Träumen mit offenen Augen... "HOTEL Q", First Class Design Hotel in Berlin
Im Westen Berlins, mitten in Charlottenburg, ist ein Hotel entstanden, das abseits der normierten Schlafstätten des Massentourismus oder der Corporate-Identity-Hotelketten eine völlig neue Art des Übernachtens bietet.
Das Design Hotel bietet dem Reisenden einen Ort, der unverwechselbar ist und den Aufenthalt zu einem einzigartigen räumlichen Erlebnis macht. Der Gast wird in eine neue, aufregende Welt entführt, die Ihn alte Gewohnheiten vergessen lässt und zu Neuem inspiriert.
Das in Berlin und Los Angeles ansässige Architekturbüro GRAFT hat hier eine Hotel-Landschaft realisiert, die durch die topografische Behandlung der Raumoberflächen konventionelle Seherfahrungen kontrastiert und ambivalente Lesbarkeiten suggeriert.
Der typologisch vertraute Kanon aus Lobby, Rezeption, Bar, Lounge und Restaurant verschmilzt in einer wellenartig geformten Topographie aus rotem Linoleum. Wo sonst das Nebeneinander der Räume diesen zergliedert gehen hier die verschiedenen Funktionsbereiche fließend ineinander über. Die klassischen Elemente Decke Wand und Fußboden sind nicht mehr einzelne Teile, sondern bilden ein räumliches Kontinuum. Die dadurch entstehende Skulptur formt gleichzeitig Verkehrsfläche, Möbel und Raum. Durch funktionale Mehrfachbelegung der Fläche wird die maximale Ausnutzung des zu Verfügung stehenden Raumes erreicht.
Die umfangreiche Material- Recherche nach einem gestalterisch sowie technisch geeigneten Belag für die Topographie des gesamten Erdgeschoßes führte die Architekten zu dem Produkt Marmoleum Real 3127 der Forbo Flooring GmbH. Durch zahlreiche und innovative Versuchsanordnungen konnte diese bisher einzigartige Inszenierung des Materials gelingen.
Der Hotelgast wird Akteur auf dieser Landschaft, verändert seinen Umgang mit Architektur und Möbel und geht buchstäblich die Wände hoch. Oder lässt sich in die Zimmerbadewannen sinken, die sich gleich heißen Quellen freistehend anbieten: zum Träumen mit offenen Augen.
Das Hotel wurde im April 2004 eröffnet.
Lobby, Lounge und Spa, 72 Zimmer, 4 Studios und 1 Penthouse
Design:GRAFT
Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit
Projektleiter:
Wolfgang Grenz
Projektteam:
Johannes Jakubeit, Michael Rapp, Sascha Ganske
Mitarbeiter:
Stephanie Bünau, Leo Kocan, Lennart Wiechell, Sven Fuchs, Nikolas Krause, Helge Lezius
Photo CreditsAll high resolution images by:
hiepler brunier architekturfotografie
Kreuzbergstr. 30
10965 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49-30-613 033 70
Fax: +49-30-613 084 72
post@hiepler-brunier.dewww.hiepler-brunier.deAll low resolution images included in the „making of“ and all plans and renderings done by:
GRAFT Berlin
Heidestrasse 50
10557 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49-30-2404 79 -85 or –86
Fax: +49-30-2404 7987
berlin@graftlab.comwww.graftlab.com
"Over Confessional Church and Multifunction Hall" Wünsdorf, Germany -- 1st Prize Competition
Until the fall of the Iron Curtain, the Russian Army’s headquarters in Germany occupied the vast territory in and around Wünsdorf. Closed to the public for decades, the area was left with contaminated soil but also beautiful landscapes where nature had been left alone to flourish.
In this area today, an enormous new development for health, recreation and sports is underway. The competition called for a spiritual centre: a church for confession that could be used as a multifunctional assembly hall or opera as well. Given the historic background of the location, GRAFT questioned the values of traditional form, known typologies and institutionalised solutions for this particular project. We focused instead on a Church design that would provide a new framework for increasingly complex forms of belief systems and we approached the competition with the conviction of positive change and faith in inclusion over the exclusionary practices of traditional religious establishments.
Our belief was that no clear typology for a church, mosque or theatre should dominate the shape of the building, but that it should be present at the same time to create an entirely new typology. In the end, the formal language of the building communicated different religious and ‘scene-o-graphic’ typologies in its shape, without being literal. A diamond-shaped crystal ‘envelope’ was developed from three different geometric prefigures that fuse into one another.
This crystal envelope protects the visitor, but does not cut him/her off from the surrounding landscape. As a mental space for prayer rather than a real enclosure, the landscape has essential atmospheric importance, as it flows from outside to inside the building. All technological functions for modern theatre have been submerged into this landscape, providing complete flexibility for any kind of performance or service imaginable.
With the sermon on the mountain as a metaphoric starting point, a natural auditorium and stage are created that provide the "scene-o-graphic" background for people coming together in prayer underneath the sky.
