One month ago and after approximately three years of construction time, our CEO Herbert Hainer opened the doors of the just then completed new office building “Laces”. This was the kick-off for 1700 adidas employees to move into their new offices.
Just having started my internship in the Corporate Communication department a couple of days ago, I still hardly find my way to the office or to the employee restaurant “Stripes”; and now there’s a new, gigantic building on the World of Sports (that’s how the adidas Group’s headquarter campus is called) to be sounded out.
Brand-new intern, brand-new building
My office is not located in the new building. Therefore I am not able to explore it along the way of a normal work day. This is why I decided to go on an exploration tour through Laces.
From a distance it doesn’t even look that exceptional – at least this was my first thought. It looked just like a huge office building to me; but as soon as I entered the atrium I changed my mind.
The architecture and atmosphere left me speechless, because it’s just huge from the inside.
I have never seen anything like this
Okay, I am convinced, it’s not just a normal office building – it looks more like an art gallery. I feel like a miniature visitor entering an enormous building. The glass walls seem to be hundreds of meters high (indeed Laces is 31 meters high), the building contains seven levels and all offices have only glass walls towards the atrium. So it all looks very open, very light-flooded and bright.
I also visited one of the offices, and it’s the same in there. Very bright, mostly white open plan offices and an inspiring, creative atmosphere.
In order to soak my impressions up I decide to take a seat at the coffee bar. I enjoy a fantastic Iced Latte and observe the scenery for a while: employees are walking over bridges on their way to meetings or their offices (by the way: that’s where the building’s name comes from; the bridges are supposed to look like laces from a bird’s view). Other employees are sitting in groups at the coffee bar and are working – it’s a very active and alive kind of atmosphere.
Now I am curious: what is it like to work here on a daily basis? I approach some of my colleagues. Here is what they said:
Tilman, Football Brand Marketing
“I like the inside courtyard a lot, it’s very open and light-flooded. The building helps to make communication and collaboration more efficient. I appreciate this a lot.”
Alison, Brand Marketing
“I feel united; we’re more together as ONE department as everyone who is relevant to my job is sitting close to me now; and I love the coffee bar – finally I know where to get proper coffee around here.”
Gunter, Security
“Even after weeks of working here, I still feel impressed when I enter the lobby every single morning. I love the architecture and it’s a fascinating working environment. As sitting in the centre of the lobby, we also get many comments from visitors and externals about how they like our new building here in Herzogenaurach. I can tell you: pretty much everyone is very impressed.”
During my Laces exploration tour I took a couple of pictures – check them out! How do you like what you see?
