After visiting Leica in Solms,
the next day I went to Wetzlar to see how the new Leica headquarters at Leitz
Park are progressing. Coming from
Weilburg, I went through Braunfels with its impressing Burg Braunfels
(Braunfels Castle) and then through Solms and on to Wetzlar. Driving past the large building of the former
Leitz headquarters brought memories of past visits to Leitz in Wetzlar. These building now are occupied by Leica
Microsystems, the former microscope division of Leitz.
Weilburg Marktplatz (Market Square)
Burg Braunfels
Just a short distance from
there I was at Leitz Park. The almost
finished new building already visible from a distance. The road led to the large roundabout with the
“Leica Globe” in the center. Leitz Park
is definitely still a construction site, with only the facilities of Weller
Feinwerktechnik and Viaoptic GmbH finished and occupied. Both companies are divisions of Leica Camera.
( see http://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2012/08/leitz-park-wetzlar-progress-report.html.)
Even unfinished and without
any landscaping, the construction of the new building has progressed to a stage
where the looks of the finished structure can be clearly seen. It is an impressive building with a thoroughly
modern architecture.
The "Leica Globe", view toward downtown Wetzlar
The architecture firm Gruber
+ Kleine-Kraneburg designed the new production, administration and customer
care headquarters. It is expected to open
in early 2014, with an area of around 27,000 m² (approximately 290,625 ft²). The new energy-efficient
building will be home to openly visible production areas, the new Leica Museum,
Leica Gallery, Leica Store, photo studio and a restaurant.
View toward the main entrance
View from Kreisel (roundabout)
The production and
administrative buildings are being built to the latest environmental and
energy-efficiency standards and will allow Leica to rapidly satisfy the demand
for Leica products without the delays experienced in the past.
When visiting with Andreas Dippel,
public relations manager for Leica during my visit in Solms, (see http://gmpphoto.blogspot.com/2013/07/my-visit-to-leica-camera-ag-in-solms.html)
we briefly talked about the move back to Wetzlar. It was very obvious that the people at Leica
are very enthusiastic about their new home in Wetzlar. His eyes clearly showed the pride and
anticipation of the move. I asked if
there were any plans for the facility in Solms.
Initially is had been planned to sell the building, but considering the
recent production shortfalls and the renewed popularity of Leica products, Leica
is looking to keep the Solms building in case further production capacity might
become necessary.
I am now looking forward to
my next visit at Leica which will allow me to see and experience Leitz Park and
the new Leica headquarters in their finished appearance.
What's with all the roundabouts all over Europe?
ReplyDeleteThey are one of the best means to assure a free flow of traffic at intersections. The myriad of stop signs in the US achieve exactly the opposite. They do stop traffic at all times. To the unaccustomed driver, a roundabout might seem somewhat strange, but once used to it, they are ideal.
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