Description

MABEG’s new office building is the first phase of a master plan, which will take account of the company’s growth. An element of the corporate image is the company’s collaboration with renowned architects and designers, so one of the chief aims is to make the new building a trademark for MABEG, a manufacturer of sign­posting and furnishing systems. The site in a sprawling industrial estate southeast of Soest, between the motorway and another major road, made special measures necessary to achieve the goal of making it appealing to the public. The raised box-like object seems like a refined alien element in these surroundings. The architects have exploited the formlessness of the surroundings to create an impressive staging for this clear, nicely detailed form of manageable size. The concrete and steel structure is elegant in its simplicity; in particular, the five metre height of the round columns extending from the ground to the upper storeys accentuates their slenderness. The U-shape of the box’s ground plan was determined by the blue-coated reinforced concrete core containing the sanitary facilities and the lifts. This effect is intensified by the solar protection elements made of specially shaped aluminium profiles, by red navigation lights on the corners and by the reflections on the aluminium façade. The fact that the building stands out helps clients and visitors to find the company’s headquarters quickly.

The clean lines continue through into the interior – a workshop-like atmosphere dominates the two open-plan layout office floors. These can be reached directly, without having to stop at a reception desk, either via a steel exterior stairway or via the lift. The two open-plan layout floors are fitted out with a flexible furnishing system manufactured in-house, developed from a system for the construction of trade fair booths which enables an open and communicative working atmosphere. Interior walls consist of mobile shelving elements or glass; they structure the floors without obstructing eye contact. The U-shaped ground plan organisation evinces the absence of hierarchical structures, thus reflecting the open corporate culture. Only the managing director and the bookkeeping department have self-contained rooms on the first floor.

With the administrative headquarters building for MABEG, an open, communicative working environment was created for the employees, achieving local and nationwide publicity. This synthesis of trademark and architecture will convey the corporate image of an innovative manufacturer of furniture and signposting systems that is both in keeping with the times and working to precise specifications.

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