentation requires the curator’s knowledge of the artists, schools, influences, and other telling facts. Cave à vins means wine cellar. People associate the words with oak barrels, and even in the absence of these, the words still call to mind wooden shelves, an earthy smell, and perhaps moisture. A wine cellar is like the depository of an art museum. The bottles are carefully stored like works of art and yet may collect dust over the years. They are largely removed from the public eye. The Cave à vins, on the other hand, looks more like a showroom. The bottles are arranged as if they had been retrieved from the depository for an exhibition. They are exhibited on white shelves of USM Haller Modular Furniture, just like highlights from a collection, in chronological ‘hanging order’ (according to vintage), institutionally (according to vintner) sorted or composed into work groups (according to grape type or winegrowing region). The Haller shelves are like the perfect frame for a painting. They do not court the public’s favor at the expense of the ‘painting’ or the object on display. Rather, they attract the public’s attention to the object, thus reinforcing its effect. This criterion led the Société LMV Domaines et Châteaux to its final selection of USM Haller furnishings for its Cave à Vins in Anglet near Biarritz, which will serve to test the waters for opening additional wine stores in France.

E.ON AG Düsseldorf, Germany It was a prime example of a public sectorprivate sector partnership: The cooperation between the public sector and E.ON made funding possible for the new addition of the west wing to the Kunst Palast Museum, designed by master architect Oswald Matthias Ungers from Cologne, in the ‘Ehrenhof’ arts square. As a reciprocal gesture, E.ON was able to build its new administrative building on the neighbouring lot. For the energy company, Ungers designed a tower that rises above the semi-circular ground floor base against which two lower exterior structures shaped like pie wedges are nestled. One of the structures is designed as a glass hall. Showing his affinity for the square, the architect pays homage to it by contrasting the sweep of the travertine façade with a

square grid. Although a majority of single and double offices were built, the interior and the exterior are not exact copies. The articulation of the travertine façade dissolves into the glazing of the high square windows. To a certain extent, the Haller Modular Furniture system functions as a third grid level. The light-grey Haller shelves, sideboards and cabinets were arranged into office landscapes whose uniformity is highlighted by the slightly darker-shaded carpets. Consistent with the strictly maintained geometry of the building is the furniture that tolerates no extraneous objects. That’s why the technology containers were also designed according to the Haller system. When it came to the tables, E.ON fully exploited the system’s potential by combining the various components to create customized work areas.

Strellson AG Kreuzlingen, Switzerland When the brothers Uwe and Jochen Holy took over the old-established company Staehl & Co. in Kreuzlingen in 1984, the textile industry in Switzerland was experiencing an economic slump. With the entry of Reiner Pichler as CEO in 1995 what has emerged is the Strellson that we know today: A brand that clothes the soccer players of Real Madrid and the personnel of Swiss International Airlines. The ‘outer garment’ or shell of the Strellson building in Kreuzlingen is made of aluminum sheeting. Andreas Imhof and Bernard Roth have designed a new ‘outfit’ for the building by demolishing parts of the building and adding new ones. Strellson and Tommy Hilfiger occupy 900 m2 on the second floor. They are connected in that Strellson is licensed to sell suits that carry the Tommy Hilfiger logo. The space has profiled metal ceilings and narrow beech strip flooring laid in a Flemish pattern reminiscent of a workshop – an appropriate image for the creativity centre of the Tommy Hilfiger designers. The defining characteristic of the room is a double-skinned glass cubicle made of Profilit, in which the advertising department of Strellson is housed. The architects also designed the basic furniture – walk-in material

boxes instead of storage rooms, and tables reminiscent of old textile display tables that are used as standing tables in Hilfiger’s design area. Also included are counters up to 17metres long that separate the office areas. They match the black steel of the USM Haller Modular Furniture shelves that are found throughout the entire floor, as well as the Haller units and tables in the office area. The classic design of USM Haller Modular Furniture and its timelessness are a perfect match for Strellson’s corporate philosophy. Pichler revealed in an interview that his favorite item of clothing is an 8-year old sports coat made of herringbone linen. Sometimes he shows his employees such an item, for example an old pinstripe suit with a specially designed shoulder, for example, that might then be ‘styled up’ by the design team to become a new trend.

