Hasta La Ideas

Bjarke Ingels Group have won a competition to convert a Basel warehouse with their design for an extension that will zigzag across the roof like a bolt of lightening.

The Danish architects propose to convert the industrial Transitlager building into offices, apartments and galleries.

The apartments are to occupy the three new upper floors and will open out onto triangular rooftop gardens.

Four storeys inside the existing concrete warehouse will house offices and galleries, facing a new public square proposed by site masterplanners Herzog & de Meuron.

Other projects by BIG on Dezeen include a power plant that doubles up as a ski slope and a centre for women’s sports – see more projects by BIG here.

Here’s some more information from BIG:

BIG Transforms Transitlager In Switzerland

BIG wins an invited competition to renovate and extend an existing 1960′s concrete warehouse situated in a Basel industrial district which is being transformed into an alternative Arts District.

Located in Basel’s upcoming Dreispitz neighborhood, which is envisioned as an attractive and inviting urban quarter in Herzog de Meuron’s master plan from 2003, the existing 18.000 m2 ”Transitlager” built in the late 1960s is to be renovated and extended by up to 7.000 m2 for residential and commercial purposes.

The development is undertaken by St. Gallen -based real estate development company Nüesch Development for the landlord, the Christoph Merian Foundation and investor the UBS (CH) Property Fund – Swiss Mixed ‘Sima’.

The winning entry which included engineers Bollinger Grohmann and HL Technik was chosen among proposals from Harry Gugger Studio and Lacaton Vassal among others.

The Transitlager’s surrounding industrial area is characterized by the geometries of infrastructures – the intersecting railways, loading docks and turning radiuses that weave through the city and create a puzzle of linear buildings with pointy corners and staggered façade lines into an untraditional and adventurous urban area consisting of galleries, restaurants and creative businesses.

The iconic character of the existing Transitlager, its generous surrounding public spaces, and connection to the city’s botanical garden makes the building a natural focal point of the Arts District.

By re-programming and extending the former warehouse into a multifunctional series of floors for various uses, BIG proposes a cross breed of art, commerce, working and living.

Two distinct buildings on top of each other form a mixed-use hybrid with activity and life 24 hours a day.

“We propose a transformation of the Transitlager that builds on the industrial logic of the existing building and of the surrounding area. The extension doubles the size of the Transitlager and becomes an opposite twin – based on the same structure, but with a different geometry. The combined building becomes a spectrum of optimal conditions: From open and flexible plans to tailor made units, public programs to private residences, vibrant urban space to peaceful green gardens and from cool industrial to warm and refined. ” Andreas Klok Pedersen, Partner, BIG.

The wide dimensions of the former warehouse, the mix of programs, the structural limits and the sun orientation creates a typology that is neither point house nor slab – a folded geometry adapted to the specifics of the existing structure and optimized for daylight and views.

The staggered edge and pointy ends echoes the geometries of the industrial buildings of the neighborhood, creating a surprising familiarity with the heterogeneous surroundings.

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West 57th by BIG	PUU-BO by BIG	TEK by BIG

Clay bricks infused with metal shavings make up the orthogonal exterior of an office and warehouse in Amsterdam designed by a graphic design agency.

Rotterdam studio Karelse & den Besten, who usually design brochures and logos, completed for the headquarters for gift retailer Cortina alongside a construction management team from TPAGH architecten.

The wharf building named Fort Cortina is located on the site of a former shipyard and was modelled on traditional Moroccan forts.

Behind the brick exterior, three floors of offices and stockrooms surround a cedar-lined courtyard at the building’s centre.

Staggered floor plates create balconies overlooking this courtyard, while additional terraces can be found on the building’s sedum room.

A few other large buildings with brick exteriors have recently been featured on Dezeen – see our earlier stories about a community centre in Hungary punctured by square windows and apartment blocks in Prague with herringbone patterned facades.

Photography is by Sjaak Henselmans, Marcel van der Burg and Jan Derwig.

The following details are from the architects:

Fort Cortina

As a graphic design agency we already had a long cooperation with Cortina, a wholesale in gift items, before they asked us to design their new headquarters. It was our first architectural assignment.

Fort Cortina is built on the premises of the NDSM-wharf, a former shipyard located on the banks of the river IJ in Amsterdam.

In this harsh environment we designed an office and warehouse building that looks like a Morrocan fort.

A monolithic structure, rough on the outside with metallized brick walls and smooth on the inside patios that are lined with cedar wood.

The dynamic lay-out of the facades is a reflection of the different rooms that vary in height and size. A result of our intention to make an exciting interior with small and big views over the river. Rooms to hide and rooms to expose.

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A commercial building that almost fits like a home. The patios at the hearth of the building are inspired on a monastery tour.

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A space for reflection and a way to give light to the interior and to create outdoor recreation areas with footpaths on the roof, which is planted with sedum for an optimal indoor climate control.

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Architects: Karelse & den Besten, Rotterdam
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Project year: 2008
Project area: 1000 sqm

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Cliënt: Cortina, Amsterdam
Project management: TPAGH architecten, Hoorn
Contractor: Klies & Jozef Bouw, Volendam

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Office Building by Modostudio	Office by 24H architecture	Rooftop Office by Dagli+ Atelier

Dutch studio architecten|en|en have created a home office in Eindhoven by wrapping a garage in corrugated aluminium.

Tiny perforations pierce this ridged metal exterior to make it partially see-through.

Daylight filters into the room through a south-facing skylight that separates the new and existing roofs.

Shutters fold back from the facade to reveal sliding glass doors that lead onto a projecting platform outside.

