Sony Music
Initial situation
After splitting off from the Bertelsmann Group, Sony Music wished to set up at a new location and re-establish its own corporate identity. This had to be reflected in the address, the type of office design and the working culture. In keeping with Sony’s corporate culture, as already taken for granted in other locations throughout the world, the prime objective of the spatial redevelopment was to change from the classic single and double offices that characterised the previous publishing house structure to an open, communicative office environment.
The transition to a modern, flexible office was intended to strengthen and promote communication between departments and labels and to equip the company to respond flexibly to its future requirements.
Planning process
The challenges and opportunities which result from spatial changes are many and varied. The change of location and office design contributed to the re-evaluation and optimisation of established workflows and the creation of new spaces for working and communication.
In change management, too, the cultural shift resulting from the changes was moderated by conceptsued GmbH. In the case of Sony, the special feature of the job specification consisted of a mix of “normal” workstations with typical requirements in terms of office tasks plus a number of special workstations based on the specific needs of the music industry.
Implementation
The modular system of units and furniture developed by conceptsued GmbH, as well as the light, colour and materials concept, establish the framework in which the new office environments are set in motion. The furnishing of the individual departments follows a common design concept but leaves adequate scope to meet the requirements of the various work areas and allow them to retain an independent, characteristic identity.
In cooperation with the local specialist retailer – s+w in Munich, ophelis delivered a modular system, ophelis docks, for the configuration of the “other zones” in the office: meeting points in the central areas and furniture for the think tanks and kitchenettes. The working environment was enhanced to the comfort level of a lounge with upholstered furniture, tables for seated and standing use, and the “Bricks” functional elements which are equipped with power outlets and rotating lap tables in a modular concept which enables new islands to be created in the office and individually configured in terms of their function and materials at any time while retaining uniformity of design. Apart from that, we comprehensively equipped the classic desk workstations with storage space solutions, including details that were specifically adapted to the needs of Sony Music.
The products used for storage were our glider front sliding door cabinet system, S Series sliding door cupboards, the facett shelving system and mobile pedestals.
Photography: Eva Jünger, Munich
