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BÜRO UND VERWALTUNG • OFFICE BUILDINGS INNERE WERTE • INNER VALUES

Eine skulpturale Treppe verbindet Alt- und Neubau. • A sculptural staircase connects the old and new buildings.

In der Villa sind lichte Räume mit hellem Holzboden entstanden. • Bright rooms with light-coloured wooden floors Fliesenboden harmoniert mit Einbauschränken. • Tiled floor harmonizes with built-in cupboards.

W hen the villa was built in the typical Wilhelminian style in 1928 by architect bold yet cautious approach to the site and the existing buildings. The new building
was to stand for the step into the future with an independent architectural language,
Fritz Stutzkeitski, it was located directly next to the new building of the former
production facility of the Schalksmühle switch manufacturer Albrecht Jung. The up- while at the same time interacting with the existing building. As part of the refurbish-
and-coming company had moved into this building a year earlier after the temporary ment, the villa was respectfully remodelled for its future use and largely restored to
production facilities in a school building and a nearby greenhouse had become too its original historical state. Changes made in recent decades were removed and the
small. The villa sat majestically on a hill above the production site and served as the original window layout was restored. The interior design of the ground floor – which
Jung family’s private residence for three generations. Production and administration mainly houses new reception and meeting rooms – has a decidedly timeless feel with
were relocated a few kilometres away in the mid-1970s, but the villa remained the light wooden floors, a coordinated colour scheme, minimalist details and flush furni-
family residence until 2015. Instead of selling it, Harald Jung and the partners decided ture fittings. Further offices are located on the upper floor of the villa and two flats on
to give the building a new and modern use in the future, closely linked to the com- the top floor. Underpinning the basement and partially adding a new storey allows the
pany even without being directly adjacent to the production site. The new building new building to be seamlessly connected to the villa. The floor slab of the extension
concept by competition winners Philipp Nehse and Patrick Gerstein from Hanover is five and a half metres below the ground floor level of the villa. The simple new
strengthens the identity of the site by freeing up the existing villa and adding a con- building is connected to the old building via a sculptural, multi-curved steel staircase.
temporary extension embedded in the grounds. The building technology is based on With its cassette roof, exposed concrete and glass, the new building stands out clearly
renewable energies, responsible use of resources and the use of technology reduced from the villa. The spatial atmosphere in the “counter hall” is largely determined by
to the bare essentials. In 2017, the company organized an open competition for archi- the creative power of the construction and material – the large column in the shape
tectural firms, which was aimed exclusively at young firms that had been founded no of an inverted pyramid on the east side of the event room supports the heavy con-
more than five years previously. In doing so, the company not only gave newcomers a crete roof. The planners at NGA have succeeded in creating an ensemble with as few
chance, but also opened itself up to new ideas with an open mind. A renowned jury resources as possible and a very clear architectural language, which now has both the
consisting of Peter Cachola Schmal from the DAM, the architects Sabine Keggenhoff, past and the future in mind in the style of the Jung company. It is hardly surprising
Jan Kleihues, Elke Reichel, Roger Riewe and Michael Schumacher selected the prize that a manufacturer such as Jung would install state-of-the-art technology. But none of
winner NGA Nehse & Gerstein Architekten from Hanover from 33 submissions for their these measures are arbitrary or the result of an extreme love of technology.

152 • AIT 10.2024