The new year 2025 is only a few weeks old, but with visits to the BAU Munich and Heimtextil trade fair in Frankfurt in January, we have already gathered a lot of impressions and had some varied discussions with industry representatives. We are excited to see what this year will bring - politically, economically, but also in our small agency cosmos.
What does bering*kopal . Büro für Kommunikation stands for? Who stands behind the press agency for architecture, building, interior design and sustainable design? And how do we work?
This summer, as a PR agency, we had the honour of reporting on the same project for two of our clients and had to adopt different perspectives for reporting. The object of desire: the extension of the Pile Dwelling Museum in Unteruhldingen on Lake Constance.
For more than 15 years, TOTO's WASHLET has not just been a topic, it has been THE topic for us. There have always been new technical details that have improved the product and made it worth reporting on. But that alone would not have kept the WASHLET alive in the press. It is the stories about how people use it, the contexts in which it is used and the arguments that tip the balance in favour of such a product.
neue räume zürich Insight into the Swiss design scene: from 26 to 29 September 2024, the design trade fair 'neue räume' in Zurich's ABB Hall will be a meeting place and trend platform on around 6,000 m2. neue räume is a partner of the parallel Zurich Design Weeks (12-19 September 2024). In addition to numerous new products, the fair will present current and upcoming home trends, new and spectacular items in various carefully curated special shows.
Where? ABB Event Hall 550 in Zurich-Oerlikon, Ricarda-Huch-Strasse 8050 Zurich.
There are currently six people behind bering*kopal . Büro für Kommunikation. Together we manage our dynamic day-to-day agency life.
Who do we want to reach with our offer? Companies ask themselves this question time and again - especially when it comes to remaining fit for the future. Our client Häfele has embarked on this journey once again in the course of its more than one hundred year history and is in the middle of an exciting development process. We have the privilege of supporting the company in finding suitable communication channels for new target groups.
Technology meets traditionFinal spurt! The TECHNOLOGY MEETS TRADITION summer exhibition will run until Wednesday 31 July 2024 at the TOTO showroom in Clerkenwell, London. The exhibition combines rich Japanese tradition and culture with cutting-edge plumbing technology. Landscape architect Emi Morita has designed the Zen gardens and London architects Squire & Partners have created an extraordinary tea room. Photos and further information can be found in our Press Lounge.
The competition win by a+r Architekten for the Interim Opera Stuttgart, in collaboration with NL Architects, was a topic of discussion within our office last summer. Subsequently, a media release was published on the subject. The concept was presented to a wider public at the aed event last Thursday. It proved to be an enlightening and informative evening.
Building for art! As part of the IBA27 project “Maker City”, our PR clients a+r Architekten are currently planning the Stuttgart Interim Opera House. [We reported on the competition win.] aed, the association for the promotion of architecture, engineering and design in Stuttgart, is offering an exclusive look behind the scenes with its event on Thursday, 18.07.2024, 7 pm, at the offices of a+r Architekten, Rotebühlstraße 89/2, 70178 Stuttgart.
The speakers will be Alexander Lange and Florian Gruner, both architects and partners at a+r Architekten.
The future plays in the Blackbox! The future is playing in the Blackbox! And it's already happening next Friday, 12 July: It starts with a relaxed get-together from 5.30 pm, before the keynote speeches start at 6 pm and everyone can glide into the weekend with a party afterwards. What is it all about? Margit Sichrovsky from LXSY Architekten, Berlin, and Stefan Krötsch from Klingelhöfer Krötsch Architekten, Munich, will provide exciting insights into the topics of "circular building" and "the future of timber construction" (both in English). The Ingersheim youth centre, a real-life laboratory in the research project "Stuttgart 210: Weiterdenken - Weiterbauen!" with a spectacular interior. Curious? Registration here.
Häfele Blackbox | Naststraße 15B | 70376 Stuttgart (in the Römerkastell)
Well-prepared, brand-new media information and (mostly) royalty-free image material - you can get this quickly and easily in our press lounge.
