AR170116
93
Contact: AVA Andrea Vattovani Architecture Address: Farbergasse 6, 8010 Graz, Austria Phone: 0043 0316 902926 Contact Email: office@andreavattovani.com Website: www.andreavattovani.com
Best Urbanism & Design Practice & Best Cyprus Urban Contemporary Design: Earth, Limassol, Cyprus ZT GmbH
Think globally, act locally Andrea Vattovani Architecture is an architectural office based in Austria but acting world-wide. We spoke to Andrea Vattovani to discuss some of the firm’s recent projects and how they plan to capitalise on recent success. ndrea Vattovani strives to create personalised solutions for every client, from private clients to large-scale project developers. The firm’s services range from design, research, master planning, construction and interior design all the way to graphic design. Each project, regardless of the size, is approached with same amount of attention and receives the same treatment. Andrea talks us through one of the firm’s latest projects, and what challenges the firm faced during this time.
A
“One of our latest projects is Retro67, a residential building located in the heart of Beirut, that we designed for Masharii. The project presented lot of new challenges for us, such as facing new building regulations and standards, coordinating it throughout different phases, and basically how to integrate these constraints in our initial design without losing its essence. From the very start our goal was, as always, not to create an icon but to create a building, which responds to the given location, to the local culture and fits well within the city. Whilst visiting Beirut, I was very pleased to hear that they believe the building is a real “Beiruti Building”, and that means we succeeded in our mission. We are very satisfied with the progress of the project and hope to have a lot more opportunities to work on similar projects in the future.” Showcasing the firm’s vision, Andrea details how the firm wants to become a leading world-renowned firm, solving problems on a global scale. There is a plan in mind as to how the company wants to expand and develop, things move on fast and the firm wants to stay innovative and creative within a changing architecture industry. “Here at AVA, our overall mission is solving site-specific tasks, reflecting the idiosyncrasies of the site. The main goal of every project we do, is to be beneficial not only for its direct users but also for the whole city and become a part of it.” When undertaking a new project, the firm maintains a clear and consistent approach; it is a combination between a constructive and dedicated dialogue with our client, and a creative investigation about the site and the local culture. “For us, the essential part of every project is the initial research we do. We collect all the possible information we can find about the site, the surrounding projects, the local culture, the city and the people, to find out what make a
site special. These ingredients will be then included or reflected in something extraordinary.” Our team is always looking to provide the best “product” it can be, aiming to match and also exceed client requirements in many cases. The client is made to feel part of the team, which helps contribute to a very successful business model. What also makes our strength at AVA, is diversity. We are a multidisciplinary and a multicultural team, and master 7 languages in our office. “Fundamentally, we create solutions instead of sculpture, but our projects still maintain the sculptural beauty and quality without sacrificing the functionality. One of our strengths is also that we are a very client-oriented practice. For us, clients are not victims of our design but rather part of the team. We embark on with them on journey from a blank sheet of paper to a finished building. Just like all architects, we know the importance of design, but at all times we keep in mind how important the economic success of the project is to the client. Due to these qualities, we have often received positive feedback from our clients, including the Retro67 project, where the client said to us it would have been hardly possible to do the project with anyone else but us. We also like to offer a complete package for the project, meaning our company can do everything from initial concept development, all the way to planning, construction management and finally the sales documentation and visual identity for the project” “We always try to use the most up-to-date hardware and software. For example, we have been using a 3D-Printer for years now for rapid prototyping and trying out different concepts. This has made the model making process a lot faster and makes it a lot easier to present different and sometimes quite complex ideas to our clients.” Looking ahead, the company is looking to improve its presence in the middle east particularly, as well as other countries, expanding its global reach and successfully completing projects which are fully integrated into the culture of various countries.
2017 Architecture Awards Build