The new Research and Development Center of the High Technology Machines company in Gliwice was designed by architects from Zalewski Architecture Group. The key to reading this realization, as the authors emphasize, is the precision inspired by the company's business and its Far Eastern roots.
The Gliwice Research and Development Center of High Technology Machines, a distributor of the Japanese manufacturer's machine tools, is made up of laboratories and workshops where innovative and ultra-precise machining solutions are prepared. The center is formed by a two-story office building with an area of about 2,000 square meters and an exhibition and laboratory hall.
The office building is divided into three functional segments separated by atriums. These comprise, in turn, the training area, the office area and the offices of the Board of Directors. In addition to their light and recreational functions, the atriums are the building's communication spaces. The rest of the facility contains spaces related to the presentation and configuration of machines for the needs of the end customer. The laboratory part, where specialized research in the field of precision machining is carried out, has been adapted to high climatic and vibromechanical requirements.
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski | Archifolio
Both the precision with which the Investor's business is associated and the Far Eastern origin of the solutions were treated as the basis of the facility's design, which is also a form of story about the company, the core of its operations and perception of the business - realized through spatial and visual solutions. Elements of the narrative include inspirations of accuracy - the viewer can see numerous formal continuities in building and material solutions, but also references to threads of Japanese architectural tradition, the project description reads.
Although, as the authors emphasize, there are no explicit Japanese references in the building, it uses concepts and the related creation of moods - the interpenetration of interior and exterior spaces, which is emphasized by the greenery penetrating inside the building, elements of the building and equipment treated as fragments of abstract compositions, multi-view, translucency or long perspectives.
Photo: Tomasz Zakrzewski | Archifolio
The object combines intellectual discipline andartistic sensitivity - the hallmarks of Zalewski Architecture Group. It becomes an efficient "machine" serving the company's goals, a space that respects the needs of its users and, at the same time, an inspiring aesthetic event, the architects write about the project.
