binb

binb (building in building)

Multi-storey building in the centre of Tehran.

Competition Entry for International Architecture Competition (Tehran): a building of 12,000 sq.m in the centre of Tehran, with commercial spaces, office spaces and apartments, in Tehran, Iran. Organised by Benetton.

This building is an analogy of a body dressed up with an external fabric.

The dressing becomes as important as the body itself, and acquires an identity of its own.

Both remain in constant interaction. The exterior fabric folds inwards to a single point of entry, to create a solid yet seductive curvaceous main south facade. The necessary open space on ground level in front of the building acts as a kind of an external public lobby area.

Narrow cuts along the thick dark cement surface of this folding facade wall provide openings towards the city and bring linear rays of light inside: subtle indications of an internal presence. The external fabric continues folding around as a lighter more translucent motif of textured glass.

A building in a contemporary city, is a body within an urban fabric. In the same way, this building is a body which operates as a protected organism composed of different  organs, and protected within a secondary outer skin. All internal functions are the exclusive organs/entities within this body. They are hidden inside, in ways and levels of autonomy or privacy depending on their function.

The smaller entities within the building are analyzed as either volumes or planes with different use (commercial, office, domestic) which can remain autonomous and also interact with each other within the same enclosure. Either visually connected or in proximity of physical boundary and accessibility, as specified. Vertical and horizontal circulation, and other mechanical supporting facilities are a micro-infrastructural assemblage of systems and elements penetrating, providing access and support to all levels and functions.

The building is perceived as one single entity from the outside, a curious mysterious and seductive object within the contemporary city of Tehran.

Once entered it becomes compartmentalized and differentiated, full of life:

An interactive interior world of volumes, functions, and movement of people.

Obscurity, interplay between inside and outside and interaction of form and function are main objectives of this proposal. They have been explored through a contemporary architectural perspective with purpose to ground on a rich and complex almost veiled internal cultural territory, in the process of becoming externalized.

From the outside, only what is necessary is revealed: entry points for people and cars penetrate the external fabric. A slight elevational tilt of the main south facade gives visual contact of the street level inside the commercial areas. Office spaces become concentrated into two singular buildings entities within the building. The office plan outline becomes a garden for the apartments on top level, which occupy the space around them. Top level concludes in height to protect a secondary roof garden for communal use.

The program of the building translates for the commercial areas as shop in a shop, where the open space can be divided into three approximately equal areas, with shared internal circulation. Office spaces are distributed into two unequal building volumes and can be divided into 3 office areas in each level. On level 7, the space allocated around 3 gardens with pools becomes domesticated into 4 luxury apartments.

A metal structural frame supports the building and its different elements. The south facade wall is metal structure with sprayed concrete, and dark cement finish. The surrounding glazed cladding wall, supported by an asymmetrical assemblage of columns and beams polished stainless steel frame, is a continuous surface of textured and clear glass filtering natural light through and allowing views outside in intricate ways. Other vertical circulation elements act as additional supporting structures.

The main environmental strategy is to exploit the form of the building to create an external constant temperature zone environment to cut down the needs of the internal zones.

The building will be air conditioned by exploiting the constant temperature of the earth.

binb (building in building) – 2009

Multi-storey building in the centre of Tehran.

Competition Entry for the International Competition in Tehran, for a building of 12,000 sq.m with commercial spaces, office spaces and apartments.

Competition Organiser: Benetton Group, Jury: ODILE DECQ (president), CINO ZUCCHI, MAKIO HASUIKE, TOBIA SCARPA, LUIS PEREIRA MIGUEL, TATIANA SAMBO (technical juror), MICHELE ZANELLA (technical juror)

World Architecture Festival Awards 2009 – Our project was shortlisted in the category Future Projects – Competition entries – exhibition and presentation of project for the jury in Novemebr 4-6, 2009 at the Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB).  Projects from 67 countries participated in the competition. 272 projects were shortlisted, in 15 categories. 

(Jury: Will Alsop, Lorenzo Apicella, Maria Aslam-Hyder, Renato Benedetti, Justine Clark, Sir Peter Cook, David Dunster, Mark Dytham, Marcus Fairs, Sou Fujimoto, Nabil Gholam, Rob Gregory, Bill Hanway, Kim Herforth Nielsen, Bjarke Ingels, Charles Jencks, Chris Johnson, Hanif Kara, Peter Kudryavtsev, Kengo Kuma, Nicola Leonardi, Kieran Long, Prof. Wang Lu, Philippe Maters, William Menking, Luis O’Grady, Shane O’Toole, Suha Ozkan, Vladimir Plotkin, Lee Polisano, Ewa Porebska, Michel Rojkind, Robert Schäfer, Dennis Sharp, Catherine Slessor, Rafael Vinoly, Ken Yeang, Roger Zogolovitch, Carlotta Zucchini)

Project Team:

Architect: Eleni Kostika

Assistant architects: Chrysa Marouda, Yiannis Vogiatzis

Structural Engineering Consultant:
Yiannis Tsopanakis, YPSILON

Environmental Engineer Consultant:
Nikolas Nakos & Partners Engineering Consultants