Atelier Thomas Pucher and Bramberger [architects] | NIK

in Architecture by editor — 10:06 am | August 12, 20110 comments

Nikolaiplatz as it stands today was a process of conversional development which took its shape over a period of time. While the architectural style (as well as the desired building density) changed, the site layout remained stably constant.

Our building stands on a property, which was initially a boathouse at the river` Mur´ (back then an unregulated river course ) four centuries ago. Later a doubled story storage shed was built and even later -in the 80′s the entire area was rebuilt to an underground parking. The storage shed was discontinued, however the property remained in its exact size and position. In order to make a subsequent building possible the construction of the garage within the range of property was laid out for a double story land development in a solid construction.

Today our building stands on the property – and fills it perfectly to the last millimeter, the number of floors increased by 2,5 times. This became possible by creating a consistent lightweight construction with a complex rust distributor under the building. This distributes – today invisible – the concentrated loads of steel frame bearings which support the underground parking and which are distributed differently on the area.

The clear volume and elegant development reacts precisely to the heterogeneous situation concerning city planning which we came across. On the one side – towards Entenplatz- the house becomes a boundary of space, on the other side – towards Nikolaiplatz – depicts a free standing aesthetic solitaire. A building, which becomes a sculpture through its simplicity.

The closed facade components – externally covered with a silver gold resplendent cover coating – accommodate shelves and archives ( depending upon the users desire ) on the inside and become variable thick blocks.

Office units
The building uses the width of the plot as best as possible. This results in a maximum room depth of 8.70 m. By splitting it into three floors + penthouse and the area-saving front-side development manages to create a column-free office space net result of 19.3 m x 8,70 m. In addition spaces for a small kitchen, foyer and toilet unit is housed in a minimized infrastructure strip next to the open staircase on the southern front. Resulting in 3 office units , each 177.20 m² and a penthouse unit with 100m ² area to let.

Module size
The axis of the steel structure is 3.90 m, it is derived from a module size of 1.30 m for connecting the partitions. In doing so creates all conceivable forms of office organization possible. The facades and building services are also designed for the module size. Creating long-term flexibility.

Ground floor
Due to the special situation of the building being situated in a green area the ground floor becomes an attractive location for office use, the existing paved outdoor areas are ideal for use as terraces for an expansion of the office operation.

Penthouse
The top floor is designed as a penthouse with large terraces overlooking Castle Hill. A roof with solar sails, etc. are possible.

Here the concept of the deep wall blocks are of particular importance, it has all the amenities a penthouse offers with attractive hiding spaces within the walls (James Bond).

Location: Graz, Austria
Architect: Atelier Thomas Pucher and Bramberger [architects]
Project Team: Thomas Pucher, Alfred Bramberger, Martin Mathy, Hans Waldhör, Ingmar Zwirn, David Klemmer, Christof Schermann, Boris Murnig, Sahar Arjomand Bigdely
Project Manager: Thomas Zach
Materials: Aluminum, Metal, Glass, Steel
Surface area: 1,400 sqm
Project year: 2007 – 2010
Building costs: 1 Million Euro
Renderings: Martin Mathy