The refurbished garage is now named Studio R-1 and is used as a workplace for a furniture designer.

Other interesting buildings on Dezeen clad in corrugated metal include an artists studio in Australia, a steel-clad gallery and studio in France and a film storage bunker in England.

Photography is by Post & Van Leeuwen.

Here’s a few more words from the architects:

Studio R-1

A Villa build for a former Philips executive in a green suburb of Eindhoven named ‘Schuttersbosch’ gave designer Hugo de Ruiter the perfect possibility to combine living and working with the existing indoor garage used as studio space.

“I don’t want to feel like I am working in my garage” was the main goal of the assignment. The solution was found in adding a mask-shaped volume to the existing garage. By covering this with a perforated corrugated aluminium skin  as mono material for the walls and the roof, a subtle continuation of the clay-roofing of the existing home arises. A  collar of galvanized steel that acts as a terrace boundary highlights the disengagement of existing and new.

On the interior the addition provides extra floor-space and height. An abundance of daylight can enter the studio through a south faced strip of glass dividing the addition from the existing roof.

Architect: architecten|en|en
Location: Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Client: Hugo de Ruiter Design
Project year: 2011

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Duncan Terrace by DOSarchitects	Extension by Cut Architectures	The Jewel Box by Fraher Architects

Japanese architect Masato Sekiya has slotted one timber structure inside another to construct a law firm in Nara.

The building is named Mono Struct Office, as it was built using cyprus planks of a single standard size.

Individual planks clad parts of the exterior, while groups of two or three are bolted together to provide a structural frame.

Plaster covers the walls of the outer shell, which houses office workstations.

The exposed timber inner structure is set at an opposing angle and encloses a kitchen, a storage room and a conference room.

Horizontal slit windows puncturing the walls of this room provide glimpsed views out to the adjacent road.

A few projects by Masato Sekiya have been featured on Dezeen, including another building held together by bolts – see that story here, and see all of the stories about Sekiya here.

Photography is by Akira Kita.

Here’s some more information from Sekiya:

A Mono Struct Office

Planet Creations original concept of monostruct uses a single size of wood plank for all of the wooden construction — doubling or tripling for strength, and bolting joints with metal parts.

This office for a legal scrivener is made of two monostructures combined, clasping one into the other.

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One is a box-like structure of horizontal mono-structs, shortened here and there to form an irregular mozaic of space.

The outside monostructure is regularly spaced for simplicity.

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Hair Very by Maker	Wood Block House by Tadashi Yoshimura Architects	Tree House by Mount Fuji Architects Studio

Walls, ceilings, furniture and lighting are covered in grey felt at this advertising office in Amsterdam by Dutch interior architects i29.

Felt was selected for its sound-absorbing properties and to integrate the different surfaces and existing structural elements with one gesture.

It also served to cover the scars where parts of the building had been demolished or altered.

Designed for Tribal DDB Amsterdam, the offices accommodate 80 members of staff.

See more interiors by i29 here.

Here are some more details from i29:

Tribal DDB office

Tribal DDB Amsterdam is a highly ranked digital marketing agency and part of DDB international, worldwide one of the largest advertising offices. i29 interior architects designed their new offices for about 80 people.

With Tribal DDB our goal was to create an environment where creative interaction is supported and to achieve as much workplaces as possible in a new structure with flexible desks and a large open space. All of this while maintaining a work environment that stimulates long office hours and concentrated work. As Tribal DDB is part of an international network a clear identity was required, which also fits the parent company DDB. The design had to reflect an identity that is friendly and playful but also professional and serious. The contradictions within these questions, asked for choices that allow great flexibility in the design.

Situated in a building where some structural parts could not be changed it was a challenge to integrate these elements in the design and become an addition to the whole. i29 searched for solutions to various problems which could be addressed by one grand gesture. At first a material which could be an alternative to the ceiling system, but also to cover and integrate structural parts like a big round staircase. Besides that, acoustics became a very important item, as the open spaces for stimulating creative interaction and optimal usage of space was required.

This led us to the use of fabrics. It is playful, and can make a powerful image on a conceptual level, it is perfect for absorbing sound and therefore it creates privacy in open spaces. And we could use it to cover scars of demolition in an effective way. There is probably no other material which can be used on floors, ceiling, walls and to create pieces of furniture and lampshades than felt. It’s also durable, acoustic, fireproof and environment friendly. Which doesn’t mean it was easy to make all of these items in one material!

i29 always looks for choices that answer to multiple questions at the same time. They tell a conceptual story about the company, the space and the users of the space. They deal with specific practical and functional issues and they have to have some autonomous quality as well. These ‘levels’ are intertwined; one leads you to the other. If you see how smart it serves it purpose practically it leads you to the company. If you see the powerful image that is non-depended, it leads you to the functionality, and round it goes.

At i29 we believe that simplicity builds character. Compare it to a human being; strong individuals always have one or few characteristics that stand out. We all know how hard it is to stay focused on the one thing that is most important to you. The same way it is with a design. The result of being very selective is that you have to push the one choice to the limit. It also provides a field of tension, and gives energy to a space without fail into chaos. But more importantly it leaves you with a charismatic environment.

Client: Tribal DDB Amsterdam
Design: i29 l interior architects
Size: 650 m2

Constructor: Slavenburg
Interior build: Zwartwoud
Materials: white epoxy flooring, felt, hpl, steel
Furniture: lighting & furniture objects custom made

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Power Office by i29	No Picnic by Elding Oscarson	OneSize by Origins Architects