beeline

15. March 2021

© O&O Baukunst Köln GmbH

A lofty warehouse is the striking urban figure of the new building complex in Cologne Deutz. A cube clad on all sides in translucent acrylic panels, it seems to hover above a glazed plinth. This pedestal area provides a view of the processes taking place inside. Opening up and enlivening this zone will contribute significantly to activating the area.

International service centre of the beeline Group
Location:                                  Cologne Deutz
Client:                                        beeline real estate
Competition:                          invited competition in 2006, 1st prize
Project status:                        LP1 - LP4
GFA:                                           22,000 m²
Function:                                  International service centre,
                                                     Headquarters of the beeline group

The Cologne-based company, beeline planned to build an International Service Centre in Cologne-Deutz. Production, warehouse, logistics and administration were to be brought together in this new headquarters.

The design envisaged uniting all functions under one roof in a triple-story, 170-m-long and 50-m-wide building. The ground floor accommodates the production area, while the two upper floors are where the offices for the administration are located. The first-floor level is column-free and the façades are completely glazed. It forms a transparent base above which the two office floors float. The transparent first floor opens up to the city and offers glimpses into the interior of the production facility.

The sense of floating and lightness epitomises openness and innovation and a future-orientated ethos. Further architectural elements include: the networking of the working spheres, the linking of manual and intellectual product manufacturing, a natural room climate, daylight and modern face-to-face communication within the building.