Advertising Agency

For its new headquarters, the advertising agency chose a building in a prominent location on the outskirts

of Stuttgart with a view to the city centre. Erected in the 1960s for a dance school, and having housed a number

of doctors' practices for many years, the building has now been gutted and converted. The facade was simply

treated to a new coat of paint in a subdued anthracite colour. All the more striking, in contrast, is the large lettering

on the windowpanes, as well as an oversized lampshade-like object on the front balcony. On entering the

building, one is immediately surprised by the coloration. The walls and ceiling are covered with bold stripes,

and the same motif is repeated in the form of narrow slate strips in the asphalt floor. An illuminated wall, consisting

of square lighting elements, directs visitors to the reception counter, where the coloured stripes and dark

floor finish recur. A broad staircase leads up to the discussion rooms. These customer service areas are separated

by a spacious central zone from the staff offices, which are reached via a second staircase. On the first

floor, a neutral white tone with pale-green highlights creates a friendly, businesslike atmosphere. The flooring

changes, too, from asphalt to carpeting - again with inlaid strips. The top three storeys, where the graphic artists

and copywriters work, are distinguished by their restrained coloration, although this varies from floor to floor,

lending each level its own distinct identity. All walls and soffits were clad with plasterboard, which was given

at least two undercoats of white acrylic paint to bring out the full colour and create a velvety finish.

School Building The calm design of the teaching rooms in white and grey is

contrasted with the bright colours of the circulation spaces - in pink, orange, yellow and blue. This concept,

which lends the building a special identity, reaches its climax in the central hall. With the aim of creating a

unity of colour and architecture, the architects and the artist responsible for the project sought to design a pictorial

world for children. To achieve the expressive force of painting, the colours were built up in layers, bringing

out not only the material qualities of the concrete and the irregularities of the shuttering, but the brushwork as

well. The concrete was not uniformly coloured; traditional Lascaux materials were applied on a white ground.

The tonal quality is accentuated by the effect of daylight, which enters via the numerous roof lights.