In May, the new Häfele employee magazine MÄG arrived in the real or digital mailboxes of around 8,000 colleagues worldwide: Available in seven languages, printed and as a flip page edition on the global intranet. The cover story of the first issue: A Spirit of Adventure.
Our summer outing at the beginning of June had a bit of both! On one of the few warm afternoons so far this year, we walked from our office in Rohr to Schmellbachtal, where we met up with the families and children to celebrate and enjoy together.
RETHINK:DESIGN Climate relevance"EXPO RETHINK:DESIGN Climate Relevance" runs until 4 July at the Haus der Wirtschaft Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart. The exhibition presents sustainable product concepts, material developments, construction projects, research initiatives and technologies whose positive impacts are already available today. Included: a building system made from waste wood modules, mycelium-based products, work by the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Automation IPA and pioneering products that break new ground.
"Noticeably more comfortable", "More comfort is not possible", "Comfort in the hotel bathroom", "Just a toilet? But a great one!" were the various headlines in the press about the TOTO WASHLET in the new Munich Marriott Hotel City West! It may sound strange at first, but it's a real topic of the future for hotel bathrooms: the quiet little room. It makes all the difference and gives all guests a good feeling in one of the newest and most exciting hotels in Munich, the Munich Marriott Hotel City West. Here, not just the suites - as is usually the case - but rooms of all categories have been equipped with WASHLET shower toilets from our customer TOTO.
Basti on board! Bastian Zink has been part of our PR and content agency bering*kopal since January. So it's time to officially introduce him on our blog! Basti supports us in project management, media planning and new business. In short: a jack of all trades. But he can't write PR texts - or so he says. But he doesn't have to. It was clear to us that our new colleague would prove to be an extremely pleasant contemporary, as we already knew each other (in part) from previous agencies. It's nice to work with professionals who know what press work is and who have been familiar with the media in the construction industry for years! Welcome Basti.
Sustainability workshop!The pressure is gradually increasing and companies are being required to disclose their sustainability activities and make them measurable. As a PR agency that writes sustainability reports for its clients and reports on activities in the field of sustainable design and construction, our aim is to start with ourselves. Where are we already sustainable, what can and must we improve? In an initial workshop with Marcus Herget, sustainability consultant in Stuttgart with impressive expertise, including as former Managing Director of the German Sustainable Building Council - DGNB e.V., our team took away a lot and we are looking forward to further development together!
Over the last few months, we have accompanied the market launch of Spinpark for Bauwerk Parkett. Spinpark is a new type of parquet that the Swiss manufacturer has created in collaboration with the renowned architecture and design studio atelier oï. By twisting the wood grain, Spinpark creates completely new flooring looks.
Since the beginning of the new year, we have been supporting ELCO in its public relations work. This includes press relations, content development and media planning through to the creation of reference reports. ELCO is innovative and develops high-quality heating solutions.
Welcome Bettina!We have expanded our text and consulting skills. Bettina Wassermann has been part of the bering*kopal team since October and she has already "written her way in" to our clients. Bettina is a real all-rounder: she is an architect with PR agency experience, has an MBA in marketing, was responsible for the press for Behnisch Architekten for over six years and has also worked in real estate consulting. We are very happy about our new addition - and the good humor she brings to our agency life!
An exquisite feature film in which public toilets play a central role is not released in German cinemas very often. And when products from our long-standing client TOTO appear in it as extras, we are all the more thrilled! Spoiler alert - there are movie tickets to be won!
In our day-to-day work, the topic of corporate culture is always on our minds. In relation to our customers, but we also want to nurture and cultivate our own. That's why we went to Mannheim on a wonderful, warm fall day to visit the Federal Garden Show.
After extensive research, we were able to write about the design and development process for the first time for the Japanese sanitary company TOTO - one of our long-standing customers. This is a matter of trust - and at the same time the story of a change in a traditional Japanese company.
