New business lounge furnished with seating from Züco, a brand of the Dauphin HumanDesign Group.

Offenhausen, June 2010 – Although its appearance belies its age and origins, the current Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, the state capital of Schleswig-Holstein, has an eventful history and remains one of the largest event halls in Germany.

The building opened in 1951 to coincide with the Kieler Woche festival and is based on the steelwork from two former aircraft hangars which once formed part of the aerodrome on the island of Sylt. Over 60 years ago, architect Wilhelm Neveling arranged for the hangars to be dismantled and moved to Kiel. The building in question is the legendary “Ostseehalle” where Gerhard Schröder made his key political speeches for the Bundestag election in 1998 and Vladimir Klitchko successfully defended his WBO (World Boxing Organisation) title. Since 2008, the Sparkasse financial group has held the rights to the name of the hall which can accommodate around 13,500 people.

Over the decades, the Sparkassen-Arena-Kiel has been constantly renovated and extended. For over a year now, it has offered a multifunctional business lounge designed and built by Schnittger Architekten + Partner. The new room with space for up to 350 people cost around €4.2m. The modern lounge can be used either as an elegant restaurant or for conferences, presentations and cultural events.

The fact that the room can be used for a variety of purposes made it important to choose high-quality, versatile furnishings. Although various companies submitted tenders and sample seating, “Fiato” and “Alterno”, both products from the Swiss manufacturer Züco, a brand of the Dauphin HumanDesign Group, were ultimately chosen.

What makes the “Fiato” conference chair so distinctive is the way it successfully combines fine materials and a harmonious design. With their chrome steel, soft white upholstery and walnut veneer, the chairs selected for the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel fit in perfectly with the décor in the VIP rooms and are a good match for the smoked oak floor covering.

Züco’s “Alterno” club chair with matching side tables is used in the business lounge's reception area. “Alterno” is a multifunctional piece of furniture which is equally suitable for intensive work as it is for relaxation. The swivel chair can be sat on from various sides and changes its function when the user swivels round. The versatile armrest with shelf can then be used as a working or storage area, providing the ideal surface on which to place a laptop for example. Thanks to the optional Auto-Return function, “Alterno” automatically returns to its basic position when the user stands up, thus ensuring a “tidy” appearance at all times.