Description

The origins of the Swiss multinational ABB, whose business is principally in power and automation technologies, date back over a century. The works, erected when the original company was founded, can still be seen at ABB’s premises in Baden. Built in 1891, the plant was made obsolete by industrial transformation and the company’s shift in focus from production to R&D. ABB moved operations to other sites, and the area degenerated into an industrial wasteland.

At the end of the 1980s, ABB and the city of Baden developed a new model for the area, which has great potential because of its attractive location at the centre of the former spa town and its direct proximity to the station. The new building planned by Theo Hotz is part of this development plan, which provided for a rezoning of the area into a new, mixed-use district.

With the new building, ABB Kraftwerke AG has broken new ground in two senses – it has both set up a communicative office structure and developed a holistic climate concept. In the process-oriented, team-structured enterprise, communication plays an important part. As knowledge work, the engineering activity is based on a functioning flow of information. Face-to-face communication was to be furthered by bringing together the 1900 employees, formerly dispersed over 25 sites. The urban structure of the building supplies the necessary space. The building consists of segments, spatially separate from each other, with separately controlled climate systems and comprises: a nine-storey conference tower, an eight-storey longitudinal segment for the board of directors, the administration and special offices, and four six-storey lateral segments with open-plan offices for the teams. The segments, arranged like the teeth of a comb, are interlinked by footbridges, galleries, straight-flight open or spiral stairways and lifts.

An unheated zone enveloped by a profile-reduced glass skin is created, with light-flooded spaces merging into each other. ‘Suspended’ in space, the circulation areas furnished with temporary seating arrangements, bar tables, bulletin boards and exhibitions, become communication areas. Cafes and seating zones directly adjacent to the offices supplement these areas, as does the spacious cafeteria in the foyer. In addition, putting the teams into open-plan offices underlines the communicative character of the office concept. Hip-high cabinets distributed in accordance with group size serve for spatial separation of the project groups, thereby affording them optimum flexibility and the opportunity to communicate easily. Only departmental heads occupy private offices where they can work undisturbed adjacent to their respective teams. For formal meetings or conferences, staff reserve one of the meeting rooms of varying sizes that are situated in the longitudinal segment or in the tower. Situated outside the office zone proper, these rooms equipped with the latest technology are also rented out to other concerns.

As the organisation of the ground plan, the sophisticated façade development and the design of the building are multi-layered and intertwined, they also support the climate concept. Placing the circulation areas in the unheated zone lends the building not only a pleasant spaciousness and transparency, but also reduces running costs. At the same time it functions as a climatic buffer for the adjacent interior spaces. The façades are differently constructed, depending on the direction they face and the intended use of the rooms. The outer skin of the circulation areas has been developed as a suspended structure with point-fixed large-format glass panes. On the south side, fixed louvres on the exterior prevent the interior from overheating, while on the east and west sides, fabric blinds on the inside provide sufficient protection against the sun. The insulated glazing of the office zones is equipped on the south exposures with external adjustable louvres to provide solar protection. Centrally or individually controlled, the brise-soleil and the openings in the façade adapt to the weather conditions. Depending on the time of year, solar energy is either passively used or the sun’s rays are actively shut out. In summer, the heat conserved in the exposed concrete ceilings is given up to the cool night air via skylights that open automatically when room temperatures rise above 16° C. After long warm spells, the system is supported by partial air conditioning. Ventilation channels that remain open supply the rooms with fresh air and carry off stale air. The waste heat is recycled for water-heating purposes. The floor-to-ceiling glazing exploits daylight to the maximum. Stark black and white contrasts, interior raw steel and concrete building components, in conjunction with the clear, angular façade, create a uniform overall picture and generate the desired technoid quality of the building.

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Originally published in: Rainer Hascher, Simone Jeska, Birgit Klauck, Office Buildings: A Design Manual, Birkhäuser, 2002.