Situation A relatively small space situated in one of the wings of the BMW Group Fiz building. The BMW Group Digitalization/ Innovation team needed a better place to ideate, develop and test quickly and iteratively their technology.

Solution Workstations, yes, but not only: the team required a plug and play area that could quickly and easily transform into a presentation area where a life-size virtual car could fit. A space where people could experience and push the boundaries of the new BMW Group immersive technologies. The goal then was to take the idea of infinite digital spaces for cars and making it possible for designers and engineers to experience it in an otherwise pretty standard office space.
‍
The result is a flexible room concept that offers the possibility of creating two different layouts with two different atmospheres. By means of an elegant and discreet panel, the team can either choose to use the full surface as a single cohesive space or to transform it, quickly into two distinct areas separated both visually and acoustically, without making them feel any smaller.
‍
The wooden slats on the panels are assembled at an angle allowing the team to benefit from the light of the whole space without necessarily being distracted by anything happening on the other side: from some angles one could see through, from others, there can be privacy. Darker hues and colours, carpeted floors and the use of oak for the separating elements all contribute to the warm atmosphere of the room(s), especially indicated for the use and testing of AR and VR technologies, where the obstacles should be few to none, and contrast, high. It was also important to keep said contrast in the workstation area as the team members prototype and test their solutions on-site.
‍
The characteristic mosaic wood wall, an analog expression of a digital environment, contributes to absorb sound and produce a studio-like, more muted, environment in the presentation area. This side of the room also features a generous atrium that doubles as yet more working surfaces and offers more cubby spaces and storage. A phone booth, open on both sides, is an integrated  and open cocoon situated between the two key functional areas of the room. The room can comfortably host 10 team members, and up to 30 people for presentations.

‍
Bildrechte: Benjamin Anthony Monn