Oldenburger Volksbank, a merger between Volksbank and Raiffeisenbank Oldenburg, has chosen Oldenburg city centre as the location for its new main bank. After three years of renovation, the first floor has been transformed into a multifunctional meeting place. The former customer service area, which was characterised by its confined, forbidding entrance, is now an open, welcoming foyer that is full of light and generously proportioned. Its design focuses on welcoming customers with open arms and offering space for face-to-face consultations, all while ensuring that the cash machines remain private and accessible at all times. Taking centre stage is a long bar that serves multiple uses and users: whether it be a customer service point, co-working space or coffee area.

Warm, natural materials now harmonise with the exposed concrete and brick walls preserved from the old building, all tied together by the new colours of the bank’s updated corporate identity. A versatile interior concept with uniform furnishings has been implemented across the various floors and departments. An open-plan office layout combines meeting areas and places for more focused work as well as formal and informal spaces for communication and dialogue. The new employee offices have been constructed using Strähle’s System T partition wall system in a light wood-look design. Film coatings applied on the fully glazed walls provide discretion and help the building’s users navigate the spaces.

By contrasting wooden surfaces and flush-fit glazing, System T has a high-quality and classy appearance. The substructure of laminated wood mullions has a visible width of just 35 mm. What makes the system so special is the flush glazing, which is fitted using visible stainless steel clips. As a carbon-neutral construction material, the wood visually accentuates the sustainable nature of the architecture.