With the innovative office building called QBIG III, the striking building trio in Heilbronn business park Schwabenhof is completed. A new, equally impressive glass building as previous ones with an equally extravagant steel skeleton has been created. The unique architecture and the high energy standard make this building an attractive rental property.
Flachglas MarkenKreis has specified insulating glass units for this project same as for QBIG II. Room-high glass elements with high performance solar control glass Pilkington Suncool™ Blue 50/27 ensure a pleasant room climate in summer and offer all tenants a clear view of the surroundings.
The new building corresponds in shape and 4.500 sqm size exactly to its two predecessors. Only the exterior is different. While the steel skeleton shell of QBIG I is reminiscent of a braided net and QBIG II consists of rectangles of different sizes, in QBIG III the steel braces are arranged asymmetrically vertically.
With their expressive architectural language, the architects Riemer Planung created an ensemble with a high "identification factor" according to the wishes of the client. The natural lighting and ventilation of the workplaces as well as the efficient use of space were important topics that the architects pursued during the design. Thus, there are no dark zones in the whole building, all offices are equipped with room-high glazed windows or façade elements and can of course be ventilated. The high flexibility due to changeable spatial structures also takes the grid-finished window façade into account.
A cube entirely made of glass
The facade was designed as a mullion-and-transom construction with recurring façade and window elements in 1.25 m width to max. 3.40 m height. The façade elements were built with the Schüco FW50+ system, the windows in every second element with the Schüco AWS 75 BS.Si. In the case of the "floating windows" in the construction, the frame of the window insert assumes the glass-holding function for the adjacent fields.
The entire glass building was equipped with approx. 3000 m2 triple solar control insulating glass units. The architects wanted a glass with medium exterior reflection and blue appearance. The building physics demanded the lowest possible g-value for the glass in terms of summer solar control. To meet the requirements solar control insulating glass units made of Pilkington Suncool™ Blue 50/27 were specified. The triple glass structure has a low g-value of 24% and a Ug-value of 0.6 W/m2K. The glazing was made of toughened glass due to the expected shadow effect of the steel beams in front of the glass facade. Thus, the risk of glass breakage could be minimized with temperature fluctuations.
QBIG III along with neighbouring buildings play with obscuring aesthetics and make it clear that they belong together thanks to the expressive architectural language.
Photography: Dirk Wilhelmy, Stuttgart
Client: Hertner Holding mbH, Heilbronn
Architect: Riemer Planung GmbH, Heilbronn
Glass facade: Wölz Stahl- und Metallbau GmbH & Co.KG
Steel skeleton: Vorndran Metallbau GmbH & Co.KG
Glass technology consulting: Flachglas MarkenKreis GmbH
Base glass: Pilkington Germany AG, Gladbeck
Triple solar control insulating glass units: Pilkington Austria, Bischofshofen