{"id":197410,"date":"2022-06-07T10:40:04","date_gmt":"2022-06-07T14:40:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=197410"},"modified":"2022-11-30T14:45:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-30T19:45:58","slug":"the-bor%cc%86islavka-center-by-aulik-fiser-architekti-reflects-pragues-history","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/the-bor%cc%86islavka-center-by-aulik-fiser-architekti-reflects-pragues-history\/","title":{"rendered":"The Bor\u0306islavka Center by Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti Reflects Prague’s History"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Aerial,
Aerial, a sculptural installation by Federico D\u00edaz, guards entry to the Bor\u02d8islavka Center, an office and retail complex in Prague by Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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June 7, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Peter Webster<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>BoysPlayNice<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Bor\u0306islavka Center by Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti Reflects Prague’s History<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Evropsk\u00e1, a major thoroughfare linking central Prague to the main airport, has seen a lot of development\u2014corporate headquarters and other imposing buildings\u2014over the last few decades. But in planning to add a new office and retail center to the broad street, KKCG Real Estate Group envisioned a facility that didn\u2019t just satisfy commercial interests but also enhanced the livability quotient of the surrounding residential neighborhood, a heterogenous mix of family villas, mid-rise apartment blocks, and even a communist-era housing estate. \u201cBesides the business functions of the complex, our main goal was to supplement public services and amenities in the catchment area,\u201d CEO Petr Pujman says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An international competition led the developer to engage a likeminded local practice, Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti<\/a>, to design the proposed center. \u201cWe considered the greatest strength of the brief was the ambition to reach out and help improve the neighboring areas,\u201d acknowledges Jan Aul\u00edk, co-principal with Jakub Fi\u0161er of the firm. For client and architects, the common goal was to provide the community with a vibrant urban complex offering amenities, caf\u00e9s, restaurants, and shops in the form of a refined public space\u2014a contemporary reinterpretation of the small squares and intimate plazas that make the Czech capital\u2019s famed historic district such a perennial delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The complex sits on a major thoroughfare linking the center of the city to the main airport. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The narrow 4.2-acre site\u2019s positive aspects\u2014a prime location directly above the Bor\u0306islavka metro station, for which the center is named, plus sweeping views of the city, including iconic Prague Castle\u2014were offset by its awkward triangular shape and uneven topography. Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er pored over historical street maps, which not only revealed how the quirky lot had evolved but also suggested ways its problems could be resolved. \u201cWe used the existing geometry, developed it further, and reopened passage through the site,\u201d Fi\u0161er explains. \u201cThen we subdivided the site into self-similar fractal segments\u201d\u2014treating it, in other words, as if it were a micro-neighborhood in an old town realized in modern architectural terms, which include meeting today\u2019s environmental and sustainability requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resulting 751,000-square-foot complex comprises four faceted volumes sitting on a stone-clad, two-story plinth. The latter, which contains a partly subterranean shopping mall, addresses the changes in street elevation, integrating the center into the surrounding cityscape while providing a base for the quartet of glass-clad office structures. The irregular crystalline forms, up to seven stories tall, are carefully positioned to create narrow alleys and small open spaces between them, a permeable civic precinct that\u2019s reassuringly familiar in scale and function while excitingly
modern in execution and style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Acacia-wood
Acacia-wood posts covered with moss, orchids, and other epiphytic plants form an installation in the largest lobby.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A tiny pre-existing square was transformed into a piazzetta, which provides barrier-free access to the whole complex and the metro station vestibule. Czech-Argentinian artist Federico D\u00edaz created a monumental sculpture for this entry court, a towering assemblage of robotically engineered high-performance concrete that suggests ancient figures formed from sedimentary rock. It\u2019s reflected in the multiangle facades\u2019 structural glass, which is formulated to transmit ample daylight to the interiors while avoiding undesirable levels of solar glare on the outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The individual buildings are set into stepped green gardens, while entrance lobbies and public areas are filled with lush vegetation, including creepers growing up through atria and other soaring spaces. Inspired by tropical rainforests, an experimental form of indoor planting was specifically designed for the project: In the largest lobby, 76 rough-hewn acacia-wood posts the size of small trees rise in a gladelike cluster from a pool of shallow water, their trunks festooned with orchids, moss, and other epiphytic plants\u2014a waft of the jungle that\u2019s repeated on a smaller scale elsewhere in the complex. \u201cIt is not just vegetation, but an artwork that is alive and changeable,\u201d says Zden\u0115k Sendler, a landscape architect who collaborated on the project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Part
