Description

Jockers Architekten designed this building for the Schwarzenberger + Endres company for administration, production, and storage of semi-finished steel products. The company’s assortment centres on reinforcing steel bars and mats. In early 1993 Schwarzenberger + Endres took their new building located in the Lauchringen industrial park into operation.

A large cantilevering roof unites the different func­tional areas of storage/production and administration/commissioning. A skin of coated corrugated aluminum sheets forms the protective envelope. Storage and production areas are free of any permanent installations. This allows for the exchange, reduction, and expansion of the individual areas without interrupting business operations. A clear height of 6.50 m of the two-bay hall permits the installation of shelving systems with mezzanine levels. The cranes which service the entire interior and exterior storage areas ensure a smooth flow of the goods. The two-storey office wing is thermally and acoustically detached from the roof and hall structure. The double-height foyer provides access to the flexible office floors from the storage hall as well as from the outside. All secondary functions involving mechanical equipment, e.g. sanitary facilities, kitchenette, or heating system are concentrated within an elongated narrow area, which can be accessed from the storage hall or from the offices.

The structure is an extendable steel skeleton on a 7.20 m x 21.60 m grid. To reduce the support moment above the middle columns and the span of the beams the architects resorted to knee braces – an element derived from traditional timber construction, which also provides transverse stiffening for the building. Since it is made of steel in this case, the diagonal struts can also accept stress. Hence, in combination with the beam they form corners of structural frames, support the primary beams and distribute the support moment to three points. This way, a reduction in the use of structural steel of approximately 15 % was possible.

Despite the various functions of the building a homogeneous appearance could be achieved by limiting the range of materials. Glass and aluminum were used for the building skin, steel and concrete for the load-bearing elements. The reduction of all structural steel elements meets the structural requirements efficiently and showcases the technical nature of the company’s range of products.

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Originally published in: Jürgen Adam, Katharina Hausmann, Frank Jüttner, Industrial Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2004.