Wiel Arets Architects

Schwäbisch Media . Ravensburg

Wiel Arets Architects . photos: © Jan Bitter . + baunetz

The The several diverse and distinct media types that make up the Schwäbisch Media are housed in one building in Ravensburg, which is the economic center of Upper Swabia.

The six working groups are housed in separate glass-walled office cubes, whose proportions and dimensions are based on urban villas, and which are disposed on the several plots so as to integrate with the surrounding historic context. At the ground floor, housing café, conference and event center, and walled gardens, the six office cubes are interconnected and joined by a transparent glazed outer membrane. This glass membrane wraps interior and exterior spaces, both imparting a singular identity to the project as well as allowing the individual buildings to be distinguished, producing an ambiguous and fluctuating spatial interpretation. The large structure is perceived as both several individual buildings, sharing a common enclosing skin, and one continuous diaphanous urban enclosure, interweaving interior and exterior spaces. For those working in the building, the smaller areas of each working unit allow a sense of place and comfort, giving a domestic character to the experience of inhabitation.

Completion
June 2013
Project Team
Wiel Arets, Bettina
Kraus, Carsten
Hilgendorf, Uta Böcker,
Tobias Gehrke, Ramón
Alvarez-Roa, Ole Hallier,
Sjoerd Wilbers
Collaborators
Janosch Welzien,
Jasper Stevens, Martin
Tessarz, Tobias Bam-
berg, Steffen Winkler,
Carlatta Giacomin
Client
Schwäbischer Verlag
GmbH & Co. KG
Consultants
ABT, Eicher + Pauli,
Winter·lngenieure