Based in the old Knorr Braking Systems factory, Friedrichshain – a protected historical site, is one of three of the online retailer Zalando’s locations in Berlin, employing around 2000 people. Bruzkus Batek architects have designed and conceptualised a multi-use “fashion hub” at the site, including a modern, fully featured canteen and terrace onto the interior courtyard.
The space-efficient design of the wooden framed seating units with OSB surfaces, blends inviting warmth with the austere, industrial design of the host building in a truly exciting way. Up to 300 Personnel gather daily in this canteen to enjoy a selection of meals, or simply coffee. Outside of break time, the space is used for informal meetings and associated activities.
Out on the terrace, two adjoining huts and a large area of wooden decking, with a bright yellow “garden hut” nestled in the courtyard, provide a great space for sunny weather eating and is the ideal space for parties and functions.
The Hub itself is a central event space of approx. 650 square metres, serving as an incubator for creative projects, and an event space. Showboxes – freestanding cubes made of either aluminium, copper, tiling or layered plastic sheeting – provide a space for the dynamic presentation of new fashion collections. The materially varied, precise construction of these cubes stands in contrast to the open, industrial atmosphere of the surrounding building, where the framework and substructures remain visible. Multi-use exhibition platforms and a catwalk are also provided, constructed from OSB.
The windows facing onto the vibrant Neue Bahnhof Strasse are equipped with individual, boutique-like showcases behind each one. Individual doors give access and they are used to show a selection of fashion displays, reflecting the company’s currently sold lines to this busy, upmarket Berlin street. Inside the room they also form an interesting design feature.
Stark, bright neon lighting lights the main space, creating the character of a gallery, while individual exhibits and points of interest have their own, subtle light design as an offset and accent.
As a young architect, there are crucial moments and decisions that begin to define your professional career. What type of architecture do I relate to? Who or what inspires me to create and design? Where do I form my architectural references and context? Should I stay or should I look for a professional experience abroad? At this point, most of us have dreamed of living and working in New York, Chicago, San Francisco… but we often have no clue where to start and immigration bureaucracy seems so obscure, expensive and complicated that we easily get discouraged and give up on our American Dream.
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After many tries of looking for a career opportunity in the U.S., I can affirm that the easiest and fastest way to get a job and live your American Dream is through Architect-US – Esteban Becerril, Trainee at SOM.
The most common way Internationals make it to the States is through enrollment in a graduate or post-graduate school. However, not everyone can afford the academic track and thus University doesn’t seem to be a realistic way forward either. In addition to this, the global issues affecting the architectural profession and the proliferation of a new model of networked international practice, lead us to think the industry is in real need of platforms that encourage global dialogues and promote cross-pollination while breaking down the immigration barriers.
You can’t be a global practitioner without transfusion experiences between different cultures. Architect-US is great because it simplifies the process – Kenneth Drucker, Design Principal, HOK New York.
Aiming to reduce these hurdles, Architect-US Career Training Program the First Exchange Program specialized in international Architects and Engineers interested in working in the United States- facilitates the liaison between rising global architectural talents and U.S. based firms, sponsoring the J-1 Visa of participants as part of the U.S. Government’s Exchange J-1 Visitor Program. In 2016, Architect-US placed and sponsored the J-1 Visa of participants from 11 different nationalities -Argentina, France, England, Spain, Brazil, Canada, China…- making the American Dream of over 50 participants come true.
I remember last year I was kind of lost and desperate to find a good job. And then I heard about Architect-US and I decided to apply for their Job + J-1 Visa Program. They arranged me interviews with several firms and in a few months I was starting at HOK, living my American Dream in the city that never sleeps! – Claudia Conde, Intern at HOK.
The goal of Architect-US’s outreach is to change the culture of opportunities, advocating for talent and excellence, while reinforcing the value of personal determination and sacrifice. In other words, Architect-US is conceived as a win-win Program: participants get the opportunity to live a unique professional experience and to gain entry into one of the most competitive markets of the world, by covering their J-1 visa expenses; on the other hand, US firms get access to international talent at zero cost by offering participants waged internships or trainings. Architect-US Program is a virtually free service to employers -they pay no program, visa or placement fees-, while connecting and strengthening ties with young professionals eager to learn from American techniques and methodologies, who hail from Europe, South America, Asia, Canada and Australia. It frees the hosts from visa costs and paperwork and facilitates a speedy bureaucratic process (4-6 weeks).
