Merck Innovationscentrum Darmstadt
Merck Innovationszentum Darmstadt
Merck’s site in Darmstadt is to be developed stage-by-stage, remodelling it from a production works into a technology and science campus. The heart of this transformation is the Innovation Center with a new world of work. A dynamic spatial continuum singularises the individual workplaces whilst connecting them to form a spatial network.
The building is set back facing Frankfurter Straße, thus generating the space for a public square – Emanuel Merck Platz.
The transparent, cubic building features the unfolding of an entirely new spatial structure. A spatial continuum singularises and connects the individual workspaces, creating a new world of work. Bridge-like connections diagonally span the space, linking the individual workspaces with each other. Steps, ramps and floor areas spiral upwards.
Teamwork in the Innovation Center takes place both temporarily or on a project basis, focused on the development of future innovations. The facades are set behind open external slats that run at varying angels, in turn giving the exterior a dynamic appearance and making the double-storey character of the interior spaces legible from the outside.
The Innovation Center is connected to a staff restaurant via an open stairway, the restaurant adopting the curved and flowing architectural vocabulary of the Innovation Center.
Both buildings are certified with the LEED’s platinum standard.
