Firm： wurm + wurm

Type： Commercial › Office Industrial › Factory

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2013

SIZE： 25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft

Wenden, the southernmost town of the German region of Sauerland, is home to manufacturers of electromechanical actuators for water management, the power plant sector, and the oil and gas industry.

The special cut of the new building of the Drehmo GmbH is due to the topographical situation in this region. The moving landscape caused the terracing of the landscape and yielded an irregularly shaped lot. The unusual floor plan generated by this contour and the hillside situation with a view over the valley determined the building's character and exceptional styling.

The basic arrangement consists of the assembly hall with the affiliated areas of the loading bay and automatic shelf storage. Along with the two-story administrative wing, situated in front of the assembly hall, this forms an entrance situation. The basement accommodates staff rooms and the canteen, which is naturally lit via a courtyard and expands into this free area with glazing from floor to ceiling.

The roof with an oversized, band-like Attica spans the entire complex. This band varies in height, as it flows around the building. The corporeal construction is emphasized by the homogeneous materiality of the attic, roof soffits, columns, and parts of the wall covering, using lighter aluminum expanded metal panels. Angled structural struts between the individual levels or to ground form a kind of contemporary framework, acting like a muscle, supporting and shaping at the same time. A bright, expanded metal, processed accurately down to the tiniest details, draws sharp contours and ridges.

Inside, the light wooden floors contrast with large exposed concrete surfaces. Airy spaces and the two-story atrium enable new, surprising perspectives. Slanted concrete columns, already nested in them, create dynamic images in the overlay.