“With ‘Added Value Space’, we understand spatial, communicative, economic or general social qualities that are not specified in the planning program, but can be achieved through architectonic spatial construction after precisely analyzing all the parameters that determine the design.”
kadawittfeldarchitektur presents three recently completed office buildings and emphasizes this idea of Added Value Space. The adidas Laces research and development center in Herzogenaurach (2011), the AachenMünchener insurances headquarters in Aachen (2010) and the main office of PATRIZIA Immobilien AG in Augsburg (2010) are not only informed by stringent office structures. Breaking up the basic typological pattern of classical office buildings is achieved by inserting complex circulation and communication spaces that influence both the interior and exterior form. Adjusted to meet user-specific demands and urban context, these Added Value Spaces communicate an atmosphere of generosity. The interior space at adidas Laces spanned by catwalks, the boulevard in the AachenMünchener project that connects several building structures, and the space-expanding façade in the PATRIZIA AG building lend the projects a high degree of individual identity. All of the interior spaces possess the qualities of public, urban exterior space. Though these additional spaces were not originally planned in the program, they establish themselves as indispensable components and improve the buildings’ quality as modern communication hybrids.
The exhibition translates the formative Added Value Spaces in large-scale models and ceiling-high collages composed of photographs and graphics. This backdrop offers not only gallery visitors, but also passersby, exemplary spaces and simultaneously creates a public Added Value Space in miniature.
Klaus Kada and Gerhard Wittfeld founded kadawittfeldarchitektur in Aachen in 1999. The office works on projects of all scales from interior architecture to urban planning. They have won numerous competitions and awards. Current projects include the Celtic Museum in Glauburg (2010), the Salzburg Central Station (2013), as well as the German Sport University in Cologne (2013).
