Blog - Pik Ark

Francis House

2020-08-03 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

Francis House
Residential
Maden Group
Maden Group
Pristina, Kosovo
Constructed
2020
250 m2
2
Leonit Ibrahimi
–

This residential building’s biggest concern was its lack of identity.

Its transformation began with the removal of some of the existing elements of the facade which left us with clean white cubic volumes to work on. By introducing a bright color we managed to draw more focus into the house. The use of orange emphasizes the top floor volume, separating its function from the ground floor.

We managed to create a sense of privacy without depriving the house of sunlight by covering the balcony with modular cubes, enabling light to pass through them. Additional wall plants created a sense of integration between nature and the object.

Contrary to its bold façade the interior has a minimalistic approach wanting the space to maintain its serenity. Amongst its neutral choice of color and material, the use of stone is more of a statement.

Francis House Maden Group interior design

The landscape of the house is designed to enhance the quality and experience of everyday living. A practice which is predominantly noticed in the living room area, which overlooks the garden and doing so obtains a relationship with nature. Another qualitative feature is the placement of the pool, the length of which is appropriate for laps.

The C114 House

2020-07-31 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

The C114 House
Residential
Postarch
Fatlum Haliti, Maja Barlović, Menor Pajaziti
Pristina, Kosovo
Constructed
2010
250 m2
2
Atdhe Mulla
–

The C114 house is a semi-detached house located in the south-eastern suburban area of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. It is a private house in a neighbourhood in a suburban residential area of the city.

The house is composed of different levels and includes: a basement, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, three bedrooms and three bathrooms.

The main entrance is on the ground floor and is linked with the kitchen, the main hall, while it is wide open and also linked with the basement, which is converted partly into a wine cellar and part of it serves as a utility area. The wine cellar is conceived in a modern way, and its volumetric composition is simple and shaped with local wood; the floor is made of marble ceramics and walls have a brick covering. The wine cellar provides space for storing 750 bottles of wine in a constant temperature.

The powerful presence of the white colour in the kitchen and the walls is predominant in the entire interior of the house, where the white colour dominates the walls and most of the furniture that is used in the interior, while contrasting with the nuance of the natural colour of the oak wood.

From kitchen you may enter into the living room which is a half level up, and is the most special area of the interior, where all the wishes of the client are carefully incorporated, in order to create an area that is not overloaded and there is an easy access to the green yard and to all the three bedrooms, which are in the upper level of the house.

Stairs are located in the central part of the house, and while going up or down one may still have a view to the living and the dining room, which altogether makes a huge and beautiful open space. The handrails are made of glass as a transparent element that enables side views.

The main bedroom has a beautiful view to the green backyard, and it contains the utility corner (wardrobe) and a separate bathroom with shower. The walls are white, whereas 1/3 is covered with wood panels that create a more intimate and warmer atmosphere.

Monochrome Architecture

2020-07-31 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG

Have you noticed the trend of monochromatic interiors? Homes / offices / bars containing only tones of a single color, are encountered more and more often. In 2020 and onwards we will see more and more architects embrace this trend, as it creates a special and unified environment. The monochromatic trend is simple but very effective and will never be out of style.

Of course, the first choice is the base color, let’s say red (which can be the client’s favorite color, business logo) and after we create a color palette with tones of that color. There are a variety of colors and tones, the combination of which is endless, but we would suggest you to be inspired by nature and choose tonalities for your project. There is also a website where you can find the colors you want to use.

In addition to neutral colors that blend easily together, the trend this year is a little bolder, in colors with lots of character and potency: like green, dark blue, reddish, which radically transform your spaces. The monochromatic choice easily creates harmony, although we suggest to pay attention in combining tonalities with each other, especially in bright colors.

Colors have a psychological effect and evoke certain emotions. It is necessary to promote them through selected colors such as vibrant colors, which are often used in gyms or earth colors that calm us and make us feel more at peace. Choosing one color creates serenity and fluidity in your premises. Therefore the combination of tones is very important, but you should also create interference with materials such as wood or metal, always maintaining the dominance of the selected color.

We bring you some examples of what monochrome projects and environments focused around one color look like.

Small Tea, a tea boutique concept by Daniel Charles Joseph Benoudiz.

Loft by Martini Design Studio

An industrial design, where cool gray is the leitmotif, but to warm the environment is used both wood and bright colors of the carpet with traditional motifs.

Sera (Greenhouse) by Besnik Grainca

You can tell by the by the name of the bar that in this project dominant would be green. A pale but soothing green color unifies the whole environment, both on the walls and the ceiling, giving the feeling that you are immersed in nature.

Deti Jon (Ionian Sea) by Besnik Grainca

How could it be another dominant color in this project other than the deep blue of the Ionian Sea? We are in an underwater world where blue intertwines with its reflexes in decorative elements inspired by nature itself …

A cafe white as snow …

Would you drink your coffee here? White is always a good choice, especially for those people who like the serenity and purity that this color conveys. Even though, such a white environment comes cold, sterile and not inviting at all, we think that this interior is so well balanced, thanks to the decor which brings the whole environment in a more friendly way. This is a project from Studio56 in Thailand, if you happen to go for work in Bangkok, you know where to work!

His House and Her House by Wutopia Lab

In this project, the colors play a more symbolic role. Wutopi Lab’s approach is focused on the roles that men and women are culturally assigned to in the kitchen: men usually being associated with public cooking and women with domestic, and the different dietary and eating habits that this distinction entails. Visually and conceptually, this is accomplished by colour-coding the two buildings that comprise the installation as a way of assigning them a gender: light pink for the female building and blue for the male. Although these two colours are stereotypical of the two genders, they are also symbolic of other relevant attributes, blue for survival and competition and pink for sensitivity and delicacy, but they also allude to the invisible forces that hold the urban fabric together—both blue and pink are typical colours of insulation materials.

His house, featuring green walls and blue floors and ceilings, an allusion to Matisse’s palette, each representing a testosterone-laden culinary facet: liquor, cured meat and barbeque.

“Her house”, a two-storey building of light pink features instead a semicircular motif that speaks of its femininity. The pink, minimalist interiors are a labyrinthine series of interconnected rooms spanning two floors and covering themes indicative of a refined diet and a prudent way of life such as tea, incense, the art of flower arrangement and vegetarian cuisine.

AESOP Store

Precast stone blocks coloured with red sandstone from Glamis Castle in Scotland form the walls of this refuge-style Aesop store that architecture studio Al-Jawad Pike has created in a west London shopping centre. Earthy tones have been applied throughout the store. Powder from the same red sandstone that was used to make the 17th-century Glamis Castle in Scotland has been used to colour the precast stone blocks.

“We wanted to use a warm colour to provide a sense of natural earthiness that reflected the red bricks of typical masonry walled gardens, said Al-Jawad. “The colour is called Glamis red named after the red sandstone of Glamis Castle in Scotland.”

Borsh Resort

2020-07-30 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, PROJECT IDEA

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

Borsh Resort
Single-family residences
Off Box Architecture
Off Box Architecture
Borsh, Vlorë, Albania
In construction
2016
120 m2/unit
2
–
–

Borsh is a seaside village in the Ionian sea, which compared with the other towns of the south coast of Albania has a flat terrain configuration and numerous olive plantations. There’s still a limited number of buildings and care should be taken not to damage the character of the Mediterranean seaside village with big buildings.

