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Architects: StudioBoA, Waldburger + Partner
- Area: 4000 m²
- Year: 2023
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Photographs:Studio Gataric Fotografie
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Manufacturers: Laufen, Terrazzo tiles, Zumtobel
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Lead Architects: Martin Arnold, Pascal Waldburger
Text description provided by the architects. Waldburger+Partner and StudioBoA playfully incorporate products of the metal company. The Swiss architecture offices Waldburger+Partner and StudioBoA designed the new headquarters for the renowned Swiss metal company Aepli Invest AG in Gossau, Switzerland.
In addition to large-scale production halls, a new office building with approximately 4,000 m2 of functional space is being constructed. The openly flexible floor plan is surrounded by a glass facade that tapers from top to bottom. Projecting and recessed glass elements combine with folded metal elements to form a diamond-like structure, which is crowned by a laminated roof.
The goal was to use the company-designed glass panels Aepli Air control, which facilitates a double-skin façade technique. The space between the pre-glazing and the outer glass panel serves as a climate compensation buffer. It acts as a heat insulator during low temperatures and as a cooling insulator during high temperatures. The largest of the 154 facade elements boasts impressive dimensions of 6400x2950mm, weighing 2300kg.
The office spaces are predominantly designed as open spaces, with some individual offices also provided to accommodate the working style of Aepli Metallbau AG. In addition to a cafeteria, meeting rooms, seminar, and focus rooms, various outdoor areas also find their place, such as a large rooftop terrace for all employees. The sky lounge on the top floor also features a retreat space with its own garden.
Access to the different floors is provided by two interlocked staircases, with only one reaching all floors, while the second serves as an emergency staircase from the cafeteria level to the ground floor. The company has evolved into one of the leading and most modern facade construction companies in Europe.