I had tried many times with other visas but when I started the J-1 visa process with Architect-US, I always had their team by my side, reassuring me. Now I can go on with my life in a happy and fulfilling way, knowing that I won’t have to worry about a visa for a long, long time! – Sibilla Morsiani, Trainee at Restoration Hardware.
In this sense the Program provides the J-1 Visa sponsorship to top-notch architecture students and young professionals, aged 18-35, for them to have the opportunity of pursuing an internship or professional training for up to 18 months in the U.S.; accepting only paid positions that will ensure anyone can afford participating regardless of their economic means. Some of the most prestigious U.S. based companies – such as SOM, OMA, HOK, Grimshaw, IBI Group and FR-EE among others- already trust Architect-US Professional Career Training Program, having brought a variety of cross-cultural benefits to their workplace and standing up for diversity inclusion.
Courtesy of Architect US
One interesting focus of the Architect-US Program is that it helps firms find the right people, both students and professionals – Gustavo Rodríguez, FXFowle Design Principal.
Beyond an educational training service, Architect-US Career Training Program promote opportunities to provide international young professionals with the chance of having a first approach to the American Building Industry while raising public awareness of the benefits of hosting international talent. In 2016, Architect-US hosted an International Competition for the Design and Construction of the program’s booth at the American Institute of Architects 2016 National Convention, held between May 19-21st in Philadelphia, PA.
The competition counted with an international panel of industry leaders including Nuno Ravara (Herzog&de Meuron Associate), Ivan Shunkov (President of Harvard Architectural & Urban Society Alumni), Alex Alaimo (AIA National Associates Committee Director at Large), Salvador Pérez Arroyo (Honorary Professor of the Bartlett School of Architecture UCL), Blanca Lleó (Vice Dean of Madrid Polytechnic School of Architecture External and International Relations) y Patricia Garcia Chimeno (Architect-US CEO and U.S. Director of Operations). Out of the 60 registered entries, three awards were given based on self-supporting structural solution, material usage optimization, design ingenuity and ease of assembly. The 1st prize was won by Rebecca Lou Zhenyuan -a young talented architect working at Arup Hong Kong at the time- who not only saw her first design built in the most prestigious U.S. Architecture event of the year but also found her dream job at Kieran Timberlake, where she is currently pursuing the Architect-US J-1 Training Program.
Courtesy of Architect US
The endorsement of Architect-US means everything in the selection process with the host company, transmitting responsibility and feasibility. Definitely, what makes the difference – Lorena Galvao, Intern at IBI Group.
Internationals, Architects & Engineers, interested in participating in the Architect-US Program should register at their website. Furthermore, Architect-US The Blog serves as a forum for the exchange of international architects experiences, ideas and resources, addressing global challenges and bringing those in the architecture community closer together. More information about the outreach is available on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube .
Title: Architect-US: How to Work in the U.S. and Not Die in The Process
From the architect. The first wooden church built in London since the Great Fire of 1666 has been built for the Belarusian diaspora community in the UK, and is dedicated to the memory of victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
The chapel sits surrounded by 13 statutorily protected trees in the grounds of Marian House, a community and cultural centre for the UK Belarusian community in north London. Its design offers a mixture of traditional and contemporary elements and, like many rural churches in Belarus, the chapel will offer a gentle presence among the trees of its garden setting.
The chapel was designed by Spheron Architects, an emerging London-based architecture practice, following painstaking research into Belarus’s wooden church tradition. Spheron Architects Tszwai So spent time in rural Belarus, recording and sketching traditional churches there.
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The after-effects of the nuclear reactor explosion were felt particularly severely in Belarus, where 70% of the fallout fell, forcing many thousands of people to leave their homes and resettle around the world, including in the UK. The domed spire and timber shingle roof are common features of hundreds of traditional churches in Belarus and will offer familiarity, comfort and memories to London’s Belarusian community, many of whom moved to the UK following the Chernobyl disaster, while others have displaced by subsequent political and economic upheaval in their homeland.
