ul class="overview_list " id="projectList">

  • Humboldtblock

    The Humboldt Block combines existing and new buildings to create a new productive quarter with a character know for Berlin, connects on many levels with its surrounding and can respond flexible on future challenges. The urban design aims to connect the area wit its surrounding - on one side the Humboldthain as an important open space, on the other side with the adjacent areas and institutions of the technology park.

    The structural setting completes the perimeter development of the building block along Gustav-Meyer-Allee. Existing and new buildings merge to form a quarter with a strong character, creating an outside view typical for the location. The part on Gustav-Meyer-Allee with its public first floor areas form the showcase, representing the new quarter. In the center of the Humboldt Block, a sequence of squares is created to connect the entrances of the new and old buildings. Those buildings face each other and form a common public space.

    The development is divided into nine north-south oriented strips of buildings, some of which are grouped together by internal courtyards. The main internal development for delivery traffic divides the resulting building strips in an east-west direction. The permeable building structure opens generously to the Humboldthain and links the quarter with its surroundings. The main thoroughfare is aligned with the two existing crosswalks of the block.

    completed
    2022
    Berlin
    Germany

  • Student City 2

    Our reconstruction concept of Tirana's "Student City 2" aims to show the great potential for particularly thermal energy savings in construction, modern student housing and is showcasing a well performing example how public and private sector can interact. As the buildings suffers from massive deterioration on the inside, main focus of the energy concept lays on a replacement of all basic infrastructure, including a adequate ventilation and heating systems as well as new windows as its centrepiece to remedy humidity. Different subdivisions of student rooms with joined shared bathrooms and modifications in use of common rooms allows spacious privacy and reacts on students needs. Applying a complementary colored orientation and material system for each dormitory allows visual indication of buildings, floors and rooms and provides "Student City 2" with a unique identity. As the roofs of the buildings offer common space, they can be used according to public or economic visions of its users and leverage "Student City 2" to be Albania's pilot energy efficiency project.

    under construction
    Rr. Studenti, Tirana, Albania
    Tirana
    Albania

  • Campus Nümbrecht

    The Nümbrecht School Centre is to be restructured in several construction phases and thus converted from a classical corridor school with internal, anonymous and unused corridors into a new spatial-pedagogical concept, the Cluster School.
    The corridors will be activated and transformed into communication zones, supplemented by group / EVA rooms and team stations, as well as niches and self-study areas, and opened to the communication zone.

    In order to maintain a clear location of the gymnasium and the secondary school after the merging of the Hauptschule and Realschule to form the secondary school, the former Hauptschule will be demolished and the school centre supplemented by the new building of the secondary school. The planned new building contains 18 classes, 3 team rooms and 12 special learning rooms, which are grouped together in clusters.
    The central interface between the existing building and the new one is the "common centre", which ensures the connection of the new building to the existing school centre.

    under construction
    2019
    Mateh-Yehuda Str. 5
    51588 Nümbrecht
    Deutschland

  • Embassy Residences

    How to organize attractive family living and low energy housing in a high-density city center?

    Our award-winning design for the Embassy Residences in Albania provides high-quality, family-friendly, and low-energy housing units in the city center of Tirana, one of the fastest-growing cities in Europe.

    The project responds to the mayor's ambition to limit the growth of the city and to counter sub-urban developments with a more diverse range of housing typologies. On top of a commercial plinth and two parking levels rises a series of stacked villas, connected by a semi-public stair. This serves as alternative circulation and additional, shared informal outside space to the apartments. 



    The floorplans protect the privacy of the apartments but allow residents to sit on their porch or use the staircase to access their apartment when in the mood for a chat or a Friday afternoon drink. Research has led to a compact build-up of irrigated substrate layers that can support rich vegetation on the stair, balconies, and roof terraces.

    The facade consists of two layers arranged according to insolation. A basic glass layer is protected by a secondary shading layer of anodized aluminum where it is not protected by surrounding buildings or cantilevering volumes. This results in high transparency on the one and low energy costs on the other hand in addition to preventing the building from the hot Mediterranean sun whilst still guaranteeing an elegant look.

    under construction
    2018
    Rruga Asim Zeneli, Tirana, Albania
    8303 Tirana
    Albania

  • Rinia Complex

    The Rinia Complex is located in a former youth park in the center of Fier, on a plot that is open to 3 sides, facing different contexts. Our design for the mixed-use complex addresses these contexts, which represent the different and differing needs of the area. The building seeks to express the ambitions of the City of Fier, that is: to create a new image, one that is fitting for a city that is dynamic and continually growing, and to add important functions to the city like a public 25m pool and a cinema.

    Rinia Complex is a truly multifunctional building, with a program that also includes a 5-star hotel, 2 floors of parking space, residential units, a bank, a shopping center, a restaurant, and a casino. All public functions of the complex are accessible directly from the street via external staircases and are embedded into their urban surroundings. The building has been designed to be used in different ways at different moments throughout the day, offering both public/open access and private/restricted access areas. The intricate program has been fitted into a single volume, a uniquely shaped building that is internally 'fragmented' in order to give an answer to the different needs and the diversity of the context, but which also retains its flexibility as an urban 'shelf' that can take on a variety of functions.

    under construction
    2018
    Rr. Dervish Hekali, Fier, Albania
    Fier
    Albania

  • Office Building. New Lands Commission

    The design for the landmark building of 5.500sqm, housing the New Lands Commission, will be a symbol of the new spirit of transparency and efficiency, bringing together the currently dispersed Land Sector Agencies. The building has an important symbolic impact due to the recent nationwide establishment of the land registry and is to represent a new All-Ghanaian identity. The design responds to local climatic and social parameters throughout all scales.