Here Today – Gone Tomorrow
Zwei Pole vereinen sich an dem Ort, an dem Deutschland immer noch geteilt ist. Ein Ort über den sich die Gemüter entzweien, die Ideologien verhärten, die Republik sich verdichtet - ein Ort der immer noch aus und in der Vergangenheit lebt.
Zwei Kreise bilden die Ursprungsgeometrie der neuen Anlage des temporären Museums - sie sind verschmolzen zu einer Einheit, zu einem "Ovato Tondo" das sich topographisch erhebt über diesem bald leeren historischen Ort.
Dieser Landschaftssockel nimmt alle dienenden und verdunkelten Programmbausteine des Museums in sich auf, während man auf seiner Oberfläche wie auf einer leicht schwingenden Märkischen Landschaft durch die Ur-Natur des Ortes läuft.
Über diesem Landschaftsbild scheint eine ephemere Wolke für einen Moment stillzustehen. Wie eine behütende Hülle über diesem Ort, bildet sie einen transparenten aber klimatisch geschützten Raum für das Museum. Sie legt sich als weiche und Fließende Form in einen Stadtraum, der in seiner bisherigen Geschichte von großen, fast brutalen urbanen Volumen an dieser Stelle im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes beherrscht wurde.
Die Wolke kann mehr, sie ist weicher Umlenkpunkt des Boulevards, Ensemblebaustein der Museumsinsel aber auch durchlässige Raumkante zwischen den Freiräumen des Schlossplatzes und des zerstörten Nikolaiviertels. Mit ihrer schwingenden Silhouette umspielt und vermittelt sie die Höhen des Blockrandes und der solitären Vorgängerbauten und setzt den moralisierenden Städtebauregeln eine pluralistische Alternative entgegen.
Die Vergänglichkeit menschlichen Versuchens an diesem Ort transzendiert sich in diesem Entwurf, der gar nicht für immer sein will.
Die Konstruktion des Sockels sowie der Museumswolke ist eine Mischkonstruktion von klassischem Raumfachwerk des Gerüstbaus mit pneumatisch unterstützen ETFE Folienkissen. Die Luftdruckveränderung in den graphisch bedruckten Kissen erlaubt flexible Sonnenschutzkonzepte, die Luftfüllung dient als Isolation.
Dalian Daily
A long history as a harbor city with traditional trading ties to Japan, Korea and Russia and a booming tourism and IT industry provide Dalian with wealth and prosperity making it one of China’s most favorable cities. Two decades of construction boom have provided the city of 6 million with an impressive skyline.
The Dalian Daily Project will add three more towers in the bustling heart of the Central Business District. The development comprises two Residential Towers with a maximum height of 168m, three levels of Commercial Base, and the new Headquarter Tower of the Dalian Daily Newspaper.
While Graft’s designs for the Panorama Towers in Las Vegas and the Apartment Tower in Qing Huang Dao were developed out of the horizontal ground plan and its multiplication and alteration along the vertical axis, the Dalian Daily Design focuses on the extreme verticality of the volumes.
Each of the towers is composed of multiple vertical panes, which break off at the peaks like glass shards. These sharp-edged and twisted tower peaks will provide ever-changing light and reflection sensations by the movement of the sun. The light will slide along the glazed roof surfaces like on a fractured mountain range.
The twisted glass roofs will provide stunning interior spaces with an abundance of daylight for luxury penthouses in the residential towers and expressive conference rooms in the office building.
The facade supports the extreme verticality by random pattern of metal panels streaming upwards along the curtain-wall surface. These patterns provide a higher density on the lower ranges and a higher percentage of floor-to-ceiling glazing of the upper floors, the facade system adjusts to the greater need for privacy at street level and stunning views and exposure for the tower tops.
While the extreme verticality is the key design characteristic of the long distance views, the opposite is achieved for the pedestrian perspective. While maintaining a consistent facade system, the 3 commercial base floors bend and twist like the rooftops along long horizontal cuts of up to 110m in length. The floor plates seam to bend and shear off like geological panes. The created indentions and overhangs guide the beholder throughout the project, articulating entrances and addresses.
The landscape concept for the adjacent cityscape follows the geometry of the facade division. Pavement lines are generated by the tower geometry, emphasizing the guiding function of the architecture, and warp up and twist like the tower tops and base levels to create benches and street furniture. One unifying system of form development is applied over different scales and directions.
Construction Start is targeted for fall 2007.
The Russian Jewish Museum of Tolerance
The Russian Jewish Museum will bring new life into one of the most spectacular landmark buildings of Moscow, the Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage by Konstantin Melnikov. The enormous space of 154m length and 54m width forms the impressive shell around appr. 8500m2, inside which the Russian Jewish Museum will be built. Originally erected to house a large number of buses, this new institution will contain a series of Museum Studios, a Children’s Museum, a Learning Center, large areas for multi-purpose and changing exhibitions, a 800 seat auditorium and smaller lecture halls, a restaurant and bar, a museum shop, and space for administration and museum staff.