One year? Our agency bering*kopal has of course been around for a long time, 26 years to be precise. But in the summer of 2022, we underwent a "fresh cell cure", or rather a generational change. Since then, we have officially been operating as "bering*kopal GbR". And this company is now celebrating its first anniversary. And we would like to take this opportunity to say thank you!
In one of our latest press releases for HEWI, we described the newly developed Re seat family as a "statement for best eco-design". Why? Because of the material: so-called post-industrial recyclate, short PIR. And in the interests of short supply chains, HEWI decided to source the frames in the classic round tube design from a supplier close to its own site. The materiality of the recycled material reveals its very own charm: the slightly mottled surfaces with their unique patterns and translucent splashes of color appear lively and individual.
Even if the topic of sustainability is on everyone's lips - or is overused here and there - it is still a major concern for us as an agency that our customers take the topic seriously and manage and act in accordance with internationally recognized sustainability rules. And to communicate about what they have achieved. As they say in public relations, "Do good and talk about it."
With Häfele at the interzum! A huge spectrum - from refined detailed solutions to major themes in which the life and work of tomorrow are anticipated and rethought.
HEWI invited us to the historic "Wetterburg" near Bad Arolsen for the first on-site appointment - after we had already started working together last year and supported HEWI primarily in the area of text. We are very pleased that this has now turned into a comprehensive public relations assignment!
Welcome Susanne!Since September, Susanne Dubbert strengthens bering*kopal in the field of text and consulting. Susanne is an interior designer and trained journalist - ideal skills for our PR and content agency with a focus on construction, architecture, interior design and design. At least as important as her professional expertise: She is a wonderful human match for our team. But that was clear to us in advance, since we have known each other for many years! We are very happy to have Susanne on board and after a great start in September we are looking forward to a further inspiring teamwork.
In the last few weeks, we have been in Nagold several times to discuss press topics with Häfele and the upcoming employee magazine "Häfele intern", for which we will provide our editorial support. We also used our visits to the small town in the northern Black Forest to see Häfele's current reference projects.
Summertime = travel timeThe current summer weather makes us want to travel, and even more so after the two-year "pandemic break"! What about a trip to Kiel? For example, to one of the most beautiful restaurants on the Kiel Canal. In the summer of 2021, the Margaretental restaurant finally reopened in a prime location. And why do we recommend the project, which is also architecturally worth a trip? Because we were allowed to write a reference report on the project by AX Architekten for HEWI - the renowned system supplier for solutions in the areas of building hardware, sanitary accessories as well as barrier-free products! We are already curious about which exciting HEWI project we will be able to report on next. Continue to reference report
LOBA's new website is online! Over the last few months, we had the pleasure of supporting LOBA, the premium manufacturer of products for the finishing and caring of surfaces, in the creation of content - most of which was SEO-optimized - for the new digital brand website. The core business of the family-run company based in Ditzingen near Stuttgart is systems for finishing, cleaning and caring for parquet and wooden floors - and this for 100 years already! LOBA celebrated its 100th birthday on April 13, 2022. We congratulate and look forward to continuing to work with LOBA's passionate marketing team. www.loba.de
They are often searched for in vain: public toilets are usually in short supply. If they have to be used out of necessity, then for as short a time as possible. No wonder that public sanitary facilities do not invite people to linger. They are usually uncomfortable to use, smelly and the hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. Things seem to be quite different in Tokyo.
Behind the scenes, we have been active for quite a while for the renowned parquet flooring specialist from Switzerland. And now we have also visited the company headquarters in St. Margrethen. We are pleased to support Bauwerk Parkett in press relations and to initiate video productions. Until the first results are available, we recommend already once the attendance of the beautiful Website, on which the characterful genuine wood parquet can be discovered also in areas, in which parquet is used traditionally rather less. For example, in kitchens or bathrooms... .