DGF Stoess AG Eberbach, Germany Companies that sponsor architecture competitions for new corporate headquarters are still admirable exceptions. DGF Stoess has allowed itself the ‘luxury’ of constructing a new building at their traditional location on the bank of the River Neckar, to house 230 employees. It is the

coordination centre for all international activities of the GELITA Group, the leading company in the gelatin industries. Gelatin is used in foodstuffs, in the pharmaceutical and photography industry as well as in other specialized products. In the age of globalization, it cannot be assumed that a company will remain committed to its traditions at all. DGF Stoess combines such a commitment with a

philosophy that is summed up by words such as modern, transparent, open and nature-oriented. The architects tried to do justice to both elements – tradition and modernity – in the new building by integrating into the design traditional materials such as wood and natural stone, on the one hand, and a component cooling system using stream water, heat exchangers and exterior landscaping, on the

other. ‘Transparency through glass, dynamics through a flexible interior design, communication through meeting points and balance through a fitness area,’ is how the Chairman of the Board describes the concept. The timelessness of the furnishings with USM’s Haller and Kitos Modular Furniture functions as a synthesis between the traditional and the modern. So classic and

therefore worthy of a museum, the Haller design – now part of the permanent collection in the Museum of Modern Art – is both functional and flexible. In addition, the colour uniformity showcases the white Haller tables, cabinets and sideboards as well as the Kitos tables as independent furniture items in an interior design material vocabulary that is both uniformly functional and yet genuinely varied.

ÖKK Landquart, Switzerland One of the features of the ÖKK health insurance company’s new building in the town of Landquart near Chur, Switzerland is the exterior and, in the most literal sense of the word, its transparent structural design. Architects Valentin Bearth, Andrea Deplazes and Daniel Ladner encased the 63 metre long and 13 metre deep, five floor (ground floor, three upper floors and a top floor) building in a glass façade. That in itself is not exactly a novelty. But the six towers that rise above the building articulate not only its enormous volume, but also its supporting ‘columns.’ The emphasis on the vertical lines also has a functional stringency because the towers not only house the restrooms, but also the stairs and the elevators.

The structural design creates a transparency that permits an almost unlimited view and virtually limitless flexibility on the inside because it is not blocked by the support columns. Flexibility was also the keyword when it came to selecting USM Haller Modular Furniture. The white Haller counters, shelves, sideboards and cabinets highlight the bright ambience of the rooms divided by glass walls, the large open offices on the south side and the individual offices on the north facade. Colourful accents contrast the red and black built-in cabinets in which the employee carts are kept. Just as mobile backdrops define a stage, the furniture represents the foreground while the black walls of the built-in cabinets and room fixtures, such as the indicator boards, represent the background.

Consorci de la Zona Franca Barcelona, Spain Consorci entrusted no one less than architects Ricardo Bofill and Miguel Martín with the design of the new office building for the state-run company, which operates a sort of no-man’s land – a duty-free area located between Barcelona’s port and airport. The structure’s twisted, hanging roof gives an impression of a building where, even in an industrial area made up of international trade companies exporting their goods, transparency evokes magic, both in the literal as well as the figurative sense. The building is enclosed by a glass casing whose structure looks like the seams of a piece of sewn fabric. Glass walls divide the interior and even vertical views have even been created. From the fifth floor, you can gaze down at the glass floor and see the fourth floor below. In a figurative sense, this transparency manifests itself mainly on the inside where the architecture becomes obviously dominant in its design. Each of the columns dissolves into four struts and enables the building’s design principle to be experienced directly. The struts running in a diagonal direction visually generate an additional dimension to the modular geometry of the window grids.

Once you are accustomed to the surroundings, what really attracts your eye is the noticeable design of USM Haller Modular Furniture. Its effect is reinforced due to the fact that there emerges a dialogue between the modularity of the façade and that of the Haller shelves and sideboards – not to mention the colour contrast between the light-grey of the Haller furniture and the light-flooded space. A decisive factor in the selection of USM furniture was the adaptability of the system, the sheer limitless number of add-on options and its flexibility – with 300 workstations, this was a critical requirement. In the end, image also played a role – when you hire a ‘star’ architect for a building’s exterior, the building’s interior should also carry a well known signature name.

