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Our Institute
Research, testing and certification are activities that require custom-designed working areas with the latest in laboratory equipment. In fact, the interior layout plays an important role alongside the technical facilities per se. The working environment must allow our staff to develop ideas and to interact in an interdisciplinary manner. We have created the ideal setting to achieve this.
The building from scratch of our new home in East Munich is an important milestone for us. As the client, we have long been involved in the work on it and we are also just a little proud of it. After just 18 months of actual building work, we moved in in the summer of 2017. It is laid out over four storeys and offers a total of more than 4,000 m2 of usable space. And what better address could a scientific institute have: Einsteinring 1a, 85609 Aschheim b. München.
Building is and remains an adventure – especially when you’re talking about laboratory facilities. We also had challenges to overcome such as when our drywaller went into receivership three months before we were due to move in or the discovery six weeks before the move of a poorly laid jointless floor in the press hall, which then had to be stripped out without more ado. Nevertheless, the fact that the project came in on budget and the build was completed with only minor delays was a cause for celebration for us.
Partnership for a common goal
The building is also the new home of the Verband Druck und Medien Bayern VDMB (Bavarian Printing and Media Association) and its subsidiaries, creating a new powerhouse for the printing and media industry:
“The Fogra Research Institute for Media Technologies and the Bavarian Printing and Media Association have long been towers of strength in Munich that the printing industry has been able to rely on for support. They complement each other perfectly and help their member companies succeed at a time of rapid change in the industry”, declared the former Bavarian Minister of Economic Affairs, Franz Josef Pschierer, at the official opening.
The Free State of Bavaria made a decisive contribution to the building of Fogra’s new home with a grant of three million euros.
An understanding of working processes and flows allowed each wing of the building to be individually planned and tailored to requirements.
The Prepress Technology department, for example, which is the only technical department with carpeting, has two rooms without any natural light and walls painted black or grey for optimum colour and light measurement. The chemistry laboratory of the Materials & Environment department incorporates specific ventilation requirements.
The Security Applications department is located in the basement and is referred to as Fort Knox by Fogra insiders. Security has the highest priority and so extra massive walls and armoured glass were specified. Special air-conditioning (humidification) has been installed in the Printing Technology laboratories and the press hall to ensure optimum proofing and printing conditions. The Marketing & Communications team greet our guests on the ground floor and this is also where the training course and event spaces are located. They form a central meeting area where everyone is able to feel at home.
For the interior we have chosen a design that is modern, clean and open. So, for example, all the corridors and staircases are wider than normal. This allows colleagues to walk side by side throughout the building so that conversations don’t have to be interrupted. Every corridor runs from one end of the building to the other without any obstruction and ends in a window. The result is lightness and spaciousness.
A bright, training room with space for up to 80 people and modern audio-visual equipment creates a friendly atmosphere. It offers plenty of space for interaction, intensive discussions and creative ideas – whilst allowing those inside to gaze on the surrounding greenery. Food and drink for breaks and social events are served in the lobby.
