Viteos is a proposal by GNWA for Viteos SA in 2021. It is located in La Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland in an industrial setting. Its scale is medium with a surface of 9.080 sqm. Key materials are glass and metal. Artefactorylab and Olivier Campagne collaborated as visualizers.

The plot allotted to host the various activities of the Viteos SA company has a strategic position, being situated at the crossing between multiple road axes. This position, in addition to being essential to the functioning of the company, also gives great visibility to the site. The terrain is marked by a strong east- west slope, creating a large panorama of the landscape from the top.

The building is composed of a mixed programme; two strategies were put in place to answer in the best possible way to the challenges brought on by the programmatic distribution as well as the space. Firstly, thanks to its implantation, the project uses the slope carefully to free up several reference levels and distribute the various activities vertically.

Secondly, the building is formed by the hybridization of two typologies, the socle and the bar, allowing for the creation of two specific spatial types that answer to the needs of each activity. Thus, the programmes are organised as follows: the showroom on the level of the road, the workshops as well as the deposit on the intermediary level, the offices on the upper floors and lastly, the panoramic restaurant on the roof.

The project aims to highlight the different activity sectors developed by Viteos SA. The architectural concept suggests developing a showcase building inside of which each of the company’s activities is brought out and is visible from the outside. The building’s look reflects the research and possibilities that renewable energies and sustainable development present, aiming to make it an example. These two notions are materialised on the building envelope by using a glass skin and the repeated use of photovoltaic panels. A photovoltaic pergola symbolises a crown on the roofing of the building as the symbol of a company that is inscribing itself in a sustainable gait.

Regarding the materials that were employed, the use of recycled concrete allows the building to reduce its carbon footprint. Furthermore, the use of a wood construction on the upper part allows the placement of a light structure on the lower beam grid. The use of wood also allows for the development of an intensive prefabrication strategy, thus considerably reducing the building time and the CO2 emitted during the construction.

3056-GNW-CH-2021 — Posted in 2023 — Explore more projects on headquarters and institutional — Climate: continental and temperate — Coordinates: 47.095410, 6.841479 — Team: Cristina Gonzalo Nogués, Markus Weck, Marco Neri, Davide Lazzari, Silvia Toninello, Giulio Rosi, Gonçalo Vilhena, Thomas Compeers, Costanza Eboli, Lea Muttoni, Eric Abadias, Davide Lazzari — Consultant: Betelec SA, Weinmann-Energies SA — Engineer: Muttoni et Fernández — Views: 2.859