Radical in its intentions – to offer an alternative to the current processes of urban development triggered by the so-called Bilbao effect – and provocative in its formal outcome – a synthesis of artistic performance and typological innovation – is the work of the Berlin-based office Brandlhuber+, founded by Arno Brandlhuber. Over the years, Brandlhuber+ has developed a unique trajectory in which the peculiarity of the decisions informing their projects – lack of thermal insulation, exteriorisation of interior circulation, formal indifference – matches with the interest in the work of artists such as Rachel Whiteread or Gordon Matta-Clark. This combination of heterogeneous references and positions finds full expression in Brandlhuber+’s architecture, which explores the intrinsic potential of existing buildings to resist over time and generate new unexpected meanings. Coherently, Brandlhuber+’s message involves not only the design of space but also its representation. The visual body of drawings produced by the office, for example, depict a clear understanding of the role played by time in their work, especially when it comes to the dialogue between old and new elements in both 2D and 3D visualisations. Among the several projects developed recently, two are emblematic of Brandlhuber+’s inquiries: Antivilla (2010-15), and San Gimignano Licthenberg (2012).
Antivilla is located at the Krampnitz Lake, southwest of Berlin, and is the transformation of a former warehouse, built in the 1980s, which used to store lingerie produced by a nearby East German factory. The challenge of this project was to prove that empty buildings in risk of demolition can be made usable again. So, rather than demolishing it and replacing it with a single-family home, Brandlhuber+ decided to keep the existing load-bearing structure, and to remove only a few interior partitions. More specifically, the design process was informed by a series of different steps: first, the existing asbestos-contaminated globe roof was dismantled and replaced with a flat concrete roof, whose presence was emphasized by a sculptural waterspout. Second, inside the empty shell of the building, a functional load-bearing core containing kitchen, bathroom, fireplace, and sauna was inserted. Then, the existing façade was perforated by irregular holes which allowed the house to have a view of the lake. Through a sequence of simple but bold moves, Brandlhuber+ presents us with an artificial ruin, a vacant building which has been given a new meaning and transformed into a domestic shelter. The ruin is at the same time romantic but blunt, intriguing but repelling, comfortable but extreme.
Brandlhuber+ https://bplus.xyz
© Erica Overmeer https://bplus.xyz/projects/0131-antivilla
Brandlhuber+, Antivilla . Krampnitz, 2010-15
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on site review 43: architecture and t ime
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