Circular Design

Circular Dining Experience

The name of the company restaurant – “S’RÄDLE” – says it all, though the diminutive form doesn’t quite fit: The new building commissioned by Blickle Räder+Rollen GmbH as an extension of their administration, customer center, Blickle Experience Center, and underground parking in Rosenfeld, located in the Zollernalbkreis, is impressively large with seven floors. It offers 5,170 square meters of office space, while the gastronomic area covers 1,500 square meters, catering to the 250 people in the new building. The wheel is the central motif, reflecting both the company’s expertise and the interior design developed by Geplan from Stuttgart. Even the entrance cylinder of the site is round, and the driveway is full of movement. This dynamic principle applies equally to the entire interior design, aiming to make the product portfolio and company philosophy intuitively experienceable. Architecturally, this means that not only window and door profiles but also furniture, flooring, and ceiling design were planned and executed radially.

Innovative Design and Sustainable Features

The centerpiece of the spacious reception foyer within the cylindrical building is a column around which the round counter is arranged. Passing this, one enters a modern exhibition area showcasing various wheels and casters. Adjacent is a separate area, the Blickle Experience Center, featuring the world’s largest and most modern testing center for wheels and casters. Here, products with different requirements are demonstrated on an integrated test track – an appealing course for customers and guests with varied surfaces and inclinations. The culinary experience in the building’s gastronomic area also follows the circular form, with the café-lounge adorned with a wallpaper featuring rollers. The in-house company restaurant is located on the first floor and boasts a naturally round courtyard furnished with tables and chairs. A three-flight, evenly curved steel staircase connects the four levels of the new building. Due to an efficient, intelligent building envelope, the heating and cooling requirements of the new administrative building are low. Heating is climate-neutral using process waste heat. Photovoltaics on the roof provide sustainable energy generation.

What can architecture do for a good workplace?

Claus Matt: A large part of the day is spent at the workplace. The architect is responsible, among other things, for planning and designing living, well-being, and workspaces for people. A good workplace consists of a reasonable balance between space efficiency, functionality, well-being, and quality. Important factors include flexibility, good room acoustics, comfortable materials, as well as corporate design and high quality of stay.

To what extent should workspace design cater to individual needs?

More and more companies value being attractive employers and offering special workplace environments. We like to involve department heads and long-standing employees as early as possible through workshops and discussions in the planning process. A large part of the employees are still accustomed to having their individual workplace with personal pictures, plants, etc. However, in the communal use of the entire office space, there is an opportunity to make the work environment more usable and to experience flexible and open concepts. However, it should be noted that the company continues to offer an identity-forming home.

Which functions and/or spaces do you consider most important in a workplace environment?

A workplace must provide each user with the work environment they need for their tasks: project areas, team workplaces, phone booths, lounges, retreat rooms, workout areas, meeting rooms, collaboration and communication areas. Future-proof work environments should be created with as few rigid room situations as possible. Furthermore, building services should be planned in such a way that various arrangements of workplaces and rooms are possible.