a brief description of the building
client: credit suisse
facilities for administration, production, storage, research and
development
gross floor surface: 6'000 m2
built volume: 28'000 m3
average costs per square meter: 2'240 CHF (incl. clean room)
average costs per cubic meter: 470 CHF (incl. clean room)
situation
kyphon, the American
company in medical technologies, was
looking for an additional production location to the headquarter in
Sunnyvale (ca/usa). neuchâtel was chosen, where credit suisse
was to erect a new building fulfilling kyphon's needs.
the available land is relatively small and shows a considerable
inclination. furthermore running leasing contracts didn't allow to tear
down all existing premises. In addition pipes and wiring (sewerage and
neuchâtel's main power supply) had to be displaced.
the demands on building and personal security made by kyphon and
insurance companies have been very high. for instance, therefore a
redundant supply for building services in cases of an emergency had to
be planned.
the preparation stage was extraordinary, when different sites had to be
evaluated. the architecture firm mühlemann + partner was
charged with presenting a feasibility study and an idea sketch with
costs and time schedule within four days. on the basis of the results
the principle decision has been made for the site in
neuchâtel.
budget and time schedule allowance were extraordinarily ambitious. a
functionally flexible building had to be designed, in particular
concerning possibilities of extension and conversion. both aspects are
taken into account by mühlemann + partner in each of their
projects.
solution
the structure is divided
in two wings with a green roof which
allows the retention of rain water. in the northern wing towards the
Jura mountains all sectors of providing use are arranged: entrance
hall, personal lift, stairways, building services, ducts, etc. In the
southern wing no specified areas are deranging the flexible use.
furthermore, the construction system allows wide distances between the
pillars which adds value to the given space.
on the ground floor rooms for research and storage as well as the
arrival are situated. chemical substances are stored in an annexe. the
transformer and emergency power supply are built into the ground. on
the first floor are the production rooms (clean rooms) and on the
northern side the customers' entrance is located. administration and
meeting rooms as well as the cafeteria are situated on the second floor.
by an extension of one storey the expandability is largely prepared. In
addition there is the possibility to build an annexe laterally in
western direction where the existing building is to be torn down by the
end of 2007.
the architectural design is based on a closed volume which on the
northern side is divided by a continuous glass façade in the
middle section. this gives the impression of open sliding doors at the
customers' entrance. the message of transparency which is transported
by this corresponds with the company's business philosophy. the
visitors arrive from the east where kyphon's big logo on the corrugated
aluminium sheeting elevation is visible from far away and signalises
the place. the logo represents an abstract spinal column and thus the
main activities that take place here.
the entrance hall is open up to the second floor. In the void there are
two suspended cubes in the company's colours containing bathrooms.
viewed from outside through the glazed façade these cubes
set an additional creative accent.
the southern wing's elevation is horizontally structured. on the ground
and first floor a traditional industrial construction was chosen with
bands of windows and sun blinds. on the second floor – the
administration's area – there is a fully glazed
façade. the suspended big canopy on the south side sets
additional creative accents. on the east and west metallic fins have
been attached, which also structure the elevation.
an open space conception was realised in the administration's area.
there are fully glazed boxes for conferences. the "oval office" is
situated in the centre – a big, glazed, oval meeting room. a
big lounge zone is situated in front of the offices for informal
meetings. in the west as well as in the east there are two broad
courtyards which serve both as outside lounges and as daylight sources.
therewith – in spite of the building's depth –
natural light is provided everywhere. In the west the cafeteria is
attached to the courtyard. high attention was paid to the design of the
lounge zones and meeting rooms. they support the company's
communication culture in every day's life.
the construction costs were kept within budget. Due to a rigid project
management the ambitious time schedule was extremely undercut. kyphon
can completely move into the building already in july 2007 instead of
the end of 2007.
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