The specific challenge of developing Zeil 111 was to keep the chemist’s shop open throughout construction. That was particularly difficult as the site takes the shape of a wedge: only 10 m wide at the front, 19 m wide at the back and 45 m deep. Furthermore, a public passageway links the shopping street with a parallel running street at the back.

The building that has been occupying the site since the reconstruction after World War II. had to be demolished whilst the historical Hirsch Apotheke was kept open for daily business. Whilst the chemist’s shop was literally suspended in mid-air the transformation process took place all around it. It lasted from 2016 until 2018 when the public passageway was reopened for the general public.

+11

At the crossroads

The approx. 5.000 m² mixed-use building (shops, bars, offices, clinics and apartments) has to fulfill a multitude of functions. Aesthetically TEK TO NIK dealt with this by combining three paramount construction materials: natural stone, glass and metal. The building’s subliminal symbol became the cross. Most evidently it appears in the shape of the windows and the lighting of the passageway – a latent signature of how the building is metaphorically stiched together.

All of TEK TO NIK’s recent projects reveal in their urban appearance an overtly expressive strength. Receding or protruding facade elements cast shadows, structure the overall architectural impression and generate a strong atmosphere of what one might call „an urban identity“. Moreover, contrasting materials, such as natural stone or glass, are deliberately combined in order to create a visual tension. Equally geometric shapes and forms are executed with the help of the latest computer technology (design and execution) to greatest perfection. Solidity, precision and a stylistic overall consensus have become the hallmarks of TEK TO NIK architecture. Zeil 111 is a perfect example of this, now that it is fully occupied.

Prismatic Windows

Already from a distance one picks up the most characteristic feature of Zeil 111: 3D prismatic baywindows – each up to 2.40 x 2.50 m in size – protrude 40 cm into the street. They belong to what the systems solution provider for windows, doors and facades Schüco calls „Parametric System“. According to them the parametric window system „is based on a software-supported, digital 3D process chain with optimised data interfaces – from the initial design to the detailed drawing by the fabricator and machine control“. Manfred Wenzel, founder and principal of TEK TO NIK, values the sculptural features that are generated by this type of facade, in particular by its deep recesses: „Though the prismatic window front is only single glazed it provides an extra sound barrier and bestowes a characteristic feature to Zeil 111. It is therefore easily recognized despite the building’s narrow front.“

Solid natural stone

Solid blocks of Portugese limestone frame the windows and in particular the more than 8 m wide gateway to the chemist’s shop, the passageway as well as the sale floor on the first floor. Here up to 6 t heavy blocks in the dimensions 3,20 x 1,20 x 0,80 m are loadbearing and build the massive archway. The U-shaped natural stone segments were cut by computerized 5-axe mills. Their design and production was masterminded by TEK TO NIK in close collaboration with the stone experts of Hofmann Stone. The entire process from the first sketches to the just-in-time delivery to the building site was only possible by a very well rehearsed and seamless design. Andreas Derkum, TEK TO NIK creative director, explains: „Right from the beginning of our design process we have to be absolutely aware of how each detail will be handled by the machinery that will eventually cut and produce it. The level of precision is extremely high and the design process is much more intense. We design a facade prototype that could be produced in a series, it is that detailed. In other words, it is not comparable with the design of an analogue facade. We have established our own haut couture in design and we improve this with every new project.“

Janus-faced

Zeil 111 has two slightly complimentary facades: one facing the shopping street Die Zeil, the other, so to speak the rear view, faces the narrow Holzgraben lane. Though similar in design, material, size and execution they yet differ. They show the stupendous potential in handling architectural design in a most creative and varied manner – a never ending storyline.

by Christian Brensing, London/Berlin

The post ZEIL 111 in Frankfurt – a never ending storyline appeared first on Archipreneur.

Greg’s career as an entrepreneur has gone in various directions. He is the co-owner of a camera equipment rental business in Portland, he created the brand and online shop antler&co selling bookshelves, hangers, and mobiles all made of (you guessed it) deer antlers, and his ironic product Campfire Cologne, a box of sticks that smell like “your best summer ever” is sold at various retailers worldwide, including Urban Outfitters.

