Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design has done a proposal for Walltopia – Collider Activity Center – a brand center and a destination for sports and recreation. The project is designed for Bulgaria, and the author strongly believes that it was necessary to rethink the status of the building as a neutral container of active furnishings in favor of building as an active participant and distinct.

The primary idea was to take the concept of “boulders” produced by Walltopia and then reinterpret them as architectural objects. The form of the building is conceived in play of three-dimensional climbing surfaces. The final outcome is the abstract and alien space, yet a contemporary climber’s paradise.

The designed is derived from the formal and organizational model of objects in objects, which is in opposition to architecture as a single-skin container and to architectural hierarchies of enclosure and usual internal subdivisions through corridors and walls. Due to the chosen model, the building is wrapped in three layers – outer skin, sub-skin and a liner. Inspired by Borromini and Baroque architecture, these skins allow separate management of exterior and interior spaces. The layers vary in material quality and they are articulated differently. The skins sometimes track each other, but usually they have completely separate lives.

The structure of this unique project is reinforced concrete core and slabs, with the concrete perimeter walls and economical column grid on the interior of the ground object. The skins of the main building will be constructed in lightweight composite, using the natural shell shapes of the project, in order to provide long spans and column-free interior spaces. The multi-layer skin system is not only a decoration, but creates a buffer zone, useful both in winter and in summer.

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

Tom Wiscombe Design, Bulgaria, Walltopia, multi-layered façade, multi-layered skin, organic form, object in object system, Collider Activity Center

 

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