The new campus for Merkur Insurance Company consists of two new buildings and one existing building, which are linked by a single-storey wing on the ground floor. The S-shaped connecting clasp defines a clear street space on the east side and spans a small forecourt in the main entrance area on Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Straße.
Studio Name: Zechner & Zechner architects
Design Team: Zechner, Wecker, Buxbaumer
Area: 18.900 m2
Year: 2015
Location: Graz, Austria
Consultants: T. Lorenz (construction), TB Lang (HVAC), TB Busz (Electric)
Photography Credits: Pierer
Address: Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Straße 84, 8010 Graz
Competition: 2015
Planning / Construction period: 2016 – 2020
Completion: September 2020
Gross floor area: New construction: 18,929m2, existing building: 2,457 m2
Main usable area: New construction: 14,658m2, existing building: 1,655 m2
Floors: 9 floors above ground, 2 underground
Client: Merkur Versicherung AG
Conrad-von-Hötzendorf-Straße 84, 8010 Graz
General planner team:
General planner / Architecture:
Zechner & Zechner ZT GmbH
Stumpergasse 14/23, 1060 Wien
Project team: Mario Buxbaumer, Dragan Malovic, Stefan Wecker
Statics
Thomas Lorenz ZT GmbH
Raiffeisenstraße 30, 8010 Graz
To the west, the building line also moves away from the property line to allow for a continuous green space that expands into an inner courtyard in the center of the property.
The green roof of the clasp is accessible via an external staircase and can be reached via the 1st floor from the conference center and “Merkur lifestyle”. At the southern end of the clasp is the tallest structure with 8 upper floors, marking the prominent corner building site. Its lower counterpart (5 upper floors) is located at the northern end of the clasp.
Functions
The central entrance lobby is located in the bracket, from which the gastronomy, the southern and northern office building and the existing building can be accessed. The entrance foyer offers sufficient space for waiting areas and the adjoining café area and can also be used for various events and exhibitions. From the entrance foyer, employees have direct access to the “Merkur lifestyle” area on the north-east corner of the building with various sports facilities, massage and a sauna / wellness area.
Conference / Office areas
Thanks to a central internal access core and the skeleton structure, the storeys have a high degree of flexibility in use. A conference center with collapsible meeting rooms is located on the 1st floor in the south part. The other floors are used for offices. The sanitary groups and ancillary rooms are arranged centrally around the development core. The offices are situated along the facade, various communication areas such as think tanks, coffee corners and internal meeting zones are integrated into the office structure and offer retreat and break areas.
Ecological aspects
The aim was to develop a sustainable “slim building” with low primary energy requirements, economical use of all resources and a healthy and comfortable room climate at the same time. Measures such as controllable external sun protection, natural ventilation options, heat dissipation via night ventilation, LED lighting, energy recovery and measures for good room acoustics implement this strategy effectively. The use of geothermal energy for heating and cooling and a photovoltaic system on the roof significantly improve the CO2 balance.
