LONDON-POST COVID19 OFFICE

LONDON-POST COVID19 OFFICE

Program: Strategy for the relocation of the Chubbs London Headquarters and spatial concept for new office culture.
Budget: N/A
Client: Chubb Global
Location: London, UK
Design: 2021
Team: NAUTA architecture & research, CIPENSO Creative Project and Design Management

3 Scenarios:
61.000 sqft/600 desks
76.000 sqft/600 desks
91.000 sqft/600 desks

What is the right balance between working from home, improving our lifestyle, minimizing daily commuting, reducing the risk of the COVID 19 and future pandemic infections, while enhancing teamwork, social collision, knowledge exchange?
Global insurance company CHUBB has commissioned NAUTA and CIPENSO Creative Project and Design Management, research by design study for the relocation of the London office in the heart of the British capital.
The study reflects on the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic and the new forms of remote work, to optimize the office space of the future.
The Covid19 pandemic has radically changed our way of working, forcing a large population to work remotely from home. This change has brought negative effects for the psychophysical condition of many workers, as many started to experience stress due to seclusion and loneliness.
On the other hand, this new trend has generated a debate on the positive assets of remote working. Working from home has multiple positive assets: no need to commute and relative reduction of emissions, optimization of time and a renovated balance between work and private life. It has as well generated a massive action for rethinking the office space. Many enterprises saw in the pandemic an opportunity to reduce costs by updating an obsolete culture of sedentary desk work, embracing the needs for a dynamic lifestyle even during work hours. These trends bring as well positive consequences for the climate, as the reduction of office space use has a positive impact on carbon reduction and circularity.
The project combines these reflections into research by design process, investigating how to rethink the traditional office culture on the base of Chubb’s values and wishes.
The study combines stakeholders’ interviews and design explorations. It proposes scenarios of space usage based on different office size, number and typology of workstations and several new concepts of work and social collision points that will absorb the changes coming from post-pandemic social relations and new technologies applied to the future of work.

 

BRUGES – KAAIDISTRICT

Project name: Concept Guide of Urban Renewal Project “Kaaidistrict” in Bruges

Status: Finalist Pre-selection Phase

Program: Urban Renewal of Kaaidistrict in Bruges

Budget: N/A

Client: Municipality of Bruges

Location: Bruges, Belgium

Design: 2020

Team: NAUTA architecture & research, KU Leuven

ENGLISH

The position of the Kaaidistrict within the urban structure of Bruges presents special value from every aspect. Located along the intersection of the main east-west and north-south infrastructures of the city, the area occupies the centre of the spatial structure that includes Bruges till the Zeebrugge port development, making it the exact centre between the historical egg-shaped Unesco protected area and the harbour. This location is as well touched by the waterline that from east to west follows the Sint-Pieterskaai, presenting the high potential for waterfront redevelopment.

Weaknesses and Threats

The proximity of the Unesco area might become a threat for the possible redevelopment of the area into a contemporary icon of urban regeneration, because of the very restrictive rules on historical preservation and respect of the existing building typologies. The area could play an important role for the city in the gradual transition towards sustainable energies and infrastructure, acting beyond its local potential as an engine for the whole green and blue performance of the city. The social inclusion of local stakeholders and the open communication at all times can facilitate fast realization projects, bottom-up actions and the constitution of cooperatives that can bridge the gap between project and realization.

The block currently considered most valuable for residential densification and higher construction is the Janssens site, which will soon become available for development. The site received a negative assessment from the Unesco commission even if situated in a valuable position, adjacent to the canal, the site presents as well as contrasting elements. It is, in fact, more proximate than others to the Unesco buffer area, as well as the closest to the most unfriendly infrastructure of the whole district: the Sint Pieterskaade fly-over.

Traffic interventions need special attention due to the proximity of the site to the main axis east-west and the central ring. The proposal of turning the area in a multifunctional development brings considerations about the possible future increase of incoming car traffic, making necessary to combine its optimization and access to improved public transport, pedestrian, and bicycle routes.

