The existing defines the structures
Kreissparkasse Ludwigsburg is getting a new headquarters - right in the baroque city center of Ludwigsburg. The challenge is to create a building solution for workplaces for over 800 employees that harmoniously integrates into the environment of three to four-story individual buildings.
In terms of urban planning, the design by KBK Architects follows the inner-city construction style, breaking down the large building volume into individual houses. Lined up along a generous access axis, the office blocks alternate with differently designed inner courtyards. The extension building also aligns with the existing structures: predominant in the surroundings are travertine and brick, which the new building incorporates with materials like stone and concrete. The planners adopt the structure of the brick masonry, characterized by elongated rectangles, as a fundamental principle and repeat it in various motifs.
Ship deck parquet on the wall
The multi-story access axis, which repeatedly expands into lounging areas and inner courtyards, as well as all vertical access points, clearly stand out as traffic areas: The floors are in stone and the walls in exposed concrete. Thus, exposed concrete becomes a characteristic feature of the circulation paths throughout the entire building, extending out into the inner courtyards. The circulation spaces are thus generous and robust at the same time. What is striking about the concrete surfaces is the distinctive texture, associated by the architects with "ship deck". The appealing structure incorporates the recurring brick motif and turns it vertically: Long formats with wood texture protrude and recede on the surface by up to 4 mm, with a maximum offset of 8 mm. Even from the glass elevators, one looks onto the shaft walls made of textured concrete.
For the realization of the ship deck parquet in concrete, NOE developed a polyurethane textured formliner to provide the construction company with a simple and efficient tool. With this, the client was able to create an authentic pattern that quickly convinced all parties involved of the impact and quality of the exposed concrete structure. Using the formliner, it was straightforward to create all exposed concrete surfaces, both indoors and outdoors, swiftly and with high quality. The project manager and client are extremely impressed with the consistently high quality and the results. They are delighted because, for the first time after completion, there was no debate about the execution or the outcome. Visitors and employees alike find the concrete structure pleasant and admire the clean work. The structured exposed concrete walls create varying impressions due to the building's opening to different directions and resulting lighting conditions.
