Actelion Business Center
In December of last year, an administrative building for the pharmaceutical company Actelion Pharmaceuticals was completed in the Basel suburb of Allschwil. The construction of the six-story building, covering an area of 27,500 m², took just under three years. The Actelion Business Center is set to provide 350 jobs and become the focal point of the growing company.
The Herzog & de Meuron office comments on its latest project: “The exposed steel structure consists of unusual stacked beams, with each floor having a different layout. What appears random at first glance is actually based on strict rules: at four extreme points where all the 'office beams' converge, communication cores are placed. Elevators and staircases in the cores connect the individual floors. This has created natural communication zones where the paths of workers intersect. These meeting zones are complemented by kitchens, meeting rooms, and training rooms. The glass façades of the individual 'beams' maintain mutual connection and visual contact, while simultaneously emphasizing transparency inward and outward, up and down. To ensure maximum openness of each floor, all installations have been placed into the ceilings and floors. All wall conduits have been completely eliminated. Flat roofs were formed during the assembly, which are either greened or serve as rooftop terraces on the third and fifth floors. The theme of 'communication and openness' continues in the cross-through lobby. The center of the entrance hall is the reception area. In the four side wings, there is an auditorium for 120 persons, a cafeteria with a capacity of 230 seats, a café, meeting rooms, training classrooms, and a flexible open space for exhibitions and social events.”
The construction costing 130 million Swiss francs used steel trusses totaling 3.8 kilometers in length and weighing 2,500 tons. Based on static requirements, the supporting structures are beams shaped like the letters X or K. Due to fire protection requirements, the steel structure was covered with white-painted drywall. Through these means, according to the authors, a “light expression of the building” could be achieved. With its chaotic stacking of volumes, the Actelion Business Center may resemble the visitor center of Vitra, which H&deM also completed last year.
The Herzog & de Meuron office comments on its latest project: “The exposed steel structure consists of unusual stacked beams, with each floor having a different layout. What appears random at first glance is actually based on strict rules: at four extreme points where all the 'office beams' converge, communication cores are placed. Elevators and staircases in the cores connect the individual floors. This has created natural communication zones where the paths of workers intersect. These meeting zones are complemented by kitchens, meeting rooms, and training rooms. The glass façades of the individual 'beams' maintain mutual connection and visual contact, while simultaneously emphasizing transparency inward and outward, up and down. To ensure maximum openness of each floor, all installations have been placed into the ceilings and floors. All wall conduits have been completely eliminated. Flat roofs were formed during the assembly, which are either greened or serve as rooftop terraces on the third and fifth floors. The theme of 'communication and openness' continues in the cross-through lobby. The center of the entrance hall is the reception area. In the four side wings, there is an auditorium for 120 persons, a cafeteria with a capacity of 230 seats, a café, meeting rooms, training classrooms, and a flexible open space for exhibitions and social events.”
The construction costing 130 million Swiss francs used steel trusses totaling 3.8 kilometers in length and weighing 2,500 tons. Based on static requirements, the supporting structures are beams shaped like the letters X or K. Due to fire protection requirements, the steel structure was covered with white-painted drywall. Through these means, according to the authors, a “light expression of the building” could be achieved. With its chaotic stacking of volumes, the Actelion Business Center may resemble the visitor center of Vitra, which H&deM also completed last year.
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