After about two years of construction, the time has come: Wintershall Dea's approximately 500 Hamburg employees moved into the new office building in HafenCity in mid-July. More than 100 employees collaborated with the project team in working groups to develop the new office concept. In this way, #TeamWintershallDea not only helped to design the working environment, but also set an example for an open company culture.
FLEXIBLE OFFICE FOR HYBRID WORKING MODEL FLEX FORWARD
The result is a modern multi-space office on eight floors with flexible desk use in team zones. The new office at Lohsepark was designed to optimally foster the hybrid Flex Forward working model that applies globally at Wintershall Dea. To achieve this, open-plan areas alternate with meeting rooms and single/double offices. In between, so-called think tanks as coworking spaces, serve as temporary workplaces and flexibly usable meeting rooms. Getting to the office is also characterized by a high degree of flexibility: The new building is not only optimally connected to public transport, but also offers more in-house bicycle parking than car parking.
TREND-SETTING IN TERMS OF ENERGY
The building was constructed by the owner, Müller Spreer & Co. Am Lohsepark KG, according to the HafenCity Ecolabel "Platinum". HafenCity's certification system was the first for sustainable building in Germany in 2007. An important conceptual goal of the certification is to reduce CO2 consumption in the construction, operation and deconstruction of buildings. The focus is not only on reducing energy requirements, but also on the generation of energy from renewable sources by the building itself.
NEW WORK
The 7th floor mainly consists of a large communal area for #TeamWintershallDea: here you will find, among other things, the Collaboration Zone - flexibly furnished and especially designed for agile project work and events such as sprints. There is also the Coffee Bar - with high-quality coffee and snack specialties from our in-house caterer Claas-Henrik Anklam, who also runs the canteen. ,the so-called L³ Area serves as our learning space in Hamburg for the exchange of ideas and experiences.
RESPECT AND RESPONSIBILITY
Learning is closely linked to respect for the knowledge and experiences of others - and to an open-mindedness to question one's own knowledge of the past. It also reminds us to take responsibility. During the project phase, a mediation process took place between the City of Hamburg, Hafen City GmbH and the associations representing the victims of deportations during the Nazi era. The victims' associations had rejected the direct proximity of the planned documentation centre "Denk.mal Hannoverscher Bahnhof" and the offices of Wintershall Dea in a shared building because of the company's Nazi past, even though they recognised our company's commitment to democracy and against right-wing extremism. In January 2022, the parties involved in the mediation process agreed that the Documentation Centre would not move into the building with Wintershall Dea, but would get its own solitary building north of the park.
RESPONSIBILITY REMAINS, RESEARCH CONTINUES
As promised in the mediation process, Wintershall Dea is facing up to its responsibility for its own company history, which is highly charged, especially with regard to the Nazi period. This attitude will also be reflected in the design of the foyer in the new company headquarters in Hamburg, which will be completed in the next few weeks. In future, all guests will be able learn about Wintershall Dea's company history in the foyer. In addition, the company will transparently present the research projects on its National Socialist past there and, in addition, continuously inform interested parties about the latest research results on the company's history via its website.