HUGO BOSS Box, Coldrerio
Creative bread basket
On the outside, it is the powerful statement of a global brand, and on the inside it opens up a maximum free space. Matteo Thun's HUGO BOSS box is a successful example of corporate architecture which - on the inside - actually keeps the promises made by the exterior.
Its core is a steel-concrete-wood structure comprising two underground car parking levels and three storeys above ground, with a total usable space of 10,000 square metres. The ground floor is home to lobbies and offices, while the two studio floors contain further offices and the creative studios. The eye-catching centrepiece is a facade made of rhombus-shaped interwoven larch panels which is placed like an upside-down bread basket over the building.
On its top, the building is covered with a membrane made of translucent, weatherproof fabric which shields the core of the building. At the same time, the woven wooden design visualises the global network working inside on the textiles and trends of tomorrow. It is also a grand gesture and homage to the site. "I take a lot of architectural inspiration from the Valser mountain farmers who have been using this wood for a long time", explains Thun.
The interior is a complete contrast, full of youthful dynamism. As the heart of HUGO BOSS keeps changing its rhythm, the body of the building has to follow suit. The floor plan has to be able to change within 24 hours. All three of the overground storeys are designed as flexible and clear open-space offices. Anyone who works here cannot avoid bumping into colleagues; but anyone who needs space can withdraw into one of the glass-walled brainstorming offices. Sound-absorbing ceiling elements, a heating system which is integrated in the floor and replaces the air conditioning system as well as turning into a cooling system in the summer, and a clever lighting concept ensure that the employees at HUGO BOSS do not just work, but that they do so pleasant surroundings. This is also helped by the light atrium which breaks through the middle of the 33-metre deep cuboid and acts as a source of daylight and meeting point for employees.
The HUGO BOSS box has managed a balancing act where much other corporate architecture has failed: to clearly embody the values which distinguish the parent brand, but also to ensure that quality of work are not sacrificed in favour of brand-forming gestures. An attractive synonym for the building it controls: The Berker B.IQ combines creativity with smart technology. With the award-winning pushbutton unit, up to four EIB function elements can be combined to control intelligent buildings in extremely simple fashion.