BASF's Turkish Office

The BASF Turkey Office was planned across two floors with 2,500 m² net usable area. In the project where reception and main greeting areas occupy a separate floor, we connected these two floors with two main staircases that we designed. Beyond serving vertical circulation, the staircase connected the podium areas to function as meeting, gathering and socializing points for the office. As you will have noticed, the corporate colour emphasis that dominates the overall office design stands out in these two central areas as well. With the new work culture, we planned all employees together in shared work stations regardless of position or role. In the planning, we avoided monotony through socializing, meeting and conference areas serving different purposes. To this end, we developed and selected products for various uses. Our design includes meeting pods (Office Stop) by Nurus and axial dividing acoustic panels (Flaps), alongside seating groups (Rom&Jul) by Connection Turkey. Regarding the office furniture used, alongside work chairs selected through careful evaluation for employee comfort and work ergonomics, electronic height-adjustable desks were similarly preferred for work tables.

Meeting, conference and training rooms of different capacities and numbers were also furnished with similar-quality products using this approach.

As in our other projects, in the BASF Office we addressed the entire space design as a whole, following the completed proper planning process, together with floor, wall, ceiling, lighting, acoustics, landscape, graphic design and furniture sub-disciplines. The company's innovative, dynamic and colourful identity was highlighted through different forms, shapes and geometric uses of thin building materials. Within this approach, we also incorporated the company's corporate colours into the space designs. The project is an important work as a showcase for BASF due to the company's global identity. In this sense, products manufactured by BASF itself were included in the project as thin building materials. Polyurethane coating material applications stand out on the floors of the staircases, staircase podium areas, meeting rooms planned within the open office, conference rooms and shared socializing areas opening from these rooms. The company's strong product group—acoustic "basotect" product—also came to life through our design with an aesthetic language. Large installations designed together with lighting elements above the staircase gallery void are among the project's attention-drawing details.

Additionally, the panels on the ceilings of meeting and training rooms and recreation areas became unique parts of the spaces through their unconventional use beyond the material's acoustic purpose.

In open work and living areas, the acoustic criteria that need to be planned together with the design process yielded successful and efficient results through professional consulting services obtained for this project. Design and material selections were addressed together with these studies and choices were made. At the conclusion of the work, successful results obtained through technical measurements and evaluations conducted during the moving phase were confirmed in practice through employee feedback and satisfaction. We played an active role not only in furniture products but also in the design and development of aesthetic and functional acoustic panels. These products used together with lighting on conference room ceilings and walls are among the attention-drawing details in the project. Beyond these, in the project where the entire office is managed through automation systems, we also planned the lighting design as part of the whole, and received professional support for technical measurements and calculations. Ceiling panels designed with different geometries and levels and different thin building materials stand out through their irregular geometric structure yet homogeneous lighting distribution. Suspended ceiling, linear and point light sources alongside products appealing to the general market, and all decorative products feature LED technology. Particularly for some decorative products, we also selected acoustic lighting products tailored to the intended use of the space in which they are installed. Ayça Akkaya Kul Architect and Senior Industrial Product Designer       Önder Kul Architect