The fact that an office building on an exposed site on the southern outskirts of Graz, between the Liebenau and Jakomini districts, bears the nickname “black panther” is not only due to the conspicuous color of its façade. Indeed, when the architects wanted to send a powerful structural design message to the outside world, they were also keen to make their vision tangible inside their offices. Thus in extreme contrast to the daring, pithy exterior, the cat shows its true colors in the interior rooms of the Michael Pachleitner Group, where the fabric-covered walls and ceilings gently snuggle up against the visitor in the conference room, whose design was inspired by the design of a spectacles case.

A large window opens the room towards the protruding part of the building, making the hard shell and soft interior literally appear to blend into one another other. Elsewhere, bands of windows reach up to the underside of the suspended ceiling, allowing daylight to penetrate deep in to the space. Showrooms, meeting rooms, open-plan offices, individual offices and service rooms are arranged to appear flowing around the center of the development. The lighting concept emphasises this flow and the respective directions of the rooms and buildings, giving the impression that the offices and business world never come too far to the fore, but are entirely intended to serve the philosophy that work should also be fun.

At night, the overall form of the building is displayed outwardly by constantly moving tracks of light, while the symbolic power of the dancing lights reminds passers-by that the “black panther” is only the ambitious beginning of the projected expansion of an area that holds enormous development potential for the city of Graz.


Architect: GSarchitects ZT g.m.b.H, Graz

Photographer: Gerald Liebminger, Graz