DETAIL English 5/2014 - Facades

556

Interiority and Multi-dimensional Facades – an Interview with Wiel Arets

6, 7 V’ House, Maastricht, 2013 8 –10 Jellyfish House, Marbella, 2013 Longitudinal section scale 1:400

functions, as well as on its appearance. The fact that the persons involved only concentrate on their own trade instead of communicating with each other and cooperating has always bothered me. DETAIL: Which means do you use to foster communication among the different persons involved in constructing a building? Wiel Arets: Many colleagues believe that computer programs such as Building Information Modelling are sufficient for good coordination. But problems can only be solved when there is a different type of thinking from the very start. For example, all of those involved must first understand the basic

7

2014 ¥ 5   ∂

6

idea of the design and identify with it. Only in this manner can the different building components, which are made up of so many accrued layers, form a coherent whole in the end. Even buildings that look very simple are made up of a highly complex interplay of individual layers. DETAIL: How do you convince consultants and firms to internalise this basic concept? Wiel Arets: We can only achieve something new if we continuously pull each other out of the “comfort zone”, of our routines. In other words: the building services consultants should not restrict themselves to their field. Instead they should feel that they are also

part of the architecture or of the structural engineering. We live in a time in which multitasking is as much as part of our daily lives as hybrid thinking is. DETAIL: Please tell us more about the development of the closed-cavity facade for the Allianz Headquarters in Wallisellen. Wiel Arets: Many options were available to us at the beginning of the design process. We came up with the integrated-curtain concept relatively early in the process – in effect, right after it became clear that the new structure should not look like a conventional office building. After initial talks with a facade planner, we approached

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

DETAIL English 5/2014 - Facades

Published on Aug 27, 2014

DETAIL

The effect created by facades is by no means limited to the building exterior. As a rule, their colours, forms, surface qualities and structures also have an impact on the appearance of the interiors. In this issue we present buildings with a range of exceptional facades, some of which frame views, while others exploit contrasts or have moving or movable components. At the Allianz Headquarters in Wallisellen, Switzerland, the supple fabric used in the curtains within the closed cavity facade is a foil to the regularity of the glazing. The curtains endow the office spaces with a “liveable” atmosphere. In another project, the finely articulated cast iron elements of a London shop facade ennoble an existing brick building. And at a residence near Munich, the coarse stucco surfaces and wood-clad cut-outs are composed in a manner that causes the inside and outside realms to become interlocked.