Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder attends inauguaration of new DORMA Group HQ
Building on a clear commitment to the Ennepetal site
 Ennepetal. Having celebrated its inauguration in the presence of Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, DORMA‘s refurbished and expanded main administration building in Ennepetal, Germany, constitutes a significant symbol of the company’s commitment both to quality in architectural design and to its Ennepetal site per se. The town, in which DORMA is the largest single employer, is thus to remain the hub of its worldwide activities as a major supplier of doorrelated products and system solutions.
Originally built in the 1960s, the administration building has always been an eyecatcher from all directions due to its exposed position on a rise. Having been heightened from 25 m to over 36 m - after one and a half years of construction under the management of Cologne architectural partnership KSP Engel und Zimmermann - it has now become even more of a landmark, enhanced by its futuristic glass architecture and the diagonal struts in the new roof area. Visible by day and illuminated at night, this particular structural feature is deliberately reminiscent of DORMA’s famous crown logo.
“DORMA has its roots here in Ennepetal and will always remain a factor in the region. It was important for me to create, through the new building project, a visible symbol of my personal association with the town and its surroundings,” emphasised company proprietor Karl-Rudolf Mankel, the third generation of entrepreneurs to head this family company founded in 1908.
It was against this encouraging and future-aligned scenario that the official inauguration of the modernised and extended main administration building took place in the presence of Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder together with numerous dignatories from the world of business and politics. The opening ceremony provided a fitting conclusion to the construction project to which the executive board had committed itself at the beginning of the new millennium.
The modernisation and expansion of the existing building was preceded by an architectural competition tendered in 2001. The objective was to increase the capacity of the old administration building, which had become rather inadequate due to the expansive development of the company, while providing all the benefits of modern office technology for 150 employees (previous number: 120). The contract was eventually awarded to Cologne architectural practice KSP Engel und Zimmermann. Its winning proposal provided for a very economic solution which, as required, made the most of the existing core structure. The planned design also cleverly assimilated the identity of the company through an effective example of corporate architecture and the particularly symbolic façade created for the refurbished building.
The existing six-storey reinforced concrete structure was stripped down to its carcass and then heightened through the addition of two office floors and a roof garden conference complex. The implemented building design exhibits a number of striking features: The new upper storeys are suspended from diagonally arranged struts at the roof level which transfer the new loads to the strengthened bearing components of the existing structure. Here, the same – cost-efficient – principle was implemented as applied in the rebuilding phase: To use the existing structure as far as possible and to supplement it with contemporary components.
The diagonally arranged support elements were also used to suspend the new glazed façade extending over all nine floors. As an all-encompassing glass envelope, this served to integrate old and new to create a unified, integral appearance. “The result is a very much upgraded building with distinctive lines that emphasise architecturally the representative significance of DORMA’s head office,” explains architect Michael Zimmermann, co-proprietor of the internationally active KSP partnership.
With its sophisticated and systematically implemented corporate design, the multi-faceted façade both embodies and symbolises the culture and essence of the company. Aside from performing their structural function, the diagonally arranged struts on the roof are also deliberately reminiscent of the corporate logo, the DORMA crown. This load-bearing feature has been specifically designed to create an impressive long-distance effect which is also attractively illuminated at night. As a powerful symbol epresenting an “open door” in the middle of the entrance face of the building, a visually striking angled recess in the façade extends over a total of seven storeys. The central design feature of the corporate design, the “DORMA door mechanism”, which represents the opening and closing action of a door, has also been architecturally interpreted by the alternating pattern of ventilation ports in the suspended glass façade encompassing the building.
The interior of the building reveals a number of light-flooded offices and conference rooms of varying size. Atria interlinking the storeys serve to enhance the spatial quality of the arrangement and, through uninterrupted lines of sight, the feeling of integration between the various functional levels. In combination with its high level of floorspace economy, the building thus promotes communication and synergy effects within the company. While the view from the offices in the high-rise extends to the “Bergisches Land“, “Sauerland” and even the “Ruhr” regions surrounding Ennepetal, depending on their appointment, the conference rooms have a more international flavour, having been named after the various production centres of the Group located around the world. Meetings can therefore be held in rooms with names such as “Brazil”, or “Singapore”. Significantly, however, the central conference room carries the name “Germany” – yet another clear sign of the company’s commitment to its native location.
While in many places, including the immediate “Bergisches Land” region, the economic clouds that have gathered remain difficult to dispel, thanks to its high degree of globalisation the company is able to extensively compensate for the cyclical fortunes of the German economy. And with its modern administration building transparent on all sides, DORMA has created a clear physical expression at its HQ for the business principle so steadfastly applied within the Group: “Think global – act local”.
Ennepetal, 14 July, 2004
Press release and further photos available for downloading at www.dorma.com
The DORMA Group
DORMA is a globally active supplier of door technology systems and products and is world market leader in the door closer and operable partition system segments. It is also the world number two in the supply of automatic door systems. DORMA is subdivided structurally into five divisions: Door Control, Automatic, Glass, Security/Time and Access Control (STA) and Movable Walls. The DORMA Group maintains major production plants in several European countries plus Singapore, Malaysia, China and North and South America. Headquartered in Ennepetal, Germany, the DORMA Group operates on an international scale with 70 wholly-owned companies in 44 different countries. The Group realised sales of €663 million in fiscal 2002/3 (June 30) and has a workforce of around 5,600 employees.
Customer contact: Editorial contact:
DORMA GmbH + Co. KG DORMA Holding GmbH + Co. KGaA
Breckerfelder Str. 42-48 Corporate Communications
D-58256 Ennepetal Tel. +49 2333 793-5660
Tel. +49 2333 793-0 Fax +49 2333 793-905660
Fax +49 2333 793-644 E-mail: communication@dorma.com
Internet: http://www.dorma.com Internet: http://www.dorma.com
KSP Engel und Zimmermann architectural partnership
KSP Engel und Zimmermann is one of Germany’s largest architectural partnerships. Five office sites in Braunschweig, Cologne, Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich enhance the company’s effectiveness and flexibility in their national and international project handling and management activities. Strategic alliances in Europe and the Far East have broadened the operational range of the partnership well beyond Germany’s borders. With a wealth of accumulated experience, the projects handled by KSP Engel und Zimmermann are characterised by a high degree of professionalism and exceptional quality in design and implementation. The company works on the basis of intensive and open dialogue at all stages of the project process, combined with a planning approach aligned to the integration of appropriate partners and judicious incorporation of advanced technologies.
Customer contact: Editorial contact:
KSP Engel und Zimmermann Architekten Anke Wünschmann
Konrad-Adenauer-Ufer 83 Presse- und Öffentlichkeitsarbeit
D-50688 Köln E-mail: a.wuenschmann@f.ksp-architekten.de
Tel. +49 221 20803-0
Fax +49 221 20803-38
Internet: www.ksp-architekten.de
E-mail: sekretariat@k.ksp-architekten.de
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Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is welcomed at DORMA by company proprietor Karl-Rudolf Mankel (right) and CEO Dr. Michael Schädlich
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DORMA CEO Dr. Michael Schädlich (left) and Karl-Rudolf Mankel (Owner of the DORMA group) explaining German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (right) the implementation of the corporate design with the aid of the project
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Around 200 guests attended the official inauguration of the DORMA’s new HQ
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Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder was able to get an impressive bird’s eye view of the new DORMA admin building as his plane approached its destination
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DORMA employee Frank Rutkowski explains to Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder the principles of a laser cutting machine
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