Pharmig
The new offices of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry Association (Pharmig) are modern and minimalist, with pastel colour schemes adding a lighter touch.
The search for a suitable location for Pharmig's new offices took a long time. In the end, the company moved into rooms in Vienna's Operngasse. "The area of the new offices has been reduced to 580 square metres because the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way Pharmig works - fewer people are on site at the same time. Home office and flexible working models have resulted in less space being needed overall," explains interior designer Helga Eigner from Roomware Consulting. Of a total of 16 workplaces, only two are permanently spoken for. The rest are freely accessible to all employees. Even the offices of senior executives can be booked in their absence as meeting rooms for all employees.
The open entrance area for employees with adjacent kitchen is both a meeting place and a relaxation zone. The Working Café offers a place for dialogue, while the bright phone box makes it possible to work and make phone calls undisturbed. In this area, we already encounter different pastel colour combinations that run through the entire office space. "The colours were intended to have a calming effect, while at the same time conveying activity," explains Eigner.
Opposite the staff entrance is the visitors' entrance with a spacious area for entertaining visitors and an adjacent lounge. This is available to both staff and guests, and invites regeneration and communication thanks to a variety of upholstered furniture. Light grey and beige tones are dominant here, interspersed with dark blue highlights.
Two of the three open workspaces can be accessed from both the visitor and staff areas. Light-coloured furniture, generously allocated space and an expansive window frontage convey a friendly atmosphere. Acoustically effective room dividers in tones of muted violet soften the overall picture and contribute to the uniform look. "The room dividers also help with social distancing during the pandemic," adds Helga Eigner.
Since Pharmig operates a clean desk policy, there are separate lockers where employees can store their personal belongings. The new office concept has also led to a reduction of storage space, which the company hopes will reduce paper consumption. In general, the aim is to work with less environmental impact, for example by holding meetings virtually.
The conference and meeting rooms can therefore be used flexibly, and are fitted with technical equipment for video conferences and hybrid meetings.
With the overall concept, Pharmig wanted to create homely working conditions combined with a pleasant atmosphere. Their motto: "By employees for employees" is important; in concrete terms, this means that the employees' needs and requirements of the new office space have been incorporated into the design. Everything necessary for the new offices was purchased from Austrian companies. "On the one hand, the surroundings should reflect the corporate culture while, on the other hand, creating a sense of well-being among employees, customers and visitors," concludes the interior designer.
The modern design of the new Pharmig offices also made an impression at the "Office of the Year" award, which is presented every year by the real estate service provider CBRE for the most beautiful offices in the country. Pharmig was one of the finalists in the small enterprise category.
