Holcim, a leading company for sustainable construction, has reimagined its
headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. In this new campus architecture, material innovation and open plan work-space foster future-proof ways of working.
The office spaces are spread across different levels and wings, with no physical
connections to each other, making it challenging to create a sense of unity and
orientation.
The architects overcame this challenge by creating the “green lane”, a 180-meter-long
vegetated artery connecting all office wings and floors. Acting simultaneously as a
circulation route, a meeting area, and social compass, it functions as a linking zone
between different parts of the building.
Office wings gradually transition from lively, open areas near the green lane to quieter
zones for focused work. The lack of fixed offices reinforces flexibility and equality,
accommodating a variety of work styles within a flexible, non-hierarchical office mode.
This configuration supports future ways of working while ensuring spatial diversity,
adaptability and acoustic comfort throughout the space. A sophisticated, passive
climate control system that eliminates traditional forced-air blowers grants thermal
comfort. Self-regulating cooling sails are powered by water deriving from Zug lake,
while a demand-controlled ventilation system automatically adjusts based on real-time
CO2 levels to ensure optimal air quality and energy efficiency.
In this renewed space where material innovation plays a central role, Holcim
showcases its end-to-end, high value solutions portfolio.
Freestanding rooms have been constructed as standalone “building blocks” using
Holcim’s innovative materials, from 3D-printed concrete, carbon prestressed concrete
(CPC), and woodcrete, as well as applications such as shotcrete and low-carbon
concrete blocks.
The ground floor, a 3D-concrete-printed maze made of 159 blocks, will host Holcim’s
showroom - due to open later this year - in which the company will present how it
supports its customers’ ambition of building progress for people and the planet.
Holcim’s office is a living showcase for material research, innovation, and circular
construction principles. A place to nurture talent, and to engage with key decision
makers throughout the building value chain, from public authorities and urban
planners, to developers, architects, engineers and contractors.
