Offenhausen, March 2009 - “a+f GmbH”, a subsidiary of the “GILDEMEISTER” group of companies, opened its centre of excellence in Würzburg at the beginning of this year. The centre is a perfect example of the dynamic field of business for which it was built, namely the development and marketing of industrial-scale technologies which help to make effective use of solar energy. The modern building reflects the company's environmental focus and therefore requires highly flexible and versatile furnishings. The “modul space” modular furniture system and the space-saving “human space” room-structuring system – both from Bosse Design – provided an ingenious solution to this challenge.

The Würzburg-based company “a+f GmbH” has been successfully involved in the field of mechanical and plant engineering for the past 25 years. As a subsidiary of the Bielefeld-based “GILDEMEISTER” group, the world's largest manufacturer of cutting machine tools, “a+f” benefits from its parent company’s know-how, expertise and worldwide service network.

Although the Würzburg-based company focuses on the strategic procurement of castings, steel and machine components, it is becoming increasingly involved in the development, planning, installation and servicing of open-air tracking systems for photovoltaic applications. The high level of growth in this field of business has prompted the company to set up a centre of excellence housing up to 100 modern workstations.

The new, four-storey company building designed by architects Roth + Haas, Eibelstadt, covers an area of approximately 1,400 square metres. As a so-called zero-energy building, it is able to produce all the energy it needs on site and is therefore totally independent of primary energy sources such as oil and gas. “No company that provides renewable energies should be burning fossil fuels in their own building,” said “a+f” Managing Director Thomas Petsch, describing the new, modern building which demanded equally modern furniture.

In order to ensure optimum air circulation within the building, all furniture must be around 17 cm off the ground. The cleverly-designed “modul space” range from Bosse Design provided an elegant solution to this visual challenge. The carcasses of the furniture system which recently received the “Gold Award” are mounted on suitably dimensioned chrome bases. As a result, they help to ensure that the offices – some of which are up to seven metres high – can be air-conditioned in the best way possible and without damaging the environment.

Optimum use of resources

The entire building is heated and cooled using a concrete-core climatic system. Pipes embedded in the ceilings, together with a ventilation system, ensure a pleasant and natural room climate. Thanks to its compact construction, good thermal insulation, glazed areas facing the sun (all of the offices have full access to daylight) and existing heat sources such as computers, lighting and people, the office building requires virtually no additional heating energy. Its remaining energy needs are met by a heat pump which extracts heat from the groundwater. The building’s own photovoltaic systems generate all the electricity the building needs. Figures provided by the company show that the office building saves around 50 tonnes of CO2 emissions every year by not relying on primary sources of energy.
The building saves additional energy thanks to a system which protects it from the heat in summer without the need for air conditioning and a flat “green” roof with rich vegetation. Its 72 square metre photovoltaic system integrated into the facade together with existing photovoltaic systems installed on a neighbouring site generate more energy than the new four-storey building with a net volume of around 9,500 cubic meters needs itself.

Ideal interaction between the building and furnishings

Thanks to the optimum use of natural heat sources alone, the “a+f GmbH” centre of excellence is almost exclusively made up of open-plan rooms – so-called open-space landscapes. Given that there are only a few acoustic surfaces in the form of decorative “ceiling sails” and no false floors in the classic sense, the furniture in the building must perform a number of additional functions. These include creating the necessary room zones, providing sound insulation and ensuring that any electrical wiring for the workstations is hidden from view.

Bosse Design, a brand of the Dauphin HumanDesign Group with its headquarters in Höxter/Stahle, proved to be the ideal partner to the architects responsible. With its classic “human space” range, it provided the perfect room-dividing solution. As part of the Dauphin Group’s portfolio, the Bosse Design brand name is synonymous with intelligent, space-saving room-structuring systems and the modular, design-oriented “modul space” furniture range. Thanks to their modular design and great versatility, both of these economical system solutions offer an aesthetically consistent way of dealing with the ongoing changes which take place in offices.

“As far as we are concerned, the centre of excellence is the perfect platform for demonstrating the advantages of both systems,” said Math Korsten, an interior designer at Bosse Design. The “human space” room-structuring system is used on all three office storeys. It subdivides the open-plan offices into zones and provides the necessary sound absorption thanks to its acoustic components. Any electrical wiring is incorporated – almost invisibly – into the Bosse furniture. The system therefore takes on many of the functions normally performed by the building itself. “human space” is also an integral part of the lighting system. Whilst the general building lighting system producing around 300 lux is integrated into the ceiling in the standard way, the “human space” modular lighting ensures that the necessary 500 lux is achieved at each workstation.

Bosse Design was involved in the new-building project very early on. It planned and provided all the furniture for the building, with the exception of the office seating and the managers' offices. Its products can be found in a range of settings including the reception and pantry area, the individual workstations in the open-plan, team and individual offices, and even the meeting and conference areas. The company also came up with the colour scheme and interior decor.

Math Korsten, the person at Bosse Design who was responsible for the project from the very beginning, explained: “The customer had asked for an understated interior design which would fit in with the largely bare, seven metre high concrete walls and ceilings, whilst at the same time reflecting the company's ecological way of thinking.” The Dutchman added: “That is why we chose predominantly neutral colours and high-quality materials, such as a hardwearing textile floor covering in anthracite, light-grey fronts for the furniture, silver-coloured panels, aluminium, chrome and glass. We also provided numerous highlights using high-quality wood veneers on the cupboard fronts or contrasting colours such as orange”.

The “modul space” range of modular furniture is manufactured entirely in Germany. With its excellent workmanship, its perfect appearance and its exacting design standards, it complemented the “human space” items, creating a consistent, timeless and high-quality interior environment which fits ideally into the overall architecture of the building. This opinion is shared by “a+f GmbH”. After all, the company went on to enlist Bosse Design to renovate its old office buildings.