In the Volkswagen Group, Carmeq GmbH develops software and functions for the cars of tomorrow. As a driving force, Carmeq works on AI-based driver assistance systems, new technologies for e-mobility or autonomous driving.
kubix was commissioned to create a FutureLab for the Carmeq company, where the world of work meets research center. Both visitors and employees should use the company space at the capital city.
A place was created on the ground floor of a former car dealership where employees can break out of their everyday work environment and communicate with one another in different room situations. There is the regular office space on the 2nd floor above the showroom, which is designed more for focused work and meetings. Teams can book areas on the ground floor to hold workshops, brainstorming sessions and smaller events or to carry out customer surveys or to work on prototypes. The area offers many opportunities to work creatively and to generate new, fresh ideas and to be inspired. This promotes cooperation in interdisciplinary teams and creates close ties within the company.
When designing it, it was important to work with the available space without interfering with the structural substance. Floors, ceilings and lighting were taken over from the existing building and integrated into the overall concept via coloring, additional lighting and, in some cases, new floor coverings.
The FutureLab is divided into three differently usable areas:
The public area for use as a showroom, reception lounge, user experience and smart lounge. The free work area for use for workshops, creative lounge, meet up lounge and auditorium. And the secret area, not accessible to the public, used as a workshop, laboratory and studio. The design is based on the company's CI and plays with the Carmeq world of colors and the dynamics of automobile movement in an abstract form. The permanent fixtures provide a functional framework; in terms of design, they are neutral, functional, restrained and dynamic. The loose furniture enliven the room with lively colored accents and a flexible and modular arrangement in the room and give it an additional dynamic. A light sculpture that runs through the entire rooms works, in addition to additional and accent lighting, as a guidance system and optical connection of the individual areas.
An improvement in room acoustics was achieved with the use of acoustically effective textiles, curtains, slats, panels, furniture and objects, and they were elegantly designed.
Almost all loose furniture is mobile, has acoustic properties and can be combined with one another in a variety of ways, so that all requirements can be covered, from acoustically sealed individual workstations to workshop situations.
The special feature of the project was the close and agile cooperation between Carmeq and kubix, which ran through the entire design and implementation process. Thanks to weekly meetings, the design could be finalized in the shortest possible time and no unnecessary thoughts were pursued in the development process. In this way, the planning could be adapted very closely to Carmeq's requirements and the entire project, from design to completion, could be implemented in just 8 months
