Omicron
Crossing Borders & Relaxing Spaces
Klaus, Austria, 2014 - 2015
Client
omicron electronics
Concept
Anna Heringer & Martin Rauch
Builder
Lehm Ton Erde Baukunst GmbH
Statics
gbd ZT GmbH
Awards
Nomination Archmarathon Award
In the new office Building of the well-known company Omnicron, several recreational rooms and relaxing spaces were designed and installed. These spaces were created under the programmatic name “crossing Borders” – representing an in-house non-profit association for children and education in southern, third world countries. A cave-like monolithic structure offers a quiet and atmospheric retreat, a bright and much lighter zeppelin invites to chat and for informal discussions. A niche with lots of pillows allows for an attractive place to rest and pause. The monolithic structure was built up in Ghanaian Zabur technique. The zeppelin on the other hand has a wooden skeleton frame, which is then covered in a translucent skin of non-violent, handwoven silk. This “hot spot” for a new and different business and employee culture, finds supplementary situations spread out through the rest of the building, in form recreational niches. These spaces are also related to the theme of development cooperation – and were created in the design of the countries they represent (e.g. “Afghanistan”, “Ecuador”, “Mexico” and “Tanzania”). The use of natural and local materials in this concept such as loam and wood was just as important as the promotion of crafts and fair trade in Europe, Bangladesh, India or the rest of the world.
