Banks, doctors’ offices, ice cream shops—they all have one thing in common: you always wonder about the awful interior. Who designed it, why did they do it, could it be any worse? The customer areas of most bank branches in particular feel like they’re stuck in the 1990s, which is why these two bank projects for Vitra were a revelation. Two bank branches in the provinces, the Volksbank in Hofgeismar and the VR Bank in Burgau, not headquarters in the big cities. Things can be done very differently; change is also slowly taking place in the financial sector, and customers and employees can interact with each other in a pleasant environment. Discarding old, outdated areas, creating new, open, communicative areas, giving people more freedom, whether in open customer areas or employee offices, suddenly it all feels normal and pleasant, and you don’t feel the urge to leave these otherwise ugly bank branches as quickly as possible. In conversation with branch managers and bank employees, it quickly becomes clear that customers are coming in, employees are more motivated, there are fewer sick days, the mood is good, and morale is high. As times change, we need to change old, outdated frameworks.

Mynt defies conventional categorisations and combines the home-like appeal and unassuming aesthetic of a universal chair with the ergonomics of a dynamic office chair. It thus brings a new way of sitting to any setting: a versatile all-rounder ideal for the office – as well as shared spaces and universities like here at the DHBW Lörrach on the VitraCampus. Architect Alvaro Siza.

A working city as a workplace, ESW, New Work, Munich, 2022. Evangelisches Siedlungswerk.

‘No one comes back to the office just for a desk. At On Labs, we focus on social interaction among our diverse team. Living our culture together ensures that we remain innovative and creative.’
David Allemann, Co-Founder On

The open minded digital agency in Basel city. ‘The idea was to create a large, flexible environment featuring workstations, project and workshop areas in combination with five spacious meeting rooms that together would function as a homogeneous whole.’