Page 158 - AIT0418_E-Paper

BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS TECHNISCHER AUSBAU • TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

W e often perceive the interior of a building as a kind of “third skin”. This choice
of word makes the decisive influence clear which the interior has on our well-
being. When we consider that we spend about 90 percent of our lifetime in interiors, the
necessity of a healthy and comfortable indoor climate together with good, architectural
design becomes evident. With the help of the new DGNB certificate for interiors, since
July 1017 clients and architects have the chance to make planning- and product decisions
for structural and architectural qualities on a structured and assessable base and to have
their buildings certified. The wide range of criteria includes a verifiable spectrum of
aspects of sustainability. In the focus are criteria related to the human being which con-
sistently avoid any health impairment, actively promote the wellbeing and thus the effi-
ciency of the users and strengthen their corporate loyalty. Especially the sociocultural and
functional qualities such as the visual, thermal and acoustic comfort as well as the
indoor air quality have a considerable influence. The SparkassenHaus in Leer is one of
the first buildings whose interior was certified according to the new DGNB regulations.

Building and the interior received a DGNB Platinum Certificate

Wenn möglich, wurden Büro- durch Wohnmöbel ersetzt. • Office furniture was replaced by home furnishing. The new building had become necessary due to the merging of the Leer and the
Wittmund Sparkasse and the restructuring of the work processes associated with it. As
the result of a thorough site check, the decision was made to construct the building in
the centrally located Denkmalplatz in Leer. With our design, the building mass of 85,000
Zum Raumangebot gehört auch ein Restaurant-Bereich. • A restaurant is also part of the building.
square metres atypical of a small town is adapted to the local development. East-Frisian
peat-baked bricks anchor the new building in its region, modern glass details in its time.
The specifically developed box-type windows are examples of the high level of interdis-
ciplinary planning which is also assessed by the DGNB. The new construction was fur-
thermore designed as a commercial building accessible from all sides with a public
restaurant and an event area for 450 visitors. Besides the office with the customer hall
and the self-service zone, 44 distinctly designed consultation rooms reflect the
Sparkasse’s core business. In Sparkassen in many places, the requirements as to discre-
tion and confidentiality result in cubicle-office concepts and glass partitions with adhe-
sive foil in the consultation zones. In Leer, in contrast, the 250 employees have open
communication offices available to them. Complimenting these, privacy zones and pla-
ces for concentrated working were designed with different concepts as to lighting, ven-
tilation, acoustics, colour, materials and movement. In sum, this resulted in a high
acceptance among the employees. The management area was also planned as an open-
space office with a shared desk for all the executives.

The users’ wellbeing is always in the focus

To supply the inside of the SparkassenHaus with daylight, we divided the structure mea-
suring about 100 by 70 metres with two atriums filled with daylight. The surrounding
glass walls allow diverse visual connections between the customer hall, the consultati-
on- and board rooms, the communication offices as well as the centrally positioned dou-
ble staircase. The visual axes strengthen communication. They manifest the company
principles of transparency and community. When designing the interior, “genuine”, mea-
ning natural, materials and colours were used. They communicate a high degree auf
Grundriss Erdgeschoss • Ground floor plan
authenticity and recognisability. The proportion of individually designed furniture is
above-average high. Traditional solid-wood constructions defined the quality standard in
the whole building. Furniture produced in series, on the other hand, was adapted to the
design specifications and classic office furniture was often replaced with home furnis-
hing. The interior is overall very cosy and, at the same time, meets the highest standards
as to functionality, flexibility as well as comfort. The natural integration of a barrier-free,
movement- and health promoting design complemented the concept aiming for the ergo-
nomic office. The room concept reflects the diversity of human life and puts the users’
wellbeing into the focus. For the first time, the DGNB now offers a framework for certify-
ing these qualities based on concretely verifiable criteria. With this, many decisions can
be qualified and communicated in an understandable way. For the certification, we as
planners considered the DGNB system to be a management tool for quality control. In
this, the selection, processing and control as well as the documentation of all the mate-
rials and construction products played a central role as to how they meet the criteria of
sustainability. Not only in the planning process but also during and after the realization
of the project, all the participants have to provide specific proofs of this. Quality control
took place by testing which, as a consequence, may mean the failure of the certification.

158 • AIT 4.2018