Part of the shopping mall is belowground, where the stretch-membrane ceiling is 100 percent recyclable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The abundant greeney is complemented by an extensive program of commissioned artworks and large-scale installations. Chief among the latter is The Iceberg, a diaphanous, light-filled arrangement of 120 fused-glass plates that emerges from the main reception area\u2019s slatted wood ceiling like the softly glowing peaks of an inverted mountain range. Designed by Maxim Velc\u0306ovsk\u00fd, it\u2019s the biggest piece the innovative Czech glass studio Lasvit has yet produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bor\u0306islavka Center is not all gardens and art, however. The four crystals house handsome office space, much of it occupied by KKCG Group and its associated divisions. (In a twist, the company sold the complex earlier this year and has become a tenant in its own development.) Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er balances the interiors\u2019 elegantly uniform fittings and furnishings\u2014name-brand products characteristic of the modern corporate workplace worldwide\u2014with custom elements and crafted pieces that bring a sense of individuality and surprise with them. And there is often a natural rawness to the materials, finishes, colors, and textures the team has chosen to use throughout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The biophilia extends beyond aesthetics: Thanks to extensive green roofs, sophisticated rainwater management systems, elevator-energy recovery equipment, heat exchangers, and a slew of other environmentally friendly features, the whole complex has gained LEED Gold certification\u2014affirmation that this crystal palace glitters in more ways than one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"In
In a conference room, sleek corporate furniture is juxtaposed with wood slats on the ceiling and walls and the pendant fixture of mouth-blown glass.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
The Iceberg, an arrangement of fused-glass plates that emerge from reception\u2019s slatted ceiling, is the biggest work yet produced by the Lasvit glassworks.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"A
A walkable skylight set into the entry piazzetta illuminates an escalator leading down to the mall and metro entrance.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Heavily
Heavily textured walls in a lounge area recall geological striations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Extensive
Extensive glazing and backlit membrane ceilings keep interior office spaces light and airy.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Czech
Czech typographer Vojtech R\u00edha helped develop a custom font for the center\u2019s signage and branding.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Glass
Glass and steel are treated with remarkable fluidity in a custom spiral staircase connecting two levels in the main building. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Seen
Seen from below, the spiral stair is like a fanciful oculus.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The office buildings sit on a stone-clad plinth dotted with public spaces that emulate the squares, plazas, and passageways of historical European town centers. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"The
The steel ribbon around which the spiral staircase turns becomes a standalone sculptural element on a lower level. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Aerial,
Aerial, a sculptural installation by Federico D\u00edaz, guards entry to the Bor\u0306islavka Center, an office and retail complex in Prague by Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"While
While comprising an integrated ensemble, each of the complex’s four crystalline buildings has a unique form. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PROJECT TEAM<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Aul\u00edk Fi\u0161er Architekti<\/span><\/a>: leo\u0161 hor\u00e1k; jakub hemzal; gabriela kr\u00e1lov\u00e1; david zalab\u00e1k; alena sedl\u00e1kov\u00e1; petra coufal skalick\u00e1; eva ma\u0161kov\u00e1; jan dluho\u0161; ondrej cern\u00fd; petra merkov\u00e1; oleksandr nebozhenko; vojtech \u0161tamberg; krist\u00fdna z\u00e1mostn\u00e1<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
matou\u0161 hydroponie; zdenek sendler<\/span><\/a>: landscape consultants<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
novecon; pbw group<\/span><\/a>: interior outfitters<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
ruby project management<\/span><\/a>: construction manager<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
feri; metrostav; zakl\u00e1d\u00e1n\u00ed staveb<\/span><\/a>: general contractors<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Dupont<\/span><\/a>: desk solid surfacing (reception)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
lasvit<\/span><\/a>: ceiling installation<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Studio Perspektiv<\/span><\/a>: furniture (shopping mall)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
THROUGHOUT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
spiral<\/span><\/a>: glass facades<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
allegro; barrisol; kovprof<\/span><\/a>: ceilings<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
llentab<\/span><\/a>: skylights<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
exx; hormen; lumidee<\/span><\/a>: lighting<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
je\u017e<\/span><\/a>: stone cladding, pavement<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
boca<\/span><\/a>: carpet<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hunter douglas; purstyl<\/span><\/a>: window shades<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n