LOOK UP

LOOK UP in Gelsenkirchen, Germany by Anin + Jeromin + Fitilidis & Partner

Based in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, the young advertising agency LOOK UP looked to the Dusseldorf-based firm Anin + Jeromin + Fitilidis & Partner to design their headquarters near Essen. The simple, rectangular building, composed primarily of concrete and glass, was the second building completed in the industrial redevelopment area. Light and heavy, clear and opaque, the box fits into the industrial landscape while providing an identity for the ad agency.

The rectangular box is violated only by the entry stair, which connects the first two of the three office floors, and two cantilevered concrete balconies. Production spaces are contained on the ground floor, a heavy base with few punched openings in the poured-in-place concrete. "Creativity zones" are housed in the two upper floors, transparent behind large expanses of glass and a concrete brise-soleil on the short south facade.

Although a simple building, the headquarters has many dramatic features, primarily the entrance stair, a transparent box seemingly hung from the concrete wall, and the brise-soleil, which resembles a comb due to their cantilevered structure. Inside an open plan dominates, with simple, modular furniture a nice complement to the rectilinearity of the building and gridded mullions of the east elevation.

LOOK UP's headquarter signals a definitive trend in architecture and business: the reclamation and renovation of derelict industrial areas for service-oriented companies, which naturally follows the rise of the service sector. And Germany, with its large expanses of industrial land, is poised to be a leader in adaptive reuse of those areas.