GEPLAN DESIGN ist mit zwei Projekten beim Online Voting des Materialpreises 2021 (raumprobe) im Rennen. Wir begleiten die Stuttgarter Innenarchitekten mit viel Begeisterung in der Pressearbeit und bei Social Media Aktivitäten. Daher freuen wir uns, wenn Ihr Euch die Projekte anschaut und die besonderen Entwurfs- und Materiallösungen mit einer Stimme würdigt: das WeberHaus und die VectorAcademy!
Preparing for a digital trade fair is a new experience. With TOTO, we are busy behind the scenes with the upcoming ISH, which runs from 22/03 to 26/03. What makes the Japanese sanitary specialist's products so hygienic? How do the TOTO hygiene technologies interlock and ensure reliable cleanliness at all times? What is so special about toilet culture in Japan? There will be many answers at the ISH - also with webinars in a live and reportage character.
Welcome Rainer! Since January, Rainer Häupl has been strengthening our team as a cooperation partner in the area of text, strategy and consulting. Rainer is a trained architectural journalist and content marketing expert. For many years we have been connected through a common network and joint projects and share our passion for architecture and design topics. After a kick-off in January, we are looking forward to a continued inspiring collaboration!
Congratulations to Kusch+Co! We are pleased that the two product highlights of this year, Creva soft j and Creva desk, have been awarded twice. And we are pleased that the two product highlights of this year, Creva soft and Creva desk, have received two awards: the German Design Award 2021 and the ICONIC Awards: Innovative Interior 2021. We have just posted our media information on the press lounge.
A new archetypeThe new Lighting Pad Lounge from Nimbus is described as a new "archetype" by Nimbus CEO and lead designer Dietrich F. Brennenstuhl. In its appearance of noble moulded wood, it is a lighting furniture that combines both lighting and acoustic effectiveness. Our media information describes this special product in detail and presents it in the most diverse interiors. We also like the new microsite of Nimbus, where you can really immerse yourself and discover a lot.
The press is busy once again before the summer break and our topics are well accepted. In these days, hygiene and infection prevention are the main topics - and this is an issue in which our clients Kusch+Co and TOTO have great expertise. This know-how and the solutions that are currently needed are, of course, of great interest to us. But the "change of baton" at Werner Sobek is also a hot topic, as is the new LED luminaire family from Nimbus, which is again causing a stir with its minimalist design. The magazine "InteriorFashion" has dedicated a whole page to the hygiene-optimised furniture by Kusch+Co and talked to the expert Ingo Bandurski - recently published under the headline "Demand up". Under the headline "The Hygiene Package", the SHK Journal highlighted the advantages of a TOTO shower toilet and the blog architekturmeldungen.de takes a closer look at Werner Sobek's "change of baton". And then we were very excited that the lighting magazine Highlight dealt intensively with the innovations of the Q Four luminaire family and put them online immediately. These were some of the pleasing news of the week. If you are interested in the media information on the respective topics, just contact us: Heike.bering@bering-kopal.de
Travelling and seating with distance - Kusch+Co now offers solutions!We are all getting more exercise, Corona will stay. And we have used the past few weeks to work out with our customers exactly those issues that are important in these times and that are actually urgently needed. Kusch+Co has many years of expertise in the hygiene and health sector. Hygiene-optimised seating furniture made by the Hallenberg-based company can be found in healthcare facilities all over the world. In response to recent events, the hygiene experts at Kusch+Co have now taken a closer look at seating in public areas and created solutions that can significantly reduce the risk of infection in waiting areas at airports, in foyers, administrative buildings and lobbies. According to Kusch+Co, the demand is enormous. The first customer for the new seating solution by far is Frankfurt Airport. The media information provides further detailed information. The video provides a short and concise overview.
A lighting toolbox for architectsTo develop a "lighting tool box" for planners and architects and to have the right product in the portfolio for every lighting requirement - this has always been the idea of Dietrich F. Brennenstuhl, CEO of the Nimbus Group. With the Q FOUR luminaire family and the three new versions, the tool box has been filled to the brim once again. This time with compact, minimalist spots, recessed and track versions for focused light, which we present in our current media information Brennenstuhl tells the story in a video podcast " Under the luminaire ...".
