Schüco: Energy efficiency in vibrant colour - RAL Building, Bonn

Exciting building shape

Architectural practice Frank Piotrowski added a touch of fun to the west side of the new technology park “Am Mühlenbach”, with its strictly rectangular functional buildings, by designing a slightly curving building structure. The design therefore took inspiration from the adjacent spacious, natural flood plain which lends its name to the Mühlenbach business park. The tension between rectangular and rounded basic forms gave the newbuild the chance to develop unusual room configurations within the required space allocation.

The most heavily used and, due to its northern location, most difficult to utilise area of the building on Sankt Augustiner Straße was designed to be strictly orthogonal. Located there are the necessary underground car park, the main warehouse and the highly technological colour laboratories on the ground floor as well as an office atrium on the upper floor.

In this position, the warehouse space can be filled and emptied seamlessly without interruption. The windowless warehouse façade is also used as advertising space, with a white backlit logo making the new RAL institute headquarters visible and familiar.

The building depth has enabled the creation of a three-part office use concept on the upper floor, which turns into an atrium in the central area. The access corridors are also lit and visually enhanced. The management area there can be accessed separately via the staircase.