SIE Headquarter
One of the key factors of SIE’s success is a flat hierarchy. This is particularly true of the relationship between development [management] and production.
The design of the project responds to the unbiased position aspired to by the individual divisions of the company with a neutral, vertical stratification. The building is not divided into an office and a workshop wing, but rather layered into multi-use levels. The resulting, nearly cube-shaped volume keeps the internal passages as short as possible. A spacious ramp guides visitors to the entrance level, which also serves as the shipping and receiving area. Along vertical, glass circulation elements visitors are led through the introverted storage level on the first floor to the production and development levels above. A cafeteria situated amidst the production and development level should act as a family-like meeting place for everyone. All of the work stations have a spacious view of the surrounding landscape of the Rhine Valley, and balcony-like elements reinforce this relation to nature. Controlled ventilation plus cooling and comfortable shading guarantee just the right room climate for every division. The material language of the building is reduced to exposed concrete, aluminium and glass.
