For 35 years, Sedorama, a subsidiary of the Brunner Group, has been marketing furniture for public buildings in Switzerland. As a result of its continuous growth, the concern has now demonstrated its presence by replacing its former seat in a farmhouse in the suburbs of Berne with a new headquarters building on a 6,000 m2 site in the middle of a commercial zone. The present structure is situated on a traffic junction, where the planners set it directly next to the motorway, thus allowing plenty of space for possible future extensions. Both long faces of the building are angled inwards in their length, lending this “industrial box” a more individual character. The oblique lines of the front facade are turned towards passing traffic, while the angled rear face may be seen as a welcoming gesture to visitors.
To comply with the wishes of the client for as large a display space as possible, despite the tight budget, the architects created an economical facade construction consisting of prefabricated sandwich panels. A second, dark outer skin of perforated trapezoidal-section sheet aluminium lends the building an almost textile-like appearance externally. Large showcase windows afford views of the interior, and a broad staircase provides access for visitors to the four-storey exhibition space with a presentation area of 550 m2. Here, too, the angled lines of the facades have an effect, making the space seem narrower than it really is. Cascading floor levels divide the building into two parts of roughly equal volume. The lower part, constructed in in-situ concrete, houses offices, stores and other spaces not open to the public.
To comply with the wishes of the client for as large a display space as possible, despite the tight budget, the architects created an economical facade construction consisting of prefabricated sandwich panels. A second, dark outer skin of perforated trapezoidal-section sheet aluminium lends the building an almost textile-like appearance externally. Large showcase windows afford views of the interior, and a broad staircase provides access for visitors to the four-storey exhibition space with a presentation area of 550 m2. Here, too, the angled lines of the facades have an effect, making the space seem narrower than it really is. Cascading floor levels divide the building into two parts of roughly equal volume. The lower part, constructed in in-situ concrete, houses offices, stores and other spaces not open to the public.