ANNIVERSARY. 350 years Merck

On the occasion of the 350th anniversary of Merck, one of Germany's leading science and technology companies, ZENVISION was asked in 2016 to submit proposals for an event space. The aim was to transform the special corporate culture of Merck - which in 2015 received a bold and consistent relaunch of its CI - into a three-dimensional event construction.

Our proposal to transfer the succinct Merck CI to one of the largest mobile geodesic domes in the world and equip it with a 47-meter multimedia dome that could be used in a large number of places convinced the people responsible.

Already in January 2018 work started on the Merck KGaA site for a dome consisting of a floor area of ​​2,000 m² and a diameter of 50 m. Up to 25 employees were simultaneously working on the construction of the main dome and the supplementary three smaller ZENDOMEs for six weeks.

The dome of the ZENDOME.2000 (50 m tall and 21 m high) required 40 t of steel. This was anchored in the ground with counterweights made of reinforced concrete with a total weight of more than 500 t. Each of the 5 m long steel bars weighs up to 75 kg. The outer membranes have a total area of ​​13,000 square meters and have been finished by hand with the characteristic Merck design.

The main dome, the ZENDOME.2000, accommodates 1,700 people at the same time, who can follow the events on the main stage on specially constructed grandstands. In the ground embedded pools support with their reflections produced for the events 360 degrees films.
 
The ZENDOME.2000 is complemented by three smaller ZENDOME. In the 20-meter ZENDOME.300M interactive content will be presented using state-of-the-art virtual reality technology, informing about the Group's strategic future topics. Two ZENDOME.150M take over the function as cloakroom and inlet.

Officially, the dome landscape was opened as part of a Merck employee celebration in April. The imposing lightweight construction will be open to the public on September,22 2018 for the open day. On October 31, 2018, the dismantling begins again.