Sumitomo Office

Project: Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze GmbH Office

Country/city: Germany, Wolfsburg

Photographer: Hans Georg Esch

With focus on energy efficiency

Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze GmbH develops electrical cable assemblies for the automotive industry, including Volkswagen and Audi. The company’s new administration building in Wolfsburg contains 13,000 square metres of office space for up to 550 employees. Energy efficiency was a priority in designing the new, sustainable, open-plan office layout, provided it was not at the expense of employee comfort.

Thermally activated building system (TABS)

One way in which the architects of the new office complex rose to this challenge was by using a thermally activated building system (TABS). This highly heat-efficient technology is increasingly popular in Germany, but the reverberant ceilings often lead to sound propagation that causes acoustic discomfort. This in turn has been shown to reduce performance, increase stress and adversely affect the general wellbeing of employees.

Combining TABS and good acoustics

Using state-of-the-art knowledge to reconcile the heat efficiency requirements with free-hanging acoustic ceiling panels, the architects managed to achieve a great compromise. Sumitomo’s new open-plan offices are proof that thermally activated building systems can be combined to excellent effect with a high standard of spatial acoustics.

The chosen solution uses acoustic ceiling panels from the tried-and-tested Solo range. The solution and the resulting acoustics have received the thumbs-up not only from the architects, but most importantly from the staff.