Bühler’s CUBIC: Heart forward innovation for a sustainable future.

Uzwil, Switzerland, 2019

Every day, billions of people come into contact with Bühler technologies to cover basic needs. Bühler technologies are in smartphones, solar panels, diapers, lipstick, banknotes, and vehicles. Most importantly to Kelly, they are one of the largest global food players in the world, with two billion people consuming food produced from Bühler machines every single day. The ability to impact the design of the company’s brand new innovation center, an icon for the company’s commitment to the future, felt like an unmissable opportunity.

Kelly joined the CUBIC team in 2017, helping initially to guide the conceptual design of it’s four storey interior. Alongside Bühler’s talented internal architects Elvis Pidic and Angelika Epple, and Carlos Martinez and Matthias Weibel of Carlos Martinez Architekten, the team considered Kelly’s inspiration from the ancient chakra system as a way to differentiate between floors. The ground floor, or root chakra, could offer an interactive nod to the company’s familial roots, boasting a spiral staircase drawing people up to the higher floors.

The second floor, or heart chakra, would serve as the building’s main gathering space, not just for those sitting in the CUBIC, but for the 2,000 employees of all ages and nationalities across the entire Bühler campus. This floor became Kelly’s main focus, as it would become the epicenter for nourishment, connection, celebration, and unification for everyone who stepped foot inside.

How would the employees, executives, and clients of an enormous, innovative, global food company eat and drink in the future? How would they discard? These became the core questions that would influence every design decision Kelly made over the course of the two-year project. Deeply aware of the growing climate crisis, and inspired by the EAT-Lancet Commission, Kelly and colleague Aline Crouquet designed a plant-based, zero-waste inspired food program that could creatively connect and feed the masses. The ‘Food Makerspace’ would allow diners to become their own chefs, using local ingredients to create ‘tartine’ or open-faced sandwiches. An abundance of fresh bread made with grains ground by Bühler machines would offer a daily connection to their product. And included in this design was a composting program which allowed Bühler’s food and packaging waste to return to the soil for the first time in the company’s 162 year history.

But first, coffee. For centuries, the ritual of coffee ceremony has brought people together, and it has always been a strong part of the product, the daily life, and the company culture at Bühler. Kelly knew the coffee experience at the CUBIC had to be truly unique and special. She also understood that the consumption choices made by the Bühler had a large impact on the planet and the worldwide economy, and wanted to honor the company’s commitment to a sustainable future. Seeing the coffee experience as an opportunity to practice these values, Kelly was instrumental in helping to establish a partnership between Bühler and Desta’s Coffee, a startup from Zurich with a strong connection to and respect for the birthplace of coffee: Ethiopia. 

The third floor was conceptually thought of as the third eye chakra, or the brain of the building. It was here that more heads down, focused work was intended to take place. The fourth floor, originally considered the crown chakra, would become the cloud, or the place where intimate gatherings, private meals, and contemplative moments could be shared while taking in views of the Swiss Alps.

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Photos provided by Bühler Group