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Big Buildings in the City

Part 1 Project 2017
Arbana Berdynaj
 Kingston University Kingston | UK
“Any big building both makes and destroys the city. Its gigantic size allows it to
operate at a territorial scale, defining neighbourhood but at the same time the big
building soaks up the part of the city it inhabits.” 1
The proposal is a 20,000 sqm storage building within an inner district of Berlin.The project
treats the 21stCentury large autonomous storage building as critical elements of our
urban infrastructure with dignity.
Arbana Berdynaj
Tutor(s)
Thomas Bates
Matt Phillips
2017
Big Buildings in the City
Site lies in between dense 19th Century residential housing and industry. Moabit is bordered with four canals and has a railway directly through north of the site. Moabit offers an ideal urban environment to test interpretations of the 'big box' that choo
Large City Buildings 1.Proposal sits within Moabit (21st Century). The 20,000sqm size is read on an urban scale. 2.Porticus Aemilia, an Ancient Roman shipping warehouse building (1st Century) The idea of big buildings have been around for centuries. All
View of intimate moment within inflection of facade. Moments such as this communicate directly with the context and this big building of huge presence gently offers something in return.
Inflections within façade 1.The vast ‘ribbon’ of facade that divides industrial and residential, zone folds and undulates to mimic urban conditions. The moments of inflection respond to the streets and of the end of 19th apartment blocks. 2.Moments of
Drawings 1.North side of plan responds to the industrial zone with linear elevation edge. South side responds to residential context with irregular looseness. Vast south façade is eliminated with book ends of accommodation similar to the way Peter Behren
The AEG factory, situated only a few minutes away from the site, was a very influential precedent in developing a tectonic dressing for this proposal. Looking at this traditional industrial yet civic façade, analysing it’s structural and aesthetic element
Steps within intimate moments 1.Steps and platforms are included within these moments of the façade to offer back to the public who interact with the building, offering rest and leisure. The inclusion of these steps increases the civility of the space.
1.Interior grid columns misalign with exterior columns showing interruption of flow from the inside to the outside separating two different characters. The misalignment enhances the idea of the external dressing the internal structure. 2.Internal column
Tectonic Dressing 1.Diagram shows the two different structures of the internal and external tectonic dressing. Hans Kollhoff’s ideas of the importance of a tectonic dressing is considered and the importance of tectonics in a facade to the human senses.
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