Roland, Claudia, Burkhard and Carola of Studio 7.5 at their workspace in Berlin, Germany. Photo by Marcus Gaab.
In spring 2011, siblings Roland and Carola Zwick, Claudia Plikat and Burkhard Schmitz of Studio 7.5 moved into an industrial pocket in the former west part of Berlin, close to the centre of town. Located directly on the River Spree on the ground floor of a defunct turn-of-the-century fabric-dying factory, their studio retains markers of its working-life past. Two-storey windows, once an aid to examining dyed fabrics, flood the interior with natural light. Capacious ceilings, originally built to accommodate cranes for moving goods, provide ample space for the designers to store and work on their various tools: lathes and CNC machines, CAD workstations and 3D printers, hand tools and a fully functioning photo lab. By providing the team with a venue to test and refine every idea – in full-scale prototypes – until the most elegant answers emerge, the workspace of 7.5 helps to inform and support their process, resulting in the quality-tested, experience-driven designs that make working better, such as Mirra 2.
The main entrance to Studio 7.5’s workspace, which is on the banks of the River Spree in the former western section of Berlin, Germany. Photo by Hello Design.
What attracted you to this particular space?
The fact that it is located directly on the waterfront creates perfect lighting conditions, distance from other buildings and fresh air. It is a former manufacturing facility so the space is generous, with six-metre ceilings and huge windows. And the water creates unique reflection patterns that are changing constantly, which adds a sense of weather and time: the view is simply relaxing.
Did you have to change it very much?
We had to renovate it completely. There was no infrastructure on the inside: no electricity, no toilets, no kitchen...
How does it compare to your previous office?
It’s an upgrade from the old studio, which was a small former blacksmith’s shop that had only one big hall with six-metre ceilings, but the rest was much smaller and distributed over three floors. It was located in the backyard of a residential building, and the natural lighting conditions were pretty bad.
The reception desk and DTP work area is a direct replica of the second floor of Studio 7.5’s old studio, where Carola often works to be close to Kerstin, the house graphic designer, and their secretary. Photo by Hello Design.
Since Studio 7.5 do all their own welding, lathing, bending and sandblasting work, a heavy-duty workshop became a necessity. “In the previous place we did not have enough space to really do that, so we had several small fires by welding too close to the burnable modelling materials,” explains Carola. Photo by Hello Design.
What precipitated the move?
Moving the studio after 17 years in the old place was like transplanting a living organ into a new body. We needed more space for our model shop, but at the same time there were a lot of spatial relationships and work patterns that needed to be respected, such as seeing and hearing what’s going on and connecting to other team members.
What were the biggest constraints?
Creating more space for experimenting and setting up prototypes, as well as reducing some noise, all whilst not cutting vital connections. The areas in the studio need to be connected and overlapping. Their purpose is also constantly adapted to our present needs. We try to “hardwire” as few things as possible. So currently the layout is structured into the six zones of the studio: the tool shop, the CNC shop, the CAD mezzanine (plus visual repository and storage), the kitchen/dining room, the entrance and reception desk and the Einstein (or photo/documentation) room.
“The areas in the studio need to be connected and overlapping. Their purpose is also constantly adapted to our present needs. We try to “hardwire” as few things as possible.”
7.5 added a 120-square-metre second layer into the pre-existing structure, because there was no basement to store things. Now the studio has a visual repository for prototypes, which is essential for the studio’s work style. The normal, everyday supplies are stored behind a curtain so as not to create too much distracting clutter. Photo by Marcus Gaab.
The new mezzanine is the perfect mixture of being involved, but also a bit sheltered from the chaos on the ground floor. “In the old studio, Burkhard originally had a quiet spot for doing CAD work, but he decided to move into the main hall because he felt disconnected,” says Carola. “As soon as he was sitting in the midst of the swirling activities he was complaining about being unable to focus.” Photo by Marcus Gaab.
How do you move between the spaces over the course of a workday?
There is a constant flow in the space related to the work at hand. The different spaces provide a different level of privacy, so for intensive phone calls everybody moves into the Einstein room. The central spot is the main hall, and if there’s important information to be shared it will be announced in that space, because everybody will eventually hear it and convene if necessary.
Is an open-plan office necessarily more collaborative?
Definitely yes, but it’s not easy. An open-plan office is like a small village; you need to develop a lot of sensitivity for the communal space you share with others. More respect is needed, as the levels of tidiness, noise or fun may vary a lot. If you develop a culture that is agreed upon by all members of the team, the fact that you “breathe the same air” and constantly sense what’s going on creates a sense of purpose but also provokes productive serendipitous encounters.
![This is the space where most of the magic [happens] as most of the prototypes are 'growing' here, says Carola.](/content/dam/hmicom/page_assets/stories/why_magazine/at_work_with_studio_75/it_why_at_work_with_studio_75_06.jpg.rendition.768.768.jpg "This is the space where most of the magic [happens] as most of the prototypes are 'growing' here, says Carola.")
“This is the space where most of the magic happens, as most of the prototypes are ‘growing’ here,” says Carola. “It’s at the centre of it all, and since it’s also the kitchen everybody shows up regularly.” The 12-metre-long desk by the window can host several members of the team for individual work. Photo by Hello Design.
The big communal table is always in use for displaying artefacts that the team is working on. Notes Carola: “In the last couple of days, for example, it’s where we unwrapped parcels containing early production parts for our new project.” Photo by Hello Design.
An area beside the communal table provides additional workspace: in this instance to assemble components that illustrate how the development of Mirra 2 evolved. Photo by Marcus Gaab.
What role does a communal table play in a design studio?
It’s almost like a ritual: if you put something on that table it’s open for discussion and it should concern all. In our case it’s a generous, archaic and thus generic surface that serves all kind of purposes. We even use the surface to test-drive chairs up there, so that it’s easier to see what’s going on with the kinematics. We also have our lunch at this table, which is the daily conference that everybody has and loves to attend.
You often refer to your designs as “work tools” or “equipment”. How do you distinguish these from furniture?
We think that the words “tool” or “equipment” are better suited to express the relationship between a user and his or her professional surroundings. It conveys a sense of ownership and control that we think is essential for good design. We are deeply convinced that something practical but ugly isn’t going to fly, nor is something that’s beautiful but dysfunctional. The challenge is to reunite and balance both qualities. We also believe that we are in the business of experience design, which focuses on the pleasure of using something.
“It’s almost like a ritual: if you put something on that [communal] table, it’s open for discussion and it should concern all. In our case it’s a generous, archaic and thus generic surface that serves all kind of purposes. We even use the surface to test-drive chairs up there, so that it’s easier to see what’s going on with the kinematics.”
The “Einstein” room, which is named after the coffee company with that name across the patio, serves as the team’s photo studio and also as a place to have meetings and video conferences. It’s also suited to having a private phone call or focusing intensely on work. Photo by Hello Design.
The Einstein room also has a back door onto the south-facing patio, which is adjacent to the coffee shop terrace and that the team can also use. Photo by Hello Design.
Are you more mobile in your work than ever before?
Maybe our profession as a designer didn’t change that much, as we deal with physical artefacts. However, digital tools help us to gain more control over the whole development process and our means of communication are manifold and intensified. You could even argue that we were able to reduce our physical travelling by intensifying virtual means of collaboration.
Why do you still come to an office?
We stopped calling it “office” a while ago and started to call it “studio” instead (we first thought studio would sound too fancy for our place), because the holistic approach of an artist’s studio reflects the desired quality: it’s a magical place where everything is happening.
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