Dietz Joppien: UFO Lofthaus - best architects 07

Dietz Joppien

UFO Lofthaus

best architects 07

commercial/industrial buildings

Place

Frankfurt am Main

Description

The creation of an efficient flexible structure was the most important goal in the conception of this building, which should satisfy all requirements of a varied field of users from all areas of trade, small scale manufacturing and service. Based on a triangular geometrical form with all sides of equal length, the simple volume of the building contrasts the visual chaos of the surrounding industrial estate with its clarity, scale and materiality. The building takes its physical presence from the jointless, monolithic skin made of lightweight concrete with a fair surface and the perforation with one single opening size on a regular grid. At the crossing of the two roads along the sides of the building, the mass and weight of the pure volume is opened by a strategically placed cut, enabling the dialogue between the inside and outside world. All floors are equipped with high ceilings, large distances between structural elements and dimensioned for a high load brought in by the user. The ground floor occupies the full footprint, including a central inner space covered by a long span cupola. It is largely reserved for special uses, adding aspects from the areas of culture, entertainment and dining to the trade dominated users.