AHK Colombian-German Chamber of Industry & Commerce Offices – Bogotá

Contract Workplaces designed the AHK Colombian-German Chamber of Industry & Commerce Offices to reflect their mission and values in Bogotá, Colombia.

The project for the new offices for the AHK Colombian-German Chamber of Industry & Commerce—located in a well-known area of the city of Bogotá—focused on optimising the space of the current headquarters, which was the result of different modifications that underused and compartmentalised the space, creating a hierarchical environment with few collaborative areas.

The main objective was to create a space more open to urban visuals and with a greater number of collaboration areas both for internal clients and affiliated companies, which will give them the possibility of accessing all the services and corporate infrastructure under a Coworking model.

The architectural project was divided into two phases to facilitate the logistical challenge of construction while the company maintained its commercial activity. In phase 1, the construction of the areas that would house the internal corporate infrastructure, that is, the private spaces of AHK, was carried out. In this area, the workstations of all employees were organised in islands within an open office area in which hierarchies were completely eliminated and additional complementary spaces were generated, such as printing points, meeting rooms, booths for 4 people, individual phone booths and spaces for collaboration and innovation.

In phase 2, the most public part of the project was developed: the areas dedicated to coworking and those shared between employees and affiliates, such as the cafeteria—designed under the concept of work-café—and the auditorium, designed as a flexible space for conferences or training sessions. In this phase, we included meeting space for videoconferences and private offices for clients of affiliated companies.

The project tour begins in the most public area of coworking and ends in the private area of AHK. In this way, spatial organisation is structured while facilitating access control within a company that is very dynamic and constantly interacts with external users.

On the other hand, thanks to the branding experience—which is based on an urban style, intimately related to the Berlin metro—an identity and a stronger character could be reflected in the space. The typography, colours and textures used are directly linked to the architectural and stylistic atmosphere of the transport system of the German capital city. This concept also extends to all graphics: from the names of the spaces to the billboards used. The entire intervention is an interpretation of the aesthetics and architecture of the Berlin metro network.

The result was a modern office space, which offers different possibilities for interaction and communication and which not only facilitates internal dynamics, but also favours fluid contact with customers and affiliates. In short, it is a positive catalyst when it comes to strengthening Colombian-German relations.

Design: Contract Workplaces
Photography: Jairo Llano