When Greg came across The Jennings Hotel in Joseph, Oregon, it was love at first sight. He bought the century-old building in 2014 and launched a Kickstarter campaign to redevelop the building – then a mess of run-down apartments and offices – back to its former beauty as an eight-room hotel and artist residency.

Greg brought together seven artists and designers to each transform one of the hotel’s rooms. As an experienced builder and having built his own cabin, Greg did most of the remodeling work himself and transformed the eighth room.

Keep reading to learn from this self-proclaimed “dreamer-entrepreneur” and see images of the redeveloped Jennings Hotel.

Enjoy the interview!

Could you tell us a little about your background?

There’s no single thread, I just chase what excites me and see if I can make it work. I started my first business – a photo equipment rental shop – in 2006, then built a brand called antler&co, created campfire cologne, co-founded a holiday market (the Portland bazaar) and now work full time on the Jennings. Somewhere in there I built the cabin, too.

You raised money on Kickstarter to transform an over 100-year-old hotel in Joseph, Oregon, to its former beauty. Can you tell us a little about your process to get the crowdfunding campaign going?

It was a lot of work and it was very collaborative. I worked with my friend Leah Brown on the video and talked a ton to other folks I know who’d run kickstarter campaigns. No one had ever tried what I was doing, so it was a bit of a risk, but the results were wonderful and the feedback I got was all very positive. It took about 6-8 months of preparation and shooting.

Did you raise this money for the whole remodeling project, and was it enough?

The campaign was for general remodeling costs, but I knew from the get go it wouldn’t be anywhere close to what I’d need in total. I wanted to be realistic about my goal, which was $80,000 ­– I raised $107,070 – and exceeding it by 33% felt spectacular.

What was the biggest challenge in the redevelopment process?

The challenges continue, but in my case it has been labor. I’ve been doing most of the work myself out of necessity, but this winter I’ll be hiring a couple folks to help me get shit done and hopefully be more or less fully operational by late spring 2017.

The Jennings hotel is now open for business. How is it working out; are you happy with the result?

It’s working great. I’ve got an amazing innkeeper, and it’s been incredible meeting and connecting with the folks who’ve come to stay.

What is your next project? Are you planning another real estate project?

The $64,000 question. I’m working on starting a folk school in Joseph and I’m always looking at other potential hospitality projects, both in Oregon and elsewhere.

Do you have any advice for Archipreneurs who want to start and build their own business?

Dream big, be realistic, do good work, be nice, make cool shit, know your limits and sharpen your pencil.

About Greg Hennes

Greg Hennes is a wild haired, serial dreamer-entrepreneur. When he’s not swinging a hammer at The Jennings Hotel, you can find him running around in the mountains or trying to ride a moose at his cabin in Northern Minnesota.

The post How to Redevelop a 100-Year-Old Hotel through Crowdfunding – with Greg Hennes appeared first on Archipreneur.

We met David Belt, the Executive Director and Founder of Macro Sea and Nicko Elliott, the Design Director of the company in the summer of 2015 for an interview for archipreneur.com. We already talked about the New Lab in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. Now after four years of working on Building 128, the 780 sqm high-tech design and prototyping center located in a 100 year-old former machine shop for the American ships used in both World Wars, opens to the public.

“In designing New Lab, we rejected industrial fetishism, iphone-ization, and tech 4.0,” Nicko Elliott said. “We took an archaeological approach to futurism in creating a dignified space that reflects the ingenuity and integrity of the people working in it.”

The stylistic period appealed to the design team because of its emphasis on indeterminacy, environmentalism, and a collaborative techno-optimism — it conferred a sense of glamour to engineering, science, and technology. The period also lent an appropriate frame through which to ask: How do we create an inspiring, contemporary workspace for today’s designers, thinkers, and entrepreneurs?

Working with Marvel Architects, Macro Sea created a variety of workspaces – offices, private studios, advanced prototyping shops, and lofts – with shared amenity spaces like lounges, communal worktables, workshops, and meeting spaces. The architectural team devised suspended bridges from the building’s existing gantry cranes to create connective social and exhibition spaces. The teams took detail cues from the existing building – both restoring and expanding upon the inherited language of the space.

“As developers and designers of the space, we were very attracted to this particular community that is simultaneously at the top of its intellectual and technological game, while looking into the abyss as entrepreneurs,” David Belt said. “We wanted to build for them.”

