Verner PantonDie Spiegel-Kantine

In 1969 the SPIEGEL publishers moved into a new space in Hamburg, and the company had it decorated to its specifications. The Danish designer Verner Panton (1926-1998) redesigned the building, assigning a bright color to each floor. His three-dimensional installation and its psychedelic effects were precisely in step with the times. Unfortunately, later generations of journalists felt differently about it, and so Panton’s interiors were gradually removed, bit by bit. Only the cafeteria remained in all its original splendor; a citizen’s group succeeded in having it placed under the protection of the historical preservation registry, and as of 2012, it can now be seen at the Hamburg Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. There, however, only the orange-colored dining hall has been reconstructed; the red one and the violet one are now in the depository, along with the snack bar. This publication documents the cheerfully colorful ensemble of furniture, lamps, curtains, wallpaper, and ceiling—a unique and total work of art.