tadao ando's weisenburger headquarters celebrates exposed concrete

the weisenburger group of companies moves into its new tadao ando-designed headquarters in karlsruhe, germany. while the star architect designed the workspace, the group — which specializes in construction and project development — built its own headquarters. the new-build provides 650 workstations and 15 meeting rooms spread across seven floors. an innovative working environment is being created, complemented by a cafeteria, a fitness studio, a roof terrace, and an open staircase in the inner courtyard. client and managing director nicolai weisenburger comments on the design: ‘the building is effective in its simplicity. concrete plays a key role as our main building material. reducing it to the essentials is simultaneously reflected in top efficiency. for us, straight lines and pragmatism are key.’

image © HGesch

tadao ando‘s design for the weisenburger headquarters were developed together with ‘archis,’ a local architecture firm. nicolai weisenburger describes the inception of the company’s collaboration: ‘in 2014 we first looked into working with ‘tadao ando architect & associates.’ we really wanted to realise this project which was extremely important to us with this architect in particular. a common concern of architect and client was to create an aesthetically valuable building that meets the latest technical standards, is energy efficient and so offers our employees the best working conditions.’

image © HGesch

tadao ando designs the weisenburger headquarters as a cubic volume which varies in height. on the street side, the building is seven stories tall. the top floor leads to the roof terrace through a gallery. the trapezoidal portico with the main entrance is located in the west wing. meanwhile, the side wings are four stories tall — the building is one story shorter on the north side. the building will blend harmoniously into its surroundings with vertical plantings along the wide overhang and green roof surfaces planned in future.

image © roland halbe

the team builds the workspace of concrete to ensure that the structure is stable and durable. still, the glass facade and its structure give the building a light and transparent feel. large expanses of glass panels and exposed concrete complete the building. a total of 32,228 anchor holes were made. the exposed concrete is produced using a special formula — on the one hand, the surfaces feel silky smooth, and on the other hand, they end with sharp edges. architectural highlights include the large open staircase in the inner courtyard and the cantilevered concrete staircases in the foyer and ‘skylounge.’ a truss construction in exposed concrete on the second floor supports the cantilevered building element of the five floors above with remarkable precision. the supports are not only there for reasons of static load, they fulfil the highest aesthetic demands with their straight alignment.

image © roland halbe