Mannheim Business School - Study & Conference CenterEditorial Design

In the basement of Europe's second-largest Baroque palace, the architects schneider+schumacher created a modern study and conference center for Mannheim Business School. A 92-page book documents the initial conditions, the concept, and the realization of this unusual building project. The book's design references the resulting architecture in many details: for example, the stacked book echoes the white slats of the interior wall cladding. In its subtle color palette, the cover reflects the play of light inside the rooms, with their radiant white and the rich red of the newly created lecture halls and think tanks. The book's design grid, with its clear typography and harmonious color climate, is subtly supported by carefully selected materials. The title of the book, “172017,” builds a bridge from the palace's origins in 1720 to the opening of the MBS study and conference center in 2017. The title typography also conceals the floor plans of the two lecture halls. Bookbinding-wise, the offset hardcover posed a major challenge.