As the first of a new category of museums, the Russian Jewish Museum poses unique questions in Museum Designs for cultural heritage:
- How can an entity such as the Jewish Culture and Tradition be shown specifically as part of its context within Russian history, and moreover, exemplify the many different cultural roots that Russian society is built upon?
- How can a Russian Jewish Museum define a relation between history (in Museum Studios) and the expression of the liveliness and activity of the present-day Jewish community in Russia (in flexible exhibition spaces, auditorium and event spaces)?
- And most importantly: how can the respect for a heritage building such as the Melnikov Garage, as one of the greatest examples of Russian constructivism, become a symbol not only in itself, but also for the new Institution showing past and present, history and activity of Russian Jewry?
In this context GRAFT has proposed to leave the structure of the existing Melnikov building untouched, intact and entirely visible as a monument of Russian heritage. Our architectural interventions will be limited to what originally had been planned to be the “stage for the buses”: the floor. All Museum Studios and functions such as Children’s Museum, Learning Center, administration, and storage are located below an undulating landscape - a “topographic treasure of cultural heritage” that enshrines the memory of Jewish culture in Russia. Above, the surface of this landscape frames numerous flexible spaces, creating a highly versatile stage for changing exhibitions, art fairs and shows, concerts for approximately 800-1000 people, reunions, conferences and events of all kinds.
GRAFT proposes an intervention to create a very direct and literal relation between Present and Past. The content of history, shown in the underground series of Museum Studios of differing height along a Path of Tolerance, seems to inform its ceiling above and therefore the landscape on top of it. The floor surface above the historical part of the Museum shows traces of past activity as it flexibly houses the activity of the Russian Jewish Community of today. The past seems to be buried in the ground, only partially visible and accessible in very specific moments. Present and past are situated alongside each other informing the same “topography” from below and from above. The thin layer of the floor seems to be informed by how we see the past as well as by our activities of today. The ambiguous relation of past and present defines and creates what results in a fascinating membrane of activity. On top of telling the story of Russian Jewry’s past inside the envelope of the impressive Melnikov structure, the Russian Museum of Tolerance will become one of the greatest stages for cultural events in Moscow.
The museum’s floor surface serves not only as a metaphor for the life of Russian Jewry, but in its formal contrast to the garage the design itself highlights and enhances the architectural space of the original Melnikov building. The artificial topography of this new intervention forms the parametric counterpart to the regular structure of the shell. While the rationale of modernity and the emotional strength of both Russian and Jewish Culture have often been seen as antipodes in the history of the 20th century, this museum design ventures to show both in a defined relation of balance.
Journey through the Museum
The journey through the Museum begins outside the building itself. When the visitor arrives at the museum site he finds doors of the original building shut, just as the pathways into Russian society once remained closed to Jews. The arrival path begins at the plaza, sloping down to frame a view of the Bakhmetevsky Garage, then exposing the foundation of the original building and opening up to welcome visitors. The undulating landscape inside the building reads in close relation to the areas outside the museum entrance.
From the interior lobby, the visitor may continue walking over the surface, participating in various cultural events. The typical visitor’s tour, however, will proceed to the studio spaces underneath, where he will be guided through a sequence of Russian Jewish history story-telling installations. The first three Studios talking about “Creation”, “Migration” and “Life in the Shtetl” are part of a continuous path through the exhibition. From here on the visitor is led through a continuous series of museum studios outlining the history of Jewish life within the Russian society, from mid-19th century up until our time.
At the end of the journey, through an experience of learning about the Russia of today, a “Path of Tolerance” leads back to the surface on top. The end of this journey back to the daylight will culminate in the “Studio of Tolerance”.
Visitors find their path back to the entrance over the top of the surface, through the landscape of a large, continuous forum on which presentations, discussions, and educational material may be found. Jewish Activity of today, a series of changing exhibitions, events, concerts, reunions and conferences as well as festivities happening on top of this ground, leads the visitor back to the entrance lobby. The landscape serves as a flexible canvas on which spaces conform to desired uses such as the display of artwork, celebrations and receptions, or large community events.
As an architectural intervention, the topographical surface is an optimistic symbol for the Russian Jewish Museum of Tolerance. While it speaks to the tumultuous history of Jews within Russia, its open expansiveness offers a landscape that allows museum-goers to choose their own path in exploring the various topics of the studios and exhibits. In this museum, the formal language of the early 21st century interacts respectfully with a landmark from Russia’s innovative architectural period in the early 20th century. Two architectural identities meet in a tolerant balance, creating a new, mutually beneficial synthesis.