Living with USM ‘Each work of art should be displayed in a place that looks as if it exists for that piece and that piece only,’ claims internationally renowned Swiss artist Rémy Zaugg, most recently known for his collaboration with Herzog & de Meuron. A work of art requires an appropriate context to enable its full effect to develop. That this can also apply

to furniture – for one design in particular that belongs to the permanent design collection at the New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) – is confirmed by documented residential interior configurations. For example, the Haller sideboard is compatible with the Le Corbusier armchair, it withstands the playfulness of a statue by Niki de Saint Phalle, reconciles itself with the curved lines of the

Murano vase by Carlo Moretti and enters into an exciting dialogue with the ‘Modern Man,’ the steel sculpture by an anonymous contemporary artist from Paraguay. If the quality of the materials is right and they are used properly, the converse relationship also works. Whether confronted with the rawness of visible brickwork made of lime sandstone, framed by the rusticity of natural fir beams; underlaid

with parquet flooring made of oak planks or the austerity of black slate; or placed in front of a rough concrete wall, the USM Haller Modular Furniture line preserves the ennobled character of your masterpiece. It also resists overly trendy environments: Flooring made of synthetic resin treated in a decorative style or pink background lighting. The sideboard raised from the floor by additional tubes emphasizes the

architectonic character of USM Haller Modular Furniture, just as the combination of black pedestals topped with a clear glass cabinet does. The fact that one piece was once used as a shelf, but was then transformed into a sideboard by adding drawers and CD trays proves the systemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s adaptability. The white Haller shelves fitted between fir beams also demonstrate the pieceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s flexibility.

Prisma Illuminazione S.P.A Colognola ai Colli, Verona, Italy The two office buildings that house Prisma Illuminazione could be called twin buildings even though they were built ten years apart. The closed geometry of the first building, which rises above the square-shaped ground floor, did not allow for linear expansion. This was especially true since the building faces inwards and its courtyard elicits a feeling of seclusion reminiscent of a cloister. The architects therefore recommended a new building whose dimensions and volume would repeat those of the existing one. That’s why the new building and the old one mirror one another by means of a courtyard with a garden and a reflecting pool in which the two buildings are mirrored. The two structures are connected by a bridge of steel and glass that brings an axis of motion to the otherwise static structures. The new building also faces inwards. Its work areas, conference rooms and labs face the courtyard and its design contains elements of coloured glass, smooth stone and bamboo foliage. However, this building has more of an abstract feel than its twin. The architects were inspired by the singularities of the company’s operations, which they define as a place of creativity and fantasy, but also of rationality and concrete design,

where ‘illuminating’ ideas are produced and lighting system prototypes are developed. Polarity also defines the relationship between the building’s interior and exterior. Its illuminating atmosphere inside contrasts with its exterior closeness. Fully transparent glass walls define the interior space and divide the work areas, conference rooms and corridors. Fantasy and rationality also seem to have played a role in the interior furnishings. The design principle of USM Haller Modular Furniture pairs beautifully with the playfulness of the colour selection – ruby red, golden yellow and genetian blue – colours that were purposely used. The Haller shelves that almost reach the ceiling and make the room look larger can be found in the red-splashed conference rooms, the blue-drenched work areas and the yellow-tinted corridors.

MART Rovereto, Italy Installation: Haller matte silver Sales Partner: Joint S.R.L., Milan, Italy Architect: Mario Botta, Lugano, Switzerland Engineer: Giulio Andreolli, Rovereto, Italy

Adidas-Sport GmbH Cham, Switzerland Office space for 85 employees Installation: Haller matte silver Sales Partner: wohnbedarf projekt ag, Zurich, Switzerland Architects: Weber Kohler Reinhardt AG, Zug, Switzerland

