Mercedes-Benz of North America Selects Architectural Design For New U.S. Corporate Headquarters
24 December 1997
Mercedes-Benz of North America Selects Architectural Design For New U.S. Corporate HeadquartersMONTVALE, N.J., Dec. 24 -- Mercedes-Benz of North America (MBNA), Inc. today announced the winner of the architectural design competition for its new corporate headquarters to be located in Pearl River, NY. The design, by Lauber + Woehr Architects of Munich, Germany, was one of five concepts submitted to MBNA executive management after a seven-week design process. Also participating in the design competition were Gensler (New York, NY) in association with SNS Associated Architects & Engineers (Montvale, NJ); The Hillier Group (Princeton, NJ); Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (New York, NY) and Murphy/Jahn Inc, (Chicago, IL). Mercedes-Benz of North America's new headquarters will be contemporary, cost-effective and convey an image commensurate with the dynamic brand and quality products. It will have a timeless character and create a "fun-to-work" environment for the employees. According to Michael Bassermann, chairman and chief executive officer of MBNA, "it was an excellent competition and all the design concepts offered exciting possibilities. However, the concept submitted by Lauber + Woehr Architects was the best interpretation of our vision. Their design offers a spacious building that is engaging, flexible and humanistic all at the same time." The new MBNA headquarters will be a three-story, single-use building of approximately 400,000 square-feet. The building, as designed by Lauber + Woehr, is organized in wings that are 60-feet deep and separated by 30-foot sky-lighted openings to ensure that all workspaces have an abundance of natural light. The design is modern in character, carefully detailed, low-key and restrained. A major feature will be an atrium space which will be used as an informal meeting space for employees, for corporate and community events. Lauber + Woehr Architects was founded in 1990 in Munich, Germany, by Ulrike Lauber and Wolfram Woehr, after a long period of international activities. Both architects had been associate partners of Richard Meier (New York, NY). The architectural office achieved worldwide experience through numerous competitions where Lauber + Woehr designed, among other projects, an innovative office complex with a human working environment for the 'Vereinte Versicherungen' (German insurance company) in Munich, Germany, and the American Business Center at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany. Moreover Lauber and Woehr were involved in the design of the 'Potsdamer Platz' in Berlin, Germany, having received a special prize and the construction order for two apartment buildings and a cinema complex. To prepare itself for the century ahead, Mercedes-Benz of North America has embarked on a mission to create its new, innovative state-of-the-art corporate headquarters. It will represent an investment of approximately $50 million. Groundbreaking is planned for the spring of 1998, and the headquarters is expected to be operational by the fall of 1999. Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. markets Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the United States and is responsible for sales, service and parts through its network of 320 authorized Mercedes-Benz dealers. MBNA expects to sell 115,000 vehicles in 1997, breaking 100,000 in annual volume for the first time in its history. SOURCE Mercedes-Benz of North America