OFFICE BUILDINGS

Dear Readers,

Only proven office specialists probably regard the topic of our current issue “Office and Administration” as simply THE most exciting topic! Although we deal with this topic twice a year – in the April and October issues of AIT – we are always surprised how many interesting, new and amazing aspects this building typology entails. Quite accidentally, we came across an exceptional office project by CLS Architetti on the occasion of the Salone del Mobile in Milan. Just as spontaneously, Annamaria Scevola (photo on the left), one of the partners of CLS, granted us a peek behind the scenes of a baroque church interior, which accommodates her own architectural office with 60 employees (starting in page 134) – if architects themselves act as clients, something very special will emerge. This was also the case with architectural practice Archea Brasil: the result is a raw, dark concrete-Corten steel sculpture in the middle of Sao Paulo’s street art district (starting on page 148). Whether a grey office container in Copenhagen, seemingly makeshift workplaces in a former slaughterhouse in Madrid, excitingly colourful offices in Valencia or an almost homely working atmosphere on one level of the University Centre in Cologne – these are anything but ordinary office workplaces! This is the only way how fresh ideas can emerge, as Stuttgart-based architects from Scope and their client, SAP, have learnt over the years from their fruitful collaboration and so they have developed innovative working methods (page 108). It is far from incidental that these days – namely in time for the Orgatec, the leading international trade fair for work environments in Cologne – a compilation of office essays by our AIT columnists Dominik and Benjamin Reding is published as a book with the title “All Office”. We think that the bizarre office stories by the twin brothers (photo on the right) present the allegedly dry office worlds in a completely different light and would like to share their insights with you. You can purchase the book at www.fachbuchquelle.de or through us at the AIT stand at the Orgatec from 25 to 29 October. See you there!

Best Wishes
Petra Stephan, Dipl.-Ing.
Chief Editor
Architect