The new head office and training center of the Arbeitgeberverband der Metallindustrie (German Employers’ Association of the Metal Processing Industry) was designed with the historical urban grain in mind, where grand manors and town houses with gardens and fences were typical structures of the late 19th century Gründerzeit. Our modern building is evocative of that era, but something about it gives us pause; it capitalizes on and yet distorts the familiar in both silhouette and surface material.
By dividing the complex into three distinct buildings, the design complies with the project specifications but also suits the formal character of Reutlingen’s historic center. Each of the three buildings mimics the classic period house with its pitched roof and therefore appears to blend in with the urban setting.
The stainless-steel façade disrupts the initial association with a typical “town house”, it creates the impression of three “stainless steel monoliths”. The familiar silhouette coupled with an unfamiliar surface material creates a tension-filled dialectic.
An ornate, translucent building plinth made of metal panels serves as a reference to the missing garden fence, echoes the motif of foliage in front of windows, and at the same time showcases the diverse visual qualities of metal. The design draws on Art Nouveau with its floral patterns and ornamentation – a contrast to the industrial material.
At the same time, the composition has an unsettling effect: on top of a light, translucent base sits a heavy, opaque monolith. The design reflects our consistent focus on contradictions and paradoxical concepts.
Realization:
Specialist planners:
realgrün Landschaftsarchitekten, Munich (Landscape design)
Werner Sobek Ingenieure, Stuttgart (Structural design)
Transsolar Energietechnik, Munich (Energy planning)
Horstmann + Berger, Altensteig (Building physics)
Schreiber Beratende Ingenieure, Ulm (Building services)
Ingenieurbüro Schwarz, Stuttgart (Electric planning)
Allmann Roswitha, Allmann Design, Munich (Graphic metal plates)
Photography:
Florian Holzherr
Jens Passoth
2006 Hugo Häring Award
2005 Detail Prize
2004 LEAF Award
2004 Preis des deutschen Stahlbaus
2004 "Best of Europe", special award
2003 Deutscher Fassadenpreis