A competition determined the winner: the newly completed Business Development Centre for Medical Technology (BDC) – the inaugural structure of Mannheim's new Medical Technology Campus – bears the creative mark of three architectural firms: a|sh sander.hofrichter architekten, studioplus, and MTTR – Architekten + Stadtplaner. Called "Cubex One" for its distinctive cubic form, the building sits along the same sight line as the University Hospital Mannheim, a placement that signals its deep connection to research and innovation. This visual relationship is further reinforced by an elegant curved open staircase of exposed concrete that gracefully bridges the varying ground levels.

The new building houses nearly 8,000 m² of flexibly scalable spaces for office areas and coworking zones. It also features seminar and event rooms that foster collaboration and interdisciplinary exchange, along with five laboratories, cleanrooms, and workshops. The collaborative spaces of the BDC benefit from generous façade openings that offer both outward and inward views. As already noted, a defining feature of "Cubex One" is its façade: pearlescent white ceramic shingles, combined with freely arranged openings of varying formats and sizes, create an extraordinary visual impact. The shingles, which studioplus and MTTR Architekten + Stadtplaner developed specifically for this project in collaboration with the manufacturer, give the five-story building its distinctive character through small-scale stone elements with bright glazing, while generating distinctive interplays of light across the façade surface. The window reveals are equally distinctive: continuous frames composed of varying widths create optical depth through elements angled toward the opening. A grid structure on one side of the windows, imitating an open shutter, breaks up the square form of the window openings and enhances the sense of perspectival depth. Inside, the entrance hall conveys a technological character through metallic cassettes on the ceiling and select walls, along with a luminescent tube that curves through the space. The work areas, by contrast, are designed with restraint, as they prioritize maximum flexibility above all. With "Cubex One," architectural elegance on the façade harmonizes with functional efficiency indoors, creating new possibilities for collaboration and continued development.

www.mttr.berlin
www.a-sh.de
www.studioplus.plus

Photography:
Zooey Braun
www.zooeybraun.de

(Published in CUBE Frankfurt 04|24)