Red snake
Red snake
BELGRADE (RS) - It all began with two Dutch buildings, both completed in 1997: the Educatorium in Utrecht, by OMA, and the Villa VPRO broadcasting company headquarters and studios in Hilversum, by MVRDV. Both buildings are characterized by large, open spaces connected to one another by a fluid, curved floor/facade plate of concrete.
Since then, the organic serpentine form has become a regular feature in contemporary architecture. All over Europe, and beyond, one finds buildings composed of one continuous, fluid line. A recent example of the genre is the Red Stripe office building in New Belgrade. What makes this particularly striking is the colour of the line – bright red – deliberately chosen in order to signal a break with the dreary grey character of the post-war, predominantly concrete buildings of New Belgrade. This office building is intended to set the tone for the further development of the business centre.
The trickiest aspect of organic shapes is the execution: the challenge is to express the continuity of the lines in the materialization and detailing. For this project the architects worked with Alubond aluminium composite facade panels, which were made to measure using a specially acquired machine, and then assembled, virtually seamlessly.
As in the Educatorium and Villa VPRO, the facades are for the rest entirely glazed, delivering light-filled office spaces that enjoy unimpeded views of the city. Equally important to this concept are the flexible floor plans and the energy efficient building services. Although its form is a variation on a well-known theme, the Red Stripe is leading the way in terms of sustainability in Serbia. (Kirsten Hannema)
Colour, Ecocentric, Facade, Metal |
Serbia
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