Office and laboratory building in Tübingen

Materiality with a sense of detail

With the ‘Campus an der Sternwarte’ in Tübingen, a+r Architekten has realised an office and laboratory building that forms part of the growing technology park in the Obere Viehweide area. Despite its exposed corner location, the L-shaped building is intentionally subtle, with its proportions, facade and colour scheme helping it integrate into the built environment.

A second glance reveals the attention to detail and meticulous choice of materials. The plinth is clad with three-dimensional ceramic tiles in jade green, whereby the shades of green change depending on the perspective. They bring depth, shadows and a delicate play of light and colour to the facade. At the same time, the material is durable, dimensionally stable, hard-wearing and ticks all the boxes when it comes to the functional requirements of a much-used plinth zone.

Rough organic rendering and gold-coloured slats create an elegant lightness on the upper floors, allowing the building as a whole to blend coherently into the distinct and yet unobtrusive architectural language of the Campus an der Sternwarte.