Office Building Markas

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Office Building Markas

Firm

Type

Commercial › Office

YEAR

2011

Since 1985, Markas, a family run
business, provides high quality innovative facility services. The company built
a new office for 30 employees in an industrial area of the Spatzern district in
St. Pölten.

The project reflects the services
Markus provides, as well as the philosophy of the firm, based on a
non-hierarchical organisation. The key aspect was to focus on the development
of a closed system with great indoor qualities: a hortus conclusus, in order to
create a high-quality working environment, despite the anonymous surroundings.

Placing the building on columns
solved the classical dilemma between the necessary parking spaces for the
employees and the space needed for the firm. It was therefore possible to not
only create a covered parking lot, but also to develop a maximum building
density for the site, with a high quality working place with panoramic views.
The landscape floats unhindered through the building due to its elevation,
creating a flowing space between the parking elements and natural elements. The
two inner courtyards developing their potential as rising green islands,
becoming part of the indoor space.

The office space of 1000m2 reflects
the corporate identity of a family business.
This non-hierarchal organisation
offers concentrated working spaces around an informal open communication space.
Everyone works on the same floor with a linear communication flow. The two
inner courtyards create an atmosphere of well-being. The building typology
generates a circular and a central circulation. The advantages are: an
excellent orientation, a good view and short routes with ideal interconnections
within the building. Varying speeds of movement are possible within the
building: fast, during the work process thanks to several shortcuts, slower, to
improve the communication flow during the work breaks. The central
communication areas are located on the junction of the two systems. The two
inner courtyards and the four „cuts“ offer a visual connection to the outside
and a better orientation.

The glass, chosen as the main
material for the façade, becomes the symbol of the company for cleaning and
facility services.
The pixilation of the facade and
materials used erase the scale of the building, providing a complex and diverse
interaction with the perception of the building and its context. The building
is camouflaged during the day mirroring its surroundings. At night, the
precisely fitted windows, designed for the rear end offices and their need for
light, become transparent. The transparent panels turn out to be the closed
panels and the dark ones turn out to be the actual transparent ones. The
pixilation of the facade is based on a five-step system of different glass
transparencies. The transparencies range between a matt non-reflecting glass panel,
to a fully reflecting surface. The surrounding views are reproduced as
fragments on the facade like coloured pixels, creating an ever-changing surface
design depending on time of day and weather. It is used in only glass remains,
in all its facettes.
Inside the building, the opposite
impression occurs – the wooden window frames show specific extracts of the
surroundings. The walls create a feeling of security, focusing the attention on
the inner open space, the inner courtyards and the generous spatial impression.

The material used for the park deck
structure is dark on purpose. Through to the dark plaster facade the volume
seems to be monolithic and generates a unity with the black asphalt.

From a technical point of view the
project is very innovative and eco. The heating and cooling of the office
building results from the ground water heat pump. The building is classified as
low-energy (A<25kwh/m² a).

Context-urban
integration

MARKUS, a family run business, built
a new office for 30 employees in an industrial area of the Spatzern district in
St. Pölten. The key aspect was to focus on the development of a closed system
with great indoor qualities: a hortus conclusus, in order to create a
high-quality working environment, despite the anonymous surroundings.

Concept
Placing the building on columns
solved the classical dilemma between the necessary parking spaces for the
employees and the space needed for the firm. It was therefore possible to not
only create a covered parking site but also to develop a maximum building
density for the site, with a high quality working place with a panoramic view.

Infrastructure/development
The office building is accessible by
foot and by car from the East by a bypass road at the Dürauergasse. The
entrance area is situated in one of the four cut outs of the structure. The
cuts and inner courtyards are used for lighting the central area and creating a
defined outline of the geographic directions. A broad single run staircase
opening to the courtyard is the main entrance to the office spaces on the upper
level. When entering the building, a two story lit staircase opens up. An
overarching bridge separates the room that follows. By reaching the upper level
you can look into the second courtyard and are welcomed by the reception. The
second entrance is for employees only, and is located in the service block on
the lower level. This block also provides a disabled access lift to the upper
level.

Communication
area
The structure reflects the corporate
philosophy of a family business with a low-profile hierarchy. Everyone works on
the same floor with a linear communication flow. The typology of the building
generates a circular and a central circulation. The advantages are: an
excellent orientation, a good view and short routes with ideal interconnections
within the building. Varying speeds of movement are possible within the
building: fast, during the work process thanks to several shortcuts, slower, to
improve the communication flow during the work breaks. The central communication
areas are located on the junction of the two systems. The two inner courtyards
and the four „cuts“ offer a visual connection and outward orientation

Office
spaces
The goal was to design a
sophisticated spacious structure with many “work” possibilities. Common rooms,
individual agencies and conference rooms are supposed to evoke creative,
communicative and concentrated work spaces. All the offices are glazed to the
corridor with the office doors made of oak, defining the entrances. The partition
walls of the offices and the conference rooms are glazed in the upper part so
the ceiling gains a throughout broad effect. Despite the transparency, sound
proofing was important between the offices. Therefore the inner surfaces are
specially designed with this in mind – carpet, sound-absorbing glass and ? The
unique facade design gives every working space its very own individual window
with a special view. The “pictures” are framed in an oak framework.

Staff
and secondary rooms
A common area, changing rooms,
bathrooms and engineering rooms are all situated on the ground floor.
Deliveries take place in the southern part.

Landscape
The landscape floats unhindered
through the building due to its elevation. It develops a flowing space between
parking elements and natural elements. The oversized flower trough, shaped like
an L, follows the boundary to the West and North. It functions as a natural
borderline, as scenery that partly covers up the cars in the parking lot. The
build scenery dissolves the even cutting edge and is the counter part for the
“perfect” glass facade edge. At the rear of the site the plantation continues
in the form of an artificial earth wall forming the natural borders of the
site. The two courtyards are the developing their potential as green islands
upward.

Materiality
The concept of pixilation and
materials used for the facade was to conceal the actual scale of the building.
It provides a complex and diverse interaction with the perception of the
building and its context. The building is camouflaged during the day mirroring
its surroundings. Only in the night time the actual fitted windows, which are
precisely designed of the needs for light for the offices behind, appearing
quit clear. The transparent panels turn out to be the closed panels and the
dark ones turn out to be the actual transparent ones. The pixilation of the
facade is based on a five-step system of different glass transparencies. The
transparencies range between a matt non-reflecting glass panel, to a fully
reflecting surface. The surrounding views are reproduced as fragments on the
facade like coloured pixels, creating an ever-changing surface design depending
on time of day and weather. The glass becomes the symbol of the company for
cleaning and facility services. It is used in only glass remains, in all its
facettes. Inside the building, the opposite impression occurs – the wooden
window frames show specific extracts of the surroundings. The walls create a
feeling of security, focusing the attention on the inner open space, the inner
courtyards and the generous spatial impression. The material used for the park
deck structure is dark on purpose. Through to the dark plaster facade the
volume seems to be monolithic and generates a unity with the black asphalt.

Furniture
It has been tried to fulfil the high
standards that the client was demanding from the architecture in order to
connect the interior design and furnishings. The furniture is mainly white with
the exception of a few special pieces used as colourful highlights in the
offices, and to define several areas.

Energy
concept
From a technical point of view the
project is very innovative and eco. The heating and cooling of the office
building results from the ground water heat pump. The building is classified as
low-energy (A<25kwh/m² a). Underfloor heating provides a comfortable radiant
heat, and the controlled aeration and de-aeration provides good air quality for
the employees.

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Office Building Markas

Office Building Markas

Product Spec Sheet

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