ARDEX Campus, Witten (DE)
New building,
Building in existing structures
Client: ARDEX Group GmbH
Location: D-58453 Witten, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 45
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Competition: 2022, 1. prize
Area: approx. 20,000 m²
Programme: Offices, conference rooms, canteen, fitness area, underground car park
Visualisation: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Team
Sophia Brauner, Nina Burri, Johannes Krüger, Livia Plaumann, Christian Porath
Text: Gerlinde Jüttner
Partners
Statics: merz kley partner, Dornbirn
Building services, electrics: HL Technik, Munich
Landscape: Storch Landschaftsarchitektur, Dresden
Fire protection: Kersken + Kirchner, Munich
Office in the Park
ARDEX is one of the world market leaders in high-quality special building materials and has been on a sustainable growth path for over 70 years. We designed an "office building in the park" for the urgently needed new workplaces, where all of the company's non-production activities are concentrated. Designed as a "tree house", it promises fresh air, an interplay of light and shadow and plenty of transparency. The slight staggering of the four building sections breaks up the structure, and the greenery on the terraces and façades creates flowing transitions from inside to outside. The generous glazing reflects the greenery of the park.
At the centre of the site is an old, listed villa, which is used as a prestigious headquarters. To the left and right of it, two further solitary buildings house the communications and research laboratories. The elongated new administration building lies behind it, gently embedded in the park landscape of the villa.
Office zone with outdoor space
The ground floor is the most public area of the building and accommodates the reception as well as the central special areas with conference rooms, canteen and fitness area. Cut-in loggias link the offices on the upper floor with the outside space and enable informal communication and temporary outdoor working. External spiral staircases serve both as escape routes and as meeting zones for employees. The individual storeys of the new building form an office landscape that respects and supports the different needs with finely nuanced gradations between private and public.
Solid wood, exposed concrete and glass
The new administration building is planned as a hybrid in wood and concrete. The inner access corridor is made of in-situ concrete, with exposed concrete on the ceilings and walls and grey terrazzo flooring. The individual office zones made of solid wood are rounded off by parquet flooring and wooden façade elements. Glazed system partition walls and doors maintain the transparent effect of the building and fulfil high acoustic requirements.
Greened wooden grid
The timber façade is fronted by a non-load-bearing timber structure that accommodates elegant, projecting awnings and is covered with native plants on the ground. The vertical load-bearing timber structure of the façade consists of columns and beams made of glulam. We place great emphasis on ecological, economic and social sustainability in our design. Durable materials, maintenance-friendly systems and reduced energy consumption minimise the life cycle costs (LCC) and ensure a positive carbon footprint.
