offices

Designed by Johannesburg based architect Gregory Katz for his family, a house and a studio, perch side-by side on the elevated southern edge of this suburban property. The house is a patchwork quilt of patterned red-brick panels, framed in a grid of structural concrete. The studio, the smaller of the two volumes, is a seamless rubber-clad, light-steel framed structure.

The Audi Design Center (DCI) at the company’s original site at Ingolstadt has now been operational for three years and has been extensively tested in practice by employees. What they found was also of great interest to the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp), who spoke with Mario Linke, Head of Audi Design Management. For the first time ever, the entire design development process has been accommodated under one roof. An open and bright building has been created for a design by gmp. The closely guarded secrets are nevertheless kept hidden on the inside; this is achieved with a horizontally structured facade consisting of a folded, highly reflective glass curtain wall. During the hours of darkness, Venetian blinds ensure the required confidentiality.

This is a project for the park – a true ‘Parks’ building. It fuses together office and depot functions for Parks Victoria in Albert Park, providing the best casework environment for staff and welcoming experience for visitors. The building is a high amenity, low energy. The building presents excellence in sustainability, integrating building and landscape – greenery is used to shade, cool, and activate the building.

Architecture thought digital: With La Tête, a future-oriented media house was created, and the Handelsblatt Media Group moved in. The barcode façade with an integrated mega screen does not only represent the digitalization of the media world, it transforms La Tête into a living social media channel and opens up the house for the public. People passing by can see on the outside of the building what the Handelsblatt produces inside.