It is a story made of and in concrete, that of Demo Working Group, a German group based in Cologne, in the operation that involved their latest project, Kier, the renovation of a sixty square meter apartment in a twenty-four-storey skyscraper from the seventies, located in the center of the city.
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
The search to return to the purity of the structure has shown the designers an unprecedented path, in which all the non-structural elements have been eliminated, in favor of levels of interpretation of the space that contaminate each other, following a layout structured through connections and not more divisions. Reflective surfaces and concrete they interconnect with each other, creating dimensional games that make the whole space cohesive, almost a dimensional unicum. Although the functions remain well detached, in the path and thanks to the use of materials, the space appears as a series of rooms that intersect with each other.
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
The creation of architects focuses on experience and traveling through space, rather than on fragmenting environments. An interesting and crucial operation for the definition of the new space, which becomes the fulcrum of this work, is the new opening in the central load-bearing wall, in reinforced concrete, created with a specific tool. The space thus opens up, but also shows its soul in the details they mix the industrial heart of the building and the new tailoring facility of the place.
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
The materials chosen and the color palette used for the intervention also help to connect the interior and exterior. Opaline glass, metal ceilings, touches of bright color – such as the blue of the sofas and the paint used on the balcony, or the purple upholstery chosen for the Breuer Cescas that inhabit the living room – and chrome accents connect the apartment with its historical context, L’brutalist building where it is located.
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
The intervention of the designers makes it clear how it is possible, thanks to the structural systems of large-scale post-war buildings, to give a new breath to architecture and its interiors, opening the way to incredible new potential, both spatial and typological, while also freeing the structure from its internal weight.
Kier, project of Demo Working Group
demoworkinggroup.eu
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Ludovica Proietti studied Architecture to never become an architect. After a master’s degree in Design she completed an internship with Domitilla Dardi and became her assistant, both in the teaching position and for the curatorship of various events, specializing in History of Design and Architecture. You curated talks and events related to design at the Roman co-working space Ala / 34 until 2019 and, currently, you teach in various institutes in the capital and are senior editor for the Cieloterradesign blog. Consultant and freelance journalist, you care about the culture of contemporary design, always trying to favor never-to-be-obvious perspectives.
