CLIENT BRIEF The client brief required the design and implementation, as a full TURNKEY SOLUTION, of a new MBSA campus, located at Aramist Place, Menlyn Maine. This project came about after the split between Mercedes Benz Passenger Cars & Daimler Trucks, who used to share a campus located in Zwartkops, Centurion. MBSA was looking to break away from the traditional office environment by posing the question: what role does the office play in a post Covid world? Identity, promotion of creativity and collaboration amongst different departments were highlighted as important. The company was moving from a spacious open-air campus, surrounded by lush greenery and animal life, to a traditional office block located in an urban environment. One of the main challenges set out for us was how to facilitate such a large shift in company culture while keeping the company heritage intact. As a result, careful consideration of the individual experience was needed to ensure that such a radical transition would run smoothly. DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT Occupying two and a half stories in a multi-storey building, the design was initiated by breaking any spatial segregation between departments, with the idea of collaboration within the company in mind. We completely opened up each floor plate, by grouping all needed services around existing cores and moving open plan seating areas toward the facades. This allowed for a direct connection to the outside, a connection to sunlight and natural greenery at all times. The next step was to introduce a continuous movement route throughout the entire office, to facilitate a direct connection between departments. The shape of this movement route took inspiration from the Zwartkops campus as the form resembles a meandering path through nature rather than an office walkway. Natural textures, organic forms and the use of real plants in the office further provided a sense of being close to nature. We approached the office space as an extension of one’s home, rather than a separate entity. We facilitated this by providing a range of working environment options for people to choose from. We included height adjustable desks, private booths, collaboration areas, privacy desks, coffee areas etc. The work ‘settings’ that was decided upon was established in direct collaboration with the people of MBSA. We made use of the power of sight, colour, smell and sound to diversify the work environment, catering for an array of different personalities. With company heritage being such a crucial factor for MBSA, we approached heritage through the means of artwork & room names. Artwork from the Zwartkops campus was curated and hand-picked to be re-introduced in the new space, thus taking a identifiable part of the previous office, and transferring it to the new. Spaces were named in line with Mercedes Benz heritage as well as Zwartkops heritage.