Exemplum 27

75 74 T he Polish architectural scene has raised a lot of heads with exciting projects over the past few years: Some of the most recent exam- ples include the History Centre in Pozna (Ad Artis Architects); the Shakespeare Theatre in Gdańsk (Renato Rizzi), which won the 2017 Fritz Höger Prize; and the construction of the Philharmonic Hall in Szczecin (Barozzi Veiga), which was recognised with the renowned Mies van der Rohe Award in 2015, the highest prize in European architecture. The quality displayed by these examples is matched by the public library built in Rokietnica in 2017. Rokietnica is a small community undergo- ing rapid growth with 15,000 inhabitants, located around 20 kilometres to the north-west of Pozna . This three-storey, reinforced concrete cube structure was designed by Lab 3 Architekci, impressing with its clear and modern architectural language that has confidently established itself in the surroundings. One central element of its design is the sophisticated interplay of light brick façades and the large flush windows with thin black frames. The library building is further enhanced by its successful integration in the area and its diverse uti- lisation plan: In order to minimise walking distances for visitors and upgrade the newly developed area, the cube has a glass bridge that connects it directly to a multi-functional sports and cultural centre that was constructed a few years ago to the east of the building. The interior of the new building has 1,700 square metres of floor space, including a library with a reading hall, classrooms and administration areas on the first floor, and a small café and gallery on the ground floor. Technical rooms and archives can be found on the second floor. This combination of vari- ous functions has given the people of Rokietnica the completely new centre they were looking for. Despite its minimalistic architectural language, the new building has a completely different appear- ance from each angle: If you approach the building from the Sportowa access road, you’ll immediately notice its west-facing entrance front. This is where the planners have surprisingly chosen to create a floor-to-ceiling glazed ground floor with a foyer, above which the otherwise completely closed brick façade seems to float above the earth – it’s almost as though the architects have managed to suddenly suspend the laws of physics. On the south side of the building, the bright masonry façade is opened up with an elongated horizontal window segment on the first floor, creating a fluid transition from the inside to the outside. If you follow the course of the building round to the south-east, you’ll find another entrance with a small forecourt created by a recess. Project architect Dominik Banaszak explains the concept: “The sculp- turally designed spiral staircase creates an unusual access to the roof terrace, which can be used for things like stargazing”. The north and east façades of the new building are much more closed by compari- son. In these sections, the grey plastered concrete of the ground floor has been designed to contrast with the masonry above. The architects found it very important to select a suitable brick material for the outer façade. That’s why they opted for standard AARHUS white grey ceramic brick slips: “Given the urban surround- ings, we wanted to use pale brick slips with a clear texture”, states Dominik Banaszak. “We were looking for suitable hand-made bricks at first, but we ended up choosing Röben AARHUS brick slips due to their lower cost and moisture absorption”. These brick slips have a really pronounced texture and colour differentiation, and we were also impressed by their good physical properties for construction”. And the results are clear to see: The bright bricks with pale grey grouting highlight the new building’s modern appearance and make sure it fits nicely into the urban surroundings. I n the previous edition of EXEMPLUM, we pre- sented the new offices of the cooperative pension provider Pensionskasse westdeutscher Genos- senschaften VvaG on the Münster-Loddenheide business park. And now “Campus Münster” has been completed just a few metres to the east. This ensemble was also designed byWFD Derwald Pro- jektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG from Dortmund, integrating three separate buildings that enclose a grassy parking area. A new branch of Germany’s largest IT system house, Bechtle, has recently been built at the back of “Campus Münster”. The Neckarsulm-based company was founded in 1983, offering IT services and the direct sale of IT products. In order to optimally implement the spatial requirements of the branch and make the company’s technical expertise immediately recognis- able, the planners developed a slim yet high-quality new construction with a classic central corridor structure, providing 2,200 square metres of space across three floors. The building was designed byWFD Derwald Projektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG, and one of its striking features is the anthracite brick façade. Its elegantly detailed outer shell emphasises Bechtle’s innovative