i+R Group Headquarters, Lauterach (AT)
New building
Client: i+R Group
Location: A-6923 Lauterach, J.Schertler-Str. 1
Architecture: Dietrich Untertrifaller
Construction: 2011 – 2012
Area: 3,300 m² (without underground car park)
Ecology: Leed Platinum certification
Programme: Offices, conference rooms, atrium (150 workstations)
Photos: Bruno Klomfar, Dietrich Untertrifaller
Team
Helmut Brunner, Felix Kruck, Peter Nussbaumer, Philipp Raupach, Sebastian Rohse, Andreas Schulte, Heiner Walker (Project management)
Text: Gerlinde Jüttner
Partners
Statics: Mader & Flatz, Bregenz
Building services: Team GMI, Dornbirn
Electrics: Lingg, Schoppernau
Building physics: Künz, Hard
Landscape: Rotzler Krebs, Winterthur
General contractor and site management: i+R Group, Lauterach
Awards
- Property Award, Award
- Staatspreis Architektur & Nachhaltigkeit , Nomination
- BTV Bauherrenpreis, Award
- LEED Platinum Award, Award
First office building with LEED Platinum certificate
Innovative energy solutions, high standards of building ecology and indoor and working environment quality were at the forefront of the i+R headquarters. The new building brings together all of the group's companies under one roof and also demonstrates to the outside world the company's typical management style of flat hierarchies. It was particularly important to us to embed the building between the company's own construction logistics centre and machinery and to create a "model building" that demonstrates the company's efficiency and quality.
The i+R headquarters was the first new office building in Austria to be awarded the prestigious LEED Platinum certificate and therefore meets the highest standards for ecological and sustainable construction. This office building is an ode to intelligent construction: powerful architecture, in harmony with the client's philosophy and well thought out both functionally and in terms of conserving resources.
Prestigious address
In the heart of the business park, on a site framed by a railway line, main road and country road, we have created a representative location with high workplace quality. The building was positioned on the site, which narrows towards the east, so as to be visible from the country road passing by and to create an attractively designed open space with green islands on the south, east and north sides.
Open organisation around an atrium
The building's open character is immediately apparent in the entrance area: The four-storey atrium is spacious and down-to-earth elegant in the best sense of the word. Two sculptural staircases lead upwards, offset air spaces with bridges and walkways ensure transparency and orientation.
Glazed meeting rooms are located on the narrow sides of the building and the individual offices on the long sides.
For the construction, the company's own products were used, such as concrete for the structural components (partly core-activated) and wood for the infill construction and windows. The only rigid spatial element is the building core with sanitary facilities, kitchenettes, technical shafts and escape staircase.
The two- to six-axis office units can cover all space requirements, as the installation-free partition walls allow for a flexible arrangement. Underfloor heating, windows and blinds are synchronised in this axis grid.
Ecology and aesthetics
Local oak on the office walls and a carpet made from recycled fishing nets are just one example of how ecology and elegant aesthetics can be harmonised. Transparency in the individual rooms and work areas is ensured by office skylights on the corridor side and viewing windows in the doors.
Each floor has its own power circuit, IT cabling and building services. This ensures that the building can be used flexibly in the long term and fulfils a key aspect of the high standards of sustainability.
Striking façade
The combination of board-formed exposed concrete walls on the narrow sides and dark varnished wood on the long sides creates a striking, robust-looking statement in the inconsistent surroundings. The south façade is fronted by a wooden louvre that serves as a sun visor and reduces the energy required for cooling by 70 percent. On the narrow sides, a glazed, vertical slit with projecting, wooden balcony parapets enlivens the concrete façade.
The i+R headquarters was the first new office building in Austria to receive the prestigious LEED Platinum certificate. Renewable, regional and recyclable raw materials and the company's own products – concrete, timber and wooden windows – were used for the construction and the highest possible building and human ecological standards were observed. The naturally lit interiors minimise artificial lighting. Thanks to its highly efficient building technology, the building falls below the passive house standard by a third, with a heating energy requirement of just 9.7 kWh/m2a.
