Rooftop Office Aachen | CROSS Architecture

Modern office concept

The distinctive 1960s building is extended with an additional storey in the form of a prismatic, one-storey volume. The extension is staged as a consistently modern and independent structure – as a self-conscious addition with its own identity, and not just as a mere continuation of the existing building.

Hybrid structure in steel/wood construction

The cubic volume is derived from the urban context in the immediate vicinity of the World Heritage Sites of the Aachen Cathedral and City Hall, the consideration of the visual axes as well as the orientation. The ground plan of the new storey is laid out as a large open-plan space, which thus optimally benefits from the all-around orientation. An elevated platform is intended in the centre of the floor plan, which in this open-plan concept affords equally attractive views for all workspaces.
The project is conceived as a hybrid structure in steel/wood construction to achieve a short construction period with a highly economic efficiency through prefabrication. The innovative building concept, which was developed in an integral process, only rests on the existing building in a few places, thus making it possible to implement the extension with minimal effects on the retail unit located below.