Ippolito Fleitz Group Designs Accessible Workplace for Aktion Mensch in Bonn, Germany

May 4, 2021

By Monica Khemsurov

In Germany, virtually anyone who grew up in the second half of the last century and owned a TV would be familiar with Aktion Mensch. It’s a nonprofit organization, the country’s largest in the social sector, that hosted a beloved game show, Der Große Preis (or The Great Price), on network television from 1974 to 1992. Part of the show was devoted to a lottery that still exists today and funds the foundation’s core mission: to provide aid for projects that support people with disabilities, and to advocate for equality and inclusion in German society as a whole. In fact, its motto is “Together we win.” Aktion Mensch’s public-facing work includes creating education campaigns and offering grants to grassroots advocacy groups. But a recent renovation of its five-story headquarters in Bonn gave the nonprofit the chance to see its values on display internally, as well. The new space, spearheaded by Ippolito Fleitz Group, manages to neutralize disabilities while celebrating them at the same time—a place where differences are normal.

Keeping that “we” in mind, re-envisioning Aktion Mensch’s 40,000-square-foot office was a highly collaborative process that took nearly three years to complete. While the majority of the brief was straightforward—transitioning from closed offices to open-plan, improving acoustics, incorporating up-to-date digital technologies—the project also had to take into account a nonprofit’s budget, the wishes of its donors, and the specific needs of the nearly 15 percent of Aktion Mensch’s employees who have disabilities themselves.