Project: Backhaus Mahl, Albstadt-Tailfingen | Germany
Façade System: Riveted, Screwed
Year of Construction: 2016
Product: ALUCOBOND® PLUS terra Pyrite
Photos: Elisabeth Leblanc
GOLDEN TRADITION
The Mahl family has been baking for more than 100 years. Quality and tradition are the trademarks of this family of bakers, who attract custom quite simply due to skilled craftsmanship in the ancient art. The bakery produces baked goods using recipes handed down over the years, high-quality grain from local farmers and natural ingredients. The time invested in the hand made products and the resulting quality is really appreciated by customers, allowing the company, which now has a number of branches in southern Germany, to compete successfully against mass-produced products and self-service bakeries. The brand’s commitment to quality and tradition, its authenticity and affinity with nature are strengths communicated to the public by effective marketing on all channels, and by selecting architecture for Backhaus shops which is design-conscious, tactile and grounded. The Mahl family has opted for a rural-industrial design in black, white and all shades in between, and has chosen wood and materials with perceptible, textured and preferably untreated surfaces. High-quality furnishings in a contemporary design are placed on the polished screed flooring and angular sofas covered in coarse fabrics in front of the wood stained panelling. The family's golden emblem of two lions and a pretzel topped by a crown presides over everything. The message is clear: if you take natural ingredients and sound craftsmanship, the result is both tasty and tasteful. But, how can the façade of a simple pavilion construction convey that message? ALUCOBOND® terra Pyrite achieves this with ease because it combines earthy brown hues with shimmering gold. Depending on the light, the elegant colour gradient changes in intensity and adds depth to the surface. The company name and logo, mounted on the ALUCOBOND® façade, also uses gold for its lettering, and light reflections on the burnished surface determine whether the motifs are more or less conspicuous. The two parts of the building, the pavilion clad in ALUCOBOND® to the fore, and the grey-rendered bake house to the rear, blend in discreetly with their surroundings. The architects make this feature work for the design: they consistently emphasize the horizontal lines in the building, its wide glass façade, the roof edges and the long line of lettering. The building’s appearance is plain, down-to-earth yet very exclusive. Its message: cars, time and fashions may well race past; this building, however, will endure. A message perfectly in tune with the brand.