Best Workspaces 2023

Besides the size of an object, the form is also a decisive aspect of expression and effect. Here we are dealing with an architecture that sensed the necessity of the one and effectively implemented the other. The “GE Additive Lichtenfels 3D Campus” realized for General Electric covers approximately 42,300 square meters, on which a versatile program of functions had to be distributed.

The elegantly stretched and thoroughly futuristic building complex, which now accommodates the international supplier of machines and systems technology for metal 3D printing, has impressive dimensions: 421 meters long and 22 meters high, which was dictated by the production specifications, but also by the number of workstations. After all, 450 employees are to be accommodated, with a maximum of 700. The space portfolio combined production, logistics, administration, showroom, powerhouse, laboratory, restaurant and gate. SCHMELZLE+PARTNER architects positioned the administration wing in a V-shape in front of the west end of the industrial hall and, with its effective aesthetics, gave the company location a noble high-tech character.

Office and cultural space and an exhibition

The façade structure of the two office floors sitting strikingly above a high base floor with the three narrow lines of the floor slabs and the building roof skillfully emphasizes the horizontal, the all-round complete glazing communicates self-confident transparency, the top of the complex is as it were a staged signal of the entrance and the company dynamics. The triangular auditorium at the top of the campus cantilevers over the reception area and houses a glazed meeting and media room with a wide view over the landscape. The office areas follow the open-office principle, which can be flexibly separated, intermediate room boxes allow differentiated work processes, and plant installations have a climatic effect. For the surfaces, the designers opted for tonal earth colors and materials such as wood, leather and copper.

Finally, the building was equipped with an exhibition presenting the company’s history and manufacturing processes. It was realized in the form of black, high-gloss and sharp-edged monoliths, which are now available next to the triangular reception desk and the comfortable seating groups in the campus foyer, which was specially dimensioned for this purpose.