Zooom Productions’ Picturesque Salzburg Eco Office Blends into its Environs

If the Sound of Music was filmed again, the creative offices of <a href="http://www.zooom.at/#/en/Explore/Buildings/-/EU/" target="_blank">Zooom Productions</a> would serve as an excellent backdrop. The picturesque village of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuschl_am_See" target="_blank">Fuschl am See</a>, Austria in the Salzburg district has strict landmark preservation regulations, so when Zooom wanted to expand their offices, they had to ensure that it fit it with its surroundings. <a href="http://www.markmack.com/#/en/" target="_blank">Mark Mack Architects</a> was tasked with designing a suitable addition, which includes mixed-use office facilities, an indoor climbing wall, and a guest apartment. Various sustainable building features such as rooftop photovoltaic panels, biomass heating, and high-performance insulation make this building an excellent example of site-specific sustainable design.

Sphere2 is situated adjacent to the facility's existing buildings, which were built using pre-fabricated <a href="http://www.klhuk.com/home.aspx" target="_blank">KLH panels</a>.

The new building makes use of concrete and masonry construction clad with raw steel plates, contrasting with the weathered wood siding of the original project.

Sphere2 stands three stories tall to match the height of the original <a href="http://inhabitat.com/barndominium-green-live-work-space-is-a-modern-update-to-the-vernacular-barn/">live/work building</a>, however it slopes down to one story in order to respect neighboring buildings.

At night the building's profile echos the silhouette of the mountains in the background.

The new, yet weathered building holds a large creative studio, conference rooms, a kitchen, an exercise room, a climbing wall, and a small apartment for creative guests at the lowest end of the building.

Two dynamic balcony volumes punctuate the building to provide extra ceiling height, and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clerestory" target="_blank">clerestory windows</a> suffuse the space with daylight.

The balconies jut out over the side and the climbing wall provides recreation for the employees.

Concrete radiant heating floors are part of a simple, raw material palette that contributes to a casual yet controlled design aesthetic.

The photovoltaic system on the roof provides some renewable energy for the building, while a connection to a remote biomass heating plant and the radiant floors provides energy-efficient heating.

High-performance insulation and prefabricated wall panels maximize the heating and cooling.

Sphere2 adds an additional 520 sq meters of office and mixed use space to Zooom's existing facilities.

Early watercolor of the office expansion.

The office pays respect to its neighbors, the village and the surrounding landscape.