LOCATION | EMMEN LU |
CLIENT | PRIVATE |
PLANNING | 2018-2019 |
CONSTRUCTION | 2019-2020 |
ARCHITECTS | GRABER & STEIGER ARCHITEKTEN, PROJECT ARCHITECT: WERNER WEIBEL |
CONSULTANTS | GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Schärholzbau AG |
PHOTOGRAPHER | D.M. WEHRLI, ARCHIVE GRABER & STEIGER |
Densification, conversion, building on existing structures or the appropriation of derelict land in the sense of sustainable construction are currently shaping the architectural discourse. The client went one step further in order to reconcile the desire for a home of one's own with sustainability considerations.
Instead of buying a plot of land in the countryside or a trendy loft flat with industrial chic, the client decided to settle in a commercial zone that was in full operation. In doing so, they recognised that there is enormous potential in a settlement that is generally considered unattractive, if the much-vaunted combination of living and working is to be put into practice.
Due to the small size of the plot, a diversely choreographed sequence of vertical spaces was created, leading from the street to the sky and linking such different places as the modestly sized entrance area and the two-storey living area under the roof canopy. Despite the external compactness of the building, the residents experience a spatial opulence bathed in a wide variety of lighting moods.
The new player in the heterogeneous neighbourhood stands calm and serene and exudes the charming directness of a commercial building. A "bark" made of saw-rough boards is gradually opened up depending on the surroundings and the desired views and insights.
As a part of “Adda Collective” we are selected to participate in the „Korail Residency 2024“, which is embedded in the “Korail City of Culture” initiative in Dhaka/Bangladsh.
The project „Korail City of Culture“, which focuses on Dhaka's largest informal settlement, is a sustainable urban development initiative supported by the Creative Economy Programme of the Federal Foreign Office in Germany, in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Bangladesh and its local counterpart, Paraa, and international partner, Floating e.V.. The project aims to support cultural practitioners and producers living, working, and playing in Korail in establishing sustainable cultural practices, and to feed this knowledge back into processes of global and local learning and teaching on sustainable urban development.
The projects and works that are developed during the Korail residency program shall be part of the „Maja-Kori“ Design Festival in and around Korail Basti in December 2024.
Adda Collective is a multidisciplinary and mutinational team formed around „Adda Space“ Dhaka/Bangladesh and Graber & Steiger Architects, Lucerne/Switzerland. For further information you may also check Instagram @grabersteiger @adda.dhaka.
Image: Goethe Institute Bangladesh