SAP Headquarters Pavilion, Germany

September 25th, 2012 – An angular new structure sprouted up in the courtyard of the SAP headquarters. The structure is a multimedia pavilion, intended to celebrate the software company’s 40 year anniversary. The Stuttgart-based architects at Scope spearheaded the design and build of the project, titled “40 years of future.”

“The architecture of the pavilion was greatly influenced by the positioning within a courtyard of the SAP Headquarters. On a four-sided enclosed area, we designed an envelope figure, on one hand reflecting the introverted character of the utility bill and the other in an exciting interaction where the confining environment occurs,” the architects explained.

Once visitors enter the exhibition they are met by circular windows which are flush-mounted onto the wall, their arrangement is derived from the binary code of the exhibition title. This can be seen best from the exterior at night when the light shines through the “binary code windows.”

The volume of the building is divided into two polygonal bodies that break their seemingly static boundaries and are fused together in an opposite movement. The two bodies react by different heights, shapes, and colors on the programmatic structure of the exhibition.

The lower structure is a black building which penetrates the glass façade and functions as the connecting corridor to the lobby of the Headquarters. The white, seamless body absorbs inside the exhibition space with the three thematic areas for visitors to learn about the history and future plans of the company.

(Photography: Zooey Braun)