Cologne Oval Offices is located on the banks of the Rhine, in a former floodplain meadow that was occupied by parks and villas in the 19th century. In the 1960s, large administrative buildings appeared there, including high-rise buildings, and the building density increased; the new complex partly continues this line. It consists of two buildings, with green and red facades, respectively (initially it was planned to erect four buildings, but due to the change of the developer, only the northern half of this "quartet" has been realized so far).
The architects expressed in their project the "memory" of the history of this area. The large size corresponds to the buildings of the 1960s, and the organic, streamlined forms remind of the parks that existed there in the century before last. As for the bright color of the facades, this is a distinctive feature of almost all works of "Sauerbruch Hutton".
The curvilinear outlines of the buildings made it possible to achieve high planning efficiency. Each of the buildings contains three functional cores with lifts and stairs; thus, each floor can be divided into three almost independent sectors. The varying depth of the plan also allows the office space to be organized according to specific tasks. Through glass facades, the interiors are illuminated by sunlight (all corridor walls are also transparent), and employees can admire the views of the Rhine and Cologne Cathedral. The proximity of the river will make it possible to use exclusively groundwater for heating and cooling systems.
The total area of the complex is 42,000 m2, the budget is 66 million euros.
