TCZ – Zephyr

Zephyr is the first development step of the Technology Cluster Zug. It allows the company V-Zug to concentrate its manufacturing process on the Northern part of the site, freeing the Southern part for third party development. Zephyr, the “mild Western wind”, represents the V-Zug brand – from the heavy, raw material concrete base up to the ethereal lightness of the mirrored high-rise facade. The precisely trimmed building volume illustrates the competence of the company and the aspiration of the Technology Cluster; the green roof stands for an all-compassing sustainable site development. The three building parts break the industrial scale down to the scale of the city.

The industrial site of the future is transparent, interconnected and can easily react to changes. For V-Zug, this is made possible by dividing the site into three independent, specialised buildings – the atrium building, the press hall and the office high-rise. The complex programme is thus simplified and allows for a flexible, future-oriented portfolio; the concept reduces dependencies, allows to build in phases and enables a planning process that can integrate differentiated feedback of all stakeholders.

The Atrium Building represents the new transparency of the company: Assembly and research become connected, direct visibility and access is ensured. Guests can be lead through the whole space without interfering with the production – synergies between management, guests and production emerge. The third level is the centre of the development department – the V-Zug Labs. It’s a space for researching, developing, discussing and thinking; it is completely surrounded by a green terrace that allows to step out for a quick break, fresh air or intense thinking. The terrace ends in a large roof terrace above the press hall, next to the cafe as the central place of exchange. Connected to it is the cantilevering floor of the highrise, the V-Zug World, where brand and innovative products are shown. Below ground level the motherboard connects all areas of the V-Zug site.

The future of industrial planning is dominated by small, diversified batch sizes, technological change and decreasing margins in a global competition. Being ready for the future means the production has to be flexible and agile, with little fixed capital (flow production instead of workshop production) and innovative development (time to market). Today’s workshop production process needs to be optimized step by step to reduce the high amount of revolving stock; technical changes on the product as well as in the manufacturing technique are necessary. The more the production process can be flow-oriented, the less the revolving stock will become, drastically reducing buffer areas, staff and time. This is achieved by rotating the manufacturing process by 90 degrees on the site and producing from East to West – the assembly is now relocated to the first floor, which allows to separate it from the less clean processes in the ground floor, shaping a new clear order for the whole site.