Eschewing open floor plans and traditional cubicles—as well as typical office furniture—Macro Sea custom-designed lightweight, demountable workstations with quilted wool and wood panels for sonic and visual privacy. Secluded spaces for individual or small group work are interspersed with communal work areas and interior plazas over two floors, thus emphasizing Macro Sea’s intention to strike a balance between the need for privacy and the benefits of collaboration in design and fabrication.

While sourcing furniture by such late-period Modernists as Gaetano Pesce and Carlo Molino, Macro Sea developed a range of trestle furniture including an LED infinity-mirror reception desk, exhibition vitrines for physical and digital content, and vertical landscape installations. All custom furniture for the project was fabricated in Brooklyn, largely in the Navy Yard itself.

The resulting effect is an expansive yet comfortable workspace for 500 individual entrepreneurs representing over 50 companies.

Location:

New Lab, Building 128, Navy Yard, 63 Flushing Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205, USA

Project Data:

• Architects: Macro Sea
• Planning/Construction: 2012 – 2016
• 7,800 sqm (84,000 SF)
• 9,000 tons of steel
• home to 50 companies

The post Presenting the Redevelopment New Lab, which Brings Startups to a Former Shipbuilding Facility appeared first on Archipreneur.

Today’s Interview is with Ari S. Heckman, Co-Founder and CEO of ASH NYC, a company that blends the world of interior design with property development. ASH NYC also designs products and furniture for improving brands and developing hospitality experiences.

I like their approach to architecture, as I think that, for developers, their first consideration for architectural projects is normally driven by the rate of return and the design budget, including how the budget may be reduced. By bridging the gap between the worlds of design and development with experts from both in one company, ASH infuses their projects with aesthetic and economic value. I think this is a useful way to create sustainability and eventually make our cities better places.

Here are Ari’s thoughts on design, development and bridging the gap.

I hope you enjoy the interview.

You graduated from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell. What made you decide to move into real estate development? Was there a particular moment that sealed the decision for you?

I grew up in a family that was involved in several disciplines related to building—my mother an interior designer, my father an amateur real estate owner and my grandfather a modernist architect. I knew enough about what they did to know that I was interested from a young age in being the person who actually initiated the project, i.e. the developer, rather than one piece of the entire process. It was my grandfather who sternly told me that architects don’t get to make many decisions and that the developer drove the ship. My schooling was very interdisciplinary in that it involved planning, architecture, economics, law, etc.

Your company, ASH NYC, bridges the gap between the worlds of interior design and property development. Could you tell us a bit about your work and your approach to it?

In short we are developers who are also designers, or vice versa. We tend to take on projects where we think we can have an impact, create value, etc. via design. We are our own client on our development projects which means that the design team has an equal seat at the table when major decisions are being made. It means that design is given true, equal importance to all the other considerations during the development process. We also do for-hire design work for external clients.

How do you normally start your creative urban projects?

In addition to being designers/developers, we are placemakers, and we take our role in impacting the urban environment very seriously. We are only interested in projects that we feel improve their host community, that make a positive impact on a neighborhood, etc.  We are drawn to renovations of historic buildings, often ones that are vacant or have some kind of undesirable. We find that people really enjoy connecting with a well-adapted historic building.

What projects are you currently working on?

We have a few great ones at the moment. We are restoring the old Wurlitzer organ building in Detroit, Michigan, which we are converting into a 106 room hotel.  We are also redeveloping an old Catholic campus consisting of a school, church, rectory and convent in the Marigny neighborhood of New Orleans with a local partner.  We have a large residential project in Bushwick, Brooklyn, where we are converting an old glass factory and building two new buildings on either side of it. And we are redeveloping an office building in Providence, RI into residential and retail. That is on our real estate side; on the design side we are doing many, many projects around the country for a wide range of clients.

What do you find most fulfilling about your job as a creative developer?

On a macro level, most fulfilling is obviously when a project you’ve been working on for years opens its doors and finds success, but every day has a unique set of challenges and personalities.  In development I think it is somewhat unique the range of characters and disciplines one experiences on a constant basis.

Do you have any advice for “Archipreneurs” who are interested in developing their own project?