all renderings by GRAFT
On the beach...Zahnarztpraxis KU64, Kurfürstendamm 64, Berlin
- Background -Kaum ein Umfeld ist mit so eindeutigen negativen Assoziationen verbunden wie das einer Zahnarztpraxis. Eine Ästhetik der Hygiene und Sterilität, der klassische „weisse“ Farb-Monolog und nicht zuletzt der unverwechselbare Geruch sind eng verbunden mit dem Gefühl eines körperlichen und seelischen Ausnahmezustands. Vor diesem Hintergrund erfordern Klinikbauten und Zahnarztpraxen im Besonderen ein radikales Umdeuten und Re-Allegorisieren gewohnter Rituale und Erwartungen - weg vom klinischen und hygienischen Ausnahmezustand, hin zu positiv belegten Assoziationen des Wohlfühlens und der Entspannung. Ziel ist das Vergessen der sprichwörtlichen Angst und eine Atmosphäre der Gelassenheit, die man eher von Spas, Cafès, Restaurants oder Hotels erwartet. Hier geht es um Schönheit, Gesundheit und Well-Being. Der Besuch beim Zahnarzt kann Abenteuer mit auch angenehmen Aspekten sein, zumal wenn er weniger dem gefürchteten „Bohren“ dient, sondern weit darüber hinaus ein breites Spektrum von Beratung und Service, Vorsorgeangeboten, Schönheitspflege, Zahnpflege oder Heilpraktiker-Dienstleistungen beinhaltet.
- Konzept - Das Konzept für die Zahnarzpraxis Dr. Ziegler entwickelt dafür einen radikal neuen Typ. Das Bild einer Dünenlandschaft, in der sich der Strandbesucher einen Platz im Sand sucht, sein Handtuch ausbreitet und einen weiten Ausblick geniesst, ist das Vorbild für einen Raum im dem sich der Boden aufwölbt und die Decke Wellen formt, um Besucher und Ärzte eher einzuhüllen, als einzuschliessen. Dabei sind „Dünenberge“ und Täler so angeordnet, daß Privatsphäre erhalten und Intimität gewahrt und dennoch ein weiter grosszügiger Durchblick durch die gesamte Praxis gewahrt bleibt. Anamorphotisch verzogene Bilder schwebender Menschen in Punktraster heben sich in weiss vom orangen Untergrund ab und sind nur von ausgewählten Standpunkten aus zu erkennen. Im Durchschreiten der Raumfigur ändert sich deren Lesbarkeit kontinierlich. Mobiliar wird unsichtbar und ist fast gänzlich in die Raumfigur integriert.
- Lounge - Während sich die Behandlungsräume durch zurückhaltende Technikpräsenz und Offenheit zur Dachlandschaft Charlottenburgs auszeichnen, gebührt dem sonst nervenaufreibenden Warten die größte Aufmerksamkeit. In der ungewöhnlich großen Lounge mit vorgelagertem Sonnendeck findet der Besucher (anstelle gewohnter Bestuhlung) in die Wellenformen integrierte Sofas und Liegen, die um einen frei hängenden Kamin gruppiert sind. Die Rückseite des Rezeptionstresens wandelt sich zur Bar. Neben Angeboten wie W-LAN Internet-Zugang oder integrierter Video-Game-„Sandburg“ für Kinder jeden Alters bilden vor allem olfaktorische Reize, wie der Geruch von frisch gemahlenem Kaffee und offenem Kaminfeuer, das phänomenologische Gerüst.
- Spa -Herz der Badbereiche ist der Zahnpflegeraum als geometrisierte und indirekt beleuchtete Quell-Grotte. Glasbecken schweben über dem zentralen Wasserbassin. Tropfendes Wasser ist der akustische Hintergrund. Über die Reflexion auf der Wasseroberfläche wird die Decke bewegt indirekt beleuchtet. Die eigentlichen WC-Räume treten hinter diesem unisex-Raum als privates Refugium zurück.
- die umfassende Praxis - Das Konzept einer offenen Raumfigur zwischen Decken- und Bodenskulptur setzt sich in ein Treppen-Auge fort, das das oberste 6. Stockwerk mit den darunter liegenden Praxisbereichen verbindet. Die Treppen-begleitenden Wände werden hier zum Canyon, der sich in die Serie der Behandlungs- und Besprechungsräume des unteren Stockwerks „einschneidet“. Verglaste Zugangstüren erlauben Durchblicke zum Ku’damm und in den Hof und fluten den Raum mit Licht. In diesem konzentrierteren Bereich finden sich Profilaxe, Kiefer-Orthopädie, Röntgenraum, Eingreifraum, Heilpraktiker sowie die Verbindung zum hofseitig gelegenen Dental-Labor. Obwohl als abgetrennter und unabhängiger Bereich geplant, wird dieser dennoch über ein grosszügiges Besprechungsbüro mit dem Praxisbereich verbunden. Eine zusätzliche verborgene Treppenverbindung für Ärzte und Praxishelfer erlaubt diskreten Zugang zwischen beiden Geschossen
- Material - Mit Ausnahme der in Stahlsonderkonstruktion gefassten Glasabtrennungen zwischen den oberen Behandlungseinheiten, die in den sichtbaren Bereichen rahmenloses Glas erlauben, ist die gesamte Raumfigur als Skulptur in Trockenbau ausgeführt. Die markante orange Farbe der Oberfläche des Bodens, der zu Wand und Welle gefaltet ist, ist aus vier Schichten aufgebaut:
1. farbloser Spritzelastomer
2. farbige Versiegelung
3. anamorphotische Motive als weisses Punktraster
4. transparente Endversiegelung
Einbaumöbel sind fast ausschliesslich in dunkelrotem, normalerweise als Schalungstafeln verwendeten, MDF ausgeführt.