As opposed to the tradition of reserving parking areas to each autonomous commercial, residential or office building, we propose to plan shared parking garages, retrofitting some of the existing commercial sheds, yet keeping them flexible for alternative long term uses as the future would bring an additional reduction of needed parking, due to a hopefully improved low carbon mobility.

THE PARTICIPATION PROCESS

The way in which government and society see each other is changing rapidly. The terms ‘government participation’, ‘doing democracy’, and ‘participation society’ refer to this development in different terms. Central to these developments, however, is that society will have to deal mostly with itself and the government will have to set loose more. This requires a fundamentally different attitude from all parties involved. Increasingly we see that the government is embracing citizens’ initiative and organic ‘bottom-up’ developments and linking them to its own processes. This development poses a challenge for society and the government because the roles vary and ultimately, they need each other. It influences the interaction between government, citizens, and social partners. The challenge is to find the right balance of participation in this playing field. For participation to be a success, it is therefore important that all parties involved actively participate. Our team has built up the necessary experience to successfully design participation processes. In general, we use the same system, but we ensure that a suitable solution is sought for every situation with customization. After all, participation is tailor-made, there is no blueprint. Therefore, we want to consider in consultation with the city of Bruges the preconditions within which participation is possible. An invitation is only useful if there is also room to exert influence. Our experience is that complex spatial developments often offer less room to influence the process and the outcome. If that space is not available, participation is not done thus avoiding disappointment and frustration. In this case, informing the data subjects will suffice. We do see room for broader participation for parts of the process and we propose to organize participatory workshops on the following themes. These themes then give us input to come up with scenarios with which we can determine the macro and micro strategies for the area. Interactive workshops play an important role in our approach. In view of the current restrictions surrounding COVID-19, we also see an important role for (online) surveys in this process. We want to make use of students from the University of Leuven for both variants. In summary, participation for team Nauta is no different than making agreements with each other about how we work together or may participate in a particular topic. Team Nauta believes that when a participation process is begun, two preconditions must be met:
• There is a clear framework in advance in which participation is demarcated. The participation rate is determined in advance in consultation with the client.
•  With active participation, participants can actually make a contribution.

NEDERALNDS

De plek van het Kaaidistrict binnen de stedelijke structuur van Brugge biedt een specifieke waarde vanuit menig aspect. Gelegen op de kruising van de belangrijkste oost-west en noord-zuid netwerken van nfrastruc-tuur, neemt het gebied een centrale plek in de ruimtelijke structuur op grotere schaal, die loopt van het historische, eivormige beschermde Unesco gebied tot en met de haven van Zeebrugge. Het gebied ligt aan het water, dat van oost naar west de Sint-Pieterskaai volgt en hiermee een grote kans biedt voor de herontwikkeling van een waterfront.

Zwakke punten en gevaren

De nabijheid van het Unesco gebied kan zowel een potentiële kans, als ook een bedreiging vormen voor de herontwikkeling van het Kaaidistrict tot een hedendaags icoon voor stede- lijke transformatie, in verband met de strikte regelgeving die met de werelderfgoed status en de historische gebou-wtypologieën samenhangt. Het belangrijkste is de rol die het Kaaidistrict zou kunnen spe-len in de geleidelijke transitie naar het gebruik van duurzame energie en infrastructuur, waarbij het een bovenwijkse bijdrage zou kunnen leveren aan de groen-blauwe ambitie voor heel Brugge. Het betrekken van lokale belanghebbenden in een inclusief en open participatie proces, ondersteunt een snellere realisatie, acties van on-derop en het vormen van samenwerkingsvormen die het gat tussen project en uitvoering kun-nen overbruggen.

Het blok dat momenteel het meest waardevol wordt geacht voor verdichting van de woonfunctie en hoog-bouw is de Janssens-locatie. Het ligt binnen het Kaaidistrict het dichts bij het Unesco-buffergebied, maar ook het dichtst bij de meest onvriendelijke infrastructuur van de hele wijk: het viaduct Sint Pieterskade. We begrijpen het belang van het benutten van het potentieel van het Kaaidistrict voor hogere gebouwen, omdat het precies tussen de twee belangrijkste landmarks van de stad ligt: het histo-rische centrum en de kust bij Zeebrugge.

