An industrial building with an exterior that reveals exactly what goes on inside. The remit here was to create a structure that would tell the passer-by at a glance that everything at Altenried revolves around wood and wood-working – ideally, even if that glance came from the adjacent trunk road.

A sculptural building with an elemental form that reflects the wooded landscape of the Vorarlberg, it spells out in no uncertain terms the nature of the business it houses: firstly, by the almost exclusive use of wood and, secondly, thanks to a broad shop-window front invites outsiders to stop and look.

Only the exterior walls of the basement and the suspended concrete ceiling that forms the floor of the showroom area are made of concrete – everything else, inside and out, is wood. The showroom itself is dominated by huge laminated spruce beams, while outside the sandwich walls that run seamlessly up to the roof are clad with larch. The striking shape of the building dispenses with the need for any additional advertising by the client: the architecture says it all.
 

1. With its uniform outer skin and highly distinctive shape, the building makes a strong architectural statement that resonates far beyond its immediate environs.
2. Constructed on a slightly sloping site, the building sits unassumingly in the undulating Allgäu countryside.
3. The spacious showroom and sales area extends almost the entire length of the building and can be accessed directly via an elevated entrance on the road side.
4. At the rear of the building, seven large garage doors provide delivery access to the warehouse area. Goods are moved in and out via a forecourt located a floor below, while the main customer entrance and shop window face the busy trunk road.