    All design elements, from the urban setting out to the building's shape and its materialization aim towards natural and sustainable performance, fulfilling several functions at the same time. The circulation system forms the core of the building, spiralling upwards between two rings of offices on different levels. By breaking the clear separation between floors this system provides a continuous movement, bringing the NLC together on one continuous floor, with a variety of perspectives in and throughout the building. The parametric design of the outer appearance of the building guarantees functional performance whilst allowing for aesthetic variation. The diamond-shaped bamboo panels all follow the lowest sun-angle providing shade and filtered natural light at the same time.

    in progress
    2010-2015
    Ghana Survey School, Achimota Rd
    1757 Accra
    Ghana

  • Vocational College of Machinery and Irrigation - VCMI (Vietnam)

    The design of the VCMI campus is based on sustainable principles in order to handle climate and urban challenges the area is exposed to. The masterplan aims for a clear functional zoning which allows future growth. The area reserved for sports can provide a diverse offer, as an educational complement for the students, but also space, passive to be rented, so the school can reinforce economical sustainability. The proposed area dedicated to teaching and training will allow VCMI to multiply its current offer. The Campus is organized around a cooling pond which is the centre of the water treatment concept: Collected rain water can be extracted for the use of grey water in the buildings. Complementing the new expansion is also forecast a Centre of Excellence for Green TVET, an institution that is inscribed in the scope of the Vietnamese-German Financial Cooperation. The junction of these two institutions will trigger synergy effects, unlocking the campus true potential, towards the aim of establishing themselves as one of the forefront regional institutions, but also contribute needed tools, to a resilient climate change in Vietnam.

    in progress
    2015
    Hiep Hoa, Bien Hoa, Dong Nai, Vietnam
    Dong Nai
    Vietnam

  • TreeTop Trail Lagodekhi

    Lagodekhi Protected Areas (LPA) in the extreme north-eastern part of Georgia at the southern slopes of the Caucasus and with altitudes from 590 to 3500 m, is one of the world's best-preserved areas with diversity of natural landscapes. The project of developing a TreeTop Trail as a new touristic product is to attract more visitors and, considering the transboundary potential of the LPA, make it one of the most attractive destinations, to be included in future transboundary ecotourism products.

    The concept emphasizes the forest as the protagonist and proposes a minimalistic design, a circular shaped trail that gradually ascends towads the tree canopies. Additional program is added in order to enhance the experience of forest. This includes a watch tower, a dome, a large net, a cave, and multiple platforms.

    in progress
    building permission 2019
    15 კოსტავა ქ., Lagodekhi, Georgië
    Lagodekhi
    Georgia

  • Orange Headquarters Mali

    Bamako is in a phase of rapid urban development, with the population growing expansively; telecommunications are an integral part of this growth and are a marker for upward social mobility. The height, visibility, and clean volume of the new Orange Mali Headquarters express this situation, thus creating a landmark for the new, mobile urban class.

    At the same time, the building sets the bar for offices and urban planning in Bamako, by creating a zero-energy building that incorporates greenery and improves the working environment of the Orange employees. The new Orange HQ is surrounded by a public garden, a layout that makes the office building more accessible and simultaneously creates a social space for gatherings and events. The green spaces continue into the interior of the new office building as a sequence of open terraces. By using 'stacked' office floors, and by interspacing these with high-quality open spaces, employees feel more connected and floorplans can be optimized.

    The iconic, geometrical 'zig-zag' exterior is the result of a smart and site-specific design, avoiding direct sunlight on the facade.

    in progress
    2019
    Bamako
    Mali

  • Dhermi Plaza Hotel

    The Dhermi Plaza Hotel has been designed as a 5-star hotel along Dhermi's promenade. The project optimizes the square meters available within the plot whilst merging with the context, and offers publically accessible facilities.

    Its elongated volume is situated ideally between the beach to the south and the mountains to the north and is characterized by a dynamic facade. The shading system, composed of double-facing sliding shutters, plays with the shadows created by the thin walls. This creates a sense of movement, and reveals the life inside the building, making the hotel guests the 'accomplices' of the architecture.

    The hotel hosts different functions which can be separated if necessary, such as the restaurant, spa, and beauty salon on the -1 floor level;5 shops, a pool bar, a swimming pool, a bar, and the hotel lobby on the ground floor level; and an array of variously sized rooms on the first, second and third floor. The top floor has been designed as an active neighborhood/village, with various leisure facilities for both adults and children. It stands out from the rhythm of the facade and offers the guests panoramic views The hotel grounds have been designed so as to offer a range of different sports activities, from swimming in the 25 m pool to playing basketball on the shaded field.

    in progress
    2018
    Dhermi Beach, 1001, Dhërmi, Albania
    Dhermi
    Albania