Vacations at the seaside are relaxing and refreshing, because with changing ones location we experience a different sensory evocation and shift in atmosphere, far from that which we are used to. Here the backdrop of everything is blue and endless. It is unrivaled in the calm summer mornings, but also in the greatness and might of the heavy autumn rains. So if we start with the idea to build something that will attract the eye, unfortunantely we can’t achieve it. In comparison to that kind of power and magnificent creation everything seems small and is disregardful.

Our ideal vision for housing by the sea is an invisible house, because there, the place from where everything starts is the sea, not the home, so the whole focus should be towards the sea, not trying to violate the primate dominance of that landscape. The designed house that is part of this complex tends to keep as a low profile as possible, tending to disappear in the landscape, the ground floor is intended to become part of the earth from which it emerges through the similar color and roughness of the texture.

While the first floor when viewed at different times of the day, disappears and become one with the sky, thanks to the white color and the materials used, concealing the surface of the roof, leaving only the trace of its profile in the steep wall of the facade.

Wood Tales by Ervin Bërxolli

2020-07-30 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG

Living materials such as wood indoors, bring us closer and closer to the warm influence of nature and leave out the noise of the city. Even a small element of wood creates a perfect frame for a corner that focuses on the idea of bringing the natural world in any personal space. We find ourselves in search of the most original products, authentic but also ecological, that do not harm our environment and above all are created without waste. What if along with all these features comes a design element, built with the finesse of each line? Today we want to bring you creations full of emotion, wood tales, from an artist we meet in the middle of the noise of the capital. Ervin Bërxolli, photographer by profession, but with dedication and desire oriented to design. His passion is embodied in a series of special luminaires built with selected, found, retrieved or recycled wood, which come from him with an inimitable design.

You have always had at the center of your creations, whether photos, paintings or various installations, the elements of nature. Then comes your search on wood, where does this passion come from?

Swiss knife, holidays in Jale making key chains and tobacco pipes. This is the scenario, from there the desire revealed itself. I started working with wood during the summer holidays until curiosity started pushing me to look further, at artists and designers, creators who used this material in their works. Desire and inspiration from them nurtured together every day and I was looking forward to starting to work like them, but the lack of time and equipment limited me. Until the idea was born with the first light, I sketched the first light and built it with the limited resources I had, so I figured out how to make them on my own. I worked on my terrace with small tools that allowed me to pull off the details of the very piece of wood I found with very little interference in its form, to give it life again.

What technique do you use to shape the wood?

I know what technique to use when I touch the form. Using the word ‘technique’ creates a kind of myth to label an action perhaps a bit mechanical, imagined when thinking about the process of creating a design piece. In this case, no action is so mechanical, hence the technique becomes irrelevant. The process is not technical, but it is all spiritual. I really started it with a Swiss knife, but today I have equiped myself with some other tools that enable me to realize more sophisticated forms. So the technique is not defined, only the unnecessary things are removed, such as damaged or “dirty” parts in the conception of its image in the design, to reach the pure essence.

Where do you find the basic material?

As far as we know, you find it in nature and then engrave it.
Are you excited by what you find, or do you have in mind what you will create and then transform the found material? Hmm .. what you have in mind versus what you find matches very little and almost always the shape of the object that is created in the end changes in your mind several times, until you agree with the final shape. Regardless of thought and imagination, a project is realized by doing it, developing it. Sometimes I can not control it, any excessive intervention changes its meaning and origin, so I try to keep my initial connection, that of creation, by listening to its form and movements. Most of the creation is based on the question: “What if?”

The head of the lamps, how is it realized?

The lamps so far are divided into two phases regarding to the heads. In the first phase, when I still did not have the environment and the oppourtunity to realize it personally, I was in a relationship with an artisan who realized the heads, as we carefully chose the material and dimensions. Both of these have been essential elements in mantaining the warm form I was looking for. I wanted something that was as pure as the light we seek when we go home and want to relax, or write, or even just think. I have consulted with many people I appreciate and who have a special relationship with their own inspirational environments, trying to find the perfect white for them as well.

The worst part in some of our living rooms in the capital city is precisely the light. Very often the natural one is obstructed by other buildings, we return exhausted to our homes and I myself asked that my designs must include this calmness, so I seeked for what is the most difficult for me to achieve, simplicity.

The second phase, is the phase of creating the lamp heads from veil paper and reed or bamboo sticks. They have floral and organic shapes. My favorite at the moment is the one that looks like a flower with closed petals, with its hanging down and drowsy head. I like to use acrylic to color the paper which creates a very natural effect on its adhesions and color shades.

The idea of changing the heads design has been from the beginning as a kind of transition of design and materials. Dedication time is much longer and the breaths very often hover over every piece of paper and stick. Each color shade is a different drawing and so are the curves. I am saying that this way is another language.

In fact I would like to call them different languages and not phases…

How long does it take to make a light fixture?

It depends on my research to find the ideal ratio between materials and shapes. There are still pieces I have been dealing with since the beginning, and there is no set time for them. A light fixture is finished just when turning on the light and it gives me a strong sense of fulfillment.

Where can we find your creations?

I would like to have kept it secret until the exhibition that I want to think is coming very soon, but I am also happy to say that some lamps, for some time now can be found at Hoda – House of Design Albania, at the Castle of Tirana while others on my terrace and workshop.

What makes these lights so special?

Have you seen others like them? (laughs…) What I mean is that today it is very difficult to create and maintain one or several peculiarities, but it must also be said that in design there is the possibility to design products for a very industrial market. Thinking about unique pieces in art and design, are processes that are based only on experimentation, on finding new forms, new dialects of wood. In the first case these are limited by industrial and quantitative requirements, while in the second they are the offspring of a personal journey. And when it comes to personal, we have the right to think it’s special.

At what price does a lamp made by you vary?

I’m not good with numbers (laughs…) It’s always hard, for me at least, to set a price when it does not include, for example, what is commonly called ‘work reward’. To avoid this difficulty, I have chosen to have the prize set by the people who support and help me in this. So you can choose one, and discover it by yourself!

Have you considered collaborating with architects, given that your products can easily be an important element in an interior?

Yes, I would definitely like it, especially if creativity manages to overshadow pinterest and ready-made materials today, to get as close as possible to the former idea of what was called design.

What can you accomplish with them?

With this design you can furnish interiors of any style, it is a non-style style.

How would you describe one of these creations?

I would describe it as a fairy tale, as a story, which is why I also called it Wood Tales.

Tupalla Mosque

2020-07-27 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

Tupalla Mosque
Religious, mosque
Arbër Sadiki Architect
Arbër Sadiki, Bekim Mustafa
Tupallë, Medvegjë
In construction
2020
– m2
1
Albert Salihu
Ing. Fejsall Lutfiu, Ing. Xhevat Neziri; Graphics: Adonis Rexhepi, Leart Miftari

The main design approach was to create comfortable functional and spiritual space for the small Albanian Islamic community with a minimal financial cost. This strategy pushed us to be very modest starting from the dimensioning of whole volume of the building up to its construction materials. In fact modesty as a principle is in accordance with the philosophical essence of Islam as a religion. Notions like sincerity, heartiness and purity as the core principles of modesty are manifested on the space with the same architectural language using pure geometric forms colored in the white from the outside and within the building.

xhamia ne tupalle arber sadiki architecture

The inner space of the building beyond the essential required facilities for Islamic rituals, it’s shaped to create the universal space for meditation. Longitudinal walls of the main prayer hall curved on the top to make possible penetration of the sunlight which comes from hidden zenithal windows positioned above corridors. This scenario creates the situation where worshipers are within the space without any visible opening towards nature but in the same time illuminated by the sunlight. This approach gives to the prayer hall the dimension of universality and divinely.