Verkeersinterventies verdienen speciale aandacht vanwege de nabijheid van het gebied tot de oost-west hoofdas en de centrale ring. Het voorstel om in het gebied een multifunctionele ontwikkeling mogelijk te maken, zal leiden tot een mogelijke toekomstige toename van inkomend autoverkeer, waardoor optimalisatie van en toegang tot verbeterd openbaar vervoer noodzakelijk zal zijn, evenals verbeterde voetgangers- en fietsroutes.

In tegenstelling tot de traditie om parkeerplaatsen te reserveren voor elk autonoom bedrijfs-, woon- of kantoorge-bouw, stellen wij voor om gedeelde parkeergarages te plannen, door enkele bestaande commerciële loodsen hier-voor in te richten en deze flexibel te houden, voor alternatief langdurig gebruik, aangezien de toekomst een extra vermindering van het aantal benodigde parkeerplaatsen met zich mee zal brengen in verband met een steeds CO2 neutralere mobiliteit.

HET PARTICIPATIEPROCES

De manier waarop overheid en samenleving elkaar zien verandert snel. De termen over-heidsparticipatie, doe-democratie en participatiesamenleving refereren met verschillende bewoordingen aan deze ontwikkeling. Centraal bij deze ontwikkelingen staat echter dat de samenleving meer zelf zal moeten oppakken en de overheid meer zal moeten loslaten. Dat vraagt om een fundamenteel andere houding van alle betrokken partijen. We zien steeds vaker dat de overheid burgerinitiatief en organische ‘bottom-up’ ontwikkelingen omarmt en koppelt aan haar eigen processen. Deze ontwikkeling vormt een uitdaging voor samen-leving en overheid, omdat de rolinvulling varieert en ze elkaar uiteindelijk nodig hebben. Het beïnvloedt het samenspel tussen overheid, burgers en maatschappelijke partners. Het is de uitdaging om in dit speelveld de juiste balans van participatie te vinden. Participatie betekent actieve deelname. Om participatie een succes te laten zijn is het dan ook belangrijk dat alle betrokken partijen actief deelnemen. Zoals uit de praktijk blijkt, is dit eenvoudiger gezegd dan gedaan. Hierbij is het van belang om goed na te denken over de start van het traject en of de juiste vraag aan het juiste publiek gesteld gaat worden. Ons team heeft de nodige ervaring opgebouwd om participatietrajecten op een succesvolle wijze vorm te geven. Wij hanteren hierbij op hoofdlijnen dezelfde systematiek, maar zorgen met maatwerk dat voor elke situatie een passende oplossing wordt gezocht. Participatie is immers maatwerk. Voor participatie bestaat geen blauwdruk. Wij willen daarom in goed overleg met de stad Brugge nadenken binnen welke randvoorwaarden participatie mogelijk is. Een uitnodiging tot participatie is alleen zinvol als er ook ruimte is om invloed uit te oefenen. Onze ervar-ing is dat complexe ruimtelijke ontwikkelingen vaak minder ruimte bieden om daadwerkelijk invloed uit te oefenen op het proces en de uitkomst. Is die ruimte er niet, laat participatie dan achterwege en voorkom daarmee teleurstelling en frustratie. In dit geval zal informeren van de betrokkenen voldoende zijn. Gezien het in de aanvraag geschetste verhaal zien wij voor delen van het proces wel ruimte voor bredere participatie en stellen wij voor op de volgende thema’s participatieve workshops te organiseren. Deze thema’s geven ons vervolgens input om te komen tot scenario’s waarmee we de macro en micro strategieën voor het gebied kun-nen bepalen. Interactieve workshops spelen in onze aanpak een belangrijke rol. Gezien de huidige restricties rond COVID-19 zien wij in dit proces ook een belangrijke rol weggelegd voor (online) enquêtes. Wij willen bij beide varianten gebruik maken van studenten van de Universiteit Leuven.Samengevat is participatie voor team Nauta niet anders dan dat we met elkaar afspraken maken over hoe we samenwerken of mogen meedoen met een bepaald onderwerp. Team Nauta vindt dat wanneer een participatietraject gestart word aan twee randvoorwaarden voldaan moet worden:
• Er is vooraf een helder kader waarin participatie wordt afgebakend. De partici-patiegraad wordt vooraf in afstemming met de opdrachtgever bepaald.
• Bij actieve participatie kunnen participanten ook daadwerkelijk een bijdrage leveren

