Green Workplaces: GetYourGuide
As a leading platform to find and book travel experiences, GetYourGuide specializes in providing their worldwide customer base ways to create memories. It’s only fitting that their office design embodies transportative qualities as well. With GetYourGuide’s Berlin headquarters 11,000 sqm of space, what does a Plantclub installation look like?
Since 2009, Berlin-based GetYourGuide has helped travelers from more than 170 countries book more than 85 million tours including unique guided experiences, activities, and attractions. In the past few years the company has increased to over 300 employees in their Berlin headquarters and in 2018 found its new home in Prenzlauer Berg’s unique Umspannwerk Ampere building, a former electrical plant.
Moving into the Umspannwerk Ampere building offered the opportunity to establish roots in a campus for the company to call home, room for more creativity and collaboration.
Wood planters bursting with greenery is a natural way to separate workspaces.
Design and execution
The plant design goal – coming into a historic space with distinct and established interior design elements – was to work with the company’s unique brand while bringing in greenery to enhance employee wellbeing, acoustics, and communal areas.
The initial installations took four days to complete and utilized over 130 plants from large floor potted plants, to plant pools, and hanging plants. The striking architecture of the buildings also offered Plantclub the challenge of different levels and spaces to work with.
The dining room of The Tower is a relaxing collaborative space surrounded by a wide variety of plant pools.
Hints of the building’s history.
Lush arrangements of different species of Alocasia, vibrant Kentia, and colorful Croton accent GetYourGuide’s open plan design and features such as natural wood, exposed brick, and naturally lit spaces.
“It was a challenging installation given the characteristics of the building – many many windows and many many radiators, which made it not very easy to place a plant without being too close to heat. But the combination of repurposed structure, with new interior design, and touches of green everywhere made a lovely final result,” said Virginia.
Keeping in mind the brand’s focus on fostering connection, Plantclub’s design aimed to conceptualize those goals while promoting productivity and collaboration with sleek green environments.
Floors and rooms come with different travel themes and names. These plant pools can be found in GetYourGuide’s Roman Forum.
The Amazon jungle tour room where team members can find quiet and take meetings.
GetYourGuide Tower update
Since Plantclub’s original green makeover of the core offices , the GetYourGuide workspace also opened up a unique section of the campus, ‘The Tower’ , a central base for meeting and collaboration in the center.
We checked in with GetYourGuide Workplace Operations Specialist Tamara Khamis Al Gunaid on how the team was finding the plant update in their new space.
“The opening of The Tower – a centralized collaboration and social space -- at the end of 2022 set the tone for how we wanted the rest of the office space to look. The plant installation in the Tower, which includes three floors and a fitness area, created a vibrant space where all teams can build relationships and memories, which are the keystone of our business. Fast forward to summer 2023, and the latest installation transformed the entire campus. It was the most impactful change to the office layout this year!”
Plants hang on multiple levels, filling empty space in the kitchen.
Tamara’s favorite space is the kitchen where employees gather for weekly team events among cascading plants. Above the kitchen, stairs climb upward to a pool of greenery, connecting the two levels through leaves and vines.
Team reactions
The addition of plants has made employees feel more comfortable in the new space, with some requesting even more plants.
"Naturally we thought anything green could help, and it turned out to be true. When we first got there, they were only placed in one area, however, once the trees were spread out, vines hanging from the walls, and other greens surrounding our area were added, there were many positive remarks and compliments," said one team member.
The fourth floor of Haus five.
Haus five, floor three.
GYG employees also got to try their hand at some plant care at a Plantclub workshop which allowed participants to also keep the plant they worked with.
"The workshop gave me perspective and was a fun team experience. My plant is growing and adds life to my desk," said Enrique Gomez.
Window boxes in the Roman Forum.
As for Tamara, the overall experience of working with Plantclub means trust and confidence that GetYourGuide’s green workplace gets taken care of.
“Not only is Plantclub familiar with the space, but navigate it swiftly. They were also creative and enhanced our existing vision for an optimized work space. The weekly care is reassuring as part of the Workplace Operations team. I don't need to worry about general upkeep as Plantclub has scheduled visits.”
Plantclub.io provides you and your colleagues with the benefits of plants, wherever you work. Rent office plants and transform your space into a green oasis, with flexible monthly membership options to suit your size. Diversify your employee perks with a dedicated company store, where you can give green gifts and your team can buy plants for their home office. Book a time to chat with us today.
