Project: Keystone Office, Prague | Czech Republic Architects: EM2N, Mathias Müller, Daniel Niggli, Architekten AG, Zurich | Switzerland Construction: Cassettes – Special construction Year of Construction: 2011 Product: ALUCOBOND® A2 Anodized Look CO/EV1 Photos: Simon Menges
This office building stands at a kind of gateway situation at a prominent situation in Karlín, a district of Prague that is undergoing rapid change. The ground floor, taller than the other levels, contains shops and showrooms while the upper floors are occupied by office space.
The external appearance of the building takes up geometrical themes found in Czech Cubism at the start of the 20th century. The volumetric concept of the façade creates an ambivalently legible network of forms oriented in different directions. The double-layered façade made of ALUCOBOND® not only produces a sculptural outer skin, but also improves the performance of the windows in terms of thermal and acoustic insulation.
Through the contrast to the exterior the impressive entrance hall establishes a certain formal tension. Here high-quality materials and expensive surfaces are used. The hall is clad half with chrome steel and half with terrazzo and stucco lustro.
Thinking of Bauhaus Berlin is automatically associated with Gropius. Now, Berlin has another association: The new building of the Bauhaus AG by Müller Reimann Architects. The new building is a warehouse construction with an extravagant façade and has the prominent address Kurfürstendamm 129a.
