The Timber Hat Building / rundzwei Architekten
Company headquarters and operating facility in timber construction – In an ordinary industrial park south of Stuttgart, rundzwei Architekten BDA have designed an unusual headquarters and operating facility in timber construction. The translucent, all-round canopy made of carbonized larch wood – the eponymous “wooden hat” – protects against the weather and gives the building its characteristic shape. “When a long-established family business builds anew, things don’t always have to stay the same.” (Architect Marc Dufour-Feronce) Hald & Grunewald specializes in the sale and rental of forklifts, telescopic handlers, work platforms, and container solutions. Training, maintenance, and repairs are also part of the offer. Around 90 employees work at the new main location in Ergenzingen, between Schönbuch, the northern Black Forest, and the Swabian Alb. The aim of the project was to bundle all the company’s functions in one location. At the beginning of the project, the architects analyzed and optimized the existing workflows together with the employees. The aim was to “rethink” the long-established family business, to question old structures, and to create a contemporary commercial building with optimal workflows and quality of space for all user groups.