Die Beleuchtung der öffentlich Bereiche ist in die Innen-Architektur integriert, Leuchtkörper in den Behandlungsräumen beinhalten Flatscreens und Technik zur stufenlosen Variation der Lichtfarbe und Helligkeit.
Die Praxis eröffnete Mitte August 2005.
9 Behandlungsräume, darunter Profilaxe, Kiefer-Orthopädie, Eingreifraum, VIP-Raum. Röntgenraum, Heilpraktiker, Dentallabor, 1 Chefarztzimmer mit Behandlungseinheit, 3 Besprechungs-Büros, Rezeption und Sekretariat, Wartelounge, Zahnputz-Spa, Mitarbeiterräume, Lager
Design:GRAFT
Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit
Project Architect:
Tobias Hein, Karsten Sell
Architects:
Sven Fuchs, Lennart Wiechell
Project Team:
Björn Rolle, Markus Müller
Photo CreditsAll high resolution images by:
hiepler brunier architekturfotografie
Kreuzbergstr. 30
10965 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49-30-613 033 70
Fax: +49-30-613 084 72
post@hiepler-brunier.dewww.hiepler-brunier.deAll low resolution images included in the „making of“ and all plans and renderings done by:
GRAFT Berlin
Heidestr. 50
10557 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49-30-2404 79 85
Fax: +49-30-2404 7987
berlin@graftlab.comwww.graftlab.com
Birds Island, Kuala Lumpur
Project:
Invited Design Competition, for 0 - Energy Villas in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Client: YTL Land Development
Year: Design Competition 2007
Scheduled Completion: Pending
Birds Island Design Concept
We have applied an integrated strategy of developing a zero-energy house that seamlessly dovetails the economic and environmental advantages of environmentally friendly living with the needs of a demanding and cosmopolitan clientele. The environmental and economic features of this way of living do not conflict with our client’s lifestyle; rather it furthers their ability to comfortably enjoy their time at home.
While providing an expansive outdoor living deck that spans the whole of the site, the primary living space is concentrated inside cooled zones. A maximum amount of economical and energy efficient floor area is created and sheltered from the elements by a dynamic tensile structure. The traditional relationship between indoor and outdoor has been shifted, allowing for comfort while free of the bonds of traditional walls.
Extended living spaces are arranged separately from each other and bisected by landscaped areas with local vegetation. The surrounding tensile fabric flows through the interior, shaping and imbuing the spaces with sublime shading and view patterns. Heavy sliding curtains enclose living spaces and create privacy.
SOLARKIOSK
Project by Wolfram Putz, Thomas Willemeit, Lars Krückeberg, Andreas Spiess, Holger Feist and Ulrich Möller
When we hear about underdeveloped countries, the news is usually connected to a natural disaster, political unrest, starvation, or other catastrophes. Developed nations and their citizens are often called on to help with donations for food, medication, and even to rebuild an entire country. This much-needed and appreciated help can, however only address the symptoms of much larger problems.
The underlying issues might have to do with political systems, control over natural resources, mismanagement of infrastructure, religious wars, and even climate change. In any case, we as architects have very little or no influence upon any of these factors.
What, then, can we do to help the citizens of the developing world? We can try to create an infrastructure from the bottom up, working around governments and institutions and cooperating directly with local people. We can try to decentralize the means of production, just like Gandhi did in India with salt and cotton.
Processed goods were the essential products of the industrialized world during the twentieth century. In this century, dominated by service industries, communication has replaced commodities and industrial products as the driving force of the market. As we saw in the recent Arab Spring, control over knowledge and communication is a key issue for governments and societal structures. We selected this segment of the market as our starting point for the development of the SOLARKIOSK project. People need access to telecommunication even in the most remote regions not only for news and information purposes, but also in order to gain direct access to the global markets without censorship or financial control by governments or corporations.
We want to create a product that can create small, local businesses that allow customers to charge their own phone batteries, have access to the internet, or just watch a soccer match during the next World Cup. The product we designed is an energy source for telecommunication applications.
The SOLARKIOSK provides a complete, powerful, solarbased community business model, combined with suitable tools and equipment. Our model enables a variety of local retail businesses in previously untapped markets worldwide. It needs to be a kit design that is flexible enough to be set up anywhere. The smallest sizes of the SOLARKIOSK are 2x3 and 3x3 meter cubes, which can be extended according to demand. A kit of parts provides a scalable module both for increased need for electric energy – like for telecom towers – and additional spatial growth. The small, individual, and independent units can work on the local scale, cooperating with the pre-existing local structures and have the potential to create new, flourishing economic centers around the globe.
Frankfurt Airport: Made in Germany A flavour of the German forest comes to Heinemann Duty Free
With more than 11 million hectares of woodland, Germany is one of the most forested countries in Europe. Now another tree has taken root in the Heinemann Duty Free shop in Frankfurt. Graft Architect’s office has brought a flavour of the forest to the regional products area – with an installation that is Made in Germany. With wines of the Mosel, marzipan from Lübeck, breakfast trays featuring German designs and foods that include frankfurters and apple wine, every traveller now has the last-minute chance to pick up a piece of Germany before they fly.