aspirations with a modern architectural flair. The dark brick cladding is interspersed with rows of elongated horizontal windows, offering exte- rior sun protection in the form of light grey, square- shaped sliding shutters that are arranged in three overlapping layers to allow the building’s external appearance to be changed at any time. The rails used for the sliding shutters and the outdoor gravel areas are designed to evoke associations with the disused railway that runs directly behind the building. Another characteristic feature of the architec- ture is its slightly recessed glass structure housing the main entrance and staircase. The back of this recess leads to a glazed extension that seems to twist out from the rest of the room at 45 degrees, giving employees an unusual roof terrace on the second floor with direct access to the communal areas. This also provides a view of the landscaped park to the north and the central pond in the “Loddenheide” building area. “On the inside, the twisting part of the building also creates an open gallery that links the reception area with the two upper floors”, explains project architect Thomas Pape. Red standard bricks had initially been planned for the development of the business park, but the cli- ent and planners chose Röben black-nuanced smooth FARO bricks instead. “The dark, anthracite façade cre- ates a certain feeling in the area and really goes well with the light grey shutters”, explains Thomas Pape. The modern character of the design was accentuated by using a long, slim 290 x 115 x 52 mm format, and by laying the façade in an offset running bond with dark grouting. This interplay creates a homogeneous piece of masonry that confidently blends in to its surround- ings without being overbearing. Reports e X emplum MAGAZIN FÜR KLINKERARCHITEKTUR O F F I C E B U I L D I N G M ü n s t e r ( G e r m a n y ) – Page 12 Planning: WFD Derwald Projektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG, Dortmund Processor: Rheder Klinker & Fassadenbau GmbH, Rhede (Germany) Röben clinker brick FARO black-nuanced, smooth, LDF Water absorption: approx. 2,5% L I B R A R Y I N R O K I E T N I C A P o z n a ń ( P o l a n d ) – Page 6 Planning: Lab 3 Architekci, Poznań (Poland) Processor: Zakład Produkcyjno-Handlowo-Usługowy Sławomir Lisiewicz from Stróżewo Röben ceramic thin brick slips AARHUS white-grey, NF Water absorption: approx. 3% THOMAS PAPE WFD Derwald Projektentwicklung GmbH & Co. KG “ T h e d a r k , a n t h r a c i t e f a ç a d e c r e a t e s a c e r t a i n f e e l i n g i n t h e a r e a a n d r e a l l y g o e s w e l l w i t h t h e l i g h t g r e y s h u t t e r s . ” DOMINIK BANASZAK Lab 3 Architekci “ G i v e n t h e u r b a n s u r r o u n d i n g s , w e w a n t e d t o u s e p a l e g r e y b r i c k s l i p s w i t h a c l e a r t e x t u r e . ” D e a r R e a d e r s , We h o p e y o u r e c o g n i s e u s ! But lots of other things have stayed the same, as we’re still going to use our magazine to present properties in Germany and abroad that have been built using our bricks and roof tiles. This time around, we’re particu- larly proud of the newMcDonald’s headquarters in Chicago, planned by the renowned Gensler Architects. The façades were designed using our blue-brindled AARHUS brick slips from our Westerwald plant. I was there myself in summer to watch the builders mount the pre-fabricated brick slip elements. Fascinating. Urban Mesh Design have created an extremely expressive detached house in London, giving it a black “sequinned façade”. This unusual pro- ject is characterised by the transition between Röben FARO black-nuanced bricks with a modular design – covered with polished stainless steel – and hand-made black-glazed bricks. The result is a shimmering façade that looks transparent in places, offering completely different views from each angle and in different types of weather. It’s pretty crazy and beautiful. The new headquarters of Manfred Löffler Bauunternehmen GmbH, planned by Ackermann and Raff in Stuttgart, also displays some sophisti- cated clinker architecture. Its characteristic façade was designed using rock-grey hand-formed GEESTBRAND bricks. And Röben white-grey ceramic brick slips shape the modern architectural appearance of the new library in the Polish community of Rokietnica, which was designed by Lab 3 Architekci in Pozna . The wide range of properties featured in this magazine proves once again that bricks (or clay roof tiles) offer almost unlimited design possibilities.We hope you like our selection of projects and look forward to hearing your opinion on our “new” EXEMPLUM. YOURS WILHELM-RENKE RÖBEN Please express your opinion and for our next edition, also introduce to us interesting projects from your practice. ˜ exemplum@roeben.com A round 25 years after the first edition of EXEMPLUM was released, we’ve given our architectural maga- zine a significant facelift with a new cover design, a colourful page layout, and interviews and office portraits in every issue. This gives the magazine an attractive look and provides additional information about our projects and the people behind them.