 

UTRECHT HOUSE

HELSINKI – AVIAPOLIS BLOCKS

Program: Housing + Mixed use

Total surface: 150 Ha

Budjet: NA

Client: Municipality of Vantaa

Location: Vantaa, Finland

Design: 2017

Team: Nauta architecture & research, DMP Architetti

 

The nature of world airport cities changes very much from place to place. Their relationship with the airport, their economy and demography, depend a lot on the volume of flights and international connections. Helsiki airport is in a middle position if compared with international examples. This means that Aviapolis ambition will very much be based not only on the international market but most of all on the local one and on the living and working ambitions of its inhabitants. We believe that Aviapolis should primarily be planned as a self sustainable micro-city; It should provide services and commodities for its own inhabitants, promote sustainable mobility by reducing the need of the car, therefore offering as many functions as possible. Yet, it should be resilient enough to absorb possible future flows of visitors, as the market will evolve in time. We imagine a domestic city with a strong sense of identity, projected towards futuristic scenarios of healthy sustainable living.

 

The project defines a very clear and pragmatic urban structure, focusing on the recognizability of the urban fabric. The current urban plan defines three major areas, constituted by mixed use program, services and residential. The masterplan starts from accepting this pragmatic distribution as a base to hybridize the three clusters and make them depend from each other. An healthy city provides easy access to services and commodities to everybody, reducing excessive commuting and boring monofunctionality.

 

  • EAST HOUSING DISTRICT

This district is characterized by a clear barcode structure that creates an enfilade of courtyards from south to north, crossed by small cozy residential alleys.

This structure defines a fine fabric of carefully dimensioned housing plots, which offer a huge variety of housing typologies and a rich combination of services. On the east road, the buildings’ ground floor hosts small commercial activities. The blocks offer a huge palette of collective spaces; from internal courtyards, to roof gardens, condominium farming on the roof, nursery, sauna, DIY lab, free collective fitness appliances, common laundry areas, storages and bike repair lab, common open kitchen for barbeque, and as many more the collective of residences will come up with in the future.

The mix of housing typologies includes apartments, lofts, studio flats, as well as single family houses. We believe that this mix will favor the social integration that can transform Aviapolis on the long run into a real mini city, an “interesting” city to live in. This mix contains both social types identified by the brief, social community as well as depot tribe.

On the north and the south sides of the development, two special buildings collect the parking program.

 

  • SOUTH SERVICES DISTRICT

This district is defined by a rich plinth system that, from the ground floor up, evolves into terraces and small towers. The service area hosts entrepreneurial activities, the creative industry, as well as start-ups in the fields or art, medical research and sustainable mobility. Defined by three blocks, the district presents commercial spaces, terraced restaurants and bars. The bridges host small/medium office spaces for entrepreneurs. The social character of the cluster is completed by the upper apartment blocks. The internal spaces of this cluster bustle with people at any time. The upper apartments guarantee a 24/7 frequentation of the public space.

 

  • NORTH MULTIFUNCTIONAL DISTRICT.

This area becomes the active city center of Aviapolis. A new multifunctional building bridging Rälssitie, connects the new development to the adjacent west residential district. On the ground floor the building frames a square where the tram stops in both directions. Shops and services will animate the public space. The north portion hosts a generous car park on three levels. The east and west wings host an incubator for small enterprises, as well as hair dresser, beauty salon, small clinic, dentist studios and more everyday services. The south-east corner is occupied by two housing floors with 20 studios for starters. On the upper floors the east wing hosts sport facilities and fitness, while the west side is occupied by greenhouses with urban farming facilities. On top of the roof there’s an urban market where locals can buy zero km biological products or enjoy their time in one of the restaurants and clubs with view towards the central park.

The block to the east presents a porous structure, facing Tikkurilantie with office spaces, while opening up to the park with modular residences for depot tribe and visitors. This complex will be flexible to host different future leasing configurations, from a hotel, a student house, to a traditional housing complex.

