spillmann echsle architekten

Description

On Labs houses workplaces for 1,000 employees in a 17-storey high-rise in Zurich West, one of the city's former industrial areas that has been attracting many urban entrepreneurs lately. The design, a collaboration between Spillmann Echsle, Specific Generic and the creative team at On, expands on the themes of the building designed by EM2N. Working in this triumvirate meant a deep engagement with the product itself, with sport and movement, as well as with the internalised company vision and corporate structure. Fine architectural nuances differentiate the various spaces. Exposed concrete stairs with a jagged underside connect the Lab to the many floors above. At the Lab, only a few openings in orange-tinted glass provide visitors with carefully orchestrated views into the research and development department. Above, the exposed concrete stairs in the tower area are curved, leading through the building by means of circular cut-outs of various sizes and creating a central reference to the movement inherent to the On brand. This circular motif is repeated in the round windows scattered across floors in meeting rooms and studios. The choreography of wide, inviting staircases tapering to gradually steeper stairs on the upper floors creates a reference to a mountain climb, which inspired the brand’s creation.