The new office building of the insurance company LSV is situated on a former barrack area on the outskirts of Landshut. This transition from a rural to an urban setting is marked strikingly by the entrance building, a convexly vaulted cube lined with large, overlapping glass panels. The cube defines the starting point of the central hall, which is following the street in a slight curve. It distances the traffic noise from the offices, which are connected to the hall in a right angle. The building was placed in some distance to the street so that the existing trees could be preserved and the green edge of the street isn’t interrupted. This creates an attractive area in front of the building that offers first glimpses of the filigree glass façade.
The use of wood as a building material was a very important issue to the LSV insurance company as most of its insured parties are working in the forestry. So, for the offices we used white varnished spruce wood for the inner part of the façade while the outer part is made of natural larch wood lamellae. All the roof trusses as well as the structure of the central hall, being 120 meters long, are constructed only of wood. The hall itself is an elegant example for possible uses of wood: The tree-like columns, being 17 meters high, support the curved wooden beams of the south façade, diagonal timbers stabilize the structure, and the wooden foot-bridges on the north, with a span of 8 meters, function as a structural counterbalance.
The dynamic space of the glass hall is reduced to a functional width of four meters in the back, widening to a width of 17 meters towards the foyer. The canteen is situated there, being slightly lower than the foyer itself so that a smooth transition to the green courtyards is created. The canteen’s terrace is hanging over a little pond which provides fresh cool air in the summer. Special ventilation flaps in the façade can be opened without letting in the street noise, so that the hall with its 17 meters height can be ventilated naturally.
| LSV Office Building Landshut (D) building costs approx. 30.4 million EUR start of construction 2001 completion 2003 floor area 18,000 sqm
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