On the front wall of the prayer hall, in the direction of Mecca, is located Mihrab. Having into consideration that this empty niche in the wall defines the orientation of the worshipers during the prayer rituals, it is illuminated by sunlight which penetrates through zenithal window above Mihrab. As a result, worshipers during the prayer rituals are oriented toward sunlight, the source of the life of everything in the universe.

The whole functional content of the building is distributed in less than 100 square meters. The minimalist spaces are structured in such a way that during their access the whole composition of the inner space of the building experienced with a harmonic dynamic.

The small entry foyer, imitation of Hayat of traditional mosques, serves as the space for ablution before the prayer ritual. From the foyer, two corridors lead to the prayer hall from the both sides. The entries to the prayer hall are positioned in the center of the space to give the equal access to the all worshipers creating the feeling of the equality within the space dedicated to the divinity.

Considering that the building is located in the mountain region with a small Muslim Albanians community without any cultural facilities around, the mosque claims to offer opportunities for other cultural non-religious activities. The magnificent nature of the location during the four seasons of the year represents the extraordinary source contributing to create the magnificent architectural landscape.

In terms to create the organic relationship between the nature and architecture in accordance to the typography of the location, on the north of the contraction plot is located the opened amphitheater. The plateau on the entries of the building serves as the stage of the opened theater, while the building itself as scenography. The approach where nature and architecture support each other results in a magnificent architectural landscape where the buildings and surrounding atmosphere merge into one.

HIGHLIGHT: CHRISTIAN DE PORTZAMPARC

2020-07-25 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, HIGHLIGHT

Christian de Portzamparc is a leading architect and urban planner, who was awarded with the Pritzker Architecture Prize at the age of 50 as the first French winner and also with the most prestigious city planning prize in France, The Grand Prix de l’Urbanisme. His architectural style is known for its distinctive features such as bold designs, an artistic approach and the creativity that comes with him being a watercolor painter. De Portzamparc is well regarded for his projects that blend together classical forms, modernist radicalism, and postmodern, nonconformist approaches to design.

Christian de Portzamparc’s new architecture is of our time, bound neither by classicism nor modernism. His expanded perceptions and ideas seek answers beyond mere style. It is a new architecture characterized by seeing buildings, their functions and the life within them, in new ways that require wide-ranging, but thoughtful exploration for unprecedented solutions.

Every architect who aspires to greatness must in some sense reinvent architecture; conceive new solutions; develop a special design character; find a new aesthetic vocabulary. Portzamparc’s work exhibits all these characteristics. He has an unusually clear and consistent vision, devising highly original spaces that serve a variety of functions on an urban scale in the Cite’ de la Musique, or a more personal individual scale in a housing project or the delightfully chic Cafr Beaubourg.
He is a gifted composer using space, structure, texture, form, light and color all shaped by his personal vision. This reinvented architecture, no matter how idiosyncratic or original, still has its common source in modernism, appropriately assimilated.

His is an architecture that draws on French cultural tradition while paying homage to the master architect and countryman, Le Corbusier. It is a lyrical architecture that takes great risks and evokes excitement from its audience. Portzamparc is a high wire artist with sure and confident footwork. Recognizing the talent of a powerful poet of forms and creator of eloquent spaces, who is aware of the past.

Completed in 1990, the west wing of the Paris Conservatoire accommodates teaching facilities for 1,200 students over a surface area of 40,000 sq.m. More than 5,000 people work and teach here and the building attempts to provide a space for everyone (each discipline, each “tribe”, has its own quarters) and to create a large network of movement and spaces where students can meet freely.

These vertical and horizontal “streets” offer 186 different rooms for studying, set around a garden and a small opera house, an organ hall and a multi-purpose orchestra hall. It’s a modern monastery open onto the city and completes the long sweep of the avenue Jean-Jaurès with a large curved white façade punctuated by regular transparent forms reflected in a pool of water.

Cité De La Musique, Paris, France – East Wing

1984 – 1995

City of Music, known throughout Europe as one of the Grands Projets, has been praised in the architectural press around the world. Spain’s Interior Architecture and Design (Diseño Interior) magazine said of City of Music:

“A building with lyric qualities, full of whiteness and opacity, it is the antithesis of the ethereal transparencies and other technological approaches so typical of the new French academicism.” The formal opening is scheduled for early in 1995.

Flagship Dior, Seoul, South Korea

2011 – 2015

The building was designed by de Portzamparc for a corner plot in the luxury Gangnam shopping district, and also includes a gallery and cafe. Inspired by high fashion creations of Dior, the building is a manifesto with its white lines which wave towards the sky in a subtle asymmetry, evocation of the canvas, genesis of all haute couture pieces. After several months of research and works, Christian de Portzamparc delivers in June, 2015 his building with its volutes of the facade, these hulls, executed as boat hulls, in fiber glass, with very impressive sizes.

Musée Hergé, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

2001 – 2009

A museum dedicated to Belgian artist and Tintin author Hergé, it opened earlier on May 2009 in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. The Musée Hergé is situated in a forest and connected to the city of Louvain-la-Neuve by a footbridge. The volume of the museum is an elongated prism which seems to float in a forest of mature trees.
Christian de Portzamparc designed it as strong architecture, space of surprises, events and colors. The route is an almost narrative sequence, prolonging the art of the “ligne claire” style and the color, in a space-tribute in the work of Hergé and in the comic strip.

In Casablanca, the large Mohammed V square, a classic 1920s rectangular space inherited from Marshal Hubert Lyautey and urban planner Henri Prost, is bordered by the wilaya by architect Charles Boyer, the law courts and long, ordered administrative buildings. On the last free side of Mohammed V Square, the city has decided to build “the Great Theater of Casablanca ”, which will be the largest theater in Africa. The international competition held in July 2009 saw Christian de Portzamparc’s project win among featured projects by Zaha Hadid, Frank O. Gehry, Rem Koolhaas and Aziz Lazrak. The winning project consists of several pavilions inspired by a medina in the city.

Instead of an autonomous, univocal architectural object, the fluid ensemble interacts with the symmetry without breaking it up and invites visitors to penetrate into the shade of another inner world by opening several rifts and entrances, slim and compelling, leading to a large and high public gallery that crosses the space, formed from curved red staff pillars.

Situated at the corner of Park Avenue and 28th Street, the building comprises two main sections complemented by a vertical pavilion on each side.
The space opened between the tower and its surroundings tempers the “light shaft” pheno-menon. The prismatic design of the volumes gathers light while optimizing views onto the streets to provide a perspective into the far distance and takes into account the necessary recess towards the avenue.

To perfect the wine production process at Château Cheval Blanc, owners Bernard Arnault and Baron Albert Frère asked Christian de Portzamparc to build a new streamlined winery or “workshop” with large concrete curved tanks designed by the architect at the request of the director Pierre Lurton, who wanted this material for the fermenting room.

