... In this case, the entrepreneur has also donned the mantle of architect and conveyed his own ideas, his own hesitations and his own feelings to the whole team involved in the building work.
The brief was to construct a building consisting of a warehouse (approx. 2000m2) plus offices (approx 1200m2) that would be built as three simple volumes, where the office wings (virtually mirror-images) will project from the warehouse towards the street frontage, ending with winding staircases which have a strong visual impact. The result is an elegant C-shape with a large central plaza for parking and space for lorries to manoeuvre when loading and unloading goods. At the entrance to the plaza, visitors are greeted by a magnificent sculpture by Alex Corno.
The office blocks are raised on pillars designed to meet local regulations on structural columns.
The building construction was carried out in two distinct stages. The first stage, undertaken exclusively by English contractors, covered the construction of the reinforced concrete and steel structures, the claddings and the roof.
The second phase, in which Italian firms were strongly involved, covered the M&E works and the fitting out of the building.
In both phases, the coordination and supervision of works by in-house architects Luca Mauri and Roberto Martello for Reggiani ensured the smooth flow of information between the various members of the Project Team and that the work under the second phase of the programme was successfully completed (M&E, windows, finishing work in general).
The pillars that can be seen in the plaza are made of reinforced concrete. The rest of the load-bearing structure is made of steel.
The two towers housing the lifts above the main entrances are made of reinforced concrete.
The clean architectural lines and strong chromatic composition of the exterior of the building lead the lighting design team to orient deliberately towards minimum visible impact.
The exciting mix of colours chosen by the Venetian Artist Pino Usicco for the lift towers, in fact for all the interior surfaces, results in a vibrant body of work that has a spirit and life of its own as the intensity of natural light varies throughout the day.
The ribbon of windows throughout the length of the building around the courtyard and the rectangular windows giving on to the external sides of the building, the sky-lights in the roof of the warehouse reflect the glass and aluminium which make up the main entrances, which all conform to the project brief of maximising the use of natural light.
The main entrance to the complex is illuminated with four Reggiani United luminaires using 150W CDM-T narrow beam lamps. These are mounted at ground level in the landscaping adjacent to the road. The facade at the end of the courtyard which gives access to the warehouse has been illuminated with wide beam general light with Reggiani United using asymmetric 70W metal halide lamps, mounted on the 'I' beams which run the length of the office facade.
The sculpture next to the main entrance has been lit by Reggiani IP55 complete with anti-glare accessory.
General lighting for the open plan offices is supplied using Reggiani Supertechne 2 x 32W. Accent lighting is by means of the Indy range using 35-70W CDM-T lamps designed by Fabio Reggiani.
A showroom/meeting room gives the visitor the chance to see the whole range of recent additions and experience lighting design efficiency.
The prestigious new H.Q. building in Borehamwood is an investment in line with the implementation of the Regiani Group's global consolidation. The quality of the design of the building and scale of offices and warehouse mirror the Company's growth and future plans for the UK market.
Technical information :
Project Managers: Luca Mauri, Roberto Martello - Regiani
Lighting Design: Reggiani
Lighting Solutions: (all Reggiani)
Main entrance: United luminaires with 150W CDM-T narrow beam lamps
Facade: United with asymmetric 70W metal halide
Sculpture: IP55 with anti-glare
Offices: Supertechne 2x32W, Indy range with 35-70W CDM-T lamps
www.reggiani.net