Headquarters and a logistics hall for 400 employees have been realised by SCOPE Architekten in Walldorf for the internationally operating company group Schweickert. While reflecting the global nature of the company, the slogan “from electricity to IT” is explicitly expressed by visible integration of technical details in the design.
Functionality
In the middle of Walldorf’s industrial area, the new office building presents itself as a sharply defined, sedate volume. The covered inner courtyard with three elliptical openings creating view axes is a highlight. Together with a large, greened rooftop area created by a recessed third upper storey, employees are provided with generous meeting and recreational areas – and even a mini-golf ground. The logistics hall is located in the rear part of the plot: An attractive exterior space design including open areas and covered paths creates an identity-generating campus. The offices are designed as a mixture of open space areas and cubicles of various sizes. In order to maximise openness and transparency, multi-functional glass partition walls are used to separate individual rooms from the corridor. Project rooms, think tanks or conference rooms are located in the central area. Acoustically effective curtains screen from view and provide noise protection. State-of-the-art media technology facilitates easy networking. Kitchenettes and employee lockers are located centrally in the inner corners of the building. Strategic positioning has once again created a space for social interaction here.
Creativity & Innovation
The design of the new building reflects the identity and culture of the globally operating company and expresses this in built space. Visible installations are integrated harmoniously throughout the building and stand for Schweickert’s focus in the fields of technology and IT. Ventilation ducts, cable trays and acoustic grids fitted to the ceilings run through the storeys like a net and are symbolic for a networked future.
Sustainability
The building is designed as an Efficiency House 55 (consumes only 55% of the energy used by a house meeting all statutory minimum requirements). In addition to sustainable and resource-friendly building materials and a highly efficient facade construction, the technical building equipment is designed to make building operation as self-sufficient as possible. A total of 42 geothermal drillings were made on the plot to generate heat. The introduced geothermal probes are connected to a central distributor and linked to a heat pump. The latter is a reversible ground source heat pump that can be used for heating and cooling. The concrete slabs in the office building are equipped with a concrete core temperature control system, which takes care of basic heating in winter and cooling in summer. A photovoltaic system with 174 modules on the roof of the logistics hall is used to generate approximately 53 kWp of electricity. This is entirely consumed by Schweickert.