Hamberger Flooring GmbH & Co. KG, in Rosenheim, Bavaria, started as a small family business in 1866 and has since become a leading parquet manufacturer in Germany, with its brand HARO. After more than 150 years in business, they still are managed and operated by the fourth and fifth generations of the Hamberger family.
Recently, Hamberger supplied flooring for a new office building nearby. This wasn’t your average office building though – before being converted into an office space, the building served for 400 years as a stable for Hirt, a private brewery that started in 1270.
Hirt is the second oldest private brewery in Austria and prides itself on its regional focus, quality, tradition, and natural raw materials. When the former stable building was converted into an office, the architects wanted to choose materials that stood for those same values.
Skape Architects, an interior design office in Sankt Veit, Austria, carefully dictated the renovation and redesign of the stable into an office. To keep the historic feel, the old wood from the stable was reused for most of the fittings as were the old roof beams.
“The old roof beams were preserved and integrated into the architecture so that when you enter the building, you can look up to the wooden structure of the roof,” shares Bernd Ruess, Press and Communication Manager at Hamberger Flooring.
The architect’s goal was to bring the character of the old building into a modern environment with a fresh interpretation. HARO parquet floors were chosen to help complement this sustainable approach. Its commitment to products manufactured in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner, and its innovative strength, were just two of the reasons HARO was the chosen material.
“The HARO Plank 1-Strip Oak Alabama brushed style sets new tones in terms of rusticality and radiates warmth and naturalness,” shares Stefan Kogler, an architect of the project. “The retro brushing with its lively look and sense of touch makes the generously appointed corridor areas, in particular, a real eye catcher.”
Thanks to the harmonious overall concept, Skape Architects won an “Office of the Year” award for their conversion of the farm building into a modern office, one in which Hamberger was proud to play a part.