A series of contemporary twists have been introduced to the basic traditional form, such as the undulating timber frill of the flank walls which enlivens the exterior. Natural light enters through low-level and concealed clerestory windows running the length of the chapel, and through tall frosted windows on the front elevation. At night, soft light from within allows the chapel to gently glow. Inside the chapel will be decorated with a series of historic icons set into a timber screen separating the nave from the altar area in the apse.
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The chapel has been funded by the Holy See, and replaces the Belarusian Catholic Mission’s makeshift place of worship inside the existing community centre. Accommodating up to 40 people, the new chapel serves not only as an important spiritual focus for the Belarusian community, but also as a lasting memorial to the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster.
Product Description. Belarusian Memorial Church has been designed to serve as a reminder of the traumatic loss of a great number of rural settlements in Belarus and Ukraine after the Chernobyl Disaster, since many villages with their wooden architectural heritage were razed to the ground. The materials palette was restricted to wood and glass, and very small areas of lead. Soft wood was chosen instead of Oak, a prevalent choice in the UK, in order to reflect the Wooden Church Heritage of Belarus.
The principal structural frame was made from Douglas Fir and prefabricated off site. It went up in just a few days, infilled with pine CLT panels manufactured in Spain. The timber floor is made up of 35mm thick T&G Douglas Fir boards and the entrance doors and handles are also made from Douglas Fir with infill glazing.
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With the exception of the floor boards and entrance doors, which are finished in a clear lacquer, the entire interior is of natural unfinished wood
The internal area is approximately 69sqm and is level throughout with the exception of the raised altar, which is 200mm above finished floor level and only accessible to the clergy. The altar is divided by the iconostasis, which is again formed of Douglas Fir posts with infill CLT panels, occasionally broken by the Royal Doors, made from Douglas Fir
600mm high fixed thermally broken frameless glazing units run at low level along within the nave with clerestory glazing running around the perimeter of the chapel with further glazing units in the tower. All double glazed units are 28mm thick made up of two panes of toughened glass with clear outer pane consisting of low-e soft coat (cavity face) and inner pane Pilkington Optifloat Opal
The warm roof and cupola are clad in Canadian cedar shingles with the cupola housing a bell donated by Chevetogne Abbey, Belgium. Above that is a ventilation stack made up of oak grilles with insect mesh internally. The dome is a timber frame structure clad entirely in lead. This is topped off with a metal cross, anchored within the dome.
Building Contractor Rs&Partner: Immobiliengesellschaft mbH, Düsseldorf (Germany)
Building Owner : Mitsubishi Electric Europe B.V., branch office Germany
Project Staff: Stefan Fuchs (Projektleiter), Guido Becker, André Pannenbäcker, Jörn Brambrink, Ralf Tielke, Kilian Kresing, Rainer M. Kresing, Nicolas Oevermann, Heinrich Nelling
Landscape Architecture: RMP Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten, Bonn (Germany)
Framework: IBS GmbH & Co. KG, Bochum (Germany)
Building Services: Planungsgemeinschaft Haustechnik, Düsseldorf (Germany)
The architectural conception of the new construction of the head office of Mitsubishi Electric Europe is based on the target of connecting different departments both horizontally and vertically across a total of six floor levels.
The building with its great variety of types of use including office space, conference rooms, workshops and a show room is grouped around a class-clad connecting hallway. Thanks to its transparent appearance, which contrasts with the otherwise massive parts of the building, it sends out an appealing and welcoming flair that can already be noticed from a distance.
The manifold occupation with flexible furniture, product exhibitions and small meeting rooms makes the connecting hallway a central venue for both the 750 employees of the company and for any visitors, thus facilitating intercommunion and sociability and creating a sense of well-being. Its effect as a recognition feature of the building is intensified and kept up through the vegetated courtyards annexed. Across these courtyards, the floor-to-ceiling windows establish visual connections to each workplace at each spot of the building. In this way, an open and lively spatial feeling, which conveys a sense of coherence and identity, is created within the flexibly designable working environments and office landscapes, with sufficient natural light being provided.
In addition to the product exhibitions, the building equipment and appliances are made visible in a purposeful manner. The uncovered ceiling installations and air conditioning systems present themselves self-confidently as further developments and innovations of the company. That way, the building does not only constitute a meeting point and a place of communication, but it also develops further to turn into an aggregate, identity-generating Mitsubishi world.
