-
Architects: STEINMETZDEMEYER
- Area: 2100 m²
Text description provided by the architects. This project responds to the specific request of a consulting engineer’s company to transform a standard industrial hall, a former carpentry, into their new main office that can accommodate 80 employees. On a parcel of a featureless industrial zone in a context without interest, the challenge was to create a quality workplace giving a strong image of the company, which all employees can identify themselves with, and this with budget constraints, involving specific measure
The facade shows a repetition of 2 types of prefabricated elements:
- Window frames with integrated blinds consist of a large double glazed fixed sight and an opaque opening for ventilation.
- Wood frame freestanding modules comprising insulation and a rough Douglas pine cladding on its back and shelves inside.These elements are set independently from the existing metal structures that have been raised to clear a maximum usable space.
This principle allows to combine the budgets for the facades and some of the furniture, but also to improve the energy efficiency thanks to the selected ratio windows / sandwich elements, sparing this way air-conditioning.
A courtyard has been created in the centre of the old hall, around which are the cafeteria, the executive secretary with the main meeting room and working areas for designers on two levels. Individual offices or small groups of engineers and technicians, as well as smaller meeting rooms are arranged along the exterior facades.The interior fit out and new floor structures depict unexpectedly raw building techniques that are the everyday life of these construction and civil engineers. The lightness of the central walkways and open spaces encourage maximal diffusion of natural lighting provided by the patio
