ADAC Head Office, München, Germany

Strong appearance with well thought-out architecture

Since 1905 – two years after its founding – the ADAC headquarters have been located in Munich, most recently spread over seven locations due to the constantly growing number of employees. This was to be changed with a central building, and so in 2004 nine architectural firms were invited to take part in a competition. The winner was the Berlin architectural firm Sauerbruch Hutton. “The design for the ADAC headquarters was based on three basic concerns: a differentiated approach to the existing urban situation, the vision of a sustainable and clear office structure and the desire to create a building that naturally expresses the identity of ADAC,” say the architects about the building.

Sensitive landmark

Seven years later, the 2,400 employees were able to move into the new ADAC headquarters. They find a building that, as a landmark, makes the company visible in the cityscape and at the same time reacts sensitively to the small-scale surroundings. A modern office building with a sophisticated, sustainable energy concept.

The office tower is particularly striking, with a height of 93 metres, the logo of the automobile club visible from afar and a colourful façade design that predominantly revolves around the typical yellow of the ADAC. Here, employees encounter a flexible spatial concept that allows for different work situations. Behind the double-skin façade, air circulates as part of the energy concept that relies on geothermal energy, component activation, photovoltaics and natural ventilation.

The triangular office tower with its rounded corners sits on a curved, five-storey building base. It houses, among other things, the training and conference area, casino and cafeteria as well as the print shop. The intelligent placement of the office tower along the railway line creates a spatial edge here. At the same time, the building presents itself “at eye level” with the surrounding buildings. The listed Villa Sander, which also stands on the site and serves as the ADAC clubhouse, is also given enough space.

Attractive entrance

The unobtrusively designed base building in turn rests on a plinth floor that allows entrances from different directions to the inner courtyard at four points. It houses the three-storey, glass-roofed foyer. With its reception desk and two large staircases, it is both a central hub and a calling card. Last but not least, the floor covering of high-quality natural stone provides for an atmosphere that is both friendly and representative. To ensure that this remains permanently attractive and safe to walk on in rain and snow, emco Commercial entrance carpets systems were used in the entrance areas. In front of the revolving doors, emcoMARSCHALL with rubber inserts and cassette brushes ensures that coarse dirt does not get into the interior of the building, even during high-frequency use. The dirt is collected in the brushes embedded in the floor.Sie wurde als Sonderanfertigung der organischen Gebäudeform angepasst. Inside the building, emcoDIPLOMAT with ribbed inserts reliably catches fine dirt such as dust and hair.
such as dust and hair. In this way, the architectural aspiration is continued down to the last detail: representation and sustainability are combined in an appealing design.