There is a lot going on at Kusch+Co again: the new website is online and at the upcoming Munich Creative Business Week (MCBW) from 7 to 14 March, there will be two lectures and an exhibition on "New Work" in the company's own showroom.
There are many new developments in terms of lighting and acoustics, which are documented in our latest media information. There will be more at Light and Building 2020: Nimbus/Häfele will exhibit in Hall 1.2 G10 and Hall 3.1 C95, SATTLER in Hall 1.2 Stand H51.
Appointment of the weekThere´s always something special to discover at the Raumgalerie in Stuttgart. Like this Wednesday at 7 pm with an opening evening for Regina Dahmen-Ingenhoven´s drafts - a surprising mixture of opulence and minimalism that leaves the viewer in amazement. "Paradise for Everyone" is the title of the exhibition. Indusrial warehouses, flats, stands at fairs, terminals, stores and many other architectures: All of them are shaped into magical atmospheres by Regina Dahmen-Ingehoven and her team from DRDI. The multisided artist and architect is there as a guest at the Raumgalerie - you can see her work until the 29th of February 2020.
"In transit gloria" ... It´s got to come in mind when it comes to waiting areas - and the suitable furnitures for it. At a "Brand Essential" for Kusch+Co the author from Architonic was putting it in a nutshell what the internationally operating company based in Hallenberg stands for: high-quality seating furnitures in transit areas and lounges that are making the stay comfortable to the passengers. The content incorporated to the "Brand Essential" can also be found in both media information that we were publishing about the recently opended Beijing Daxing International Airport and the Frankfurt Airport. We also came up with something with the headline but it does not reach the Architonic: "Waiting in style in the Tea Garden" is the name of our brand new media information about the Beijing Airport. Kusch+Co has already equipped more than 260 airports and more projects are about to come. We are curious!
A lot going on in Stuttgart and CologneThe following week there are waiting some really exciting events that are related to our partners and clients! Now on Monday, 18th of November an evenin gof discussion and lectures takes place at the Raumgalerie in Stuttgart. "Could laws ensure the construction quality?" And with Kusch+Co as a partner of the KAP Forum in Cologne we follow up the question "What is staying from the Bauhaus year? Insights and outlooks." The young talent competition for designers of all disciplines - aed neuland - is presenting itself from 21st to 24th of November as a part of the Morgenmacher festival at Messepiazza Landesmesse Stuttgart. On Friday, 22nd of November - also in Stuttgart - the new yearbook is presented as a part of the symposium "Engineering Architecture - Design for Construction" and we can be curious about what Werner Sobek is revealing about "concrete innovations".
Success Stories"Success stories" is an editorial format on the Design Center Baden-Württemberg´s homepage: And like so often in the Swabian area these stories do not lie uncovered but you have to dig a little bit. For us, as a mediator it is always nice to see how they come about: A media event at SATTLER in Göppingen - we had been developing a good and entertaining program and Sattlers was giving deep insights into the company. Everybody was surprised that luminaires of international standing are developed in the province. And one of you, closely related to the institution of design, was very inspired. Now one of this Success Stories is dedicated to SATTLER under the title "Light needs design", very worth reading!
We made use of one of the last wonderful afternoons in autumn, closed the office and set out on our way: after about 40 minutes of driving with the suburban train from Rohr to Obertürkheim to experience what you can probably just experience in Stuttgart: vineyards near by the industrial location. Our team was accompagnied by Ariane Sohn and Thomas Rathay whom we owe the great photos - and Silke Rommel was planning the trip as a newly certified hiking guide - and the one who is the most outdoor-related colleague at our team! - from Ulbach up to the hill Rotenberg and in the end to the world champion of Maultaschen at Untertürkheim. Conclusion: if already Swabian than really Swabian! We should do that more often!
