Trumpf GmbH will be expanding their existing branch factory near the village of Hettingen in the Swabian Alb. A new master plan anticipates the construction of new production and assembly in four phases. In July 2013 the first of these phases, a new production hall with 3400 sqm, was realized after only 13 months of construction.
The permanent long façade facing the Lauchert Creek and valley is articulated as a gently folded origami of corrugated metal and glass to scale the factory building to the neighboring single-family houses with pitched roofs. The office front is integrated into the shed volume but has a mater of fact gridded façade. The roof as a 5th facade is planted with local vegetation to better integrate into the scenic valley.
For the production and assembling of oversized flatbed laser machines a column free and flexible space was required. The bays measure 24m in width and 13m at the highest point of the shed. The steel framework of the roof construction allows north-facing skylights within the structural depth; together with the 3m high strip window at ground level they provide daylight for the working areas.
This will be the second addition undertaken by Barkow Leibinger, the first (shops and offices of 1500 sqm.) was done in 2009. After 2014 an addition of two more bays is expected.