What challenges did you face in shaping the project?
Talmon: You don't often get the chance to help shape a project for an international top club. We didn't have much time. We put together a team of six people, which literally worked night and day. Nobody could reach as by phone during that period of four weeks. (She laughs) In the end it was a development process of around 700 hours worked, which normally covers nine months. But the work was worthwhile as our concept impressed above all through the many details – emotionally as well as with the representation as a scale model.
What was special about this project for you?
Talmon: We could have produced a traditional shop. But we wanted to understand Bayer 04 as a whole. We tried to understand this club and its self-image, we tried to encapsulate the club philosophy to make our plans really applicable to Bayer 04. That went as far as us reading or looking at interviews from the past two years. And we wanted to stand on the terraces and experience everything: traffic jams getting to the ground, standing in queues on matchdays in front of the turnstiles at the BayArena, eating sausages and drinking beer at the stadium. Our imagination was sparked at our first game. We then met with a father and his three sons who described their ideal matchday. We really tried to get a feel for this club. Then it was clear to us: Bayer 04 is a down-to-earth club that really values proximity to the fans. The needs of the fans were also centre stage in our considerations. They were the foundation of our work.
Were there certain issues during implementation that surprised you?
Talmon: The complexity was the biggest challenge. Last season we followed the path to winning the double from close-up. You have to understand that the Fanzone project – in addition to many other projects – brought day-to-day involvement for everybody. It was a masterly performance from everybody involved, above all Anne Dannenberg and Nadine Boes (Project management and construction at Bayer 04, ed.). In addition, there's nothing more demanding than building in a stadium. A stadium is a meeting place that has to meet the highest demands. On top of that, the foundations of the stadium date back to 1958 and parts of the construction plans are no longer available. That means we could have demolished something and not known what we might find.
Are there special features in a project in the area of football?
Talmon: While you almost have to do somersaults in retail to attract consumers to stores, fans are full of emotion and motivated from the start. We not only wanted to create a pure offline experience but also offer several digital options and thereby bring the two worlds together. It needed modern infrastructure that remains down-to-earth. These arcs of suspense – between future and origin, online and offline, young and old – can be found everywhere. And that under the premise of a set budget. They were exacting demands.