30 St Mary Axe London, United Kingdom Office space for approx. 800 employees Installation: Haller light-grey, Kitos Sales Partner: Dovetail Contract Furniture Ltd., London, United Kingdom Architect: Foster and Partners, London, United Kingdom Interior designer: Bennett Interior Design, London, United Kingdom

Roche Nederland BV Woerden, Netherlands Office space for 110 employees Installation: eleven22 Sales Partner: Office Consign, Amstelveen, Netherlands Interior designer: Nino Graziosi, graziosi progetti office for interior architecture & design, Den Haag, Netherlands

Cave à Vins, Anglet Biarritz, France Société LMV Domaines et Châteaux Principle wine trade for public sale Installation: Haller white Sales Partner: AGORA, Agen, France Architect: Oriane Deville, Bordeaux, France

Strellson AG Kreuzlingen, Switzerland Office space for 10 employees Installation: Haller black Sales Partner: Domus, St. Gallen, Switzerland Architects: AIR Architekten Imhof + Roth, Andreas Imhof, Bernard Roth, Kreuzlingen, Switzerland

DGF Stoess AG Eberbach, Germany Office space for 230 employees Installation: Haller white, Kitos Sales Partner: Fleiner Objekt + Office, Stuttgart, Germany Architect: Günter Hermann, Stuttgart, Germany

Switzerland: USM U. Schärer Söhne AG Thunstrasse 55 CH-3110 Münsingen Phone +41 31 720 72 72 Fax +41 31 720 73 33 info@ch.usm.com Germany: USM U. Schärer Söhne GmbH Postfach 1653 D-77806 Bühl Phone +49 72 23 80 94 0 Fax +49 72 23 80 94 199 info@de.usm.com

ÖKK Landquart, Switzerland Office space for 75 employees Installation: Haller white Sales Partner: Escher Bürocenter, Chur, Switzerland Architects: Bearth & Deplazes Architekten AG, Chur, Switzerland

France: USM U. Schärer Fils SA Espace d’activités des Berthilliers F-71850 Charnay-lès-Mâcon Phone +33 3 85 32 85 85 Fax +33 3 85 32 85 80 info@fr.usm.com Showroom Paris 23 Rue de Bourgogne F-75007 Paris

Consorci de la Zona Franca Barcelona, Spain Office space for 300 employees Installation: Haller light-grey Sales Partner: Santa & Cole Ediciones de Diseño S.A., Barcelona, Spain Architects: Ricardo Bofill, Miguel Martín, Barcelona, Spain

Living with USM Matthias Ballmann, Hamburg, Germany Stéphane Kaiser, Bévilard and Malleray, Switzerland P. and M.-P. Walliser, Biel, Switzerland Matthias Zaugg, Derendingen, Switzerland

USA: USM U. Schaerer Sons Inc. New York Showroom 28 – 30 Greene Street New York, NY 10013 Phone +1 212 3711230 Fax +1 212 3711251 Toll free 1800 4 Haller info@us.usm.com Credits Concept / layout: P’INC. AG, CH-Langenthal

All other countries contact USM Switzerland

Photography:

E.ON AG Düsseldorf, Germany Office space for approx. 300 employees Installation: Haller light-grey Sales Partner: Schröer Projekt, Krefeld, Germany Architect: Oswald Matthias Ungers, Cologne, Germany

Prisma Illuminazione S.P.A. Colognola ai Colli, Verona, Italy Office space for 65 employees Installation: Haller golden yellow, genetian blue, ruby red, Kitos Sales Partner: Joint S.R.L., Milan, Italy Architects: Contec Ingegneria, Verona, Italy

Bruno Augsburger, CH-Zurch (MART, Strellson AG, DGF Stoess AG, Prisma Illuminazione S.P.A.) Susanne Stauss, CH-Zurich (ÖKK) Daniel Sutter, CH-Zurich (Adidas-Sport GmbH, 30 St Mary Axe, Roche Nederland BV, Cave à vins, E.ON AG, Consorci de la Zona Franca, Living with USM) Kay Wettstein, CH-Zurich (Living with USM) Text: Rahel Hartmann Schweizer, CH-Berne Lithography: Denz Lith-Art AG, CH-Berne Printing: AZ Grafische Betriebe AG, CH-Aarau