Pivexin Technology Headquarter
A Holistic Façade for a Complex Building
Designed by MUS ARCHITECTS, the Pivexin Technology building in Babice, Poland is a simple but coherent and beautiful object created from a combination of different scales and functions. Central to the design concept is a dark façade with strategic use of solid versus glazed surfaces. Inside, the building is flooded with natural light.
Two Different Uses Within a Cuboidal Form
As the headquarters of Pivexin Technology, this project embraces a comprehensive number of uses as part of serving the different functions of the company. These uses include an office building with social facilities, along with a warehouse. A dominant feature in the landscape, the building is noticeable from the busy nearby Gliwicka Street and has become a landmark in the area.
Although the office and the warehouse serve very different functions, due to the company’s various activities it was necessary that the two uses be linked together. The architectural solution merges the structures and uses of both buildings into a coherent and functional cuboidal block with external dimensions of 61.5 x 45 meters. The total area of the building is 3800 m², with 2150 m² of warehouse space and 1650 m² of usable office building space.
Urban Form and Architectural Layout
The office area occupies the front part of the building and is directly accessible from the front car park. A double volume reception and lobby greets visitors to the building. Thanks to a large cut in the ceiling, the lobby is a spectacular open space lit by a roof skylight. From here, there is direct access to the conference room as well as spacious offices.
On the first floor, by the open space offices, there are walkways and a seating area for employees with access to an external terrace. Along the windows of the north-east elevation there is a row of office rooms. At the other side there are toilets, social rooms and stairs connecting the floors
Between the office and industrial parts of the building, technical and social facilities for the warehouse are located. The storage and production part of the warehouse is an open space. The area is divided into two sections: manufacturing and high storage.
Both the office building and the warehouse are accessible from the west, that is, from the central part of the plot.
Façade as Unifying Element
As a unifying element, the outer skin of the cube is black, however the two functional blocks - being office and warehouse - are visually differentiated. The façade of the office building is largely glazed, open and three-dimensional. It features vertical pilasters and horizontal cornices that place emphasis on the front of the building. By contrast, the elevation of the warehouse is largely closed, simple and modest in order to suit the industrial character and function of this part of the building.
Both the office building and the warehouse are accessible from the west, that is, from the central part of the plot.
A Bespoke Façade Solution
The distinctive approach to this façade includes a bespoke solution developed by the architect and Reynaers Aluminium. The most visible bespoke solution for Pivexin building was a modified profile from Reynaers Aluminium, which removes the need for vertical mullions. This alteration served a key design requirement, being the provision of plenty of light to the office area inside the building. At the same time as providing substantial daylight to the building’s interior, the selected aluminium system was able to achieve thermal insulation much beyond the requirement This bespoke solution was crucial to fulfill all the requirements of the project, especially in the “hard to reach” areas, where there was not enough space to easily undertake installation. Further challenges included the specification of using 20 mm laminated glass. Due to the weight, a crane had to be used to lift all the elements during installation inside the building.
A Light Filled Interior
Unlike the dark coloured façade, the office interior is mainly white, with contrasting timber cladding and smaller black accents that emphasize the composition. Full of light, the interior is clearly minimalistic. Glass vertical divisions provide transparency, aesthetic consistency, visibility as well as free flow of daylight flooding in through large expanses of façade glazing and the skylight in the central part of the roof.
Furthermore, the office space combines minimalism with indoor greenery. Desktops in the offices contain plants that clearly divide desk islands in individual workplaces. Such an approach provides an element of nature inside the office.
Holistic approach
Unified by a custom façade, the headquarter building for Pivexin Technology takes a holistic approach to the challenge of connecting two very different and potentially disparate uses. The result is a complex organism with a functional, coherent design.
