TOPLOCENTRALATA / Competition
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Program: transforming the ex-industrial building of the heating company into a cultural center
Architect: Aleksandar Shinolov
Client: Municipality of Sofia
Year: 2017
Site Area: 4530m2; Bldg. Area: 968m2; Grоss Floor Area: 1456m2; Bldg. Scale: Stories above Ground 2, Stores below Ground 1; Structure: reinforced concrete; Materials: white plaster, metal cladding, aluminum glazing; Max. Height: 9.05m;
Parking lots: 5, bicycle parking lots 30;
Location: Sofia, Bulgaria
Program: transforming the ex-industrial building of the heating company into a cultural center
Architect: Aleksandar Shinolov
Client: Municipality of Sofia
Year: 2017
Site Area: 4530m2; Bldg. Area: 968m2; Grоss Floor Area: 1456m2; Bldg. Scale: Stories above Ground 2, Stores below Ground 1; Structure: reinforced concrete; Materials: white plaster, metal cladding, aluminum glazing; Max. Height: 9.05m; Parking lots: 5, bicycle parking lots 30;
A major task in the project is how to keep the characteristic architectural image (exterior, interior) and the structure of the existing building complex, transforming it into a totally different building with a new function and set in another time context.
The contrast and coexistence of old-present and new-future is a leading concept of the project. The old is taking on an abstract, model-like, wrapped up look - white, smooth plaster with figurative gaps, which emphasize the original structural joints of the industrial building.
It achieves two things - correcting the irregular, compromised geometry of the old and providing energy-efficiency.
The interior stays unsophisticated. The existing building assumes the big and main functions- three different halls, café-bar, storage spaces. The new is in converse of the old as structure and architectural image. It is light, prefab, steel volume with raw, industrial facade and warm, wooden interior. It is like a funnel system that catches the visitors’ and administrative flows, connects spatially the old buildings and identifies the distinct tectonic of the site and the environment. The incorporated object unifies and arranges terrain, existing buildings and new inhabitation.
