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| Client | Komax AG |
| Commission | Study competition on invitation 2015 |
| Planning | 2015–2017 |
| Construction | 2017–2020 |
| Architects | Graber & Steiger Architekten, Project Architect: Urs Schmid |
| Consultants | Project Manager: Büro für Bauökonomie, Structural engineer: Dr. Schwartz Consulting, Mechanical Engineer: Peter Berchtold Engineering, Electrical Engineer: Scherler AG, Façade engineering: Metallprojekt GmbH, Fire protection engineering: Swissi, Building physicist: RSP AG |
As one of the first production buildings in Switzerland designed consistently vertical and according to the premises of Industry 4.0, the extention of the headquarters of Komax AG exemplifies how the imperative for an indispensable densification can also be implemented in industrial sites.
Research, production and administration are united under one roof on 6 vertically stacked platforms, which significantly promotes the informal transfer of know-how. Thanks to a permeable spatial concept, flat operational hierarchies can develop across floors and increase productivity. The usual distinction between production and office floor has been abolished, and everything can take place independently of the floor. The spatial concept, the load-bearing structure and the circulation concept meet the current requirements of a contemporary production facility and have the necessary flexibility for future changes of processes.
The building is designed as a holistic system to increase sustainability. In addition to the space-creating, tree-like structure, a technology-free, walkable façade contributes significantly to this.The "Verandas" have multiple uses as sunshades, outdoor lounges and escape routes. The customised "Brises-Soleil" optimally balance shading and daylight supply without the use of technology. The production of thr high-tech products by Komax AG which is active in mechanical engineering, finds a contemporary home in a low-tech architecture.

What began as a study 10 years ago can now finally be experienced as built spaces in Lucerne's Bramberg neighbourhood.
The slender, sculpturally modelled apartment building, which has replaced a dilapidated smaller residential building, makes use of the narrow plot in a densified manner, in keeping with the signed of our times but without creating a spatial constriction in the green neighbourhood structure.
The staggered volume and the customised flats inscribed in it thematise urban living through a variation of different flat types and well-proportioned, well-lit rooms. Generous windows and loggias open up views to the porous neighbourhood pattern, across the city of Lucerne and into the surrounding countryside with its hills, mountains and lakes.
In reference to the historic brick buildings specific to the neighbourhood, which rise upwards on existing garden-like plots, the new building has a vertically structured brick façade that subtly regulates views. The tectonics of the façade creates a lively interplay of light and shadow and makes principals of construction playful visible. While the pillars built on site are constructed in a horizontal masonry bond, the prefabricated parapet elements have a vertical, linear brick cladding.