Outside, the lines of the concrete walls transform the winery into a promontory-belvedere extending out from the château, onto which you can climb to admire the vineyard’s beautiful landscape which has been shaped by human hand over the centuries.

No line is superfluous and every element helps perfect the wine-making process and practices, as allowed for by the setting – the geometry of the curved surfaces and their pre-cast concrete, the unique atmosphere created by the natural light flowing to the ground, brushing the load-bearing walls and flowing over the large concrete sculptures in the fermenting room.

The Philharmonie is located on the Kirchberg plateau, at the center of a triangular square surrounded by EU administrative offices. Christian de Portzamparc wanted to plant a ring of trees which would be necessary to cross in order to enter the complex devoted to music, encouraging visitors to forget their surroundings. There was not enough room to plant trees, so he rapidly came up with the idea of a vast peristyle composed of 827 vertical lines constituting a foyer around the Grand Auditorium. It filters the light, enabling the public to either see or forget their surroundings. This façade-filter envelopes the lobby, which forms a long peristyle surrounding the concert hall and boxes.

The section around the great hall resembles “cliffs” punctuated by strips of light through which the public enters the concert hall balconies at different levels via a long footbridge. The Grand Auditorium has eight balcony-towers placed vertically around the orchestra and orchestra pit. Thus, the audience is gathered around the musicians. The Chamber Music Hall is a volume forming an asymmetrical curved petal winding around the main building.

This new opera house is located on Fenyang and Huaihai Road. The building has a great public entrance at the corner of these two important streets of the historical French district. Rather than a massive unique building the opera is built as a sequence of pavilions, following the rhythm and the height of the existing architecture including, on Fenyang road the existing recent building of the conservatory. The color and texture of the pavilions is respecting a brick pattern aspect.

An opera hall is a musical instrument. This one was to be conceived as a classical traditional one, respecting the acoustical qualities of the u-shape model. Nevertheless, it is designed in a new way to give good visibility from everywhere as well as good acoustic for both classical and romantic repertory through a variation of reverberation time.

Source: christiandeportzamparc.com

XS Apartment

2020-07-25 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

XS Apartment
Residential
Studioarch4
Studioarch4
Tirana, Albania
Constructed
–
138.4 m2
1
–
–

The XS apartment project consists of the transformation of a small single bedroom apartment into a larger 3 bedroom apartment with a terrace.

The new improved apartment has an entrance corridor of 7.5 m2, an open concept cooking and resting space of 42 m2, 2 bedrooms of 13 m2, 1 master bedroom of 24 m2, two bathrooms and a terrace of 73 m2. The total area of the apartment is 138.4 m2.

This apartment is located on the top floor of a residential building and makes use of the entire terrace because of its strategic positioning.

The material used inside mostly consist of natural stone, marble, wood and exposed concrete. An interesting feature of the apartment is the artificial lightning which remains suspended on metal rods.

Light for Art

2020-07-23 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

Without light, there’s no sight, and without sight there’s no insight, certainly not into works of art, be they buildings, paintings, or sculptures. From the beginning of humankind, light – scientifically “the ultimate aspect of matter moving at a known speed” – has been deified as the source of life. Thus the expressions “Divine Light” and “Spiritual Light,” in recognition of the fact that without light there is nothing sacred in life – no human spirit, no creativity.

“To illuminate art is art in itself,” declares Targetti, producer of indoor and outdoor architectural light fixtures , and art is not only a matter of skill and technique but of sensitivity and imagination, which, as Baudelaire famously said, reaches to “the furthest depths of the soul” to “produce the sensation of newness.” What a good lighting project should do is to reach into the soul of the old artworks to make them seem new, to restore the spirit they seem to have lost with time and familiarity, which turned them into mundane material monuments.

Lighting plays an extremely important role in the field of art and cultural heritage. In fact, light is given the delicate job of showing off unique works and objects, preserving their integrity and intrinsic aesthetic quality. Targetti’s commitment and research in the art field goes even further, focusing on making the viewing exercise a unique and unrepeatable cultural experience. The challenges is to reveal the artworks, stir emotions, guide the eyes and feet, provide information on the interpretation and understanding of every expression of human creativity.

Artwork Lighting Challenges

1.Revealing
Light shows and reveals, emphasises surfaces and materials, sets the scene, raises expectations, evokes the memory of places.

2. Creating emotions
Light communicates, stirs emotions, leads to meditation and silence, places man in relation with art.

3. Orientating
Light captures the attention, orientates and stimulates our senses to fully enjoy the artistic experience.

4. Educating
Light interprets and recounts, educates on the comprehension of art and its implicit messages balancing with measure knowledge and feeling.

Light for art

To illuminate art is art in itself. Light, if well designed, captures the truth of the colours, emphasises the formal aspects of the work, suggests the paths to visit and establishes hierarchies of importance in the exhibiting journey.

But light is not only what we see. A museum displays precious and delicate artefacts whose aesthetic quality can be ruined with bad lighting, as well as damaging them by discolouring the pigments, accelerating the separation of the painted layers, cracking of the paint work or yellowing of the paper. A good lighting project must also consider these aspects, uniting safety and scenic presentation.

ANALYSIS OF THE MATERIALS

To plan an exhibition, permanent or temporary, means not only making it easy to enjoy the artworks, but also and above all, to conserve them. Among the many disciplines involved, lighting plays a very important role, since at stake are not only the actual characteristics of the light but also those of the materials that the light strokes, touches, or passes through.
Different materials have different properties and photosensitivity categories. Marble, metal, ceramic and glass, for example, have a very low photosensitivity and therefore are quite resistant to any type of lighting. Paint, tempera, tapestries, but also prints, books and leather have a rather high photosensitivity and must therefore be illuminated with special care through an analysis focusing on the light source, lighting values and exposure times.

2. PREVENTING PHOTO DAMAGE

Some measures can be taken to reduce the effects of photo-damage caused by the exposure to UV and IR rays. Among these is the use of light sources characterised by a spectral composition with the lowest range of UV and IR rays, or in the case of incandescent sources, optics can be used that have a dichroic coating to reduce the heat emitted on the front. Alternatively, interferential filters can be used to “cut” most of the UV rays at the price of a small variation to the colour.

3. LED FOR ART

LED technology is perhaps the best solution for today’s needs, capable of emitting practically harmless light for the conservation of artworks because it is calibrated to the visible spectrum and therefore without UV or IR rays. LEDs also have the advantage of being able to be managed by electronic systems that allow controlling its intensity and spectral composition with extreme ease.

PALAZZO VECCHIO (FLORENCE, ITALY)

As a result of a joint effort between Targetti, the City of Florence and the curators of the Museum of Palazzo Vecchio, the new lighting aims at showing the extraordinary chromatic richness of one of the undisputed masterpieces of the sixteenth century: the frescoes by Agnolo Bronzino for the chapel built by Cosimo I de’ Medici as a private place of worship for his wife, Eleonora di Toledo.

LED professional projector with mixed lights. OPTAGON is characterised by a special octagonal-shaped optic system designed and patented by Targetti. White light (in warm, cold or variable tones) is obtained by mixing LEDs with different tones of white that allow enriching and completing the spectrum to produce a perfectly even and homogenous distribution of light.

GALLERIA DELL’ACCADEMIA (FLORENCE, ITALY)

Very popular due to the presence of Michelangelo’s David, also illuminated by Targetti, the Gallery boasts the most important collection in the world of gold-ground paintings, which occupy the entire first floor of the building. The outstanding masterpieces from the 14th century offer a clear and complete vision of the Florentine artistic production from the period between Giotto and Masaccio.

