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Administrative Building ABB
Bruggerstrasse, Baden
1952
The
factory
construction at the Bruggerstrasse, designed by Roland
Rohn, is the most important
building on the site of Brown Boveri Cie. This is also due
to the
impressive size.
However, the building is only a fragment of a partly unrealized planning. The building with its fine detailing, however is to be regarded as an important witness of its time,
when the postwar euphoria was prevailing.
The building is 34 meters high and consists of high halls one stacked above the other. The building was constructed as a steel skeleton. Subsequently it was made a
composite structure with the later introduation of concrete ceilings and parapets. The stairways, elevators and cloakrooms form independent volumes. These are arranged
as annex' to the rectangular production area. This allows the crane track to run along the entire length of the building. The externally visible towers are therefore
not only a means of articulation of the building. They provide clarity in the space and enable unhindered operation. The southern facade shows the image of two
intertwined volumes. One of them with ribbon windows, the other closed. The sculptural appearance seems to tell us, that Roland Rohn did not believe in the expansion plans.
However, the building is only a fragment of a partly unrealized planning. The building with its fine detailing, however is to be regarded as an important witness of its time,
when the postwar euphoria was prevailing.
The building is 34 meters high and consists of high halls one stacked above the other. The building was constructed as a steel skeleton. Subsequently it was made a
composite structure with the later introduation of concrete ceilings and parapets. The stairways, elevators and cloakrooms form independent volumes. These are arranged
as annex' to the rectangular production area. This allows the crane track to run along the entire length of the building. The externally visible towers are therefore
not only a means of articulation of the building. They provide clarity in the space and enable unhindered operation. The southern facade shows the image of two
intertwined volumes. One of them with ribbon windows, the other closed. The sculptural appearance seems to tell us, that Roland Rohn did not believe in the expansion plans.