Firm： Dietrich | Untertrifaller

Type： Commercial › Office Showroom

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2019

The legero united campus near Graz consists of two differently sized rings. Generous glazing, the facade of bronze-coloured anodised aluminium that changes in sunlight and the lushly planted inner courtyards blur the boundaries between inside and outside. The larger office ring can be topped up by an additional floor at any time. This meets the customer’s desire for a ‘growing’ corporate headquarter that can be extended in stages without producing a temporary measure. The result is a campus, a place with identity and great charisma, a dynamic and yet harmonious composition, at any time and in all stages of construction. The innovative campus translates the corporate philosophy of development and community into an overall architectural concept. The buildings show a successful symbiosis of sophisticated building services, sustainable materials and flexible use of space.

“Our goal was to design a campus that reflects the internal processes and the corporate identity of legero united,” explains architect Much Untertrifaller. “The circle’s lack of direction underlines the equivalence of each area inside the building. We wanted to create exciting, flowing sequences of rooms with a wide variety of interior and exterior features, thus guaranteeing a unique character.”

Flexible Organization

The large office ring takes up the first two construction stages. However, its structure is also designed to hold up a significant space potential by adding it over the flat roof. The circular floor plans create a variety of spatial experiences in the movement through the floors and allow flexible design solutions for the individual departments. The closed form protects against noise emissions and creates an independent inner world with glass pavilions, wooden decks and lush vegetation inviting communication and relaxation.

Next to the office ring is the cylindrical outlet. Additional cylinders of different sizes and functions and a circumferential gallery structure the flowing sequence of rooms. This ambience creates a shopping experience that is highly associable with the client’s brands and can subsequently be supplemented by additional cylinders to create a specialized retail center.

Highly efficient Structure - Functional, Aesthetic and Economical

The two floors of the office ring are deliberately designed very differently in terms of use and material. The ground floor, which contains all semi-public areas such as the foyer, the company restaurant and meeting rooms, is made of reinforced concrete. The columns, walls and ceilings are made of exposed concrete and thus reflect the robustness and workshop character of the sample production.

The all-round glazed company restaurant is placed in the courtyard as a self-contained cylinder. Automatic outdoor curtains protect against too much sunlight.

The upper floor is constructed of wood, divided into three by reinforced concrete access cores. This shortens the construction time and simplifies the extension of the building. The wooden surfaces of the construction remain visible, metal ceiling elements form an attractive contrast.

Space-saving Circulation

All floors are accessed via three cores, which accommodate the complete infrastructure such as elevator, stairs, toilets, cleaning and server rooms and kitchenette as well as a loggia opening to the inner courtyard. These cores also house the entire building services. Thus the remaining areas stay free of fixtures and offer maximum flexibility for the workspace.

Innovative Construction

Supports made of wood and composite material, floor-to-ceiling beams made of reinforced concrete and wood-concrete composite ceilings are prefabricated according to the modular principle and assembled on site. In addition to rapid construction progress, this also enables a sophisticated, defined design of the surfaces.

The use of the Deltabeam composite girder system in the entire ring building not only allows a reduction of the construction height of 10 to 15 percent, but also a more flexible interior design and simple cable routing for heating and cooling. The fire protection integrated in the delta team also eliminates the need for cladding.

Sustainable Materials

In terms of material of choice, great attention was paid to sustainability. Only domestic woods and, where possible, recycled concrete are used.

Focus on the Humans

To ensure that employees and customers feel ‘completely’ comfortable, we paid special attention to planning work-friendly offices, relaxation and community zones. The green inner courtyard is a place of retreat and an energy filling station. All furniture and the acoustic elements on the ceiling are made of wood to ensure an inviting atmosphere. The essential elements of the wooden structure – aesthetic, economic and sustainable – can be seen and experienced in the building.

Sustainable Energy Concept

Sophisticated building technology, the use of a geothermal system for heating and cooling as well as the use of well water characterize the sustainable energy supply of the campus – and turn the building rings into green satellites with a high feel-good factor for employees and customers.

The Shoemakers Outlet

The shape and design of the circular shoe outlet creates a very special shopping experience. The column-free space is spanned by a star-shaped wooden supporting structure. This ring building can also be flexibly redesigned – according to equirements and development.

Adaptable Buildings

Flexible extension and docking solutions with additional “satellite” rings not only make the legero campus architecturally unique, but also the infrastructure fit for the future: if the company develops, the building can also grow with it.

Construction Phase 1: Office building on 2 levels + outlet

Construction Phase 2: Extension of office building on 3 levels + outlet

Construction Phase 3: Office building on 3 levels + office building 2 + extension of outlet to retail park

Photos: © Bruno Klomfar