Source: Art &Thinking by Targetti

How to Create an Outdoor Room

2020-07-22 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

If you are fortunate enough to have a terrace, a porch or some backyard space, spending a lot of time at home can be a much nicer experience, especially in these pandemic times. But how you design that space makes all the difference. A lot of times, you’ll see a beautiful garden with very organized furniture, which looks pretty, but when you actually go and sit, it’s out in the blazing sun.

If you want an outdoor space where you’ll be comfortable lingering for hours, you need to address some basic questions: “Can you be protected from the sun? Can you put a drink down? Can you put your feet up?” In short, you need to think of it as another room in your home — an outdoor room — and furnish it accordingly. Here’s how to make the most of it.

PIV House by Murseli Architects+Partners

1. Choose Your Function

An outdoor room won’t serve any function particularly well if it tries to do everything, so start with an honest assessment of how you plan to use the space. If the terrace will be a place for alfresco dining, you’ll need chairs that will allow people to sit upright and a table high enough to eat at — a very different arrangement of furniture than a space for casual lounging, where sofas and low tables may be more appropriate.

Or maybe it’s just a space for hiding from everyone, which would require greater privacy and perhaps just a single chaise longue. If your outdoor space is large, planning several different seating arrangements can accommodate multiple functions.

2. Tie It to the Indoors

When you’re trying to decide on the style of an outdoor room, look to your home’s interior-design scheme, to reinforce the connection between indoors and out. Try to blend the materials and make them all uniform so that you don’t have anything super jarring, and it’s all very harmonious. Your interior-design scheme can also inform material and color choices for outdoor furniture, accessories and even plantings.

3. Create a Floor

Demarcate the area of the outdoor room — and make it feel like a destination that stands apart from the rest of the terrace or yard — by changing the flooring material where the furniture will be placed.

You can use the softness of an indoor-outdoor rug to make your veranda feel like a room. It is surprisingly easy to keep clean. You just vacuum it like a normal rug.

A section of wood decking, sush as WOODEE by Alumil, could also be used to underpin a seating area, within a large expanse of pavers.

4. Add a Ceiling and Walls

If there is no roof or overhang above your outdoor space, you can at least create the impression of a ceiling, both for the intimacy a sense of enclosure provides and for protection from the sun. Bioclimatic pergolas, the latest word of shadow structures by Alumil, are the perfect choice.

Everybody feels most comfortable when they’re tucked under something. Putting a seating area beneath the canopy of a tree can make it a great outdoor ceiling. In the absence of a tree, you can add a trellis over a seating arrangement, which might be covered with willow or bamboo. An umbrella would also work, although it won’t be as sturdy or durable.

It’s also possible to add a sense of privacy by introducing tall plantings around the perimeter of an outdoor room. On a terrace or balcony, tall planters filled with leafy or flowering plants could be used to similar effect.

5. Furnish as You Would Indoors

Many successful outdoor rooms have nearly as much furniture, and as many accessories, as indoor rooms. That means plenty of comfortable seating, often with cushions upholstered in outdoor fabric such as Komodo Collection for the whole family, or the RAP sofa for you and your loved one. It also means having enough tables to hold drinks, snacks, phones and books. You can find everything you need for your outdoor room at Almex Contract Furniture. Add outdoor throw pillows in the same way you would use indoor pillows in the living room, and keep throws handy for cool evenings.

If your outdoor room will serve as a dining space, you need to think about it like you’re in an indoor dining room. Consider the maximum number of guests you’re likely to entertain and make sure you have an appropriately sized table and enough chairs. Then think about how you will serve meals.

A strategically placed buffet or console table can hold platters during dinners or function as a bar for cocktail parties. We suggest you the Break Bar by Almex too. After guests leave, that same piece of furniture can serve as a pedestal for potted plants and decorative objects. Finish the space with vases, bowls and candleholders, which can be changed and rearranged over time. If the outdoor room is next to an exterior wall, consider adding mirrors, pieces of sculpture or wall-mounted planters. We are in love with the LED mirror La Plus Belle of Flos by Abiesse.

Komodo Collection by Almex Contract Furniture

6. Illuminate the Space

Lighting is an important functional consideration — without it, you might not be able to find your drink after dark — but it can also provide a significant boost to nighttime ambience, and Abiesse offers a wide range of outdoor lightings for your veranda.

Some methods of adding light are simpler than others. You can hang a candle chandelier from a tree branch or have lanterns with candles to create a romantic atmosphere. Plug-in string lights and portable LED-based candles and lanterns are other easy options for adding light that don’t require hiring an electrician.

If you want something more permanent, decorative pendant lamps can be suspended from pergolas, and sconces can be installed on nearby walls. Whether you choose portable lamps, hard-wired decorative fixtures or landscape lighting — or a mix of all three — consider outdoor lights with a warm-white color temperature of about 2,700 Kelvin such as La Linea of Artemide by Abiesse.

Source: nytimes.com by Tim McKeough

Private House

2020-07-21 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

Private House
Residential
ARCHISTUDIO
Matilda Pando, Junilda Karanxha
Vlora, Albania
Constructed
2016
425 m2
2
Genti Onuzi
Architect: Genta Karanxha, Bruno Rama, Olti Tufa; Structural engineering: Helidon Kokona

The Villa is situated in the city of Vlora, at the end of a steep mountain slope, between the characteristic vegetation of the area, descending real close to the national riviera road of and to the coastline.

The project’s design was born naturally, following the limitation and inability of the property to expand, the site’s characteristics and topography.

The construction was positioned on the most balanced terrain platform, but also in the most privileged opening of the landscape, taking advantage of the slope to the north, with the design of an underground diaphragm in defense of the rocky terrain slides.

The concept of the villa is a rigid as well as minimalist structure, with open flexible plans, also inserted into the ground, escalated covers that link together in a fragmented way, creating a continuous fusion with the natural environment and landscape.

Another important factor to mention is the minimization of the decorative. The image created by the volumes, the full angles of the covers, vertical bris-soleil, shadows cast during the day, and from the moon at night, in the concreted cladding facade, function as the main decor of the villa.

Eptimization of the natural environment propagates a more discreet, more rational architecture, which in our attention, simplifies the form by evaluating the functional space of both inside and outside, the light, contrasts, transparency and the natural element in the construction technique or material.

The spatial concept is related to all these features, especially to materials and light.

A solid material such as concrete was chosen, in order to emphasize the geometry and volumetric appearance of the building, which affects the form of interior spaces, at the same time steel and wood balance and differentiate the relationships of volumes, lines and weight of materials in general.

The house is organized in two main volumes, on one and two floors above ground.

Although the dwelling remains a very personal space, where vital functions are mixed in and out of it, sustainability is particularly associated with passive aspects, which have to do with awareness of nature appreciation.

The green and utilized terrace with characteristic Mediterranean plants, such as lavender and thyme, accessed by the transparent elevator, has become part of a natural ecosystem found and cultivated there.

Vila Nga archistudio plani i katit perdhe

Vila Nga archistudio plani i katit i pare

The daytime area with double height, also follows the fluidity of the flexible plan, where one of the most important resizing elements is the way natural light interferes in this space.

