The SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg has been awarded a special mention at the German Design Award 2016 and is proud to announce that honor.
On Friday, February 12, the SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg received a German Design Award for “Excellent Communication Design – Special Mention – Interior Architecture.” During a ceremony at the “AMBIENTE” consumer goods fair in Frankfurt, Andreas Hauser and other members of the Design & Co-Innovation Center were presented with the award certificate.
“The distinction Special Mention is awarded to works whose design features particularly successful sub-aspects or solutions – an award that honors the commitment of companies and designers.”
The German Design Award is the top international prize of the German Design Council. Launched in 2012, the German Design Award is one of the most well-respected design competitions in the world and is held in high regard well beyond professional circles. Large companies like BMW and Telekom as well as smaller agencies and consultancies have won the German Design Award. The German Design Award is divided into the segments “Excellent Product Design” and “Excellent Communication Design.” The awards Gold, Winner and Special Mention are conferred in each of the competition categories.
The SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg is well-known outside of SAP for its creative space concept. SAP’s Heidelberg location is run by the Design & Co-Innovation Center (DCC), a multidisciplinary team established with the mission of changing the customers’ perception of the SAP user experience.
The jury included Michel Casertano, Dr. Angelika Nollert and Prof. Hartmut A. Raiser. They explained their decision why the SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg was honored as follows: “The SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg is an innovative creative space where the business software giant SAP runs co-innovation projects with customers and offers services that redefine customer interaction: instead of selling solutions, the customer is offered a dialogue about the challenges of the future. The interior design of the AppHaus supports this approach by providing a space for customer dialogue with a workshop ambiance instead of a typical conference-room feel, which is a perfect embodiment of the company’s redefinition.”
Indeed the SAP AppHaus in Heidelberg is a creative workspace located in an industrial brick building from the 1800s in downtown Heidelberg, Germany. It echoes aspects of a startup culture and triggers innovation through its vastness and light, encouraging people to explore thoughts and exchange points of view. About 340 square meters of walls can be used as whiteboards, helping creative ideas come to life. Flexible furniture can easily be moved around to fit project needs.
Daniel Markwig, AppHausMeister and project lead of the SAP AppHaus, is honored to have won the German Design Award for the spatial concept: “We’re proud to receive this acknowledgement of our work. When I look at the list of winners of the German Design Award 2016, I see a collection of outstanding, beautiful designs. Being awarded alongside such sophisticated products and solutions is a great privilege to us, especially since we intentionally designed our space to look rustic and unfinished. The jury recognizes the conceptual strength and the inherent beauty of an organically evolving space within these boundaries.”
SAP has previously won another German Design Award: The Design & Co-Innovation Center was also involved in the SAP Medical Research Insights project, which was last year’s winner in the Interactive User Experience category.