When a firm uses the architecture of a production site to call attention to its brand, the chances are good that it will not become yet another of the anonymous “boxes” that malign industrial zones of urban peripheries worldwide. Tillich Architekten recognised the opportunity and designed an elegant building for a textile print company on Munich’s north side. Special regard should be paid to the “envelope”: geometric folded concrete panels give the block-like building massing a distinctive appearance.
The dark grey shimmering concrete, combined with oblique surfaces, creates an animated play of light and shadow. By adding iron oxide pigment to the concrete, a silky sheen was attained. Because the post-and-rail construction is concealed behind the concrete shell – and thanks to step glass – the vertical joints between the fixed glazing and operable sash are perceptible only as a seam, and the openings appear to be filled with nothing more than a pane of glass.
Although the details were carefully developed and executed, the architects managed to keep construction costs low. The prefabricated facade and the brief construction phase were important factors.
The dark grey shimmering concrete, combined with oblique surfaces, creates an animated play of light and shadow. By adding iron oxide pigment to the concrete, a silky sheen was attained. Because the post-and-rail construction is concealed behind the concrete shell – and thanks to step glass – the vertical joints between the fixed glazing and operable sash are perceptible only as a seam, and the openings appear to be filled with nothing more than a pane of glass.
Although the details were carefully developed and executed, the architects managed to keep construction costs low. The prefabricated facade and the brief construction phase were important factors.