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Wilkhahn’s dynamic growth, continuinginto the 1990s, has repeatedly requiredadditional production buildings. The
architecturally attractive warehouses,production halls and administration
buildings, which were designed by the
acclaimed architects Georg Leowald and
Herbert Hirche at the end of the 1950s,
were followed in the 1960s and 1970s
by a three-part production hall complex
built in the traditional brick style with a
glued wood construction. By the time
the next extension was due, the aware-
ness of the importance of industrial
architecture had developed to such an
extent that it had to meet more complex
requirements:”At Wilkhahn no more building bricks will be laidon top of one another unless this creates
a building that equally satisfies ecologi-
cal and economic requirements, aesthe-
tic and human requirements.” (Fritz
Hahne, 1984)This maxim was projected in the fourproduction pavilions, which received
numerous awards, designed by Frei Otto
in 1988 as a suspended building beam construc-tion, and the ecologically oriented pro-duction halls, which were built in 1992
and designed by Thomas Herzog. The wooden construction with trussed
beams, with fully glazed, specially insula-ted side walls, a specially planted“green” roof, a heat recovery system, a
photo-voltaic system, a rainwater draina-ge system and a new energy plant markthe most recent stage of plant extensionand reflect ecological change at Wilk-hahn in terms of architecture. At the same time, the buildings, whichpartly date back to the time of industrialexpansion in Germany, were completely
refurbished in terms of heat technology– some of them have a “green” roof –and are now used for administrationpurposes. Since 1992 they have accom-modated development workshops,offices, rooms for meetings, lectures and
training, a guest cafeteria, a professional
fully equipped kitchen and the premises of wiege, the
independent design subsidiary company,and the foresee GmbH. Construction of famous pavilionsArchitect: Frei Otto, 1988Administration buildingArchitect: Herbert Hirche, 1960 10
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