Simple, functional and yet beautiful – wohnbau managing director christian meyer particularly likes this verdict on the remodeled rooms in mauer 12. Since february, the former fashion house matzer& worsch is being converted into an office building for the subsidiary of the city of coburg – and a poster on the scaffolded facade has been proclaiming for just as long: "we don’t know exactly when we’ll be opening – but it will be on time."
on time – there is now also a date for this term: the 22nd day of the year. December will be the last day for the employees in their old domicile in heiligkreuzstrasse, as meyer reports. From 27. December until 4. January, i.E. Over christmas, the move of the approximately 60 employees to the wall will take place. "On 8. On january we will resume our business here."
Staircase moves to the center
if you still remember the women’s department of the former fashion house, you will immediately notice that the staircase is no longer where it used to be. "We have completely turned the building upside down", explains coburg architect lutz wallenstein from the office archi viva at the viewing appointment on monday afternoon. "We needed the exterior facade to create daylight workstations for the employees." the staircase has been moved to the center of the large room, where it does not take up any window space. The rear exit to nagleinsgasse was closed off for the same purpose.
On the second floor, too, the offices are arranged around the open stairwell. A passage leads to the building mauer 14, which also belongs to the complex. Among others, the economic development agency (wifog) of the city of coburg will move in here as a tenant in the coming year (see report below). More tenants to follow. Meyer: "we are still thinking about what we will give away, what we will use ourselves."
Large part is rented
that wohnbau has decided in favor of the former matzer& the decision to use worsch as its home, which meant converting a sprawling fashion house into an office building, presented the planners with quite a challenge. It would have been all too easy for the spacious areas to tempt wohnbau to spread out completely over the two buildings mauer 12 and 14, says meyer. Instead they decided to rent out most of the space. In order to attract more offices, the architects went one floor higher and converted the former storage rooms in the roof.
As far as costs are concerned, meyer does not want to give any figures at the moment. Only this much: "we keep the framework, which we had set for ourselves. And this solution is much cheaper than if we had built a new one." he estimates that the cost of a new building will be at least 20 to 25 percent lower than the cost of a new building. Not to mention the central location within walking distance of the town hall. Wohnbau would probably have had to do without them if the new building had been built.
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