The Actelion Business Center by Herzog e De Meuron
The Actelion Business Center is the heart of the Actelion Center in Allschwil,
Switzerland. It offers 350 offices for employees from central functions.
The building, a creation of the Basel architects’ office of Herzog & de
Meuron, stands for innovation and openness and thus stands for the core values
of Actelion. The futuristic architectural concept symbolizes the company's
future-oriented business activity. The building combines functionality and
creativity. It offers employees an inspiring working environment that fosters
communication.
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The architectural concept is guided by the underlying theme of communication.
The open, angular steel construction consists of supports stacked on top of
each other. Every floor is laid out differently. This fundamental principle is
based on a strict regularity: in the four corner points, where the “office
beams” meet, are the core zones through which access is provided to the whole
building. Here, elevators and stairs link the various floors with each other.
This gives rise to natural communication zones where employees' paths cross. In
these zones there are kitchens, meeting rooms and training rooms. Seating
islands invite people to sit down and exchange ideas.
The glass facades allow communication through eye contact and underline the
transparency, both inwards and outwards, as well as upwards and downwards. To
ensure that this openness is consistent throughout, all installations were laid
in the floors and ceilings, and it was decided to avoid any ducts and piping in
walls.
STEEL CONSTRUCTION AS AN ARCHITECTURAL
The load-bearing structure of the building consists of steel frames
measuring a total of 3.8 kilometers in length. Altogether about 2’500 tons of
steel were processed. The steel bars that make up the framework are straight,
K-shaped or X-shaped, depending on the static requirements. For fire safety
reasons, the steel construction is plastered and painted white. In this way,
the characteristic steel elements underline the light visual identity of the
building.
THE ART OF BOTANY
The greening concept of botanical artist Tita Giese takes up the
transparency of the building. There is a mix of various kinds of ivy and
horsetail in the shaded outdoor zones around the entrance area. Inside the
building are three carpets of ferns, ivy, low-growing palms and Anthurias that spread
outdoors, thus blurring the boundary between inside and outside.
In sunny areas the roofs are planted with prairie grass, which changes in the
course of the seasons from light green to dark red, retaining this color in the
winter. The other roof areas were provided with a plant substrate that grows
independently according to climatic conditions. Depending on the sun and
rainfall, a low-growing carpet of stonecrops alternate with unplanted gravel
areas.
ENERGY CONCEPT
The energy concept of the building is based on the combined use of
electricity, natural gas and renewable energy in the form of solar power. The
aim is to meet the demand for heating and cooling in a way that conserves
resources and is largely carbon neutral.
FACTS
Construction time: August 2007 - December 2010
Architects: Herzog & de Meuron
Workplaces: 350
Number of floors: 2 basement floors
6 upper floors
Building footprint: 3.190 m2
Gross floor area: 27,470 m2
