Best Office Award for SOLON.
The SOLON Energy GmbH headquarters in Berlin-Adlershof will be awarded the ‘Best Office 2010’ award by Wirtschaftswoche and Orgatec in Cologne on October 28. SOLON, architect Heinrich Schulte-Frohlinde and designers Sandra Pauquet and Isabelle Baudry receive the accolade for their work on the building, which was constructed in 2008 and represents an entirely new kind of office environment.
The jury honors us for the brave step of creating an environment for the new administration, production and research headquarters that both promotes well-being and harmonizes with nature. It also serves as a test laboratory for advances in solar and battery storage technology.
In this way, SOLON has created a building with communication and flexibility as defining elements. The workstations are distributed over four largely open floors. The few partitions are made of glass. Employees converse in kitchen units, sitting areas and at bar tables, and new ideas are developed. Mobile electrical storage systems – the so-called e-shuttles – and the comprehensive wireless LAN system allow work in variable teams, in quiet areas like bubble chairs and specially created alcoves, or on the green roof.
The energy concept is also unique: The SOLON headquarters uses only one-fourth the energy of a comparable building. Timber, glass and steel are the defining materials for the ensemble housing production and administration, with its downwardly sweeping green roof and curved silhouette. Integrated in the facade are external solar shading devices, triple-glazed high insulation windows, heaters and acoustic elements. On the accessible roof, a photovoltaic system with a 210 kWp output generates electricity. A number of courtyards maximize natural lighting. Water pipes have been integrated in the concrete ceilings to provide energy-saving heating and cooling – so-called concrete core activation. Staff members are able to control the ventilation, heating and lighting themselves. Intelligent, computer-based building technology monitors consumption.
The award will be presented on October 28, 2010 at this year’s Orgatec, the leading international trade fair for Office & Object, in Cologne.
