Competition Ningbo Tower

Ningbo, China

Ningbo, located about 200 km south of Shanghai, is historically shaped by Chinese tradition, British colonial rule, and recent engagement with the political West. The urban traces of this history are evident in the juxtaposition of different building typologies.

Our client, the leading privately organized company for educational materials in China and a private school operator, requires a new headquarters. The project involves 10,000 square meters of office space and 25,000 square meters of retail space, to be developed at the intersection of the colonial city edge and contemporary Chinese urban development of the past twenty years.

The corporate culture focuses on traditional values and natural resources. Consequently, we proposed a building with a rational structural system and flexible floor plan organization. The façade is an artificial representation of a stone or rock, reflecting the company’s culture. It is constructed from pigmented reinforced concrete and features box windows inserted at regular intervals.

The energy concept integrates geothermal and waste heat from the shopping center in the three podium levels, as well as from the office floors, combined with component activation. This approach allows for a single-layer concrete skin with minimal weight, simplifying connection points. As a result, the extension of multi-story façade sections beyond the regular façade plane is easily achievable.

Concrete Office Retail Steel

Data

Competition

2005

Address

315000 Ningbo,
Provinz Zhejiang
China

Awarding Authority

Privat

Olpe 39

Dortmund

The district at the Ostwallmuseum, in its current form, emerged at the beginning of the 20th century within the historic city wall ring. Since then, it has been characterized by residential space mixed intensively with small retail areas. This allowed a suburban environment to develop immediately adjacent to the city center, which gained regional significance primarily due to its gastronomic diversity from the 1960s to the 1990s.

At this inner-city location, the lifespan of a building is determined by its ability to flexibly respond to changing uses and requirements.

With this in mind, "Olpe 39" is based on the concept of storage (storage system/virtual storage/stacked urban space).

The facade translates this idea into a "Macro-Chip": it signals different synapses in the form of differentiated glass panels, which are either transparent or translucent. The interior-exterior visual relationship is focused through translucent facade sections—the external space, park, and trees shape the view outside and are integrated into the building's interior. They fill the view (unobstructed by facade profiles, safety barriers, ventilation flaps, or radiators). The view remains unobstructed.

Concrete Glass Living Office

Data

Completion

2002

Address

Olpe 39
44135 Dortmund

Client

HBP Grundstücksverwaltung GbR mbH Dortmund

Friedrich-List-Platz

Leipzig

The first reinforced concrete building in Leipzig housed the "Leipziger Textil Center" (LTC) until 1996. The usage was discontinued in favor of high-density development on this site at the edge of Leipzig’s city center. On approximately 57,000 square meters at the city’s edge, offices, shops, 120 apartments, and about 400 parking spaces were created.

The buildings were all constructed using in-situ concrete with round columns and flat slabs. The floor plans are flexible and can be divided into units starting from 150 square meters. All surface water is collected and directed into ponds located in the three courtyards.

Among the tenants are Leipzig-TV with offices, studios, and production spaces, a private school, and a number of medium-sized businesses.

Concrete Glass Office Steel

Awards

1. Prize
Appraisal Procedure

Data

Completion

2001

Address

Friedrich-List-Platz 1
04103 Leipzig
Germany

Client

Büll & Dr. Liedke
Hamburg

Janke Robotics Technologies

Düsseldorf

On the northern edge of the Düsseldorf/Cologne metropolitan area, near the international Düsseldorf Airport, the administrative and manufacturing building for Janke Roboterbau Technologien was constructed. The building was completed and put into operation in 2001. Janke is a rapidly expanding company in the field of robotics for foundries.

The functional structure of the building consists of an experimental hall, where various test configurations can be set up and operated, and an engineering and administrative section. Our goal was to create a very compact building that would facilitate short distances between the executing technology and planning. Additionally, the building footprint was to be minimized. The design also aimed to allow for a future expansion to double the building size with minimal disruption.

The structural framework is made from prefabricated reinforced concrete elements. The facades are extensively glazed to optimize natural lighting for all work areas. The sharply pitched roof of the administrative section drains onto the green roof of the experimental hall; from there, the water evaporates rather than being directed into the drainage system.

Concrete Office

Data

Completion

2001

Address

Borsigstraße 1
40880 Ratingen
Germany

Client

L. Janke GmbH

Plus Endoprothetik

Marl

The new building "Plus Endoprosthetics, Medical Technology" is designed as a double-wing structure. All offices and high-quality workspaces are oriented to the north side, while all storage and laboratory spaces are situated on the south side of the building.

The three-story building block and the 1-2 story hall are presented as a cohesive unit. They share a central main access point and create a compact exterior appearance. The halls have a cubic shape, and this favorable ratio between surface area and volume ensures a good energy balance.

The primary structure of the building block consists of steel/wood composite walls and prestressed hollow-core concrete slabs. Structural stabilization is provided by central cores. The primary structure of the hall areas is formed by steel columns, supporting glulam beams in the primary direction and trapezoidal sheets in the secondary direction. The stabilization is achieved through external diagonal braces made of round steel.

Prefabricated components made of steel, wood, and aluminum ensured a short construction time due to their high degree of prefabrication.

The facade is designed as a simple post-and-beam construction. It features double glazing and is equipped with external sun protection.

Hybrid Office Steel Wood

Data

Completion

1999

Address

Mainstraße 2
45768 Marl
Germany

Client

Plus Orthopedics AG

Ruhr-Lippe HQ Office

Dortmund

The new building complex is located on the site of the former district office in Hörde, between Wilhelm-van-Vloten-Straße to the south and Karl-Harr-Straße to the northeast.

The buildings of the "Ruhr-Lippe Project" are designed as an ensemble with a complex usage concept. The core of the program is an office building with approximately 6,800 m² of office space. This core function is accessed via a multifunctional foyer floor, which includes central information zones, exhibition spaces, and an event forum.

The site is characterized by a prominent topography that defines the urban space along its longitudinal axis, as well as by valuable, mature trees.

The terrain is accentuated by a new, single-story edge that cantilevers into the public space. This creates a platform on which the new buildings are freely arranged and connected by open spaces. The recessed ground floor leads visitors directly into the foyer of the main building. Between the different uses, an independent urban space with a high degree of recognizability is created.

Concrete Glass Office Steel