Completed in Untertürkheim in 2005, the Mercedes-Benz Van Technology Center was now due for some refurbishment work. In the course of this, Gellink + Schwämmlein Architekten were commissioned to create an open, stylishly modernized and agile office world with a desk-sharing usage concept from the existing office floor with cellular offices. The aim was to combine functionality and transparency as well as communication and atmosphere in a new spatial concept.

"An exciting project, which of course also brought with it various challenges," says Hanjo Gellink. For example, the cellular offices first had to be dismantled to create an opening in the open-plan area with daylight coming in from both sides of the façade. To allow daylight to enter the fixtures in the central area, the so-called meeting zone, these had to be kept transparent. Another challenge was the elliptical floor plan of the building, which required a special alignment and design language for the fixtures. In addition, a large part of the refurbishment work involved modernizing and visually integrating the building services.
"The basic idea behind our design is to create an agile, inviting working environment with flexible usage options, while not only taking the dominant existing architecture into account, but even emphasizing it," says Markus Schwämmlein. Looking at the result, the realization of this idea has been successful. The elliptical shape of the building is recognizably reflected in the redesigned office world. The aim of creating a spatial concept in which all workstations are open and equally designed and which impresses with a bright, clear and communicative spatial structure was also achieved. This was achieved primarily by repositioning the workstations along the interior and exterior façades and the striking redesign of the ceiling in conjunction with a new lighting concept. The room concept is rounded off by the use of upmarket materials that not only enhance the visual appearance, but also support the acoustics in the entire area. Like the furniture, the meeting rooms at the heart of the office world have been adapted to the shape of the ellipse. By using translucent curtains, the meeting rooms, which are separated by glass walls, can be protected from view. And as daylight floods the office space from both sides, it is still possible to maintain an overview of the room.

www.gs-arc.de

Photos:

David Matthiessen
www.davidmatthiessen.com

(Published in CUBE Stuttgart 02|21)