Natural light subjectively enables the volume to be restructured, through its multidimensional intersection, between the refractions and contrasts that light creates.

Service facilities take place on the underground and ground floor, while the night area on the second floor connectswith terraces and plans to the steep slope of the mountain, as it merges with it.

Rap Collection by Almex Contract Furniture

2020-07-20 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

Essential and minimalist, the Rap collection has got comfortable seats and wrap backrests. Created by the ecletic designer Karim Rashid, the collection is composed by two seats: Rap sofa and Rap Chair armchair. The love seat sofa is inspired by the philosophy of the famous Canadian designer: its shape makes relationship easier, thanks to the sinuous backrest. So Rap wraps people up and create a comfortable sofa that evokes a sense of protection and privacy at first look. Rap Chair is a single armchair and it is characterized by the same sinuous and wrap shape of Rap Sofa.

Rap Chair and Rap Sofa together can compose a contemporary and minimal living room, elegant and warm, suitable for domestic environments and contract. The seat becomes more comfortable and useful thanks to the new polyurethane cushion.

Ideal to create an unforgettable indoor or outdoor corner of contract and events, the Rap collection is a magnet with its minimal but unusual design. . This collection gives comfort, relax and a sense of protection that allows you to enjoy a lovely moment.

Source: slidedesign.it/

An assignment full of light!

2020-07-18 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, COMPETITION

Pikark aims to encourage creativity not only in concept but also in real life by aiming to bring into the market the concepts of local architects in industrialized form ready to be used in our projects. The path to this goal, started with a great collaboration between Polis University and Abiesse, where students of Polis under the request and support of the technial team of Abiesse, were requested to design a product to be ready to use. A challenging but also fruitful experience being concretized in a variety of concepts, where some of these concepts were developed up to all components. This can bring a real product to our market, and maybe a ready-made product to implement in our projects and use in our homes.

Partnerships between academia and industry in Albania as an urgent need in order for enterprises to develop in the future.

By Dr.Joana Dhiamandi

Academia and industry share a symbiotic relationship. Academia educates graduate professionals as key players who can develop the future of the industry. Research at universities is valued by the industry and are transformed into innovative products and contemporary services. Industry on the other hand asks academia for solutions to user needs as a result of their relationship with the consumer. In this relationship, universities’ and academics’ are required to ‘“tailor”’ their curricula to the demands of the prospective industry in order to educate a new generation of professionals. Often new research topics arise from the interaction between this duality of relationships taking advantage of both academia and industry.

Floor Lamp Design by Erjol Domi & Teuta Nexhipi

Therefore, the latter should fund research that requires the engagement of academics in universities, which in the future may be operationalized in the service of the market. This would require subsidizing and supporting universities with laboratories, scholarships dedicated to researchers, and raising strategic topics at the national or local level by assigning priority areas to academia in the service of the industry.

Floor Lamp Design by Anissa Cela & Sara Elmazi

Certainly such a link between academia and industry in Albania would not be easy, as the market is still not well organized and would require an interdisciplinary approach by engaging a specialized group of professionals to understand and answer this complex issue.

Pendant Lamp Design by Besnik Peca & Rebeka Cenolli

Following this methodology, POLIS University is an innovative think tank for professionals in urban planning and management and environmental studies, architecture and civil engineering, design and information technology, within the subject “Industrial Graphic Design ” led by specialized professors in this field; Dr. Joana Dhiamandi, Gjergji Poci and Kristiana Meço developed a collaboration with the relevant company on the domestic industrial market in the field of lighting design ABIESSE and PIK.ark by engaging all the experts of this group.

Floor Lamp Design by Ilda Doci & Miknela Gjinaj

Floor Lamp Design by Aurora Cepele & Megi Tollozhina

The purpose of this collaboration is to consolidate this symbiotic relationship between important actors of academia and industry. This relationship through the process of interdisciplinary design has engaged students of the Master in Applied Design as well as the Master in Architecture and Urban Design to study the concept of natural and artificial light at the crossroads of three scientific fields such as; technology, creativity and market demands.

Pendant Lamp Design by Kejsi Turku & Iris Shala

Wall Lamp Design by Erli Mucollari & Edona Zoraqi

The purpose of the assignment is for students to have an academic-technological approach, in relation to the production process of a lighting product with a personalized approach to promote the final product. During this design task, there was interaction not only between engaged experts but also through the treatment and study of all basic and physical elements of light, lighting technologies, digital media, context, human factors and interdisciplinary design methods.

Table Lamp Design by Avrili Meshi & Eni Gjoka

HIGHLIGHT: FREI OTTO

2020-07-18 Jona Parllaku No Comments BLOG, HIGHLIGHT architecture, frei otto, pritzker

Frei Otto was born in Siegmar, Germany, on May 31, 1925, and grew up in Berlin. “Frei” in German means “free”; his mother thought of the name after attending a lecture on freedom.

In 1950, with scholarship funds, he embarked on a study trip through the United States, where he visited the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Erich Mendelsohn, Eero Saarinen, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Richard Neutra, Charles and Ray Eames, among others. During this time he also studied sociology and urban development at the University of Virginia.In 1952, Frei Otto became a freelance architect and founded his own architectural office in Berlin.

Frei Otto pioneered the use of modern, lightweight, tent-like structures for many uses. He was attracted to them partly for their economical and ecological values. As early as the 1950s, he built complex models to test and perfect tensile shapes. Throughout his career, Otto always built physical models to determine the optimum shape of a form and to test its behavior.

Olympia Baugesellschaft,Frei Otto — Image of Olympia Baugesellschaft projected by Frei Otto

In 1968, Otto was named an Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and was commissioned by Olympia Baugesellschaft in Munich to develop construction measurement models for the projected roof of the main sports stadium in the Munich Olympic Park. The project, realized in May 1972, by Günter Behnisch, Frei Otto, and Fritz Leonhardt, for that year’s Olympics, comprised a large membrane to cover the stands of the Olympic stadium, a tensile structure arena, a fabric roof over the Olympic swimming pool, and hyperbolic membrane canopies to connect the buildings and protect visitors from rain and sun.

It happened that the forms of Otto’s buildings often found similar solutions to those in nature and thus resembled natural forms such as bird skulls and spider webs.

Challenged to provide maximum enclosure with minimum materials, Otto referenced the soap bubble for building inspiration. He later revisited the bubble to design the “membrane-topped network of cables” that topped the West German Pavilion at the World Expo in Montreal in 1967.

German Pavilion, Frei Otto — German Pavilion projected by Frei Otto

Frei Otto’s proposal to house 40,000 people under a 2km dome in the Arctic Circle reflected the zeitgeist of the 1970s – a concern about the ecological future combined with the promise of a better tomorrow.

The project sums up several topoi of science-fiction cities, from the controlled interior weather to moving sidewalks, but involves an interesting level of realism.

artic city frei otto — Project designed by Frei Otto at Artic city

In 1975 Frei Otto and architect Carlfried Mutschler designed Multihalle Mannheim.
Delicately curved and almost futuristic in appearance, the multi-purpose hall in Mannheim’s Herzogenried park is the world’s largest construction. Quickly earned the nickname “Wonder of Mannheim” with its organic structure and material-minimised construction, it is famous in architectural circles way beyond German borders.

