situating Despang Architekten / Associate Professor Martin Despang

serving waiting playing working way finding sheltering displaying learning living shopping chatting dining branding postfossil learning

pics Olaf Baumann - 1996- 2010-

Starting collaboration in the mid-1990s and formally founded in 2000, Despang Architekten is a small scale design practice located in Hannover, Germany. Partners Martin and Günther Despang, both graduates from the University of Hannover, work in the tradition of the mid-nineteenth century established „Hannover School of Architecture“, which was early in defining typological and tectonical innovation by “thinking globally and acting locally”. The school’s director, Professor Konrad Wilhelm Haase, was seeking a deeper truth and authenticity instead of surfaced style. Beginning with “bohemian/bourgeois” clients he quickly identified a “proletarian” objective for his architecture, in serving the average people as a public audience rather than the privileged individual. We see an extended need in that regard in our times, where it does not lack the species of “high” architecture, which has always been and will be in existence. This used to be in the form of clerical and feudal typologies like churches and castles in the past and now existing as commercial, corporate ones like banks and insurance companies. Museums seem to be the presumably everlasting, extraordinary type. But different than in history, where there was always also provided a reasonable minimum standard quality of spatial and formal articulation as well for the ordinary average “low” architectural realm; we see this to a dangerous degree missing in today’s every day environments. Architecture in general has been downgraded as a common value on a priority scale ranking and it’s formerly number one position as the primary cultural expression been taken over by the ephemeral idioms of a mobile fun and leisure society. We don’t want to find us as sociological moralists, but we decided early on not to accept this. We believe in the impact of architecture on the mental and physical well being and in the potential of architects working to make people’s lives better in their profane every day environments. These are simple places/spaces, where one grows up in kindergarten and school and where one socializes in the neighborhood and buys food around the block or waits for the public train to ride downtown. We see it as a potential and as our responsibility to deal with such places and spaces, which have the power to so much positively shape the circumstances for a person’s attitude towards a better life. The fact is that having a better life demands a healthier planet to live on, this allows us to be increasingly self aware and proactive towards the ecological aspects of our design. Typologically this also provides the opportunity to revise and optimize former prototypes. For example, the 2007 kindergarten wanted the children to consciously grow up in a best possible emission-free environment. We see it as most challenging, to utilize the global movement towards a livable planet. After decades of avant-gardization and in parts self-stigmatization of environmentally sensitive design we try hard this time to approach it in a symbiotic “eco- and archi-friendly” way. In this regard our work is mainly public accessible and highly addresses society. The traditional philosophically driven virtues of “truth and authenticity” are contemporarily influenced by the given hard fact of extremely low budgets for both our public and private projects. The precise and comprehensive selection and application of tectonics and materiality as fundamental, pragmatic, and poetic design tools become, therefore, essential survival instruments. We guess this is why the chair of the jury of the 2004 Lower Saxony States Award, which was given to the neighborhood grocery center in Marienwerder, Germany, called Despang Architekten “street fighter’s of Architecture”, who peacefully “fight the lack of meaning of the contemporary average environment”. Encouraged by this, rather than limiting ourselves and getting accustomed to a convenient building type, we ongoing believe that there are too many different types around, which need care, so that we try to get involved in as many of them as possible. Therefore one could characterize our work by the categories of typology or materiality. Instead we believe it is represented the best the way it was approached: by time and in seeking for types “in need” and of interest for us, one after another, as an ongoing investigative process. Our body of work is structured that way and due to its mostly exhausting prototypical character, we hardly find time to stand still and nicely “dress up” for documentation and communication of what we have done, which is why we are still working on our www profile. We therefore appreciate the consistent global interest of architectural documentaries in our work and rely on that their view will provide a diverse insight to it. In that sense do the attached samples represent a current snapshot of our professional and academic efforts in postfossil typological prototyping.

farmhouse Voges redux / Hannover / Germany 2008/2009 The project investigates in the innovation potential of the most traditional vernacular domestic type in rural northern Germany, the half timbered house. Way back with extended days out in the fields and the house not much more as a sleep retreat, a very effective tectonical approach, it used wood sparsely and fills in the voids with sod. A greater contemporary demand for open space, natural day lighting and emerged energy efficiency requirements inspired a strategic concept for the redux of this building: The living space on the ground floor “shrinks” in terms of its footprint and “contracts” vertically in the inner core of the building. A new triple glazed thermal zone is able to emerge set back from the structure and as a buffer zone divides the structural and the thermal layers serving as a covered outdoor porch and allows a rain and wind shielded entrance. The intervention gives the hierarchy of space: from below more open and public to above more private a characteristic expression and utilizes a hybridization of Mies` “Freeplan “with Loos` “Raumplan”.

found condition given originally activity / “Raumplan” and “Freeplan” event / space improvement transformation outdoor dwelling

“ Freeplan” open stripping inhabited void

substantial surgery layers hidden redux ( spatially and environmentally upgraded)

open cooking house as garden – garden as house “ Raumplan “ core

publication in international “AIT”, 7/8 2009

headquarters Krogmann – a carpenters studio office / Lohne OT Kroge / Germany 2009 Krogmann is a traditional North German Timber Company founded in the 1960's by Hubert Krogmann. In 2007 the company was passed on to his son, Konrad, and his daughter-in-law, Heike. Their son will also be joining the company after entering wood school this year. In 2007 Konrad Krogmann analyzed the competitiveness of his newly acquired company and realized that, despite economic soundness, his neighboring country competitors were ahead of him in terms of representing their firm’s philosophy architecturally.

