New Office and Production building / Burckhardt + Partner

May 27, 2013

Architects: Burckhardt + Partner
Year: 2012
photographs: Hansueli Schärer

Text description provided by the architects. The decision to bring the various sites together under one roof paved the way for the new Sputnik Engineering AG production and administration building in Biel. Burckhardt+Partner AG won the invited competition in the year 2009.

The dimensions of the new building, with a length of around 132 m, a width of about 90 m and a built-over area of 11,800 m², are not everyday dimensions and provide space for up to 500 staff. The construction method, with prefabricated elements in concrete, steel and wood, enabled this substantial construction volume to be realized in around 14 months.

The spacious lobby, which can be used as an exhibition space, the staff restaurant, the production rooms and the storage rooms are situated on the two-story first floor. High flexibility regarding the positioning of production lines is guaranteed, thanks to the open floor plan. The office wings on the two upper floors are arranged around a greened interior courtyard and interconnected by a communication zone. The open-plan offices are divided into zones by office cubicles which can be used as individual offices or as meeting rooms.

The continuous wooden facade joins the building's various usable spaces to form a unit. It makes a substantial contribution to the sustainability of this office and production building, while discreetly contrasting with the surrounding buildings in this industrial area. In this Minergie-certified new building, environmental compatibility and energy efficiency play a key role: the electricity consumption is completely covered by renewable energies, including a significant portion covered by the photovoltaic system on the roof.