Administration Building

By Davide Cuppini - 11 January 2010

This is Berlin architect duo, Barkow and Leibinger’s third construction for the Ditzingen-based machine-tool company, Trumpf.
A landmark for both motorists on the nearby autobahn and the anonymous industrial estate developed in the seventies, the building is also a community focus thanks to a new, multi-level parvis, elegantly scored by stainless-steel lined surface-water drainage ditches.
The ground floor comprises three irregular shaped volumes containing a reception hall, auditorium and exhibition area for company products.
The wall of the entrance hall is clad with a striking ensemble of rectangular stainless steel pipes, laser-cut to specifications by the company’s own machine tools. The auditorium seats 200 and has two simultaneous translation booths. The heating system is covered with anthracite-coloured metal panels, again shaped and perforated using laser technology while the vertical divisions in the wall glazing allow outward opening of the windows. Atop the 3 ground floor volumes sit two parallel, box-shaped blocks containing the offices.
Set at different angles to one another, these 2 four-storey blocks also have staggered floors. Staircase columns connect the two volumes over their entire height, becoming focal points for internal circulation and interaction as well as the key external features linking the whole complex. They afford inward and outward transparency, a major design requirement.
Inside, the office environment has been made as open as possible for maximum spatial flexibility. Only the managers offices and meeting rooms have been partitioned off with glazing systems. Transsolar Engineering of Stuttgart was commissioned to ensure environmental sustainability and climate control, guaranteeing comfortable working temperatures without sacrificing natural lighting and ventilation.
The special double-skin façade has several functions: thermal insulation against warm air dispersion; highly effective sound...