Over the years, Otto’s research teams would include philosophers, historians, naturalists and environmentalists. He is a world-renowned innovator in architecture and engineering who pioneered modern fabric roofs over tensile structures and also worked with other materials and building systems such as grid shells, bamboo, and wooden lattices. Otto made the results of the research available to other architects. He always favored collaboration in architecture.

Otto co-designed the Japanese pavilion at the 2000 Hannover Expo with architect Shigeru.

Otto wrote extensively throughout his career. His book Biology and Building was published in 1972 with a second volume the next year. Later research led Otto to write about the structural and building properties of bamboo, crustaceans, and soap bubbles. In 1994, he published Ancient Architects on structural inventions from the earliest days of building.

biology and building frei otto — Image of biology and building written by Frei Otto

SMEG: FAB28 REFRIGERATOR

2020-07-17 Jona Parllaku No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

The “iconic” FAB28 by Smeg, a true icon of modern design that reinvented the refrigerator, transforming it from a functional appliance into an item of decor, is again renewing its concept introducing a set of innovative technological features.

A NEW SOUL

On its outside, little has changed, but inside FAB28 contains a wealth of wonderful innovative features.

7 REASONS TO CHOOSE THE FAB28 FRIDGE

Style and function
New profile elements shape the glass main compartment shelves and door balcony shelves, with chrome finishing not only on the outside but in every detail.

Zero energy loss
The Multiflow system optimizes the distribution of cold and humidity to assure an even temperature throughout the main compartment and the vegetables drawer.

Everything in its place
A new 0°C compartment for fish and meat offers the perfect temperature for keeping fresh foods.

Unbeatable practicality
The non-freeze back panel prevents ice forming.

Everything to hand
Led devices illuminate both sides of the refrigerator to facilitate storage, without increasing consumption.

Details that make the difference
The door hinge is more compact, for a leaner, more elegant overall look.

Technology and color
FAB28 is available in a vast range of continually renewed versions. Choose from British or Italian national liveries, multicolor decorations, the whiteboard effect (which you can actually write on), matt color versions, and even special editions from stylists and designers, including the recent Sicily Is My Love from our collaboration with Dolce&Gabbana.

HEB’S

2020-07-17 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, INTERIOR DESIGN

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

HEB’S
Bar & Restaurant
Maden Group
Maden Group
Prishtina, Kosovo
Constructed
2020
524.5 m2
2
Atdhe Mulla
–

The love for cafes, restaurants, bars and practices to spend a lot of time in our favorite places is one of our characteristics. Our culture enjoys good food and coffee especially with good company while eating and drinking, it is also worth asking that we also eat fast food slowly. One of the strongest points we wanted to pay attention to was the comfort, the special look and the feeling “at home”.

Glass blocks have been used in cases where in the past they needed light and not views … mostly secondary places like wc, stairwells, etc., while we have given them added value by showing that the glass bones do wonders. One of the reasons we used glass blocks is because of the depth of the strip, to create the same feeling throughout the strip and painting the wall behind the yellow glass blocks. An environment with glass blocks results in happiness and positivity where this place will always look like spring.

Among the other wonderful qualities is the greenery, which in itself creates a connection between the interior and exterior space, as well as illuminates the entire design making it comfortable and natural. It creates a connection with nature and participates in a house-like feeling as the interiors of many houses have their fair share of plants scattered throughout the rooms. Moreover, the green stars are two olives which are placed in focus, as the laying is positioned around them.

Light and metallic sheets perforated from the ceiling create a dynamic play of light and shade and add charm to the space during daylight hours as well as late evenings. Hebs has also found support in artistic works which are scattered in space by the artist Fitore Berisha.

It was crucial for us to give a new gastronomic brand a great identity, which would automatically set it apart from the rest. Now restaurants and bars have been moved from spaces where man simply goes to eat, to creative and beautiful spaces, where the design of such areas attracts visitors who in addition to eating delicious food, also hit a pose or two!

Active Light Application

2020-07-16 Anita Tare No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

Active Light is based on natural daylight, it does not compete with it, but instead works with it. Here are some practical application of Active Light in interior:

Active Light In The Office

Creating Light Creates Inspiration

Against the background of the fact that light also affects humans at a biological level, the problem discussed here becomes clear with today’s 5 usual office lighting: Contrary to sunlight, which varies its intensity and color temperature throughout the day, artificial light is static and its illumination intensity is usually about 500 lux and a color temperature of 4000 Kelvin. But that the standard lighting intensity of 500 lux is perceived as too low in the workplace.

Zumtobel provides lighting solutions through Active Light for specific lighting conditions in the office so that the user can make use of individual control options as far as possible, depending on the task and individual preference, and he is able to work with a lighting intensity of up to 800 lux. The right light at the right time also has a positive influence on the cognitive performance and therefore on the creativity of the human being.

eggboard artemide — Eggboard Artemide - Office project by And Studio Architects

Active Light In Industry

Creating Light Creates Precision

Active Light can make a valuable contribution, especially to shift workers, for an adapted synchronization of the rhythm of the day. Intelligent lighting control systems and innovative sensors also allow that through the number and location of the persons, their frequency and movement patterns, the right lighting scenario is provided for the respective activity and therefore safety, precision and quality is promoted.

Active Light For Shop & Retail

Creating Light Creates Emotion

Active Light integrates the insights gained from the Zumtobel study, in order to provide the customer with the preferred light mood and, on the other hand, to present brands and products in the best possible way. At an emotional level, Active Light creates a light mood that positively affects well-being and thus also the length of stay in the business. At a visual level, Active Light provides a targeted approach through orientation and variation of luminance intensity with respect to space and time.

Active Light concepts based on dynamic light colors, adapted to the respective product, improve the quality assessment. With high-quality architecture and attractive goods presentation, not only does the willingness to purchase increase, but also the acceptance of higher prices.

A.24 Circular Stand-alone Artemide - Retail project by Studio tonassiranghetti

Active Light For Art and Culture

Creating Light Creates Imagination

Active Light in art and culture takes into account all the conservative and visual aspects and reconciles them with the movement patterns of the visitor in space and time. Technologies such as tunable White are not only able to vary the color of the day with the day, but they can also match the materialization, art form, and the working technique of the artist. Finally, the artists’ messages are not only characterized by the choice of color, but also by the history of the work, place, daylight or artificial light and the like.

Active Light Outdoors

Creating Light Creates Interaction

Active Light solution harmonizes all the three levels of light (visual, biological and emotional). If the users of an outdoor space are integrated in the planning, a lighting solution is created that serves both human beings and the environment alike. This improves the sense of security, orientation and quality of stay in public areas. The light also has a social dimension as it promotes the communication and interaction of people.

Active Light as a Connection Between Man and Architecture

With Active Light, Zumtobel has formulated a visionary objective: “Creating Light Creates Life”. The dynamic artificial light is based on the naturally given, elementary relationship between man and light in all spheres of life. With the help of state-of-the-art technology, Active Light offers the possibilities to dynamically reconcile the original needs of people with the requirements of modern life. The interaction of nature, people and technology sets the course for new light-planning and architectural approaches with a holistic aspiration.

