Raakspoort
Raakspoort – City Hall and Bioscoop
TYPOLOGY: Office / Leisure
COUNTRY: The Netherlands
CITY: Haarlem
YEAR: 2011
GFA: 18.500 sqm
CLIENT: MAB Development Nederland B.V.
AWARDS: NRW Jaarprijs, Best Retail Development, NL, 2013
Brick Award, Worldwide Brick, GB, 2012
PHOTOS: © Christian Richters
Transformative processes, particularly those relating to delicate fine-grained historic cities like Haarlem are complex and protracted. In the case of the Raaks project it took more than ten years to evolve from the considered Urban Masterplan (Donald Lambert – Kraaijvanger Urbis) through a sequence of workshops and program rethinks to the final ensemble, which opened in October 2011.
At the outset BOLLES+WILSON were given responsibility for the outermost block of this close packed, highly urban redevelopment precinct – which as it turns out (and as the masterplan prescribed) intertwines almost seamlessly with the adjacent small-scale urban fabric – a neighbourhood. The edge block must both shield (traffic) and invite (pedestrians), it must signal and respectfully take its place in the sequence of facades that define the historic limit of the medieval city. Initiating site workshops brought together neighbourhood representatives, city representatives, developers and architects – BOLLES+WILSON, Claus en Kaan, Jo Crepain and Kraaijvanger Urbis (who also had responsibility for the large format carpark below).
The complex functional mix began with one large and seven smaller Cinemas on the upper levels, a subterranean Casino and below that a parking deck (for croupiers and gamblers). Even at this stage the two functions were divided by a bisecting passage leading from the visible and representative outside facade to the networked block interior. The question of scale and historic referencing of the windowless
Dub House
TYPOLOGY: Residential
COUNTRY: Germany
CITY: Münster
YEAR: 1993
PHOTOS: © BOLLES+WILSON
The principal element, a Blue Glazed Brick Wall corrects a disastrous alteration and also breaks the tyranny of uniform ceiling height.
The second added element, a Zinc Clad Studio Box stands adjacent the Blue Wall. The two set up an external and internal play – geometric volumes – the abstract language of the plan respected and developed.
A very modest commission, careful details with the potential of enhancing the everyday lives of their users.
Mittelhafen
TYPOLOGY: Competition / Office
COUNTRY: German
CITY: Münster
YEAR: 2020
COMPETITION: Closed competition, 2nd Prize
GFA: 12.740 sqm
CLIENT: Ärzteversorgung Westfalen-Lippe
Both the property side facing the city port and the street side to “Am Mittelhafen” require representative façades. Therefor a building in the north-south axis is required, which fills the property over the entire length. The two narrow views speak a suitably dignified language – to the waterfront through an invigorating silhouette that adds a building with personality to the row of existing office buildings. The opposite side facing the street is emphasized by an expressive façade – in contrast to the buildings in the immediate vicinity, which do not have such a concise addresses. This gives the quarter a much needed “urban flair”.
RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 1
TYPOLOGY: Warehouse, Villa
COUNTRY: German
CITY: Münster
YEAR: 1993
GFA: 5.810 sqm
CLIENT: Rainer Scholze
PHOTOS: © Christian Richters, © Gabriele Bracht,
© El Croquis, © BOLLES+WILSON
The 1990-93 shiny aluminum shed was the first of three big-box warehouse buildings built successively side by side to store and distribute furniture for the ever-expanding chain of RS + Yellow Shops. As well as this home base BOLLES+WILSON built for the same company shops/outlets in Münster, Hannover, Munich and Berlin.
The dimensions and form of the 1993 RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 1 were prescribed by the ruins of a half-built industrial structure. The problem was to economically clad this given form.
The skin of corrugated aluminum has been seen as a reference to Australian wool sheds, a typology here projected to a length of 120 m. It landed like a UFO in its fragmented peripheral context. At the time B+W were propagating such large self-evident forms (see Technologyhof Münster 1993) to anchor and give scale to the fragmentation of ubiquitous post-industrial Eurolandschaft Fields.
The critical detail for RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 1 was the façade section, two intersecting plates of shiny metal. Avoiding a capping plate as well as regular downpipes, that would compromise such a pure extended surface, runoff water from the barrel-vaulted roof courses down the inside surface of the upper façade panel to be delivered in turn by the lower façade panel into a pebble drain at ground level.
The rear end of this super-shed housed the office of the company owner, this subsequently moved to the spectacular Waterscape rooftop of RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 2 built directly beside RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 1. A third adjacent big-box was to be capped by the client’s rooftop villa (RS+Yellow Distribution – Phase 3) but his tragic death meant that it was completed as meeting rooms, standing in another infinity pool.
Albanian Football Association Headquarters Tirana
TYPOLOGY: Administration Offices
COUNTRY: Albania
CITY: Tirana
YEAR: 2020
PHOTOS: © Roman Mensing, BOLLES+WILSON
LOCAL ARCHITECTS: APE Shpk
The commission was first for the reuse of a derelict crescent shaped communist building, (Illus 2A), not a comfortable fit for open plan offices and upper level president and executive council rooms. `X´columns were here invented to support the top-heavy layout. These survived the decision to demolish and build a new headquarters. Both layouts framed a green field site embraced by a ring of trees. Existing pines were also retained.
Layout – Four levels of open plan offices lurk behind the ambulant `X´ Colonnade. These are for the various departments: event management, national team dept, marketing, referees, finance, legal, human resources, drivers etc. (Illus. 7 + 8).
The rear side entrance is themed green and blue with a canopy and raised entrance plaza above a press and conference
room for 180. (Illus. 9. 3.4.5.6.)
Albania is now embedded in the UEFA international football circuit and the success of their HQ has led to the 2925 commission for BOLLES+WILSON to design a partner building on the same site – A 5-star Hotel for the Albanian National Team (Illus. 14).
A SECOND BUILDING ON THE SAME SITE.
2025-2029