kois associated architects: mixed use building, jordan

mixed use building, amman, jordan by kois associated architects
all images courtesy kois associated architects

greek firm kois associated architects developed a proposal for a mixed use building;
comprised of offices and lofts, located in the centre of jordan’s capital.

the design process begun with the, study of amman’s urban environment, it’s organizational
principles and the study of the typology of the structures located in the neighboring area this
analysis and the study of jordanian architecture, informed the volumetric investigation which
started with a plain parallelepiped, parallel to the building plot’s shape and attached to
the adjoining buildings.

view from the street

the lower edges are consecutively drawn towards the street grid, while
the volume is detached
from the inner boundaries of the site. the
elaboration on the volume’s skin, as the final border
with the city and
the one that determinately conveys meanings and symbolisms to the
contemporary
city, is what will form the connection with the specific
location.

side view

the pattern that was selected to be processed was
projected onto the primary volume’s
faces. the box, the one that will accommodate the
building’s functions, is enclosed in this
‘veil, which also defines
the extent of the city’s flow into the building, allowing a gradual

interplay between indoors and outdoors, differing from floor to floor. the inner border
and back planes neighboring the adjacent building plots, are
covered with a layer of low plants.

the facade

the main vertical and horizontal circulation to the upper floors
(offices, apartments) is situated
on the space created by the
detached part of the building. in this way the
circulation is
accomplished outside the main core of the building and
allows the visitor to enter the enclosure
only through small openings –
gradually revealing the interior spaces.

entrance into the residential areas

the layering of the spaces follows the required sequence and reflects
the gradual accession
of social privacy. the stores, as the most
public part of the program, are situated on the ground
and first
floor levels. the connection between the two floors is established through a
single route
beginning from the main entrance and resulting at the
second floor, symbolizing the incoming
of the city into the building.
the organization of the commercial units mimics the structure of
the
traditional bazaar. the architects consider the bazaar as a paradigm structure of
the merchandising
local practice, which comprises a vibrant hub for
social interaction. the core element of the bazaar,
the spine of its
structure, the main route that fuels the stores, is interpreted here
with this very
path, with the commercial units being organized around
it.

as far as the offices are concerned, the main goal during the
design was to achieve maximum
organizational flexibility for the user.
considering a single desk as the primary unit, and a library
stack as
the secondary element that acts as a dividing boundary between two
desks, resulting
in various configurations. the top level of the building is purely
residential and houses two spacious
family lofts.

the mixed use building at night