The story telling takes the architecture and the time, in which this spectacular rotunda, the administrative center of the Gerling insurance group was built, as starting point, transforming the monument into a visionary rotational body, resembling a station floating in outer space.
In 1958, during the time of the “Wirtschaftswunder“, positive utopias and the belief in technological progress were ubiquitous. Life on the moon, on mars or space platforms seemed to be close and the goal of human evolution appeared to lie in a fully engineered future.
GRAFT designed the new headquarters of the German lighting company TRILUX in Cologne. The design of the rectangular building is strongly inspired by the client’s craft: light, refraction and reflections are reflected – in the truest sense of the word – throughout the building and its design embodies the precision of lamp manufacture. The continuous, staggered glass façade presents a changing pattern of reflections from different viewpoints and draws inspiration from the aesthetics of spotlight reflectors, which optimize the optical distribution of the light source. To achieve this, each façade module is rotated at the same angle about its central axis. The overall impression is of a monolithic building that produces different light and depth effects depending on the point of view.
Masquespacio just finished their last project in Cologne, Germany, for supermarket chain Solera.
Sevillian entrepreneur Pepa Bascón decided to move to the German city Cologne twenty years ago in search of new adventures. After several experiences in hospitality, more than 10 years ago she decided to set up a small store of Spanish products in the center of Cologne, bringing the best of her native country to Germany. Thanks to the good acceptation of her project years further she decided to constitute a more ambitious wholesaler to attend a growing demand of Spanish products by Italian and Spanish restaurants in and around Cologne and Dusseldorf. The augmenting popularity of Spanish gastronomy in Germany, made that Pepa Bascón in 2016 decided to open a new ‘cash & carry’ supermarket with the aim to offer a specific service to non-professional clients in Cologne. For that she contacted Masquespacio to design her new brand and interior space. The design of the new Solera from around 500 m2 was developed in search of a touch of Mediterranean emotion, mixed with functional features necessary for this type of businesses. The predominating black color offers seriousness, contrasted with several ‘happy’ colors that remind to Spain, without converting themselves in typical Spanish topics. Other elements make us think about Andalucía like the grids with ornaments, as well as the awnings and typical Mediterranean tiles.
Over the weekend the competition for the future development of Cologne’s harbour was settled. The mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker, announced Danish architects COBE as winner of the competition. The project transforms the old industrial harbour into a lively and sustainable neighbourhood with a huge waterfall and a big public pool as the new landmark. The pool collects rainwater and waste heat from the district and becomes a new attraction in the city.
The concept for an art storage building references the spatial qualities of two world famous museums. These qualities are organized with the building typology of a library in mind. The final result is a CO2 neutral building that is blending into a delicate park in Brauweiler near Cologne, Germany.
Showcasing the latest innovations in furniture design, the imm cologne is Germany’s first trade event of the year and an important indicator of up and coming trends. The exhibition stand of Walter Knoll, a furniture company with a long and prestigious history, is a further milestone in its new brand architecture, first embodied in the redesign of its Herrenberg showroom.
The proposed office building on Plot 10 in Cologne’s historic Rheinauhafen harbour district occupies a prime waterfront position, situated between two fifteen-storey ‘crane house’ office towers. The building’s distinctive stepped elevation is designed to create a strongly sculptural presence while responding to the views across the harbour.
Tags: Cologne, Germany, Rheinauhafen Comments Off on Im Zollhafen 22 in Rheinauhafen, Cologne, Germany by GATERMANN + SCHOSSIG Architekten Generalplaner
The House KLR was built 1982 in Cologne as a townhouse with two units. In these days it was one of the first realized buildings of the architect who designed it for her husband and herself. A rentable in-law apartment with a separate staircase was supposed to support the young couple financially.
New city rail station at the Cologne Zoo by Rübsamen + Partner Architects BDA Engineers
After Rübsamen + Partner’s design, the rail station Zoo/Flora was realized and finally resolved the previously unsatisfactory situation. Although the zoo is the second largest visitor attraction (right after the cathedral), its old stop near the zoo and the botanical garden was located above ground, but beyond outdated and not even accessible.
As a development of ongoing research, architects Pablo Zamorano and Jacob Bek, and designer Nacho Marti in collaboration with the Emergent Technologies & Design Research Programme at the Architecutural Assoiciaiton, are exhibiting an exciting new experiment in pushing the boundaries of a highly efficient and sustainable fabrication process of a standard natural sheet material. The design manifested into an exhibition and meeting room pavilion that explores complex geometries generated by simple cut patterning in sheets.
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