With its new headquarters in the town of Kufstein in the Austrian state of Tyrol, the BODNER Group has created a workspace and architectural identity that reflects its core business. The company, a major construction player in the Alpine region, commissioned the project following a 2020 design competition. As part of this process, Zechner & Zechner in collaboration with Grabher (ARGE) developed a campus plan to be realised in three stages, beginning with the completion of the new headquarters.
The first phase combines a straightforward design approach with an efficient energy strategy, drawing on the company’s building culture and local context.
Open campus structure
The central concept is an open, campus-like structure. Three buildings define the ensemble, set at varied heights and staggered to frame views of the surrounding mountains. Together they shape a quiet inner courtyard at the center of the campus.
Key to the plan is the half-story car park deck set into the site, allowing most of the campus surface to remain green and largely car-free.
Architecture referencing construction
The design reflects the roots of the BODNER Group in construction. Its guiding theme is a "refined shell aesthetic" that references raw construction while reinterpreting it with precision.
Roughly cut ceiling edges, visible formwork, and painted container boxes recalling site facilities are used as expressive elements. The rough appearance contrasts with detailed finishes such as glazing and paneling.
A central atrium with an open staircase connects the floors and doubles as a meeting space. The container boxes also function as informal meeting booths, recalling construction sites as places of dialogue.
Material strategy
To reduce transport emissions, the architects prioritized locally sourced materials: gravel for concrete from nearby pits, prefabricated elements made in a neighboring village, timber for facades, and Tyrolean wool for rugs. Slender structures minimize resource use, while on-site baskets were repurposed as planters.
The material palette remains deliberately raw and unadorned: exposed concrete, untreated ceiling insulation, slab flooring, lampshades made from formwork panels, and reinforcement mesh as a backdrop behind the reception.
Workplace design
The ground floor houses training rooms, meeting areas, and a lounge for both visitors and staff. The upper floors provide team areas with fixed workstations, focus zones, meeting rooms, and shared resources. Private offices are limited to use by management.
Knowledge exchange is encouraged through team-based layouts and shared offices. Soundproofed rooms for calls and video conferences complement informal lounges. Lockers are available at entrances and workstations.
Developed in collaboration with M.O.O.CON, the spatial concept balances openness with concentration, based on a catalogue of use patterns.
Corridors and work areas are divided with modular partitions, glazing, planting, and semi-transparent panels that provide adaptable acoustic and visual separation.
The campus as a green island
The new BODNER campus sits between a motorway, main road, and commercial areas. In this setting, it is designed as a green island with landscaped open space. The design references the Tyrolean mountains with slopes, meadows, and tree groupings, creating a distinct setting.
Sustainability and environmental strategies
The landscape planning by Büro Korbwurf focuses on regional species. Green balconies outside workspaces provide shade, delay runoff, enhance biodiversity, and improve the microclimate.
A central level change between the campus and surroundings is bridged with staircases and barrier-free paths. The green roof of the car park deck functions as a raised garden with trees.
Sustainability is central. The energy supply relies on photovoltaics and heat pumps that draw on electricity and groundwater, resulting in a near self-sufficient building.
