Office and production ADVA

The site is part of an industrial estate situated on the outskirts of Meiningen in Thuringia, Germany. The initial design of the project is the winning entry from an architectural competition initiated in 1998. The first construction stage was finished after a construction time of only 9 months in December 2000 and the second construction stage was also finished after 9 months construction period in December 2006.

The architectural concept, established in the competition design, was further developed and specified in the design and planning process according to the clear and pragmatic factors and circumstances of the project without submitting it to them. The proposed building structure directly responds to the requirements of contemporary production process as well as to the vital objective of creating high quality workspace. The building is comprised of modules. Three blocks and two intervals mark the first building phase. A two-storey high extension with courtyards complements the existing construction. The steel frame structure of the first building was extended respectively to the south with a concrete structure that appears analogue in the surface but different in it’s partitioning.

The production and processing facilities literally form the base of the building and develop from within the slope out towards the open landscape with a distant view across the fields of Meiningen. The main entrance is on the upper level, where the conference rooms and other shared spaces are located and the office fingers are joined by an orthogonal bridge. From this side the building appears to be single-storey. Views through the double-height space into the landscape open up and the lucid building pattern becomes “transparent” at once. The service yard is accessible at ground level from the South with no interference of the main entrance.

Functional areas are organised and related to one another to facilitate effortless communication. Manufacturing and administration take place under one roof and are almost casually linked with one another without interference. Mainly glass-partitions provide acoustic separation but do not limit visual connections which contribute essentially to the light atmosphere of the spacious working environment. Thus, the process of teamwork throughout the company is encouraged. This theme is a central part of the pronounced working culture of ADVA AG and finds its unpretentious expression in the patterns materialised in the building as part of their corporate identity. Illumination of the working-places is solved in different ways: the significant roof-elements of the first stage generate daylight conditions throughout the building, giving the space a certain rhythm. In the second stage courtyards give light to the dense structure. The deliberately restricted use of materials, the literal transparency together with the light and friendly colours provide the scenery for an innovation-driven, team-oriented and optimistic working environment.

Client
ADVA AG Optical Networking

Architecture
Kauffmann Theilig & Partner
Ostfildern

Project management
Armin Fiess, Marco Ossmann

Project architects
Ralf Pfeiffer, Christian Übele, Ralf Müller

Supervision
KTP mit Liebert & Vogt
Stuttgart

Project control
Drees & Sommer
München

Landscape architecture
Luz Landschaftsarchitektur
Stuttgart

Structural planning
Pfefferkorn Ingenieure
Stuttgart

HVAC planning
Schreiber Ingenieure
Ulm

Electro planning
Werner Schwarz
Stuttgart
IG Lomb Consult
Suhl

Building physics
Horstmann + Berger
Altensteig

Fire safety
Halfkann + Kirchner
Erkelenz

Building costs total
10,2 Mio. €

Buidling costs KG 3+4
7,0 Mio. €

BGF
8.840 m²

BRI
38.200 m³

Work phases acc. to HOAI
1 - 9

Competition
1st prize 10/1998

Planning start
11/2005, 08/1999

Construction start
04/2006, 03/2000

Construction completion
11/2006, 12/2000

Awards
Deutscher Stahlbaupreis 2002, Auszeichnung
Office of the Year Award 2001, Auszeichnung
Deutscher Verzinkerpreis 2003, 2. Preis
dp3d-Award Marketing-Preis 2006, Gewinner