The new headquarters of Materna is located in the Phoenix Lake District, the cradle of the steel industry in Dortmund. Based on its identity of being cutting-edge and the background of urban regeneration of this industrial district, Gerber Architekten designs a dynamic landmark on a unique triangular site with a folding architectural form, and creates an elevated central courtyard with staircases, terraces, building a subtle connection between the architecture and landscape.

Materna, a well-known German IT service provider founded in 1980, sets its new headquarters on an industrial site in the Phoenix-West in Dortmund.

As a new focal point for Materna, this project will serve as a modern workplace for more than 1,900 employees, bringing together previously dispersed departments and branches, while enhancing the innovative drive of the company. On the other hand, siting in the Phoenix Lake District, which is known as the cradle of Dortmund's steel industry, this project will also contribute to regional urban regeneration as a representative work of the transformation of a heavy industrial area into a science and technology park.

In the context of both the company and the city, Gerber Architekten proposes an architectural manifesto of "Grounded in the Past, and Focusing on the Future", aiming to present Materna as an "innovation promoter" with a strong language at the most of the city's prominent location.

The design concept is based on and iterated upon the unique site.

Confined within an acute triangular plot on the west side of Phoenix-West, with the main road to the west and the park's roundabout to the north, the buildings are primarily arranged along the red line of the site, forming an approximately triangular layout as a whole, maximizing land usage, and taking into account requirements such as area, height control, architectural form changes, and landscape.

On the east side, the building is designed to appear folded, enclosing the central courtyard within a narrow volume, creating a sense of poised momentum.

On the west side, the building takes on an open, bow-like shape, with its volume gradually tapering towards the west and culminating in a rounded form. This iconic architectural image represents the bow of a ship moving forward, conveying a sense of lightness through the use of natural stone façade, and reflecting the cutting-edge character of Materna.

Simultaneously, the design integrates with the site environment and adapts to the surroundings on the north and south sides, creating a progressive spatial experience. The building folds inward on the north side, establishing a welcoming main entrance to the campus roundabout. On the south side, it is set back to form an open boundary with a row of colonnades, semi-enclosing an outdoor dining area. This complements the restaurant and café inside the building, establishing a subtle connection between indoor and outdoor spaces, architecture, and landscape.

The functional layout of the building is closely related to the site as well.

This 6-floor building designates its 2nd to 6th floors as a standard office area, efficiently organizing office, technical, and rest areas, which adopt a 2-axis flexible layout, allowing office units to be combined to meet the needs of different scales of space use.

The ground floor of the building is divided into a parking lot to the east and a multi-purpose entrance foyer to the west, in accordance with the site conditions.

Due to the industrial land foundation, the project was unable to excavate a basement. As a result, the first-floor space on the east side of the building was designed as a ground floor parking lot, while a landscape courtyard was "elevated" above it, creating a comfortable space for employees to rest, communicate, and interact with nature.

Building upon the design of the second-floor landscaped courtyard, the building features a stepped entrance in the northwest corner, allowing employees to leisurely walk through the courtyard and transition gradually from the natural landscape into the office environment. Additionally, a unique landscape stairs incorporated into the entrance hall, enabling the landscape to flow into the interior, creating a serene and lively atmosphere within the building.

The terraced landscape stair not only acts as a "natural" separation between the parking lot and the entrance hall but also provides a "natural" transition from the courtyard to the hall.

The entrance hall on the west side features a plaza-like open design, integrating various public functional spaces such as meeting areas, discussion areas, training areas, a canteen, and a café. A large floor-to-ceiling glass curtain wall on the ground floor allows ample sunlight and outdoor views to enter the interior, creating a bright and comfortable environment for daily communication, as the open terrace on the top floor of the west side incorporates distant city views into the daily office life.

The construction of the Materna headquarters is expected to be completed in 2024.

The building is designed with resource-efficient and sustainable planning, meeting the latest green energy standards. It will not only offer employees a highly digital working environment but also infuse the enterprise with an open atmosphere and innovative vitality through the integration of architecture and landscape.