A ‘living’ façade in harmony with nature

The BRUNNER family business based in Eggenfelden, Germany has been designing and manufacturing high-quality stoves and fireplaces since 1946. Following the decision to move into the production of heating and boiler systems in 2010, space became increasingly tight, which led to the construction of a brand new facility. This was designed by local architect Prof. Markus Frank and comprises two modern buildings, which display innovative and distinctive craftsmanship both inside and out. The extraordinary façade ties in well with the future-oriented nature of the BRUNNER business.

A new office building with attractive workspace and a new 4,500 m2 heating technology building were designed. It accommodates training rooms for employees and customers, engineering and testing laboratories and a warehouse and shipping section. The key role of wood in fuelling BRUNNER products is reflected in the natural design and feel of both buildings, clad in ROCKPANEL boards. Visitors to the buildings are also surrounded by wood. The sense of space is incredible – over nine meter high rooms, impressive vaulted ceilings and large concrete areas combined with natural warm materials, such as rammed earth and solid wood, leave a lasting impression on the visitor.

As flexible as wood and stylish as Corten steel

The building has a warm and natural appearance. It was crucial that the cladding did not interfere with the clear style of the building or exceed the overall budget. Corten steel and larch shingles were also considered as clad- ding materials. The objective was to have homogenous surfaces with a ‘unique character’ using affordable building materials. Architect Prof. Markus Frank came up with a number of different solutions: ‘For the façade, we were thinking of wood or rusting iron tones. Stacked wood is after all an integral part of BRUNNER products.

Building materials are only truly organic if they are compatible with their surroundings and prevailing climate. Like with classic wooden façades, there should be a certain weathering effect.’

Purist, naturally, unique and robust

Prof. Frank found the perfect solution with ROCKPANEL Natural. The look of these robust basalt panels is matured by sunlight and natural weathering. Just as wood weathers and changes hue, the initial yellow-green colour of the uncoated boards darkens after about six weeks, resulting in a particularly natural and unique façade.