The 16th September it was announced that the design´s "enfant terrible" - Luigi Colani - died at the age of 91. The multisided designer will stay present for Kusch+Co with his Colani Edition. He was designing it - and many other drafts which stayed as a prototype forever - in the 1960s for the company from Hallenberg. But the production started in 2005. Colani really was a lot before his time. It´s written more about this incredible collaboration at our new media information.
PARCS, Bene´s revolutional furniture collection, is turning ten years old - and seems as fresh and unconventional as at its first day. We have a special relationship to PARCS. Not only because this program is occupying us currently in our media work. In 2012 Heike Bering had been visiting the two designers Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd in London commissioned by the magazine "md Interior Design Architecture" and wrote an interview: "The choreographers of design". Still an interesting story that is a lot about Bene.
Our client´s projects are taking us to beautiful places - to the Swabian province to Waiblingen and to the Austrian metropolis of Vienna. There is also an architectal gem to discover at Kirchheim am Neckar. So we take you with us at our current media information to an expedition to the "Hotel Bachofer" in Waiblingen, what meant fulfilling a long cherished dream to the Michelin chef Bernd Bachofer, and we jump to Vienna into the new "Andaz Vienna am Belvedere". And finally, again in the province, we head for the gingerly sanified "Alte Kelter" in Kirchheim am Neckar.
Pretty quiet!To create an acoustically comfortable atmosphere at the interior is a topic that is keeping our clients occupied. The solutions are as individual as the constructor´s requests, the building conditions and the planners´ ideas. Claudia Wald (Mori Space Stuttgart) for example, is convinced that the Rossoacoustic´s acoustically effective products are perfect for inserting them at a not used factory floor. The software corporation k15t is now working at this floor and is thrilled. The AZ Architekturzeitung was picking that topic immediately and putting it online. And here are our new media information about Rossoacoustic.
May we present? Our new customer Kusch+Co. With the latest media information on the modular seating furniture range Creva soft (Design kaschkasch), our cooperation shows the first visible result - and we look forward to providing regular information on Kusch's activities in future. Very exciting: the internationally active company based in Hallenberg is not only strong in design and high-quality contract furnishing, but also market leader with comprehensive expertise in the healthcare and transportation segments. Welcome to Kusch+Co!
On the move with SATTLERs: a small group of editors from Germany and Switzerland was following our invitation and was taking a look around: The family firm was giving us a deep insight in design development and production, was inviting us to a vintage car ride and finally entertaining us at the luxury food manufactory Jörg Geiger! All this at a gorgeous summerlike day in May.
Voting for lohrmannarchitekt: In any case, lohrmannarchitekt gets our vote! The Stuttgart architectural office, for which we have been working for several months, submitted the BauBuche (beech wood) for the materialPREIS 2019. The chosen material is versatile BauBuche which lohrmannarchitekt used for the corporate architecture of LAB1886, especially for the shuttle's use in its function as the workshop and presentation vehicle of LAB1886. More information and access to the voting until May 15th is available here - we are happy about everyone who participates!
Module Q - this is the name of the new ceiling luminaire family from Nimbus. Its design is minimalist, the lighting effect brilliant. Our press release is available for download here.
The new UMAR experimental unit demonstrates how construction solutions can be completely eco-friendly.
TOTO at ISH 2019 - with brand ambassador David MarquardtTOTO at ISH 2019 - with brand ambassador David Marquardt, MACH ArchitectsWe are at ISH 2019 with TOTO from 11.03. to 14.03.2019. In Hall 4.1., Stand H 05, TOTO will be presenting Japanese bathroom culture at the highest level - and this time has also appointed a brand ambassador who knows the company very well: David Marquardt from MACH Architects Zurich. David Marquardt will be present at the stand party on the 1st day of the fair from 2 p.m. and also in the evening - we are looking forward to many inspiring discussions and interviews!
Record numbers of visitors and a shower of awards: Werner Sobek, who designed the ThyssenKrupp Test Tower together with Helmut Jahn, has impressive results to present after one year of operation.
The ultimate in relaxation
