New Office for Stelp e.V.

Philip Kottlorz

• Interior Architects

In 2023, our management announced an internal pitch: To realise a project idea just for us and our team. In the end, however, the winning idea was not to do something for ourselves, but for others – on a pro bono basis. We chose STELP e.V., a non-profit organisation that was already on the look-out for new office space. The initial plan was to provide our planning services for free. This quickly morphed into the idea of donating an entire office interior to STELP e.V., free of charge. Thanks to the fantastic support of our many partners, the organisation moved into a completely donated office in 2024.

photo_credit Philip Kottlorz — Philip Kottlorz

STELP e.V. is a non-profit organisation that supports people in crisis areas and emergency situations. Coordinating aid deliveries is a lot of work. The tasks are varied and the number of people helping is large, but the size of office that the organisation could afford was quite restricted. Our aim was to create a contemporary work environment within a compact space without any financial input from the client.

Our design concept builds on the existing organisation of the building. The entrance through the kitchen became an entrance to a workshop and we put the overall focus on mobility, communication and shared energy. In the office, we retained the closed-off area alongside the old grid ceiling. Together with an open seating area and a meeting island behind a ring-shaped curtain, it provides flexible spaces for communication and collaboration. The latter houses a large table, which can be used to supplement the eight existing workstations with an additional eight temporary workstations when required.

The lounge is the social heart of the space, and the large sofa is big enough for an occasional late-night nap: contemplation core.
The rest of the available space is taken up by two single work cells in the office and a telephone booth in the kitchen. The result is a flexible and dynamic work environment that provides an appropriate and appreciative home for the organisation’s vital voluntary work.