The best advice is simply to get started.  It all seems very daunting and abstract but one most throw themselves into it if there’s a real interest.  I always recommend people buy a small multi-family building that they can afford and make the improvements the envision so that at the end of the day the building is functioning better than when you found it.

How would you finance a project in its first stages of development? Any tips on how to manage it?

This remains a challenge for us, and probably always will be if we seek projects that fall outside the typical, which in the US is very suburban focused and not generally mixed-use.  We think those things are natural and valuable but they remain somewhat abstract in this country (although that is changing.) We generally acquire property all cash, so that we have time to plan the development and complete the design and permitting work before we go and get a construction loan. This allows you to set your own pace and not be under the pressure of servicing debt for any longer than you need to.

How do you see the future of architecture? In which areas (outside of traditional practice) can you see major opportunities for up and coming architects?

I think it is likely that more and more firms and people take the direction we have, which is less of distancing the architect from the success or failure of their project but actually making them involved in it on a meaningful and ongoing basis. I have many friends who have or are becoming developers which one can do as soon as they decide to! It is obvious, but I think people realize when they’re in control, they’re able to make much more of an impact than when one is a consultant. And I hope that if architects and design minded people are impacting development and urbanism in a greater way, our buildings and our communities will only get better.

About Ari

Ari Heckman oversees the various components that make up ASH NYC. He is responsible for directing company strategy, as well as sourcing acquisitions and new business. Ari was previously the development manager at Cayuga Capital Management in Brooklyn, New York and a development associate at Cornish Associates in Providence, Rhode Island.

Ari was raised in Providence, Rhode Island and graduated from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University.

The post Design + Development: How to Create Aesthetic and Economic Value with Ari S. Heckman appeared first on Archipreneur.

A New Incubator for Tech Entrepreneurs in Berlin

Factory is a 16.000 m² office development on Rheinsberger Strasse in the heart of Berlin and was opened in 2012. The development team is JMES Investments, which partnered with s+p Real Estate to create a base for the finest start-ups in Berlin.

They converted the old Oswald Brewery, which was once a part of the Berlin Wall, into a modern office and communal workspaces. The ground floor houses the restaurant of Berlin’s master chef Tim Raue and opens out to courtyards, gardens and terraces. In the basement, you will find a 400 m² multipurpose hall that is used for events and conferences.

They partnered with Google Ventures, who became investors for their start-up. They also host events like the Startup Europe Summit, which helps to spread the word about Factory beyond the borders of Berlin.

Today, Factory Network houses a network of globally successful companies, established start-ups and early-stage teams, with members comprising over 33 nationalities. They have managed to attract tenants like Twitter, Soundcloud, 6wunderkinder and myfitnesspal, and have given the already vibrant start-up scene in Berlin a real base – some might say a home – for creative working.

Factory Network’s Development – An Archipreneurial Idea

What I like about the concept is that the founder of Factory has created a real estate product that has become a start-up in itself. They conceptualized it as more than a normal office development; they formed a brand around it with a clear target group in mind – early-stage tech founders and Internet companies.

Thinking as a developer, your goal is to find tenants who will rent out your space. Partnering with Google Ventures as an investor and attracting established flagship tech firms like Twitter, they have improved their cache as an attractive start-up that other firms and start-ups will want to follow.

The ‘incubator and hub’ concept, where potential tenants can surround themselves with like-minded people and companies, is another attractive draw. Established creative hubs like San Francisco’s Pier 38 (where Instagram was born) and the shared offices model of Techhub and The Cube in London are existing examples of that concept.

The proof of concept is there, so what comes next? How about scaling the concept to other cities? The opportunity is there to scale The Factory’s business model beyond Berlin and focus on expanding it internationally. One of the founders, Simon Schaefer, writes on Factory’s blog:

“Factory has come to the attention of startup entrepreneurs, investors and politicians throughout the world. We have had requests from a myriad of cities that want to have a Factory themselves and this is the challenge we are now focusing on. Stay posted for the announcement of new locations.”

I am excited to hear news of new locations. If you ever find yourself in Berlin, you should definitely try Tim Raue’s restaurant!

What do you think about the idea of creating a unique place for tech founders? I am looking forward to hearing your opinions in the comment section.

The post The Factory Berlin: Combining Architecture with Tech Founders appeared first on Archipreneur.