The dynamic tree installation, comprising layered discs of oak, rises up in the middle of the shop, catching the attention of shoppers. A leaf design for the floor is reminiscent of scattered autumn leaves. “Just think of the Black Forest, Grimm’s Fairy Tales and even the German oak. All of these are images and stories associated with our country around the world, and they represent the whole of Germany from north to south,” explains Bébé Branss, who heads the retail design area at Gebr. Heinemann. With its modern take on the woodland theme, Graft has created an open, flowing space – like a forest glade in which to linger amid the bustle of the airport.
“Every airport is unique. The designs are our way of acknowledging the distinctiveness of the various regions of Germany. Whereas the general display bays and product ranges are designed to raise the recognition factor for customers in Heinemann Duty Free shops, the Regionals zone acts as the unique selling point for each location,” says Bébé Branss. At each airport, Gebr. Heinemann collaborates with a reputable architect or design office when planning these zones. This is producing a series of outstanding structures that make every Heinemann Duty Free shop distinctive. At Hamburg Airport, for example, the architect Hadi Teherani created a harbour scene using lifebelts and bollards. Anyone flying from Frankfurt to Hamburg will be surprised at the different settings for Heinemann’s regional products – and browsing around the airport shops will be an experience to remember.
Loft Hamburg
Type: Residential, Loft, Apartment
Client: Vanessa Kullmann
Location: Hamburg, Germany
Size: 120 m2
Completion of construction: 2009
Image credits: GRAFT
As with all renovations the existing building services and structure had tob e incorporated in the overall design. This was achieved through the use of a free-standing walnut unit which functions as the heart of the apartment. This unit incorporates the kitchen, bathroom and dresser, taking advantage of the proximity to the building services. Pieces are removed from the unit to allow natural light to penetrate deep within the loft.
Flanking the walnut core, are the service walls contrasted in white. These walls house the rest of the functional elements of the space, positioned within niches to allow flexible spaces to exist for working, relaxation, bathing and sleeping. Flexibility in design was achieved through the use of ceiling-high, room-dividing sliding walls, allowing for multiple configurations of public and private space within the loft. The sliding walls, when retracted, are completely concealed within the service walls.
Haus Koch
Graft designed and planned this single family house in Berlin-Biesdorf for Dr. Alexander Koch. The house consists of two levels, a sub-level, and a carport area, the utilization of the living areas spans across five different areas, organized in so-called split levels. The L-shaped body is oriented along the sides of the northern and eastern property lines. The roof continually drops from the highest point on the northwestern corner downwards. The overall appearance of the building towards the street through its sleek geometry, perspective tapering and alignment eith existing neighboring buildings, is very unobstrusive. Towards the southwest the building opens towards the garden which forms a symbiosis with the living level. The monolithic looking building has L-shaped Windows, spanning across corners, partially expanding up onto the roof. While the windowing is minimal towards the Prignitzstraße and the northern facade, the southern facade towards the garden features generously spanning celing high windows.
Period of Design: 2008
Period of Construction: 2008 - 2009
GFA: 371 m²
Photo Credits: Graft
Graft Credits:
Partner: Thomas Willemeit, Lars Krückeberg, Wolfram Putz
Project Leader: Sven Fuchs, Katja Mitte,
Project Team: Arvid Woelfel, Pam Schriever, Thomas Neumann, Anna Frey, Bika Sibila Rebek, Björn Rolle
Ski Jump Changbaishan, China
Masterplan
2006
Ski Jump facilities with integrated Hotel and panorama restaurants, as part of a large scale tourism development project in Changbaishan China.
Construction Start for Infrastructure 2012, Construction Start Ski Jump targeted for 2014
2 Olympic Size Ski Jumps + 1 Ski Flying Jump + 2 Hotels, total GFA 88.000m2
Zhonghong Investment Co. LTD
Wangtiane, Changbai Mountain, Jilin Province China
After two decades of infrastructural and urban development, China is now experiencing a fast build-up of tourism activities.
In order to allow for the intense development to grow faster the Chinese government declared several regions as “tourism formation zones”. Among these is the area around the spectacular Changbai volcano in the province Jilin, right at the border of North Korea.
The region is formed by the vast dimensions of its forests, reaching until Siberia.
Since there is permafrost between November and April, the area will be transformed into a “tourism mekka” of winter sports.
In the context of this recent development, GRAFT was asked to design and plan the “Changbai Mountain Slopes”. The entire project extends to six million m2 at three different locations.
In the valley of “Manjiang” GRAFT planed an amusement park, a show theatre, an exhibition space, thermae spaces with natural hot fountains, a village with many boutiques, restaurants and cafés as well as 3000 guestrooms in hotels and mansions.
“Hengsahn” is an area of rolling hills where a bigger village and numerous resort hotels focusing primarily on “preventive medicine” and “cultural lifestyle” are planned.
A skiing region, that is going to be the biggest in Asia, is planned in “Wangtiane”.
The details of the regional planning follow the basic concept of focusing on individual architectural characters that complete each other: A new constructed train line will allow a very fast connection between the different business and entertainments locations.
The ski jumps will be the future emblem of Wangtiane. In total three ski jumps will be build, two in olympic dimensions and the third as flying hill for extreme long jumps.
The ski jump complex will also be characterized by its multi-functionality: it will incorporate restaurants and VIP lounges, as well as hotels.
The infrastructural prearrangements for the entire project will start in 2012. The project completion will take place in multiple phases between 2013 and 2018.
Torstrasse
Photo Credit: Hiepler & Brunier
Photo Credit: Hiepler & Brunier
Photo Credit: Hiepler & Brunier
Photo Credit: Hiepler & Brunier
Photo Credit: Tobias Hein
Photo Credit: Tobias Hein
Hotel Iveria
1. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The existing building will be reconverted into a contemporary new mixed-use facility with about 34.170 square meters of gross space on a land parcel of about 10,840 square meters. The projects main focus is the operation of an international quality hotel under the Radisson SAS brand with approx. 250 rooms including 16 suites, lobby, two restaurants, conference center, spa and all “back of house” facilities. In addition the building will accommodate a class A bank office as well as a casino. Façade and interior of the hotel and all other facilities will be of a “one of a kind” quality in design and technical standard.
The project’s goal is to create a landmark building with perfect anchoring in the local environment in an existing building of international style which through the process of transformation with an appropriate high end design ambition will link it to the world.
1.1 Location
The site for the new development is located on Place of the Rose Revolution, which is probably the most central location in Tbilisi. Together with “Freedom Square” the “Place of the Rose Revolution” will anchor the famous Rustaveli boulevard on both ends. The square and its adjacent areas are currently undergoing major redesign. Its main qualities are:
- Close to Rustaveli Avenue and the main commercial, political, cultural and recreational establishments;
- 100m away from major bus and subway station;
- 30 minutes away from airport;
- Overlooking the river and large parts of the city, providing a spectacular view to the surrounding mountains and the Caucasus at the horizon.
1.2 Size of site
The total area of the freehold land parcel is 10,840 square meters, 1,300 square meters of which are on top of a tunnel.
1.3 Existing building
The existing building was constructed toward the end of 1960’s as the prime hotel in the City of Tbilisi.
The gross area of the existing building was approximately 22,860 square meters. In order to comply with international standards of seismic ratings, the building has been reinforced. All basement structures up to the plaza level of the “square of the Rose Revolution” as well as the structure of the existing high-rise building will remain and remodeled. The ground level and the upper restaurant level of the side building will be demolished and rebuilt in approximately the same proportion. The top floor of the tower and its roof will be replaced with a new structure in order to comply with program and technical requirements of the hotel.
Existing building: Tower 18 storey’s, side building 2 storey’s (to be demolished), 3 basement levels
Remodeled building: Tower 19 storey’s, new side building 2 storey’s, 3 basement levels
1.4 New Development
The new facility will provide space for an international quality hotel, a bank office and a casino. The new facility will have a total area of approximately 34.170 square meters.
The overall total space for the described functional areas should not be less than approximately:
- Hotel for approximately 250 guest rooms including all facilities of an international quality hotel;
- Casino on approx. 2,100 square meters (back of house, circulation areas etc. not included);
Building Segmentation
The existing Tower building will incorporate the hotel rooms and the Spa and wellness area as well as two technical floors. The incorporated side building will accommodate common areas of the hotel, a ballroom, conference facilities and two restaurants, one with a roof terrace. The basement of the side building will accommodate all back of house facilities, a bank office and the casino.
Public Area
The entrances for the hotel, offices and casino will be separately accessible. A specialty restaurant and a lounge bar will be accommodated on the ground floor of the tower. The main hotel lobby will also give access to the extensive conference areas including a ball room and six other meeting rooms. In addition a restaurant with terrace will be accommodated on the second floor of the side building.
With the combination of differently programmed zones (hotel, convention center, restaurants, bar and casino) “Hotel Iveria is expected to play a key role in Tbilisi’s public life, as a “showcase” for local business conventions or private events, weddings etc. and even more as an international magnet and “stage” for conferences, fares and political meetings.
Building Design
The building will meet the requirements of modern, contemporary design. The building is intended to be a symbol of modern Georgia: transparent and dynamic. A new glass façade is a substantial element ofr this. As the old Iveria building was a symbol of its time, the renovated building will be the modern city’s landmark. The main public areas, lobbies, hallways, waiting areas, as well as food & beverage areas will provide a continuous atmospheric scenography with the highest possible “flexibility of the space”. Apart from the usual coolness of a hotel lobby the main lobby of hotel Iveria will be like a “Salon de Tbilisi” with a lounge-like and welcoming atmosphere. These places connect Hotel Iveria with the city of Tbilisi. A coziness close to the character of a “Tbilisi living room” shall be combined with a feeling of entering a very representative environment of international relevance: an “embassy of Georgia” for visitors from all over the world.