In the population 1700 small town Kroge the project is slowly but surely increasing the understanding in place for the evolutionary approach of the attitude of the building, which in an “architecturalized” way exemplifies what the website of the Krogmann company shows: Hubert Krogmann typical for his generation dressed in the suit and tie and built for his company a pitched roofed house which was standing with it’s eaves parallel to the street and featured anthracite cement fiber tile roof material. He stands literally behind his son Konrad, ready to pass on the future of his business into the hands of his son with confidence. Konrad, with the shirt unbuttoned, is demonstrating to be ready to take over in a contemporary, more casual way, at the same time showing awareness of the family business legacy. This is demonstrated by the trapezoid shaped fiber cement board face along the street, which then breaks open to transparently unveil what he believes his company represents as an emerging protagonist of a socio- and biodynamic 21st post-fossil Century.

ILMASI prelude location – orientation Konrad + Hubert

the 20 Century context the 21 Century idea of embracing the public and the sun the every changing perception of cone shaped plan and section

The 21 Century redux as the beacon Konrad´s + Hubert`s architecturalized agenda 6. façade testing objectifying

wood cone containing seamless communicational space

soaking up light and sun overheating protection venture effect-ing form

blurred boundaries wide open work space thick thermal threshold

working in the tree tops dematerialized visual and social barriers

publication in “db office buildings” 10 / 2009, Leinfelden – Echterdingen 2009

Jibi List - case study of an energy efficient neighborhood grocery center / Hannover / Germany 2009

This grocery store adds to the neighborhood “List”, where an environmental movement has originated in both synergistically and ecologically architectural ways a walkable facility for the every day supply of the community. The grocery box building is sheathed with a vegetative/ceramic green façade, which acts as a thermal buffer, improving the micro climate and protecting against graffiti. The green glass mosaic entrance welcomes a world of sustainable merchandise, which is presented in an open plan interior with exposed structural systems, harvesting the majority of their consumed electricity on the roof through PV panels (being a typologically rather than an architecturally sustainable means). The correspondence to the adjacent “Mini” car dealership is taken care of through the manifestation of the beverage part of the program as an urban loggia, which is materialized by a mesh membrane screen. This skin protects the transparent/ translucent volume below from overheating, carries the signage, and gives the volume presence and typologically crucial significance. Due to the nature of the materiality, the dynamic and perception of this skin changes with the progression of the seasonal/weather related conditions. Under the covered parts, the loggia serves as a meeting place for a chat on the buildings plinths and in an outdoor café.

client associated product interpreted materializations strategy: ethereal beverage store ephemeral grocery

prefab tactics the fundamentals of infra - structure ( inlc. PV roof’s early electricity harvesting) fabric - ation

context-ual shades of green archi- and eco performance devices

the multi-functioning screen skin chameleon – ating

wide open, exposing grocery

publication in “german-architects.com ” 48 Woche/ week 2009, www.german-architects.com

“Postfossil Ecowoodbox Kindergarten” in PHAIDON Atlas of 21.st Century World Architecture, London 2008

Project “Postfossil Ecowoodbox Kindergarten ” / publication in “NEW PREFAB” including invited authored foreword, LOFT Publications, 2008

authored invited article:“ Generation P (ostfossil) An Emerging Movement of Eco- and Archi-Friedliness” / for “ARCHITECTURE & DETAIL ” 2008 No 2, Eco-Housing

Dalian University of Technology Press, China 2008

authored invited article: “ Thermally Modified Architecture” / for “ARCHITECTURE & DETAIL ” 2008 No 10 “Wood” , Dalian University of Technology Press, China 2008

design thesis [ 6 th year graduate] Spring 08 : “biodynamic dwelling” Amber Ellett, 2. place [ 130 entries from international graduate and recently graduated students] : “In the Pursuit of Housing 2009” / International Design Competition co sponsored by the Boston Society of Architects and Architectural Record ) / University of Nebraska USA

AWARDS PROGRAM/2009 Established in 2005, In the Pursuit of Housing is an ideas competition that seeks to promote excellence in housing design by young designers. The response to the BSA’s 2009 call for entries was astounding. The jury examined 130 submissions for this biennial awards program, which was cosponsored by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) and Architectural Record. The Jury - Mark Pasnik, RA, principal of over,under, co-director of pinkcomma gallery and assistant professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology - Tiffany Lin, principal of LinOldham Office and assistant professor at Northeastern University - Hansy Better Barraza AIA, LEED AP, principal of Studio Luz Architects and assistant professor at the Rhode Island School of Design Beth Broome, managing editor of Architectural Record

SECOND PLACE “Biodynamic Dwelling” designed by Amber Ellett Associate AIA (University of Nebraska – Lincoln This upwardly mobile solution to the American doublewide problem takes a serious and critical look at a prolific housing type’s contemporary and future issues. The proposed design offers an adaptable, flexible alternative to the static and inefficient design of traditional trailer homes. In this case, the lightweight dwelling rests on a rotating mechanism modeled after a swing bridge. Units rotate according to solar orientation for passive heating/cooling, and residents also can manually rotate the housing to accommodate personal preferences—for example, swinging units to face toward or away from each other, or to create large communal spaces or semi-private courtyards. A geothermal unit anchors each unit to the ground. The proposal also includes a ramp, making this a rare example of a trailer home that is accessible by design. While the jury had reservations about awarding a housing prize to single-family structures, this project represents a prototype strategy for improving housing across broad economic and social strata. In the context of a trailer park, this careful and creative re-reading of the building type serves as a housing solution, not just a one-off project. We wanted to learn more about the rotation, and some on the jury saw this feature as unnecessary. Its impact on use and maintenance (would it have a composting toilet or hinging plumbing?) seemed overly fussy in light of the project’s strong conception and level of resolution. The project was convincingly represented not only as an object, but also in the way it could form communities.