WAZ Media Essen Office Building, Ruhrgebeit Architecture, German HQ Architect

WAZ Media Office Essen Building

Ruhrgebeit Building, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany design by AllesWirdGut architects studio.

post updated 7 September 2024

Essen, Germany

Design: AllesWirdGut, Vienna

WAZ Media Office in Essen

Generous, confident, clear and open

18 Jan 2013

WAZ Media Office Essen

The Austrian architectural office AllesWirdGut starts the new year in a big way: AllesWirdGut were commissioned to build the corporate headquarters of the international WAZ Media Group—best known in Austria a the co-owner of the leading local tabloid “Kronenzeitung”—at their corporate home base in Essen, Germany.

image © AllesWirdGut Architektur ZT GmbH

The project has a gross floor area of 36,000 sqm. AllesWirdGut convinced decision-makers with a future-oriented use concept, creating—with a design comprised of several volumes—a landmark and sustainable business premises for the client.

The jury statement says that “The proposal is informed by a clear and confident urban-design attitude, as is adequate for the new WAZ building as part of the cityscape. The total configuration provides the media hose with a landmark and identity-forming new company address.”

image © AllesWirdGut Architektur ZT GmbH

A longitudinal volume provides the backbone of the urban development site called “Grüne Mitte” (“Green Middle”). Three annexes extending from it point like fingers to the outdoor spaces of the adjacent residential estates. A variation of different spaces is offered both in the interior and the outdoor areas. The endpoint of the urban design ensemble is the WAZ Media Tower.

The premises comprise public spaces (lobbies, a restaurant, conference areas and lounging zones), areas for business use including editorial departments and offices, a children’s day care center, and training rooms.

The design concept is based on colors: black, silver, and white, as an allusion to the printing process (black ink, silver dies, white paper).

The entire outdoor areas are planned to have uniform flooring of large terrazzo-concrete pavement tiles, which emphasize the urban character of the ensemble. Dense rows of trees are interspersed with lawn strips and court-like green areas. A generous water plaza connects the two public-realm spaces “Grüne Mitte” and “Berliner Platz”.

images © AllesWirdGut Architektur ZT GmbH