Rheinzink recently inaugurated a new entrance pavilion for its headquarters at Datteln in Germany, to an innovative plan by Daniel Lebeskind that blends design and sustainability.
Libeskind Villa, as it has been called, is on the model of a “concept house”. It has been designed by the architect for Rheinzink and developed by Proportion as the first of a series of residential prototypes by leading names in international architecture, destined for limited-series construction and distribution. In the case in point the use will not be residential but a reception centre for visitors, extending to lecture rooms and a showroom illustrating the plan behind the building itself. To meet these demands a number of adjustments had to be made. From the entrance foyer serving as reception an open staircase leads to the floor above with its many meeting rooms. The ground floor contains more lecture rooms as well as toilets and utility rooms. Passing beyond the staircase in the foyer, one enters the large hall, a double-volume room with broad glass walls giving onto the grounds outside but also offering glimpses into other rooms of the villa, likewise glazed. The Grand Room is an attractive spatious location for exhibitions and events; it also displays the history of Rheinzink, company and products.
Libeskind Villa stands out for originality, striking looks, quality materials, innovatory management of energy and eco-sustainable building. Its sculptural shape rises like a crystal from the ground, its converging lines framing and delineating the façades and window expanses. Glazed surfaces reflect the light in a two-way interpenetration of outdoors and indoors.
The building structure makes full use of prefabricated wood panels supplied by Egger, while the outer layer of façades and roofing is of Rheinzink panels. Aesthetically these seem to enfold the villa in a seamless shell; functionally they contain a solar heating plant that is invisible from outside and combines...
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