An interview with Michael Schumacher

The extra expense involved in producing an attractive façade is nothing more than the cherry on the cake, says Michael Schumacher in an interview with FAZ Metropol business magazine. In the current quarterly issue (pp. 28-30) he talks about the aesthetics of buildings that house infrastructure and appeals to companies to plan more buildings that are attractive to help contribute to the aesthetic culture of the city. Until now, he says, in the case of many commercial buildings companies have not attached any importance to how they look, even though enhancing them with an attractive façade would involve adding just 5 per cent (maximum) to the total building costs. The office’s design for Erco’s high-bay warehouse and for Qianhai Telecommunication Center – the high-rise data centre currently being built in Shenzhen – are two cases in point where schneider+schumacher has demonstrated how sophisticated façade design for commercial buildings can be achieved.

In the podcast “The dream of owning your own home – who can still afford it?” on ‘hr-iNFO Wirtschaft’, Michael Schumacher talks to author Alexander Schmitt (from minute 20:45) about how one can reduce the cost of a building through astute architectural planning. Together with ABG FRANKFURT HOLDING, schneider+schumacher planned a flagship project for affordable housing in Oberrad. The principal idea here was to reduce the total volume of building that had to be first constructed and subsequently heated. This was achieved by planning it with an external staircase and access balconies. In addition,  minimising corridor space wherever possible also produces a highly compact design.