Office Headquarters EGK Gesundheitskasse

EGK's administration, which was previously spread across four locations in Laufen, will be united in a new building from summer 2021. The multi-storey building is located on Naustrasse between the train station and the right bank of the Birs.

A recess on the first floor of the rectangular volume marks the entrance. Circumferential canopies frame the closed parapets and structure the façade. The top floor is set back at various points.

Two cores, offset to the west and east, form the structural and organizational backbone. In the southern core, a curved staircase leads upwards. It opens up to a central meeting place on each floor.
A circumferential corridor provides access to the offices of different sizes arranged along the façade. Overheight areas create spatial connections between the upper floors. The top floor is dissolved in favor of outdoor spaces of varying widths. The entrance to the underground parking garage is deliberately set back from the ground as an erratic block.

The surfaces of the cores made of coarse thick clay plaster contrast with the parquet flooring in the corridors, the textile floor covering and the fine clay plaster of the walls in the offices.
Light enters the rooms through the large windows and continues into the corridor via glass walls with printed images of elaborately scanned medicinal herbs.
Different room heights define the different areas. The slightly lower ceiling of the corridor, clad with fine wooden slats, is followed by an exposed beam ceiling in the offices. The building services are visible and easily accessible between the beams in the form of heating and cooling ceilings. The energy required comes from existing sources. Energy is extracted from the groundwater via a well using a heat pump, which feeds the ceilings. A photovoltaic system supplies the necessary electricity.

From the standing seam profiles of the canopies to the panel division of the loggia and the arches of the pergola - the various components interlock with the precision of a piece of joinery. The way in which the timber structures are constructed is based on the rich treasure trove of local carpentry traditions.

The office building sees itself as a house for people; a gift to employees, customers and clients. The public square surrounded by herbs invites the public to linger.