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Office Building
Office Building
Winnenden, Germany
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Other Projects by Reichel Schlaier Architekten
Office Building
Winnenden, Germany
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
2014
SIZE
100,000 sqft - 300,000 sqft
BUDGET
Undisclosed
photography by Brigida González.
The client, family owned and internationally active Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG, renowned for the distinctive yellow of their cleaning equipment, is headquartered in Winnenden near Stuttgart and has experienced strong growth in recent years. With no more space available on the company‘s historic grounds for their increased requirements, the company acquired a 130,000 sqm former brickworks site for future expansion. The new site is located in the immediate vicinity of the old headquarters, the two being separated by a rail line. At the end of 2012, the client called for submissions in an international competition, from which the design of Reichel Schlaier Architekten emerged as the winner.
In the first phase office spaces for 700 employees, an auditorium for 800 people and an exhibition space with presentation rooms and a café were planned. The new buildings were connected via a pedestrian bridge to the existing company premises on the other side of the tracks. As a reminder and as a distinctive symbol of the site‘s past, the historic chimney was retained and integrated into the facility.
Concept // The environment around the new complex is very heterogeneous with single-family houses and apartment buildings, industrial buildings and shopping centers, large parking areas, railway yards and tracks. The aligning feature of these existing developments is that which is also prevalent in the whole city area – a low building height of two to four floors.
Reichel Schlaier Architekten therefore suggested in the competition that the required space as dictated by the brief not be accommodated in a single large, tall building, but rather distributed over three buildings with different uses - administration, event and presentation. The use of each building should be clearly identifiable by their differing typologies.
The space between the buildings creates a beautiful square, a place to meet and to exchange with colleagues and customers. Additionally, trade fairs that take place in the visitor and customer center can be extended out into the square as required.
This forum connects the visitor and customer center, auditorium and office buildings and is the distinctive center of the new complex. The new pedestrian bridge over the railway lines connects the existing Kärcher premises directly with the new square and office building.
The Office Building // Creating workplaces is not just a theoretical question of square meterage. Working environments for employees should be created so that the best possible performance can be achieved. If employees enjoy coming to work, they will ideally end up working for the company for decades. This requires spaces that promote a sense of community, the feeling of togetherness and the exchange between colleagues. New ideas and visions are created in such environments. Last but not least the corporate philosophy should be conveyed by these spaces.
The new office building creates 700 workspaces over 4 floors. The offices of the rectangular building structure with approximately 100 m x 50 m are arranged in a ring around a green courtyard. This is, in the long run, the most flexible arrangement in which departments can grow and shrink, without unused zones arising at the end of a building. The building depth of 13.5 m permits consistent, natural lighting and ventilation as well as a high flexibility of the floor plans.
The facade is light and transparent. In interaction with the surrounding buildings it seems simple and restrained, while color elements in the corporate yellow shine through from inside to outside. This conveys the impression of an open and inviting building.
From the central square the building can be reached via a spacious double-height foyer. The foyer and the naturally lit staircases lead to the different areas of the building. The high transparency of the office building with glazed corridor partitions allows almost every room in the office building an inspiring view into the courtyard garden and towards the rolling countryside around the town of Winnenden. Depending on the need and requirement of various departments different forms of office organization were accommodated, such as single or team offices and larger open-plan offices.
The cafeteria on the ground floor opens onto the courtyard. The oak wood of the benches and tables, the warm glow of the pendant lights and the 15 m long photo mural create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. The long wooden tables serve as communication places where employees can lunch together and gather for informal exchange.
In the small foyer on the second floor a side branch of the pedestrian bridge to the old premises connects to the office building, and from there extends diagonally across the courtyard, providing a direct and fast connection to the other side for employees.
A central concern in the design of the building and the office areas was to create places that promote spontaneous communication between employees and across departments. Specific communication areas are located near staircases and elevators and are oriented toward the green inner courtyard. They serve as access to office areas and bundle common uses such as copy and print stations, mailboxes and kitchenettes. But above all, these spaces are meant to be meeting places. Large wooden tables, counters along the facade and armchairs offer a wide variety of ways to communicate, and create a comfortable informal atmosphere. From the courtyard, these communication areas are easily recognizable by their bright yellow awnings and their colored wall and ceiling surfaces.