 

  • CENTRAL PARK AND ATOMI BUILDING.

The three districts described present a clear recognizable bulgy shape by reacting to the conformation of the park, the flows and the central protagonist of the composition: the Atomi building. As a trilobal shaped volume, this complex hosts a smooth distribution of functions under the same roof: daycare center, primary school, library and café in the first phase, secondary school in the second phase. The building roof is an extension of the park, maximizing the social role of the building within the park. The central courtyard is closed by gates during the day, in order to control the kids playground. After school time the gates are open to allow the collective use of the courtyard for cultural activities.

PROJECTS BY LOCATION

HELSINKI – HUMAN NATURE

| CN | FR | IT | NL |

International architecture competition.
Helsinki Public Library.
Total floor area: 11.900 sqm.
Budget: N/A
Location: Helsinki, Finland.
Design: 2012.

Our proposal for the new central library of Helsinki transports the visitors into an ideal travel to rediscover the real essence of Finland: nature.
“Human Nature” brings the visitors to their original mental state. The landmark is not achieved through an architectural/formal operation but rather through the ‘transparency of the institution’, the representation of a democratic access to knowledge as natural as the forest that sur¬rounds the building.
Our project proposes to educate and entertain in the middle of the open landscape, yet in the heart of the metropolis.
We propose, besides the building itself, a new urban setting, a green urban lung that would ideally bring people into a rural context.
It is for this reason that we define our project “Human”, because humans are Nature.

NORRKÖPING – PARADISE REGAINED

International urban planning competition.
Masterplan.
Program:
Total planning area:
Location: Norrköpping, Sweden.
Design: 2011.

SUNDSVALL – ARTS CENTRE AND THEATRE

International competition.
Program: Art and theatre complex, including three performing halls, studios, exhibition space and offices.
Total floor area: 12,000 sqm.
Location: Sundsvall, Sweden.
Design: 2008.

 

桑德维尔剧院和艺术中心 | SUNDSVALL – ARTS CENTRE AND THEATRE

公共建筑
总建筑面积12.000平方米的剧院艺术中心综合体, 包括三个表演大厅,工作室,展览空间和办公。
Sundsvall,瑞典,2008
国际竞赛。

BODØ – REINVENTIØN

International urban planning and architecture competition.
Waterfront masterplan and concept design of a music centre.
Program: Concert hall, rhythmic Centre, library, waterfront.
Total built area: 21.600 sqm.
Location: Bodø, Norway.
Design: 2008.

 

博德城市更新 | BODØ – REINVENTIØN

综合体
城市空间综合发展策划,以及围绕滨水空间更新而展开的音乐厅、艺术中心、图书馆概念设计。总建筑面积21609平方米。
国际规划与建筑竞赛。
博德,挪威,2008

REYKJAVIK – VATNSMYRI

International urban planning competition in two phases.
SECOND PRIZE
Masterplan, 150 ha mixed use.
Program: housing, retail, university, science campus, school and kindergarden, public transportation hub, offices and public administration, entertainment and culture.
Location: Reykjavik, Iceland.
Design: 2006-2008

This project frames a new role of Vatnsmýri within Reykjavik and Europe by the investigation of a method.
Vatnsmýri becomes an added value for the capital through the combination of a flexible urban network and a contemporary high quality architecture, expression of a functional program that fits the ambition of the city.
In the Renaissance the Mediterranean portion of Europe represented the absolute journey for architects to learn the rules of architecture; Nowadays this trend moved the epicentre of architectural interest to the north of Europe. Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Berlin, Kopenhagen, London, became usual stops in the contemporary “Gran tour d’ Architecture”. Reykjavik can be part of it.

 

雷克雅未克城市更新 | Reykjavik Vatnsmyri

规划与景观
改造旧机场基地而带动城市整体架构扩张的发展策略方案及城市设计,范围涉及150公顷土地的综合机能更新,如住宅,商业,大学,高新科技园区,学校与托儿所,公共交通枢纽,办公与公共事业,文化娱乐等。
Reykjavik,冰岛,2006-2008
国际竞赛第二名。