Be it skiing or snowboarding, curling, tennis or golf, mountain biking or rambling, the Hahnenkamm downhill race or the ATP tennis tournament – in Kitzbühel at the foot of the Tyrolean Alps the focus is definitely on sports, sports and more sports. And all the action is given a dash of added spice by the glamour factor, when celebrities such as Boris Becker, Franz Beckenbauer and Fiona Swarovski stroll through tranquil downtown Kitzbühel. In such circumstances, successful fashion company “Sportalm Kitzbühel” could hardly have chosen a better location for its headquarters. And because the existing admin wing had started to look a bit worn out, the family-owned corporation commissioned the architects at Atelier Enders in Nüziders, Austria to create a new head office.
In collaboration with architect Ralph Dablander, they designed a four-story block with a striking bend in the shimmering blue glass façade, whose snowy-white metal strips make for a highly varied structure reminiscent of layers of snow. The offices are also a symphony in white. After all, at the end of the day, the purpose of bright workstations is to motivate those who use the offices. Atelier Enders achieves this with floor-to-ceiling glass and glass partitions between the individual offices. Ensuring that both the individual rooms and the corridors are bathed in daylight.
In cooperation with lighting planners “Licht und Wärme Elektrotechnik” and “Ludewig Lichtkonzepte” the team of architects have made certain that office workers are not dazzled – either by daylight or by artificial lighting. For this reason, the workstations are arranged at a sufficient distance from the windows. Additionally, pendant luminaires by from the Nimbus “Modul L 196” range make for antiglare, homogenous lighting and, at a length of 151 centimeters, illuminate users’ desks completely, with up to 3,800 lumens. In other words, even on dark winter days there is little danger of people feeling tired. The luminaires’ design is equally impressive – with their translucent acrylic look and their wafer-thin illuminants, only 19 millimeters in thickness, they are purist, eye-catching and a great alternative to grid lighting, which office workers often find somewhat dismal.
A white package: Sportalm Kitzbühel with its façade made of glass and vivid metal strips. Photo © Hanno Mackowitz
Purist furniture: The workstations are bright and cheerful – providing a fantastic view of the picturesque scenery. Photo © Hanno Mackowitz
Dazzle-free workstations: The desks were consciously positioned away from the windows. Sufficient light is provided by the wafer-thin linear luminaires “Modul L 196” by Nimbus. Photo © Hanno Mackowitz
The architects opted for luminaires that matched the office’s pared-down design: “A simple diffuser that provides even light “ explains Atelier Ender.
Photo © Hanno Mackowitz
Design through and through: The flat linear luminaires by Nimbus consist of translucent acrylic strips featuring an impressive design. Photo © Frank Ockert