When more than one hundred employees share an office building, that building also needs open spaces – places with lots of fresh air. The courtyard of the office building has a natural design and offers refuge as well as areas to relax and lunch.
The client, family owned and internationally active Alfred Kärcher GmbH & Co. KG, renowned for the distinctive yellow of their cleaning equipment, is headquartered in Winnenden near Stuttgart and has experienced strong growth in recent years. With no more space available on the company‘s historic grounds for their increased requirements, the company acquired a 130,000 sqm former brickworks site for future expansion. The new site is located in the immediate vicinity of the old headquarters, the two being separated by a rail line. At the end of 2012, the client called for submissions in an international competition, from which the design of Reichel Schlaier Architekten emerged as the winner.
In the first phase office spaces for 700 employees, an auditorium for 800 people and an exhibition space with presentation rooms and a café were planned. The new buildings were connected via a pedestrian bridge to the existing company premises on the other side of the tracks. As a reminder and as a distinctive symbol of the site‘s past, the historic chimney was retained and integrated into the facility.
Concept // The environment around the new complex is very heterogeneous with single-family houses and apartment buildings, industrial buildings and shopping centers, large parking areas, railway yards and tracks. The aligning feature of these existing developments is that which is also prevalent in the whole city area – a low building height of two to four floors.
Reichel Schlaier Architekten therefore suggested in the competition that the required space as dictated by the brief not be accommodated in a single large, tall building, but rather distributed over three buildings with different uses - administration, event and presentation. The use of each building should be clearly identifiable by their differing typologies.
The space between the buildings creates a beautiful square, a place to meet and to exchange with colleagues and customers. Additionally, trade fairs that take place in the visitor and customer center can be extended out into the square as required.
This forum connects the visitor and customer center, auditorium and office buildings and is the distinctive center of the new complex. The new pedestrian bridge over the railway lines connects the existing Kärcher premises directly with the new square and office building.
The Office Building // Creating workplaces is not just a theoretical question of square meterage. Working environments for employees should be created so that the best possible performance can be achieved. If employees enjoy coming to work, they will ideally end up working for the company for decades. This requires spaces that promote a sense of community, the feeling of togetherness and the exchange between colleagues. New ideas and visions are created in such environments. Last but not least the corporate philosophy should be conveyed by these spaces.
The new office building creates 700 workspaces over 4 floors. The offices of the rectangular building structure with approximately 100 m x 50 m are arranged in a ring around a green courtyard. This is, in the long run, the most flexible arrangement in which departments can grow and shrink, without unused zones arising at the end of a building. The building depth of 13.5 m permits consistent, natural lighting and ventilation as well as a high flexibility of the floor plans.
The facade is light and transparent. In interaction with the surrounding buildings it seems simple and restrained, while color elements in the corporate yellow shine through from inside to outside. This conveys the impression of an open and inviting building.
From the central square the building can be reached via a spacious double-height foyer. The foyer and the naturally lit staircases lead to the different areas of the building. The high transparency of the office building with glazed corridor partitions allows almost every room in the office building an inspiring view into the courtyard garden and towards the rolling countryside around the town of Winnenden. Depending on the need and requirement of various departments different forms of office organization were accommodated, such as single or team offices and larger open-plan offices.
The cafeteria on the ground floor opens onto the courtyard. The oak wood of the benches and tables, the warm glow of the pendant lights and the 15 m long photo mural create a welcoming and relaxed atmosphere. The long wooden tables serve as communication places where employees can lunch together and gather for informal exchange.
In the small foyer on the second floor a side branch of the pedestrian bridge to the old premises connects to the office building, and from there extends diagonally across the courtyard, providing a direct and fast connection to the other side for employees.
A central concern in the design of the building and the office areas was to create places that promote spontaneous communication between employees and across departments. Specific communication areas are located near staircases and elevators and are oriented toward the green inner courtyard. They serve as access to office areas and bundle common uses such as copy and print stations, mailboxes and kitchenettes. But above all, these spaces are meant to be meeting places. Large wooden tables, counters along the facade and armchairs offer a wide variety of ways to communicate, and create a comfortable informal atmosphere. From the courtyard, these communication areas are easily recognizable by their bright yellow awnings and their colored wall and ceiling surfaces.
When more than one hundred employees share an office building, that building also needs open spaces – places with lots of fresh air. The courtyard of the office building has a natural design and offers refuge as well as areas to relax and lunch.
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