Ernsting Service Center - David Chipperfield Architects

Ernsting Service Center
Coesfeld-Lette, Germany 1998–2001
This building, located in the small town of Coesfeld-Lette in the Nordrhein-Westfalen
region, was commissioned for the new headquarters of the German clothing retailer
Ernsting. Situated on a greenfield site, the structure stands alongside two of the
company’s existing distribution centres, one of which was designed by Santiago
Calatrava in the 1980s and the other by Schilling Architekten in the late 1990s. This
third building completed the Ernsting site and provides office space for business and
retail managers together with a research and development department.
The concept for its design was to break up the form of a two-storey building into
three connected blocks to allow each of these spaces closer interaction with the
surrounding landscape and provide a more open relationship between inside and out.
The decision to fragment the internal mass of the structure was also influenced by
the client, who sought to define each of Ernsting’s distinct areas of business activity
within a singular building envelope.
These criteria created an opportunity to design internal courtyards, which not only
afford each of the office areas light and views, but also serve to generate a sense of
proximity and interconnectedness between the different departments and teams. The
feeling of openness is further emphasised by a colonnade and balconies that extend
around both the exterior and interior of the structure, and by two atrium spaces, the
larger of which acts as the entry point and main lobby, and provides an area where
people are encouraged to meet. The office spaces are primarily open plan, providing
views into the courtyards and across the countryside from both sides of the building.
The large horizontal windows (divided into vertical panes) are set back from a dark
grey concrete prefabricated external superstructure that encases the building on
all sides, serving as both brise-soleil and loggia. Raised slightly off the ground, the
building appears to sit comfortably within the surrounding landscape, designed by
Peter Wirtz with reference to the picturesque principles of the grounds or parkland
of an English country estate.
Project start
Completion
Gross floor area
Client
Architect
Associate architect
Structural engineer
Services engineer
Landscape architect
1998
2001
14,000 m2
Kurt Ernsting
David Chipperfield Architects
Schilling Architekten
Arup GmbH / Jane Wernick Associates
Planungsgemeinschaft Haustechnik
Wirtz International
Ernsting Service Center