Head Office AGC Glass

The building follows the route of the N4 highway, respecting the natural landforms. It is standing on stilts and floating above the rolling landscape.

Pedestrian and automobile pathways enter from opposite ends of the grounds but come together again south of the building where the glazed entrance hall welcomes AGC staff and visitors.

The internal office layout, which is evenly plotted onto a square plan with sides of 81 m, is determined by the natural light and the quality of the views. The duality between compactness (energy performances) and layout (visual comfort and wellbeing in the workplace) has resulted in the division of the plan into four wings, arranged around large exterior patios enlivened by wind, rain or sun. Peripheral glass facades are equipped with glass sun shades which automatically turn towards the sun. The light filtration provided by these slides is possible because their surfaces have been treated and printed with alternate bands of white, allowing the passage of diffused natural light. All other openings are equipped with removable blinds consisted of bamboo wood. The coating for lightweight opaque spandrel glass, which has been well-insulated, maximises heat reflection through glass panels etched (on the outside) and enamelled (on the inside).

Crosswise to the office wings, a gallery provides an obligatory route for everyone in the building; all of the services in the building converge at this point. The generous size of the gallery makes it a ideal venue for various events: informal employee meetings, launch parties for the latest glass products, conferences at the foot of the great staircase (on tiered seats), external events etc. The gallery provides access to all the useful areas in the building: the reception desk and associated services, the restaurant with its terraces to the west, the conference centre and each of the eight office wings (to which access is controlled). Consisted with the environmental approach that prefers stairs to elevators, the new head office is spread over two levels.

The departmental organisation at AGC Glass is flexible and its interior design can keep pace with changes through open-plan areas, closed offices or separate wings if necessary. The same flexibility applies to meeting areas and restaurants where the space is divided up as stipulated in the blueprint, by using movable, acoustic partition walls. It is possible to extend the new office by prolonging each office or meeting wing. On the other hand, the maximum possible subdivision would be eight autonomous, secure wings, still linked by and accessible from the gallery. In the interests of user-friendliness in the workplace, the preference is to have open-plan areas to be on the south elevation. The shared spaces and meeting areas are strategically centralized or situated near a staircase or next to a terrace or patio with a particular view.

The conference centre brings together all the meeting rooms which can be independently managed and by this are available for other users than AGC. Each room is fitted with audiovisual equipment and enjoys natural light and outdoor views. The restaurant area stretches along the western elevation and opens up to the outdoors by large terraces. The room can comfortably accommodate 180 people and has a lounge bar. While the materials used on the outer facade are glass and metal, the interior is fitted out mainly in wood (floor, partition walls, furniture etc.).

The project demonstrates numerous uses of glassbased products (vision glasses, enamelled and sand spandrel glass, LED glass, screen-printed glass, photovoltaic panels etc.) in a bid to showcase the AGC products as well as possible. The entrance to the building, in particular, is signposted by a large sculpture in glass.

In terms of energy performance, the aim for the building is to achieve zero energy. Energy saving, throughout the use of efficient materials and reliance on renewable energy made it possible to do so. It has been certified by VALIDEO and/or BREEAM.

Head Office AGC Glass, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
Program: head office
Architects: Philippe Samyn and Partners sprl architects & engineers
Area: 12,120 sqm
Completion: 2014