The building, which was designed and realized by the architecture firm kresigns, received the Platinum Award as the highest level possible of LEED (“Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design”) certifications.
Conventionally speaking, retreat homes are conceptualized as villas in the park with a focus on maximizing the visual access of the interiors to the surrounding natural vista through transparent exterior thresholds of a solid volume.
[In]Exterior is a family house located in a retreat village in the periphery of City of Isfahan. The suburban context of the project offers no substantial natural view or meaningful topographic variation. Hence, the spatial organization of the project is fundamentally transformed to introduce two connected semi-courtyards. Instead of looking outward at a non existing natural vista or impressive view, the project is shifting its visual focus to the inner yards, arriving at maximum transparency of the architectural thresholds where the interior spaces meet the interiorized yards.
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The redefinition of inside/outside relation is also deriving the material condition of the architectural surfaces. The commonalities of surface material and texture, both in interior and exterior voids, allow for certain level of ambiguity in differentiating the interior and exterior condition from a perceptual point of view.
The spatial uncertainty in identifying the borderline between in and out is further established through the introduction of sliding walls that transforms the interior yards of the project to semi-open gardens.
Meanwhile, the introduction of the yards within the heart of the spatial organization of the house, allows for performative division of the house between the categorically different functions with private and public nature.
Product Description: For the facade of the building we decided to go for a white modular material to emphasize on the abstractness of the platonic forms of the project. Hence, the white industrially produced bricks of Namachin Esfahan were chosen.
The Tourist Center is located just outside Chetian Village (车田村), on the main road arriving from Guiyang, the capital of Guizhou province. The stone village, famous for its houses built with local blue-stones, has more than 400 years of history and its population is mainly composed by Miao (苗), one of the oldest ethnic minority groups in China.
The Village runs parallel to a river and the local traditional architectural style is characterized by single units (stone houses with open air courtyards) repeated in a parallel way. Each unit is linked to the others and all these parallel bands form separated groups.
The Architects integrated this characteristic parallel feature in the design of the tourist center. Three parallel units (bands) are arranged following a L shape, which creates interesting outdoor spaces, in China categorized as “Yuan” (院), courtyard. This first band is characterized by white walls embracing the courtyards, white walls which create a ritualistic impression in contrast with the stone ones.
Categorized as “Xiang” (巷), lane, the space created by the second band is located on the widest area on site, on its north end. The building at the very end of the long quite secluded corridor hosts the restrooms facilities and has been built according to Chetian Village’s traditional stone masonry techniques.
The third band is the largest volume on site and it is categorized as “Tang” (堂), hall. Here are located the visitor center’s public functional areas: reception and info point, an exhibition hall and a tea room. Upstairs is the private office area. The interior units follow the parallel flow and have been partitioned according to their functions. Architects deliberately designed the turn near the south end of the first band and the second band in order to combine the three bands into one structural group. Group which still preserves the singular L shape units in aim of retaining the relative independence among the parallel bands, while gaining the benefits of uniformity and integrity.
The house was conceptualized around keeping the family interactive all round the day. The footprint of the residence was confined to only half of the available site, overlapping the spaces for increased interaction; as well provide an open space for various activities. The dichotomy between the built and the un-built, play of light, space and materials provided for the quality of spaces.
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The residence is built only on a narrow plot of 1050 sqft, and utilizing the complete width of the plot, the rooms and spaces stay comfortable for a lavish living. The walls are only 125m thick and with no columns in the residence, the spaces come out to be neat and cozy.
The minimalistic approach makes the whole depth read as a single space, integrating the way the family lives. The sequence of spaces ensured that the privacy wasn’t hindered but at the same time maintained a connection when required. The extended living room eradicated the feeling of living on a busy city street with the hybrid between the organic nature and rectilinear concrete.
The void in the centre of the building envelope celebrates the spaces connected to it and maintains the joy in the family. Sunlight filling in from the courtyards and the greens segregating the spaces provide a comfortable atmosphere for living.
Product Description:The postform sunmica panels provided for a clean and minimalistic furniture that blends seamlessly with the plain concrete walls and roof and at the same time providing a contrast in the colour and texture.
Sig Nordal 