1st Prize, Tyrolit Training Center

Working stone is an impressive process that is made possible thanks to the wide range of products from Tyrolit. This notion led to ATP Innsbruck’s competition-winning concept for a building which strengthens corporate identity by recreating the history of stone processing

The task was to design a modern, attractive training center for the corporate headquarters in Schwaz in Tyrol. The objective of the client was to offer an architecturally attractive welcome to visitors from across the globe. The new spaces should provide an attractive atmosphere in which seminar participants could get acquainted with Tyrolit’s broad product range. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of linked sanding, separating, sawing, drilling and dressing tools and a supplier of systems of tools and machinery for the building industry and employs around 4,400 people worldwide.

The external appearance of the new building works intensively with the subject of stone. A versatile building, it plays a series of games with human perception with its appearance, for instance, varying from solid stone to transparent metal without losing its resolutely industrial character. This effect is achieved by the use of a superimposed profile steel façade enlivened with patterns from the world of Tyrolit. Sanded shards of glass in the plaster awaken associations with abrasive grain. Entrances are sliced into and terraces cut out of the block of stone. The interior, in contrast, is defined by sanding and polishing, with the flexibly usable spaces appearing smooth, white and glossy. For instance, this flexible spatial design makes it possible to transform one area into a stage while the restaurant can become the auditorium. A “crack” in the stone divides the canteen from the training center both visually and functionally and yet the two clearly separated floor plans remain connected by an open, continuous prefabricated roof structure developed by ATP’s structural engineers.