New Pragmatism Berlin
with Christof van Wyk & Can Altinsoy
| Project Focus: | intelligent support structures, parametric design, transparent circulation |
| Project Start: | April 2018 |
| Project Duration: | 5M |
| Total GFA: | 7.500 sqm |
| Framing Weight: | 6.250 t |
| Garage Structure: | 8,50 m Concrete Column Grid |
| Tower Structure : | 2,30 m load bearing diamond grid steel fassade |
| Tower Stories: | 6 |
| Socket Stories: | 2 |
| Garage Stories: | 2 |
| Max. Beam Deformation: | 3.70 cm |
| Max. Slab Deformation: | 5.50 cm |
| Max. Beam Utilization: | 30 % |
| Max. Slab Utilization: | 25 % |
| Project Keywords: | intelligent support, parametric form finding, garage pragmatism, transparency, connections, confrontation, rethinking paradigms, digitalization, flexibility, office layouts, mediation, maximization |
Office architecture today is a portrait of garage architecture. The typical 2,50m parking lot dimension projects itself onto a ~8m concrete skeleton defining the layout of the following stories. Floor areas are best fitted to maximize rental revenue; architects become fassade artists.
In our study we attempt to renegotiate the conditions of office buildings. The normally incomprehensable interface of the garage grid and an entirely different office grid is emulated by the use of computation: while the garage follows vehicle measures, the tower exhausts the lot dimensions set in the development plan with a load bearing steel fassade and traversing hollow slabs.
The socket converts from one grid system to another; enabling the maximized tower floor plans. Additionally, the load bearing stiffening fassade relieves the circulation from its core responsibilities; enabling a transparent flexible accessibility of the building with even the elevator communicating traffic to the different stories. The new pragmatism of spatial maximization without compromise and a careful level of redundancy in the building services creates a new kind of communicative office space.
