Dear ArchitectureWeek,
The SOLON factory and headquarters building on the outskirts of Berlin, by local firm Schulte-Frohlinde Architekten, seems to embody a green golden moment for the German startup company specializing in efficient assembly of photovoltaic cells into modular solar panels.
By appearances, at least, there's altogether just too much fun for the hip young staff filling the creative green jobs here, housed under a sweeping, sloping, curving green roof, edged of course with glazed photovoltaic overhangs, punctuated by a series of courtyards, each of which constitutes a worthy spatial art installation in its own right.
The panel assembly factory is highly automated — from an overlook viewing gallery, one can watch panels under construction moving from station to station with hardly a soul in sight.
Apparently this leaves the company staff with flexibility to work hard in stylish clutter, to present to visitors inside a large metal egg, to rearrange an assortment of high-design rolling furniture, make phone calls within hanging acrylic pods, drink a variety of espresso options, and draft inspirational displays.
One project we glimpsed in process was a poetic future memorial to the last oil tanker:
