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Architects: Atelier TT
- Area: 2900 m²
- Year: 2013
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Photographs:Martin Westlake, Dennis Liandy
Text description provided by the architects. Challenge: How does one create an architecture whose purpose is to unify the different businesses together in an innovative way?
This was the challenge Atelier TT was given with regards a project brief by a client who owns several businesses. As such, Atelier TT focused on the creation of a social platform which encourages interactions between the occupants and helps to turn neighbours into friends.
The design approach for this media complex takes a new spin to the design of a typical commercial planning of a 4 storey office building. Instead of opting for a four-storey block extrusion, the typical four storey mass is initially splited horizontally into two storey slab blocks. The upper block is then pushed further back in order to create an upper ground floor level, allowing the upper floor tenancies to also enjoy a shop frontage similar to the ones below.
This new upper ground floor platform is then connected to the ground floor via a grand staircase, which is articulated in a united language of a timber platform that has been folded down to meet the ground. As tenancies with the benefit of a shop front tend to attract higher rental returns, this particular arrangement of a ground floor level and upper ground floor level allows the developer to reap higher rental returns while simultaneously creating a social platform for the different businesses within the complex to interact and socialize with each other. This gesture not only benefits the quality of the working environment within the complex, but it also imbues the office complex with a particular recognizable identity that adds further value to the development.
