The new offices of Ziegler, a timber company running one of the largest sawmills in Europe, grow from the ground in a clearing, creating a play of light, shadow, and wood, resembling a log cabin. The building is made of natural wood inside and out, since this is the material that the company deals with every day. The architecture introduces the company, Ziegler’s working environment, products and philosophy to the public.
The building is located on the border between the forest and the production areas, at the highest point of the site. The idea uses the most characteristic product in the Ziegler product line, the 19m tall spruce tree trunk. The logs rise and wrap around the building like columns, while the wood, as a natural filter between inside and outside, can receive a fabric shading system, protecting the core, clad in a facade of glass, wood and metal. The two cubes are aligned in height leaving two yards between them, so that each employee has their own window.
This idea continues in the interior, where the woodworking becomes increasingly delicate and the building reveals all the further stages of wood processing, from the rough wood benches to the smooth wooden surfaces of the office furniture: wood is used in all its diversity in processing, type and color.
The new administration building is a construction of solid wood with CLT walls and ceilings and two circular staircases. There too, the goal was to consistently showcase wood as a building material and to find modern answers for its use.
In addition to the showroom, there are offices for about 120 employees, meeting rooms and an enclosed balcony, a staff restaurant and a guest kiosk, all connected by a wooden staircase.