Back home: new corporate headquarters with charisma
Since the tradition-rich ThyssenKrupp AG opened its new corporate headquarters in Essen in 2010, one can speak of a genuine revival of the area in the Ruhr metropolis. The move from Düsseldorf to Essen marks the return of the group with over 500 employees to its home – this is where the company’s history began some 120 years ago. The new, modern headquarters, the result of a competition held in 2006, is a sight to behold: a unified structure of individual buildings, a main building and an open-space design that emphasises the relationship to the client through the choice of materials – stainless steel, steel, titanium and glass.
Harmonious building ensemble
The spacious ensemble of buildings is dominated by several striking structures. First of all, there is Q1, which towers over the other buildings with its 50-metre height. It consists of two building sections that project into each other and enclose a ten-storey glazed atrium. Four other buildings, Q2, Q4, Q5 and Q7, as well as a multi-storey car park complete the ensemble. In Q2, which houses a meeting and event hall for up to 1,000 people in addition to the canteen, there is space for discussions and project work. Further workplaces for the 520 employees at the new location are provided by the two buildings Q5 and Q7. They are arranged in an L-shape and fit harmoniously into the overall concept. Other employees, who are currently still working in different parts of Essen, will be accommodated in additional buildings on the campus that have not yet been completed. Where so many people work and receive visitors, functional entrances that ensure a clean impression play a major role – emco products were used for this purpose.
Heart of the headquarters
This is also the case in the striking Q1 building, the heart of the new quarter. The building’s status as headquarters is justified by its expressive form. Two glass façades with a span of about 28 x 26 m link the interior with the surroundings and open up an impressive view of the adjoining water axes outside. The façades each consist of 96 panes of glass held in place by a wafer-thin cable construction, so that the windows seem to consist of a single, gigantic pane of glass. This gives way under wind load by up to half a metre. Despite the large glass area, the building received the DGNB seal of quality in gold: the energy consumption is less than 150 kilowatt hours per m2 /year, approx. 50 % of the average consumption of modern high-rise office buildings. It is no wonder that the building has received numerous other awards, including the City of Essen Architecture Award 2010.
“On a campus of different buildings and
people are invited to use indoor and outdoor spaces – a challenge for
and outdoor spaces – a challenge for entrances and their entrance
their entrance mats, which are very busy as a result.”
Thomas Strang, Project Manager Construction,
ECE Projektmanagment GmbH & Co. KG
Well thought-out use of materials
In addition to the overall architectural effect of the building, the use of materials and the construction of the façades play a decisive role. For example, the total of 8,000 square metres of glass facades can be shaded by a high-quality sun protection system. The sunshade slats made of ultra-thin stainless steel were specially designed by ThyssenKrupp. Quality down to the last detail is also reflected in the entrance areas. Several entrances in the outdoor, indoor and covered outdoor areas were fitted with high-quality emco entrance mats. In total, the emco service technicians, who were also responsible for the measurement work, laid approx. 220 m² of emco entrance mats of the type Marschall 522 S/GB, 522 S/R with emco dirt trap trays and frame type 5000.
Urban planning highlight
But it is not only the details that are convincing, the exterior is also impressive: the 200 m long and 30 m wide water axis, spanned by several connecting footbridges between the buildings, extensive green spaces and eye-catching cubic signposts define the site. The relationships between built-up and open space, façade design and interior design as well as design and functionality make the new quarter an urban highlight with charisma.