Industry Full Speed – The Art of Fast-Tracking
When the Covid-19 Crisis struck, INTCO MEDICAL as one of the advanced producers of disposable gloves was suddenly at the center of attention: Demand for INTCO MEDICAL’s products went through the roof, and the company, who has been steadily growing over the last decade, saw the potential to rapidly accelerate its development. During the crisis, speed was of essence, and so INTCO MEDICAL turned to VIRTUARCH to help build their new production base in Pengze, Jiangxi Province.Â
278,000 Square Meters in 6 Months
According to INTCO MEDICAL’s announcement, Pengze Industrial Park is going to produce nitrile gloves at a production speed of almost 1.8 million pieces per hour, which places INTCO MEDICAL at a leading position of the industry. The new clean, hygienic and high-tech cluster of factories of 278,000 square meters contains production lines, warehouses, a centralized energy hub, offices, showrooms, a VIP restaurant, social areas such as a generous dining hall, a gym, dormitories and other facilities. Trusting VIRTUARCH’s extensive experience, INTCO MEDICAL asked the renowned Swiss architecture firm to provide architecture, interior design and project management support services.
The essence of this project is Speed. Speed of Design. Speed of Construction. Speed of Production. VIRTUARCH masters the Art of Fast-Tracking.
Design Visualizes Innovation
Despite the extreme time pressure of the project, both INTCO MEDICAL and VIRTUARCH set the goal that building a factory under an extreme fast-tracking schedule was equally important as making this project productive, as it’s a perfect opportunity for INTCO MEDICAL to further define itself as an innovative medical company. “Working under extreme pressure and doing the right thing are not a contradiction” is one of the convictions of Daniel Heusser, President of VIRTUARCH. Consequently, VIRTUARCH developed its vision for the project to be a landmark in Pengze. With the factory’s massive size and its location not far from Yangtze River, VIRTUARCH composed the 532-meter-long main facade as a sequence of abstract volumes, creating a rhythmic skyline of white and silver elements reflecting the production, warehouse and office buildings. The abstract design outlines the innovative and high-tech nature of INTCO MEDICAL with a few strokes.
Work Café
Composition of white volumes and silver surfaces
Intelligent Design Improves Efficiency
INTCO MEDICAL Pengze is a large cluster of production facilities, with dedicated highly automated production lines for different products. Multiple warehouses with their dedicated logistics zones minimize the internal transportation. A central energy hub serves all production buildings with heat transfer oil, shortening the distance between energy production and energy consumers. VIRTUARCH helped optimize the arrangement of spaces and strengthened the connections between offices, production plants and warehouses to ensure maximum efficiency of workflow, logistics and person movements.
Warehouses and logistics centres for different types of products originating from different production lines.
The office building forms the head of the production site: Office building entrance
People are in Center Focus
VIRTUARCH not only helps INTCO Pengze Industrial Park to achieve higher work efficiency through intelligent planning, but also makes the working environment of employees a key aspect of its design. By carefully orchestrating the illumination of all workspaces by natural light, VIRTUARCH creates spaces which greet visitors in friendly and bright atmosphere and provide the employees with a stimulating, comfortable work environment.
Natural light illuminates the carefully designed central lobby
Bright and open spaces set the overall tone of the office building, creating a vibrant working environment that allows every employee to integrate into the team. The design of the office building is arranged around a central lobby with a garden. Open stairs allow for short ways in the building, and social areas on each floor invite the employees to interact with each other at work in the office for rests and chats.
Open office space
The roof garden serves as intimate outdoor area for the 3/F offices and brings natural light into the main lobby.
A Home for 3,500 Employees
Located in a less developed area, the INTCO MEDICAL Pengze is also home to a large workforce who will live in the dormitories, dine in the restaurants and spend their spare time on site. Therefore, great attention was given on designing a friendly, yet efficient living environment for INTCO MEDICAL’s workforce.
The restaurant at the Pengze Industrial Park can accommodate up to 1,000 people and offer several types of food, giving the employees a choice between different local cuisines and a large variety of dishes.
1,000-seat restaurant
In line with INTCO MEDICAL’s philosophy to provide good living and working conditions for their staff, VIRTUARCH has designed staff dormitories with a nice finishing. Different room types serve the needs of the employees, be it white collar staff spending the weekdays on site, be it blue collar employees living permanently on site. Â
Living room of the mid-level management apartments. A gym with an indoor basketball court and fitness and ping pong halls invites the staff to do sports together.
Gym Building
INTCO Medical is a high-tech manufacturing company committed to R&D, production and marketing of medical disposable products and durable medical equipment. The main business covers medical protection, rehabilitation nursing, physical therapy, disposable examination & operation products. INTCO MEDICAL has been exporting products from China to more than 120 countries and regions, providing practical products and high-quality services to customers.
PROJECT NAME: INTCO MEDICAL, PENGZE
CLIENT: INTCO MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd.
LOCATION: PENGZE, JIUJIANG, JIANGXI PROVINCE, P.R.CHINA
INDUSTRY SECTOR: MEDICAL
PROJECT SIZE: 278,000 sqm
PROJECT DATE: 2020-2021
SERVICE: ARCHITECTURE DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN, DESIGN MANAGEMENT, PROJECT MANAGEMENT CONSULTING
