GOTZ HEADQUARTERS

Wurzburg, Germany

1993-1995

Webler + Geissler Architekten

At first glance, the Gotz building, the headquarters of a curtain-wall manufacturer, looks like a hermetically sealed and air-conditioned glass box, the most simplistic of building types that is typical of locations like this suburban industrial park site. Closer inspection shows it to be highly sophisticated in its carefully coordinated energy-saving strategies. The all-glass wall, adopted to admit maximum daylight, proves to be two skins of double glazing separated by a two-foot gap. Bringing more light into the center of the 133 x 133 foot block is a glass-roofed atrium. Adjustable flaps opening to the outside at the top and bottom of the cavity between the glass walls, sliding doors and pivoting fanlights in the inner glass skin and motors that raise and slide aside the glass roof of the atrium are all used to adjust ventilation. Pivoting sunshades over the atrium roof control the admission of direct sunlight, while Venetian blinds in the wall cavity can be adjusted to admit or exclude direct sun, reflect it deep into the building or absorb its heat to warm the cavity. Fans in the corners of the cavity switch on to redistribute the warm air from the sunny to shaded faces of the building. All of these are adjusted to suit the season and time of day. The building's many complementary heating, cooling, and ventilating systems are precisely coordinated by the building management system. 250 sensors monitor a wide range of conditions measured throughout the interior, and also outside the building, and a computer compares these, using fuzzy logic and neural network systems, with past situations and the responses then made which are stored in its memory. In this way the building management system predicts with increasing accuracy how to best prepare the building to meet these conditions while providing optimal comfort conditions with minimal energy expenditure. Yet these sophisticated systems account for only part the building's significance and pleasantness as a workplace. Unlike so many glass boxes, this one is not only energy-efficient but also delivers inside the promise of abundant light, space and transparency. The generous ceiling heights and column spacings, minimalist detail and all-glass partitions and balustrades which almost disappear, all contribute immensely to these qualities. Adding a further dimension is the atrium, the visual and social focus of the building, with its planting and pool. Shades of green: Low energy/high performance; replenishable sources; long life, loose fit; life cycle costing; health and happiness; community and connection

[photo credits: 1, Andreas Lauble; 2, Roland Halbe; 3, Roland Halbe]