1.5 Hotel Features
The hotel will be conceived according to international four to five-star standard and will be run by Rezidor SAS under the “Radisson” brand.
Hotel Space Allocation
The hotel space to be distributed as follows (excluding plant rooms):
- 2.5.1 Hotel Rooms on 15 Floors
- 2.5.2 Spa & Fitness on Top Floors
- 2.5.3 Common area, reception and specialty dining on ground floor, garden restaurant on first floor
- 2.5.4 Conference facilities on ground floor side building
- 2.5.5 Back of house on Basement
1.5.1 Hotel Rooms Segmentation and Size
The rooms’ sizes for the hotel are between approximately 38 square meters to approximately 60 square meters.
1.5.2 Hotel F&B Segmentation and Size
The specialty restaurant on the tower ground floor will comprise around 390 square meters. In addition, a lounge bar of approximately 160 square meters is planned on the tower ground floor. A second restaurant will be located in the side building and will comprise around 480 square meters (plus a terrace). The restaurant in the side building is intended to be the main restaurant, which shall serve breakfast and also business menus to visitors from outside the hotel.
1.5.3 Common Areas
Hotel lobby, reception and other public area will be located on ground level and first floor. The hotel lobby opens to the arrival plaza and is clearly visible for arriving guests. The reception is strategically located overseeing the drop-off and the circulation to the guest lifts. A well recognizable second reception counter will address visitor to the convention center to guarantee easy orientation.
1.5.4 Conference facilities
Conference facilities of different sizes will be distributed along the ground floor.
- A ballroom of approx. 380 square meters will be accessible from the lobby and can be subdivided into 3 separate rooms;
- 6 conference and meeting rooms , all of them with daylight;
1.5.5 Spa and Fitness Area
The top floor will be utilized for a spa, swimming pool and fitness center, possibly open for outside membership.
1.5.6 Back of House
Back of house will be accommodated in the basements, leaving sufficient area for:
- Administration offices including archives
- PABX and computer room
- Housekeeping
- Staff changing and staff dining
- Goods receiving/waste handling etc.
1.5.7 Hotel Front Space
It is intended to create an arrival plaza for the hotel guest. The arrival will be simplified: people clearly see the Hotel lobby and easily understand where to go to the Hotel. The casino has a separate entrance.
1.6 Entertainment
The basement of the side building will fit a casino of about 2,100 square meters, of which about 1,500 square meters will be used for the gambling hall and 600 square meters for other service rooms.
Dalian Amber Bay Beach Front Development
The Amber Bay is located along Binhai Road, Dalians famous scenic coastal road on the city’s south east side. With a just 15min drive to the city centre, this picturesque stretch of coastline, with its beaches and towering rock formations offers the ideal place for seafood dining away from the bustling noise of downtown Dalian. Within this unique setting, the Amber Bay Beach Front Development will provide approx. 10,000m2 of restaurant and shop facilities. The Project will be built into the sensitive beach front area. Therefore the main design objective was to develop an architectural language, which blends the building volumes into the natural setting; a language that does not try to imitate nature but provides an architectural interpretation. A topographic architectural landscape, rich in variety of publicly accessible
platforms, stairs and roof terraces.
The materiality of the buildings is emphasizing this intention, natural bleached wood equals driftwood on the shore, and surface-treated concrete, composed with local sand and aggregates will match the color and texture of the existing rocks and sand.
The main feature of the Beach Front is a large scale Boardwalk. A wooden Deck, which serves as a public stage along the half moon-shaped beach. The wooden boardwalk provides a natural transition to the beach, being partly on the same elevation, so natural sand dunes will blur the circular shaped edge.
Vertical Village
Vertical Village is a residential, hotel and entertainment development that harnesses the most powerful renewable energy source in the desert, the sun. Organized to reduce solar gain and maximize solar production, the buildings are massed as self-shading slabs at the North of the site on the East-West axis to reduce low-angle sun penetration. At the southern end of the site, a vast solar collector array optimally angles itself toward the sun and faces the main public strip as a potent gesture to the developments sustainable intent and minimum LEED Gold rated performance.
The solar roof behaves much like a leaf, with veins that break the solar field up into serviceable units to provide structure but also transport energy, in this case hot water, back to the building where the energy is used to significantly reduce air conditioning consumption and provide hot water. Beneath the roof lies an urban scale entertainment district of cinemas, restaurants, shops and a theatre that shifts in degree of privacy and scale between the main entertainment strip to the South and the residential and hotel towers to the North.
The residential and hotel buildings have been sliced and leaned to firstly create large scale focal points, giving a unique address to each slab, and also to create a powerful and constantly shifting skyline as one drives by. Spaces captured between the slabs open up, interlock, disappear and then reappear as one approaches the building, offering a theatrical play of volumes that gesture towards the development’s entertainment and theatre program.
(all renderings by GRAFT)
DRIFT Couch
(Interprofil)
