GAD / ILLUSTRATED STUDY

Continental Headquarters: a workplace loop across Hanover’s road

A headquarters can put people under one roof and still leave departments far apart. HENN’s Hanover campus addresses that problem with a continuous route between its buildings and across a major road, bringing previously scattered company functions into one workplace.

Illustrated study · Office architecture

Continental headquarters viewed northeast from Clausewitzstraße and Hans-Böckler-Allee. Photographed 21 February 2024. Resized and converted to WebP; CC BY-SA 4.0.Photo: Bärbel Miemietz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source · Resized and converted to WebP

A campus on both sides of the road

The site occupies two plots separated by Hans-Böckler-Allee. Continental describes a complex of six buildings linked by a 75-metre bridge. The bridge makes the road a design problem to cross rather than a boundary between isolated offices; movement between the two sides becomes part of the campus layout.

The Loop as shared workplace infrastructure

HENN places the Loop on the second floor, running through the buildings and over the bridge. Meeting rooms, collaborative work areas, a cafeteria and a health centre sit along this network. At its northern and southern ends, atria connect the route to the first-floor level. The circulation system therefore also provides places to pause, meet and exchange knowledge.

Separate design roles, connected spaces

The building architecture is by HENN. Ippolito Fleitz Group designed the work environments and staff canteen interiors, while Atelier Loidl is credited with the landscape. HENN describes publicly accessible landscaped grounds and more secluded planted courtyards around the buildings. Access to that landscape should not be read as unrestricted access to the company’s office interiors.

Read the dates and numbers in context

Continental’s announcement dated 14 December 2023 places the opening ceremony on 13 December. It separately records the move during November and employees working at the campus from 1 December. HENN lists the project as completed in 2023 and gives an area of 46,000 m² without identifying the measurement basis. Those statements describe different milestones and quantities; the opening day is not an exact engineering-completion date. The architect’s wording “Following DGNB Platinum” also remains distinct from a verified certification award.

Continental headquarters in Hanover, viewed south from the Peter Hübotter Bridge. Photographed 21 February 2024. Resized and converted to WebP; CC BY-SA 4.0. The foreground transport infrastructure is separate from the campus Loop bridge.Photo: Bärbel Miemietz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Image source · Resized and converted to WebP

A campus on both sides of the road

The Loop as shared workplace infrastructure

Separate design roles, connected spaces

Read the dates and numbers in context

More workplace projects

Dynafit Headquarters: two peaks, a workplace and a public destination

Two Manhattan West: a clear ground plane above difficult tracks

The Cradle: a timber facade with work to do

Help us understand what you read