The company building of an elevator manufacturer, located in an industrial area just outside the city, was to be renovated and expanded.
After a thorough examination of the structural substance and weighing up the compromises to be made, the client then decided on a new building on the neighbouring premises. The main reasons for this were the improvement of operational processes, the creation of a reserve for further company growth and the desire for a contemporary energy concept.
The space program consists of an office and a fitter's area, which function side by side and with each other. In the single-storey, ground-level area, the "loud" exchange between planning, administration and assembly takes place. A central room with flanking offices and recreation rooms was created for the daily briefing. Separately, the "quiet", administrative part is housed in a multi-storey part of the building developed around an open atrium. In transition, separating and connecting at the same time, a glass elevator stands as a product of the client as a usable exhibit.
The building concept with atrium and skylights provides all rooms with plenty of daylight. Heating and cooling are provided by surface temperature control with solar thermal energy, heat pump and brine storage in the floor slab. For this purpose, the ground under the building is used as a storage mass and charged as an energy source by means of solar thermal energy. In an environment characterized by buildings in aerated concrete modular construction, but also by old brick industrial buildings, the new building was built with a light-colored, pre-bricked clinker brick shell. The uniaxial vaulting of the low-rise and high-rise buildings creates a gesture of security inside and is a reference to iconic buildings of industrial building history in the façade.
Text: Schmucker und Partner Planungsgesellschaft mbH
Photos: Werner Huthmacher
Parts of the drawings + isometrics: Jorge Garcia Correa in the seminar FACADE 4.0 at the TUK
