Open side-bar Menu
 ArchShowcase
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination.

Office Solvas in Zomergem, Belgium by Graux & Baeyens Architecten

 
July 6th, 2012 by Sumit Singhal

Article source: Graux & Baeyens Architecten

Office Solvas is a newly constructed office building in the center of Zomergem, Belgium, in the immediate vicinity of the church and adjacent square. Within this specific context the design challenge was to integrate a three-story building (with two office-floors and one level for apartments) on a lot between two buildings with a completely different typology. The left building is one story high with a flat roof, the right one has two floors and a pitched roof.

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

  • Architects: Graux & Baeyens Architecten
  • Project: Office Solvas
  • Location: Kerkstraat1 .  9930 Zomergem . Belgium
  • Design: 2008
  • Construction: 2010-2012
  • Plot: 1510m²
  • Built area: 1238m²
  • Photography: Luc Roymans
  • Materials: Concrete façade: Prefab, Afrormosia  lamellae, Aluminium Windows

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

The first two office-floors were shifted horizontally. On the right side this created a passage to the underlying parking lot and provided a distance towards the neighbor on the left. This patio also brings daylight deep into the building.
The upper story was shifted away from the street to fit the “gabarit” of the building on the right side. This way the two neighboring apartments were given a substantial terrace on the front overlooking the church.

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

The shifted lower levels were further enhanced with the insertion of two glass volumes. One  volume accentuates the entrance hall, while the upper one creates a panoramic view of the square. The façade of both offices consists of concrete panels and a rhythm of wooden slats. These lamellae form a privacy filter without compromising daylight. They also provide a visually open fence for the patio facing the street.
The apartments differentiate themselves from the underlying floors by a dark zinc finish.

This materialization refers to the rhythm of the lamellae.

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

The materials of these exterior elements have also been applied throughout the interior.

Between the concrete slabs of floor and ceiling a visually open plan was created with white desks and wooden volumes, woven between a grid of steel columns and black pillars.
Suspended white ceilings delineate different zones and provide room for lighting and ventilation, while glass walls provide the necessary partition.

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

The steel columns were specifically composed of standard extrusions, reinforced with two flanking plates of flat steel. In this way, the column is provided with larger capacity, but it retains its slenderness and is given a certain refinement.

At the entrance hall filtered light is admitted through a wide open staircase of black steel steps and a glass floor.

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Image Courtesy Luc Roymans

Tags: ,

Categories: Building, Offices




© 2024 Internet Business Systems, Inc.
670 Aberdeen Way, Milpitas, CA 95035
+1 (408) 882-6554 — Contact Us, or visit our other sites:
TechJobsCafe - Technical Jobs and Resumes EDACafe - Electronic Design Automation GISCafe - Geographical Information Services  MCADCafe - Mechanical Design and Engineering ShareCG - Share Computer Graphic (CG) Animation, 3D Art and 3D Models
  Privacy PolicyAdvertise