Hybridgebäude Brodbeck
An existing complex comprising a maintenance yard, workshops, and office buildings is being expanded with a hybrid structure combining offices and a parking garage. The site is defined by the containers, machinery, and building materials required for road and building construction.
Construction — a craft-based activity — relies on tools that have evolved specifically over centuries. Their most significant and striking quality is their utility. The architectural language draws inspiration from the formal logic of these ubiquitous on-site objects, positioning itself primarily as a tool — not one used to alter a workpiece, as is typical, but one that serves as a background for the activities taking place within. Cars and office spaces alike find their place within this framework, like in an oversized shelving unit.
The design thus extends the robust structures of its surroundings, expressed through stacked concrete elements on the façade; their raw surfaces and pragmatic, industrial joinery pay homage to structural shell construction — the client’s field of expertise.
Parking spaces spanning four levels provide infrastructure for employees while also allowing for future material and machinery storage. The upper-level façade is set back to create a continuous outdoor area, offering shading as well as visual connections to the landscape and the adjacent maintenance yard.
Arranging the offices along the perimeter frees up space for a central courtyard, which accommodates public-facing functions such as the reception, kitchen, meeting rooms, and flexible open workspaces. Concrete is left exposed wherever possible, defining the raw character of the interiors.
At once flexible and robust, the building performs its function, prioritises utility, and achieves a distinct aesthetic identity through structural clarity.
