wurth office | warehouse design proposal

client: wurth canada ltd.	location: guelph, ontario
type: design proposal, unrealized	size: 100,000 sq ft, 2 storeys

AS+P was short-listed as part of a team with First Gulf Corp. to participate in a competition to design a new office/warehouse for Wurth Canada.  The company recently purchased a site within Guelph’s new Hanlon Business Park directly adjacent the Hanlon expressway. The design was to create a showcase facility highlighting the company’s commitment to contemporary design.

 A 2 storey 20,000 sq ft office and a 70,000 sq ft double height warehouse space are organized to either side of a 2-1/2 storey linear atrium which functions as the main entry and circulation spine of the facility.  A series of stairs and bridges cross the atrium space connecting the 2 program areas, and a clerestory brings light into this central core.  Buffering the warehouse area is a line of service spaces that include: a product showroom; meeting rooms; washrooms; elevator; and lunch room/cafeteria.

The building is clad in charcoal coloured cement board panels with exposed soffits clad in a red stained wood. Clear and translucent curtainwall glazing with a pattern of red and charcoal spandrel panels clad the office and atrium spaces. A stone cladding of eramosa limestone frames the entry loggia, and warm grey precast panels in a checkerboard pattern frame the warehouse component.