ARCHELLO YOUR CONNECTION WITH ARCHITECTURE

The Vollack Group of Companies is a building services company active Europe-wide with a new head office in Karlsruhe. Vollack now shows the underlying vision and mission in its own corporate architecture, FORUM 1: Advance through sustainability. This is the key concept that recognises ecologically and socially responsible action as an economic determinant.

The energy concept is demonstratively ecological:
Heat/cold are produced by means of geothermal brine pumps, generating 100% cold and 75% heat – with only the supplementary 25% of heat being generated by gas boiler. Power is additionally obtained through three photovoltaic sails. These are located in the surrounding orchard as a visible symbol of the corporate social responsibility pursued.

A futuristic quality workplace is backed up in parallel by the idea of social sustainability. Large glass frontages and ramp-type connections between the individual working levels generate a high degree of flowing communication and identity-creating community. Acoustically and visual disruption that would upset this open overall picture – such as meeting rooms, pantries, WCs – are installed behind a fair-faced concrete wall.

A 250-meter red carpet receives employees and visitors on entering the building. Fair-faced concrete walls offer six-storey space for modern works of art, along this steadily rising path fitted with carpet tiles, running in a zig-zag from level 0, the entrance, up to level 10, the sky lounge. Carpet tiles from the manufacturer Interface were used for this – as for all other areas – continuously combining ecological social and economic benefits.

The greatest added value of a carpet tile is the ease with which it is laid and replaced. Thanks to their loose-laying on a "non-slip" fixative, carpet tiles can be removed at any time and can be replaced or partially cleaned with a minimum of energy and cost. This will in future save Vollack up to 80% of otherwise customary renewal expense, as only the actually worn places need to be renewed. Staff do not even encounter disruptive idle time for renovations. In addition, laying carpet tiles means far less waste than with traditional floor covering solutions, which spares the environment to an exemplary degree. All materials used contain recycled yarn, up to 52% in the backing and up to 35% in the yarn itself. This high profitability, durability and environmental compatibility of Interface carpet tiles now form part of the Vollack philosophy pursued.