Heinrich Campus, Interior Deloitte Digital and Smart Factory

New, distinctive spaces for Deloitte through the third and last construction phase of the Heinrich Campus in Düsseldorf

Location

Düsseldorf
Project

Development of interior spaces in Building 3 of the Heinrich Campus
Architect of record

Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer
Client (building)

Quantum Projektentwicklung GmbH, Hamburg
Principal tenant

Deloitte GmbH Wirtschaftsprüfungsgesellschaft, Düsseldorf
Project Management

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations
Use concept and space planning

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations Deloitte Consulting GmbH,
Strategy & Business Design
Design and planning of furnishings

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations
Concept and planning for textiles and decoration

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations Konzeption und Planung Signage Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations, Deloitte Digital GmbH
Signage concept and planning

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations,
Deloitte Digital GmbH
Conference and event technology

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations
Smart building concept and implementation

Deloitte Consulting GmbH,
Real Estate Consulting
Office, conferencing and event services

Deloitte GmbH,
Real Estate & Operations
Technical building equipment

Zimmermann und Becker, Heilbronn
Electrical enigneering

ibb Burrer & Deuring, Leipzig
Fire protection

Gruner und Partner, Cologne
Lighting design

Kardorff Ingenieure, Berlin
Room acoustics planning

Müller-BBM, Planegg
Furniture fittings

Schumann Möbel-Werkstätten, Altenkirchen
Construction period

until 2/2025
GFA (above ground)

43.916 m²
Photos

HGEsch

As always, the question of the right working environment in the office – magnified by Covid and the accelerated home-office-ification of the professional world – is usually less a question of the work tasks themselves, and much more about the zeitgeist, (social) psychology, and collective attitudes toward work life and work styles. The social contract of what office life is supposed to look like is constantly changing, and faster than ever before. That is why contemporary office (interior) architecture must be highly adaptive and attempt to give the workplace a sense of home, so to speak, without de-professionalizing it. These socio-aesthetic transformation processes—and the accompanying realities of work and the workplace—are not least the result of digitalization processes. We commonly associate the term “New Work” with this transformation.

However, our interior design work which completed the third and final construction phase of the Heinrich Campus goes far beyond New Work. In fact, it goes far beyond standard office construction. This is because the innovative consulting arm Deloitte Digital and the Smart Factory on the ground floor are both spectacular and paradigmatic examples of New Work in the most literal sense: new fields of work, not (just) new working environments.

Smart Factory

The Smart Factory is far more than just a model factory. It is a place where digital transformation, production, and design converge under real-world conditions. Technology, data, as well as human creativity and expertise merge into a synergistic learning platform that makes the future of industry a tangible experience. The Smart Factory at Deloitte’s Düsseldorf location is just one of four Smart Factories in total – together with its sisters in Kyoto, Wichita, and Montreal, it forms a global network that shares knowledge, ideas, and innovation across continents.

The concept brings two distinct functions together under a single overarching design. On the one hand, it is about spectacle – in a positive, productive sense. This, in turn, can be broken down into two aspects. Workshops are meant to take place here; visitors (especially young ones) should be offered a real experience, making a strong statement for the STEM sphere. But the aesthetic must be matched by the functional: transparency, legibility, and visual clarity are crucial in the production workflows of a future factory. Being able to instantly grasp where a product or material stands in the process at any given moment – and being able to simulate and present this authentically in real time – is a core function of the Smart Factory.

These two visual aspects are mirrored in two distinct areas. First, there is the reception and welcome area. From here, visitors are guided to a movable element that opens up, offering a dramatic moment of surprise as it reveals the inner world of the factory. This space – naturally the main zone, or the Client Experience – is dominated by the central control element, the Control Hub, which visualizes and coordinates data and production processes in real time. The screens here – speaking of transparency and clear visibility – are designed as large glass windows. Conceiving and delivering this (divisible) space as a coherent whole was certainly aided by our longstanding expertise in exhibition design.

The significance of the Smart Factory, however, goes far beyond its display values. Its second, and more important, function is to make (interior) architecture a rich interface between the material, analogue world and the digital. It allows raw materials to meet innovative digital processes, doing so in a way that transforms the Smart Factory into a living, global laboratory.

Deloitte Digital

Between the interior we developed for most areas of the Heinrich Campus and the design of the Smart Factory lies, both in terms of design and atmosphere, the look of the Deloitte Digital working environment. The unit had previously been based in a former factory full of minimalist industrial charm, and arrived with clear ideas and requirements for its new environment. Deloitte Digital also sets a specific tone through its core work and corporate identity: the combination of creativity, technology, and design engineering shapes their way of working and demands spaces that support this blend. Deloitte Digital develops digital business models and customer experiences for companies – from the initial idea to ongoing operations. In terms of both content and culture, it is a world of its own It needed to look “more digital” – in its materiality, mood, and appearance.

The designs convinced the creative consultancy. It was clear this was about more than an office – it was about a place that reflects their identity – a living manifestation of design and transformation, where technology, creativity, and data-driven thinking interact naturally.

For us, this meant in concrete terms: bringing elements of the former industrial environment into an ultra-modern office! Combining the one with the other. Raising the ceilings, omitting cladding, deliberately exposing the tech instead; turning the raw into the cool, without sacrificing state-of-the-art office functions. The result is an employee-centric workspace with flexible floor plans, ergonomic furniture, quiet retreat areas, and interactive zones that actively foster collaboration and innovation.

We learned a lot about New Work on this project. That flexible floor plans are essential in today’s office design is, by now, well established. But how the interdependence between (conceptually) new fields of work and (atmospherically and functionally) new workspaces plays out in interior architecture – that experience allowed us, in a sense, to design or way into the future.