Ludloff Ludloff Architekten
ophelis exhibition hall
best architects 23
commercial/industrial buildings
Place
Bad Schönborn, Germany
Studio
Photos
Jan Bitter
Description
In an inhospitable industrial area on the southern
outskirts of Bad Schönborn, an exhibition hall has been built entirely of
timber for the furniture manufacturer ophelis. The exhibition space, which is
diffusely lit by a continuous band of skylights, deliberately excludes the
urban environment and creates its own artificial interior world. The building
is entered via a slowly ascending ramp that leads into an elongated conical
room. This entrance space gradually opens up and merges into the hall volume. The
roof of the exhibition hall is supported by seven slightly angled double
columns, with a treetop-like arrangement of press-glued wooden ribs strengthening
the cross laminated timber ceiling elements for a ceiling structure spanned in
multiple axes. Selectively arranged skylights cast shaded light through these
artificial treetops, creating an inner world that consciously evokes
associations with natural spaces. Not in a «white cube» but against this «atmospheric
background», the collections for our future working and living worlds are
presented. The adjoining meeting rooms are used both for the collective
exchange of information on product design, production, marketing and sales
among the staff and for in-depth discussions with customers.