The company of the Dr. Schär AG is located in the southern part of the commercial area of Burgstall. Because of the steady growth of the company also the space requirement increases and therefore the existing administration block has been extended. Due to the limited base area the building was conceived on three floors. The characteristic of the design of the new part of the building is the sophisticated, restrained and linear architecture. The glass facades create a new light and clear look of the building and also of the whole company. The sun protection is made of slanting glass falkes, it is aimed at a kind of double façade.
The visible Attica panels of the ceiling are covered with white tiles, the flat roofs are designed as green roofs.
The brief required a home for entertaining and rest that would seamlessly integrate with the neighbourhood, it also called to maximise a dog-legged site to capture sunlight and views. The resulting house is sympathetic to its neighbours, providing privacy through the careful composition of building form and light.
Following the site’s shape, the building unfurls in a series of enigmatic light-filled spaces within a logical building plan composed of courtyards and outdoor zones, each positioned to follow the sun’s path. The formal entrance is bordered by a concealed garage, connected to the house by a ‘zen’-like covered link.
The LC house is located to the eastern side of Santiago, Chile.
It is built on the upper part of a slope making it higher than street level. Maximizing the most of this condition, a street level entrance to an underground parking was built.
The house entrance is accessible through a flight of stairs which start at the street and ascends until it reaches the main access. To make the entrance stand out, the area was pulled outward from the main volume, framing the sky and giving it natural light.
This project, for a London-based infrastructure research organization, was guided by two fundamentally practical needs:
1. Maximizing natural light & sense of space – While only 4,500 sf, this primarily north-facing mansard space was required to host up to 45 workers at peak moments. A sense of space & daylight were thus primary concerns. Glazed or mirrored partitions throughout maximize the sense of space while the orientation and design of elements in the space serve to maximize daylight. Nearly all elements (curtains, partitions) run north-south in an effort to maintain as much northern light. Despite the apparent contradiction, these strategies enable both openness and privacy.
The project is tightly bound to the few liberties left by the plot on which it is located. The north exposition and the numerous constructions in the surrounding area required an important work in order to settle the access, the relations to the site and the landscape as well as the spaces placement and the natural light input.
The house takes advantage of the natural slope to connect its ground floor and upper floor to the garden and is shaped with light bevels in order to frame stunning views on the villages and nature of the valley of Bagnes.
The scope of our design commission was broad yet clearly defined. The interior of Švyturys Brewery needed to include a bar, a beer shop, a tasting area, an exhibition space, a conference room, a concert stage, and more to become a place where people could socialize and learn about Lithuania’s proud beer brewing culture.
Had you visited the Paris Court in downtown Budapest only a handful of years ago, you’d have met with a significantly different impression. Darkened corners, rusted metalwork and damage from the tumultuous wartime events that shook Europe in the 20th Century all combined to make for an architectural sight that was at once historically rich yet in many ways a shadow of its former glory. In fact, it was a popular destination for filmmakers, who saw the opportunity to leverage the combination of the ornate passageway and limited natural light for covert undercover meetings in spy films – such as 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. Over the last three years, a partnership between interior design studio KROKI and architecture studio ARCHIKON has worked to revive the downtown location, restoring the dark and damaged arcade to a decorated landmark that introduces proper lighting to its intricate details for the first time in its history.
The goal was first to restore the historical features of the central passageway, which is now open to the public as it had been prior to its disrepair. This meant maintaining the unique facades and decorative elements of the building that its creator, Henrik Schmahl, had designed it with when it was built at the beginning of the 1900s. Glimpses of Neo-Gothic, Art Nouveau and Moorish aesthetics can be spotted throughout the covered space. The myriad details that once decorated the passageway is a rarity across Europe, and so when work started it was essential that these same features were restored and maintained to their previous, ornate glory.
Equipped for entertaining, this dynamic penthouse in the heart of Surry Hills is inspired by commercial hospitality interiors. Our clients, a couple from France and New York, worked with us to make bold and unexpected choices for their Sydney chapter.
The existing 2 bedroom apartment had a poorly planned layout and lacked generosity of movement and proportion. One incredible asset was a very large roof terrace offering views out across the southern Sydney CBD skyline. The new floor plan has been designed to connect all new fixtures to the existing services of waste, water and power. The positioning of the wet areas and kitchen avoided the disruptive and expensive process of core holing through the concrete slab into the ceiling space of the neighbour below.
In the center of P. Psychiko, a typical two-flat residence of 1955, is transformed into a 3-residences contemporary building. The reinterpretation of its functional and geometrical rules, results into the transformation of both the building and its surrounding area.
Τhe intervention is crucial. Only the structure of the building, as well as part of the external walls are preserved, while all internal walls are demolished. The existing flat division and the existing entrances are also cancelled. The interior organization of the new residences, the relation between them and the circulation around them is fully redesigned.
Architecture is the result of a complex phase, such as the project. It is not a unique and linear process but it is based on the continuous review of multiple options available always keeping a critical attitude. This is a peculiar practice manner based on the primary role of the IDEA in the process. The act of DOING is also fundamental and researches a balance between the three steps of working on architecture: theory, order and the final outcome. Each one keeps the essence of the original idea and gradually becomes more precise and developed until the project reaches the realization. Theory is a synthesis in the making of the background made of models, references, words and other contributions coming from other disciplines, all weaved together.