Trumpf COMPANY Day care Center

By Francesco Pagliari - 13 December 2019
BEGA has participated in the project

Located in the city of Ditzingen in Germany’s Baden-Württemberg region, machine tool and electronic systems manufacturer Trumpf recently made available a day care center for the children of its employees. Catering for 75 young guests, it also provides places for children from the wider community.

Situated in the company grounds but some distance away from the factory and administrative offices, this building is designed to blend with the surrounding natural landscape rather than be part of an industrial complex. It stands as a separate entity immersed in nature in keeping with its purpose of helping young bodies and minds to thrive. A single-story
building, its rectangular plan references the traditional rural buildings of the region. Similarly, its flat green pitched saddle roof - an open construction with exposed rafters - echoes the architecture of neighboring farms, slipping seamlessly into context. As well as further camouflaging the structure, making it seem a continuation of the surrounding meadowland, the planted roof also facilitates thermal isolation.

Every aspect of the building - from the structural frame and internal partition walls to the outside cladding - contributes to ensuring a healthy but also ecologically sustainable building. The main building material is timber. Elements were precision prefabricated, which allowed swift, trouble-free assembly of the frame and infills on-site. Structural timber members were assembled with just screws and dovetail connectors without the use of glue, thereby avoiding the presence of hazardous chemical substances or emissions. Glue-less assembly will also facilitate eventual recycling of materials.

The interiors are divided into a series of service spaces: kitchen, staff room and the many - immediately recognizable - areas for play and educational activities. All the environments are airy and luminous thanks to large glazed openings, which also helped create a...