Source: Back To The Roots Through Light by Zumtobel

The Slope House

2020-07-16 Anita Tare No Comments BUILDING DESIGN, PROJECT IDEA

Project name:
Typology:
Studio:
Architect:
Location:
Status:
Construction year:
Floor Area:
Floors:
Photography:
Collaborators:

Slope House
Residential
Tharm Architects
Tharm Architects
Durrës, Albania
In construction
2018
238 m2
2
–
–

The Slope House, a project by Tharm Architects, is located in the village of Vrrinë in Durrës. The building is developed on 3 different levels, taking advantage of the slope terrain. An existing one-story house in site was taken as a reference for the new building project. To this existing structure we added another floor, adapting to the requirements of the client.

To avoid obstructing visibility for the object behind, the new volume is pushed towards the southern boundary providing view and wide space with two squares in front of the building. The same volume is already stretched and in more elegant ratios.

The entry road to the building provides access to both houses, while the landscape is organized on 2 levels. The roof of the building is thought to come in 2 slopes – a saltbox roof, resembling the slope of the terrain. The main entrance of the building is at level 0. The corridor orients us east to the bedroom, west to the kitchen, while to the south there is the staircase connecting the three levels of the building. At the same time the house can be accessed at level -1 from the yard. At level -1 there are premises such as dining area, living room, toilet, storage room and a closed garage.

What is special about the solution of this house is that the cooking area is located at level 0, which communicates vertically with the lower level through a one-ramp ladder. Visually, the premises communicate through the atrium in which the salon takes place. On the third level of the apartment there is the couple’s room with additional functions such as wardrobe, toilet and exit to the balcony.

The tendency in the building is to use the most natural materials such as brick, iron sheet, glass, stone tiles paving and grass. The building is clad in decorative brick with the aim of highlighting the simplicity of the volume. The smaller volumes of the balconies are wrapped in iron sheets, distinguished from the main body of the building through the white color. Window frames and shadings are treated with the same principle.

The goal for the Slope House project was to provide a minimum intervention in site in both form and materiality, fulfilling clients requirements for functionality and ensuring comfort and intimacy.

The Best Colors to Soothe Anxiety & Promote Wellness

2020-07-15 Jona Parllaku No Comments BLOG

What are the best Best Colors to Soothe Anxiety & Promote Wellness? Scientists and artists have long believed that color can dramatically affect moods, feelings, and behaviors. Certain colors have been associated with increased blood pressure, stress and eyestrain. Color preferences also exert an influence on the objects people choose to purchase, the clothes they wear and the way they decorate their environments. Color is a powerful communication tool and can be used to influence emotions and even the decisions we make. People often select objects in colors that evoke certain feelings, such as painting a room a soft color to create a peaceful mood. Let’s talk about color psychology by introducing five colors that can help influence our mental wellbeing, leaving us less overwhelmed and anxious.

Almost Aqua

This soothing shade of green relates to balance and harmony. In a broader perspective green is the color of growth, the color of nature, renewal and rebirth. This color renews and restores depleted energy.

Chamomile

Chamomile, a warmer shade of yellow, is a Optimistic and Positive color that adds richness and warmth – it illuminates and enhances other things around it. This is a color associated with abundance and prosperity.

Ice Flow

Ice Flow inspires knowledge, spirituality and a deep understanding of the self and the soul. Blue is a color associated with calmness and confidence, understanding and enlightenment.

Lilac Ash

This shade that stands in the middle of lilac and pink promotes tranquility and peace. Lilac is both feminine and romantic, affectionate and intimate, thoughtful and caring. Shades of pink can stir feelings of compassion, nurture and love.

Nimbus Cloud

This is the color of intuition and perception and can promote deep concentration during times of introspection and meditation, helping you achieve deeper levels of consciousness. These five colors have an optimistic outlook which we hope will soothe your senses and ignite feelings of joy, tranquility and ease.

V-Blocker: The new partition system for protection against COVID-19

2020-07-15 Jona Parllaku No Comments BLOG, PRODUCT

The new hygiene & safety rules imposed under these difficult circumstances are a challenge for businesses and stores. Our innovative character and experience in the designing of partition systems for workplaces, have led to the development of a new complete system ensuring hygiene & safety rules.

The new partition system SMARTIA P19 V-Blocker was developed for protection against COVID-19 and offers a unique solution fully harmonized with the needs of the special period we are going through. It consists of an aluminium frame and a set of transparent or non-transparent panels that can be mounted on it. It is ideal for dining and leisure areas (restaurants, cafes, bars, etc.), beauty & hair salons, workplaces, shops, public services, businesses, and any other place that hosts many people every day.

The main features of SMARTIA P19 (V-Blocker)

It consists of an aluminum frame with minimal design and high robustness
The maximum dimensions of the self-standing partition are: 1.60 x 1.00 m (HxW)
Possibility to mount polycarbonate sheets, as well as plexiglass, safety glass, wooden or aluminum panels, etc.
A combination of the above materials can be mounted on the partition system

The advantages of SMARTIA P19 (V-Blocker)

Security & protection against COVID-19
Easily movable
Modular design and robust construction to avoid accidents
Excellent quality and durability of materials for intense long-term use
Optimal transparency that ensures natural light distribution & visibility
Elegant design and the possibility of unlimited design combinations to upgrade the aesthetics of each space

ALUMIL, as one of the most innovative companies in the field of international aluminum architecture systems, constantly listens to the needs of the market during this difficult time and develops solutions that are important “weapons” against the pandemic that affects the whole world. Products that contribute to the successful implementation of precautionary measures are now essential so that people returning to normal daily routines remain as protected as possible.

Loft by Martini Design Studio

Sera (Greenhouse) by Besnik Grainca

Deti Jon (Ionian Sea) by Besnik Grainca

A cafe white as snow …

His House and Her House by Wutopia Lab

AESOP Store

You have always had at the center of your creations, whether photos, paintings or various installations, the elements of nature. Then comes your search on wood, where does this passion come from?

What technique do you use to shape the wood?

Where do you find the basic material?

The head of the lamps, how is it realized?

How long does it take to make a light fixture?

Where can we find your creations?

What makes these lights so special?

At what price does a lamp made by you vary?

Have you considered collaborating with architects, given that your products can easily be an important element in an interior?

What can you accomplish with them?

How would you describe one of these creations?

Cité De La Musique, Paris, France – West Wing

Cité De La Musique, Paris, France – East Wing

Flagship Dior, Seoul, South Korea

Musée Hergé, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

Great Theater Of Casablanca, Morocco

Prism Tower, New York, Usa

Winery Cheval Blanc, Saint Emilion, France

Luxembourg Philharmonie, Grand Duchy Of Luxembourg

Shangyin Opera House, Tongzhou, Shanghai

Artwork Lighting Challenges

Light for art

PALAZZO VECCHIO (FLORENCE, ITALY)

GALLERIA DELL’ACCADEMIA (FLORENCE, ITALY)

1. Choose Your Function

2. Tie It to the Indoors

3. Create a Floor

4. Add a Ceiling and Walls

5. Furnish as You Would Indoors

6. Illuminate the Space

Partnerships between academia and industry in Albania as an urgent need in order for enterprises to develop in the future.

A NEW SOUL

7 REASONS TO CHOOSE THE FAB28 FRIDGE

Active Light In The Office

Active Light In Industry

Active Light For Shop & Retail

Active Light For Art and Culture

Active Light Outdoors

Active Light as a Connection Between Man and Architecture

Almost Aqua

Chamomile

Ice Flow

Lilac Ash

Nimbus Cloud

The main features of SMARTIA P19 (V-Blocker)

The advantages of SMARTIA P19 (V-Blocker)