Rummel Matratzen | Neustadt an der Aisch

View from the north-east

For the competition to extend the headquarters of Rummel Matratzen in Neustadt an der Aisch, we propose a “factory village”. Between the monolithic large-scale forms of the existing factory buildings and the small-scale fabric of the town, a cell-like structure emerges that brings both scales together. The result is a working environment that is friendly and inviting and in harmony with the surrounding landscape – a fitting image for products with which people live in the closest possible relationship. The structure is also flexible: new cells can be added at any time and grow in different directions.

At the heart of the ensemble lies a lagoon that also serves as a rainwater retention basin. Once the new bypass is completed, lorry traffic will enter the site directly at its north-eastern end and circle the buildings in a U-shape, keeping disruption to the administration to a minimum in the long term. Parking for the administration and the future factory outlet is accessed separately from the south and the north.

The new building is the company’s calling card, housing the management, administration and visitors. Almost the entire ground floor is an open exhibition area that can be flexibly divided with partition walls. Administration and production are closely linked, and inside and outside interpenetrate: in the existing building through a new glass-roofed winter garden, in the new building through an atrium between the delivery area and production. A special highlight is the “dream room”, which extends onto a jetty over the lagoon, becoming a true “summer dream”.

The new building is planned in sustainable timber construction. Its outer skin of robust perforated trapezoidal sheet metal is see-through from the inside while providing privacy from the outside, much like a net curtain. For the existing buildings, the design proposes a low-cost yet striking solution: artistically alienated “bed scenes”, printed on transparent banners, are stretched in front of the façades. If they fade over the years, that becomes part of the effect – or an occasion for new motifs.

Siteplan with factory outlet

Upper floor plan

South-west elevation

North-west elevation

Detail