Agency HEIMAT's 'Lounge Chair' - a uniquely crafted campaign for HORNBACH

European DIY chain HORNBACH works with their long-time creative partner, Heimat on a collaboration with globally renowned architect and designer Sigurd Larsen with the aim to make high-end design affordable.

Working from a premise that great design should be democratic and accessible, renowned Danish designer and architect Sigurd Larsen has worked with HORNBACH to create something new and rather wonderful: the WERKSTÜCK ‘Lounge Chair’. The twist is that the WERKSTÜCK simply cannot be bought. Anyone who wants one has to build it with their own bare hands – and by the sweat of their brow. Thus investing their time, rather than lots of their money. Any other method would not be the HORNBACH way.

HORNBACH’s creative agency, HEIMAT conceived the idea of the WERKSTÜCK Editions, of which the ‘Lounge Chair’ is the first in the series. HEIMAT has created iconic and award-winning campaigns with HORNBACH for almost two decades and is currently agency of the year in Germany according to leading marketing titles including Horizont and W&V.

Guido Heffels, Creative Director at HEIMAT, says: “HORNBACH has always been driven by a single passion: giving people the opportunity to create great things with creativity and their own bare hands. We worked with HORNBACH to take this one step further by initiating the WERKSTÜCK Editions - a series of projects by well-known designers from all over the world, designed exclusively with and for HORNBACH.”

The campaign includes two videos, print, digital and social, but at the core of the communication is the ‘Builder’s Book’, which contains the carefully illustrated step-by-step instructions for construction of the Lounge Chair, including lists of materials and tools. “The ‘Builder’s Book’ is far more than just an instruction manual. It takes the time to tell a story. It is about conveying the value of an idea.” concludes Guido Heffels.

The democratic ethos behind the ‘Lounge Chair’ is that all the materials used can be found at HORNBACH, and that no expensive special tools are required to build it. At approximately 130 EURO for the necessary components, stocked at HORNBACH, and 18 EURO for the printed Builders Book containing construction guidelines, the ‘Lounge Chair’ is affordable and promises to make the design aesthetic of one of the world’s most respected designers accessible to a wider range of people.

Architect and designer, Professor Sigurd Larsen, describes the ‘Lounge Chair’ as: “A chair that fulfills all the standards of good design, yet is accessible to everyone. We’re challenging people to push themselves a little and to build it by hand. People will feel quite differently about a beautiful piece of furniture if they have crafted it themselves. It’s a testament to what you can do with a bit of good design and your own hands. And I love that idea.”

In terms of innovative design, the ‘Lounge Chair’ stands out at first glance thanks to the simple re-appropriation of a furniture strap - an item that otherwise tends to live out its existence hidden on the underside of seating furniture is transformed into a central design element by Larsen. This clever design twist makes the ‘Lounge Chair’ a worthy number 001 in the HORNBACH WERKSTÜCK Edition – which is the first in a series of design editions conceived by some of the world’s leading architects and designers.

In terms of innovative design, the ‘Lounge Chair’ stands out at first glance thanks to the simple re-appropriation of a furniture strap - an item that otherwise tends to live out its existence hidden on the underside of seating furniture is transformed into a central design element by Larsen. This clever design twist makes the ‘Lounge Chair’ a worthy number 001 in the HORNBACH WERKSTÜCK Edition – which is the first in a series of design editions conceived by some of the world’s leading architects and designers.

Credits – The HORNBACH WERKSTÜCK Edition 001

Client: HORNBACH Baumarkt AG
Thomas Schnaitmann, head of marketing Germany and marketing communications international. Julia Ziegelmann, Head of brand communications.

Basic credits (creative agency):
Agency HEIMAT, Berlin
Chief Creative Officer: Guido Heffels
Creative Director: Guido Heffels, Marlon Fischer, Felix Pfannmüller
Art Director: Sascha Jörres, Marco Bienek
Copywriter: Mo Sadeghi, Teresa Guggenberger
Agency Producer: Charlotte Kühn
Agency Management Executive: Matthias von Bechtolsheim, Maik Richter Agency Account Supervisor: Tim Holtkötter
Agency Account Manager: Franziska Lequen, Kimberly Schwarck Media Agency: Mediaplus, München

Online – Spot and How-To:
Production Company: Markenfilm Crossing Berlin GmbH
Director: Clemens Wittkowski / Bauhouse
Director of Photography: Torsten Lippstock
Executive Producer: Thomas Bartl
Posthouse: AHA-Postproduction
Music Producer / Composers: Clemens Wittkowski/Bauhouse, Mirko Michalzik,
Sebastian Morsch
Sound Design Company: LOFT Studios GmbH, Berlin
Producer: Cerstin Cassidy
Sound Designer: Clemens Wittkowski
Audio Engineer: Benjamin Schäfer

Online – Documentation film:
Production Company: Play Media GmbH
Director: Christof Schröter
Director of Photography: Severin Strauss
Executive Producer: Henning Strüve
Posthouse: Play Media
Music Producer / Composers: Wladimir Gelwich

Design „Lounge Chair“
Designer: Sigurd Larsen
Design Company: Sigurd Larsen Design & Architecture

Builders book / tutorial:
Production: Büro Bum Bum
Matthias Klinger Dirk Gössler Eric Dannebaum
Agency Producer: Carola Storto

Print / OOH:
Photographer Company: Uwe Düttmann
Photographer: Uwe Düttmann
Post Production Company: Digitales Leben
Production: Claas Cropp Creative Productions GmbH
Agency Art Buying: Kerstin Kraus