An architect in a consulting firm

Hi Barbara, how did your journey lead you to Rödl & Partner in 2017 and what were your first projects?

I found out by chance that Rödl & Partner was looking for an architect. I then directly applied to Rödl and fortunately, it worked out.

My first project was the renovation of the rented spaces in the ‘Air Campus’. Together with the PMC team, we designed the floor plans and then organized the move. At that time, it was 220 workstations for PMC and another 100 for the Global Function Information Technology.

After that, together with an architectural firm, we renovated the Asia and Europe building sections of our headquarters and installed room cooling. We also redesigned the coffee kitchens to make them open and more inviting for short exchange conversations. Creating such new spaces that colleagues ideally enjoy using is a very nice aspect of my job.

An in-house architect in a consulting firm might sound unusual at first – what are your tasks and projects?

I get that question quite often, but in the end, the headquarters in Nuremberg is a (beautiful) office building that needs to be maintained on the one hand, and on the other hand, there are constant changes. Teams grow or shrink or are reassigned. Additionally, the way we work has changed, especially since and after Corona. Before Corona, almost everyone had their own assigned workspace. Now, not everyone is in the office every day, and spaces are shared – there are more hybrid meetings, including with colleagues worldwide. Accordingly, the requirements for our spaces are also changing.

However, I now support not only the teams in Nuremberg but also many of our offices in Germany and occasionally abroad.

What attracted you to this job at Rödl & Partner compared to project-based work in an architectural firm?

I previously worked in facility management at another company for nine years, so it wasn’t entirely new to me. But essentially, I switched sides and am now representing the client, which I enjoy much more.

Before my time in facility management, I worked in an architectural firm where I mainly prepared building applications. That was too monotonous for me, and coordinating with the authorities was sometimes very exhausting.

Here, I have so many more design possibilities. I enjoy creating beautiful spaces so that colleagues feel comfortable here.

Another aspect is the topic of sustainability, which is very important to me and actively promoted at Rödl & Partner – for example, through a photovoltaic system on our headquarters or, since this year, with a geothermal system. These are all projects that I like to accompany and co-coordinate to reduce the CO₂ emissions of the buildings.

Rödl & Partner is a large, international company. Do you also have contact with our foreign branches?

Actually, yes: the office in Budapest is currently being expanded. I was involved in the awarding process and the preliminary discussions with the general planner. Beforehand, I was also invited to visit the office. This is, of course, very exciting, and I am pleased to also help design the office spaces for our international colleagues.

What do you enjoy most about your job?

The contact with people and when, at the end of the project, (hopefully) everyone is happy and feels comfortable. If people prefer to come to the office rather than work from home, I think we’ve done a good job 😉.

What are your favorite places in our headquarters in Nuremberg?

The ‘Vogelnest’ room (picture below), the view from there is simply outstanding.

The 7th level of the Asia building with the open spaces and the built-in wood-glass cubes.

The ‘Greenville’ room, which used to be one of the least popular meeting rooms, is now, as you can see in the photo on the left, very cozy and well-suited for informal meetings, and of course, the rose garden as a public space.

What makes your work at Rödl & Partner special for you?

Being able to work in one of, if not the most beautiful office buildings in Nuremberg.

I work in a great team and also with a lot of nice people. I enjoy exchanging new ideas with our managing partner, Christian Rödl. It is especially fun because he is always open to change and development.

Thank you for the interview!