Articles by Cristobal Rojas

Klagshamn’s Point is located about 10 km south of Malmö and extends into the strait of Öresund. To the south, there are long sandy beaches that are excellent for horseback riding. Until recently, Klagshamn’s Riding Club was located in a former concrete plant. When Malmö City planned for a new equestrian center, it was natural to build in the same place as the concrete plant with its proximity to sandy beaches and ridges along the water. The city also chose to make the ruins of the demolished concrete plant into a park.

Our picturesque site is located in the Western Ghats perched on the backwaters of a lake and surrounded by the Sahyadri mountain ranges.

This house, placed at Itamambuca beach, has its starting point on the context and the program. Close to the seashore and surrounded by a dense and rich rainforest vegetation, the site pointed towards a simple conceptual insight. The clients, in addition,  brought a sense to occupy the space in the most integrated way.

An ensemble of two houses with a connecting portico is embedded on the edge of a historically agricultural, today heterogeneously cultivated village in the Rhine Valley of Switzerland. The core idea of the project is based on the urban void. Two parallel set apartment buildings, a portico and a former farmhouse create a clearly composed courtyard.

The Museum of the Second World War is built on a lot at Władysław Bartoszewski Square near the centre of the city. It is located in a symbolic architectural space, which is also a space of memory, 200 metres from the historic Polish Post Office in Gdańsk and 3 kilometres across the water from Westerplatte Peninsula, both of which were attacked in September 1939.

Located in an olive grove in southern Peloponnese, this summer residence is characterized by an Ypsilon shaped green roof that acts as both an accessible extension of the terrain, while framing the most significant views from the inside out. The project was designed by London and Brussels based architects Theo Sarantoglou Lalis and Dora Sweijd from LASSA architects (lassa-architects.com). The roof’s bifurcating pathways define three courtyards that form distinct hemispheres with specific occupancy depending on the course of the sun.

The new headquarters office of Mercedes-Benz Thailand is designed by inspiration from one of their founders, Mr. Gottlieb Daimler. He sent a postcard to his wife (with a three-pointed star marking the location of his house) writing that this star would one day shine over his own factory to symbolize prosperity. We captured the concept of stars to create the movement and the connection in the new working space. Function rooms such as meeting rooms, coffee corners, utility rooms, were planned across the entire floors which increase chances for staff to meet each others and make them easier to collaborate throughout the day. The connection stair between its 2-storey offices was also designed as a grandstand for the town hall where a hundred of staff can gather around for the company’s events. Above this space, we placed the symbolic with imported shining crystal chandelier to enhance our concept of the star and bring fabulous lighting to the property. Along the corridor, we intentionally place lighting in different size and difference direction to mimic the star in the sky.

For the conception of the house, an enclosure of a central patio is used, which is surrounded by the domestic program: Common areas, studies and bedrooms are determined by the idea of nature inscribed in the patio.

The Holmberg house is a detached house, located in one of the central districts of the city of Buenos Aires; Designed for a family of four, a young couple with two young children, its main feature consists of a perimetral integral skin through which circulates hot and cold water, and that allows thermal conditioning, transforming it into a kind of large radiator.

The object of a reconstruction is a country/suburban house near Kyiv (Ukraine). It was totally neglected by former owners. Original building had a lot of small rooms and an attic. In our redesign we removed the walls including a part of a bearing wall, which was replaced with a wooden beam. A kitchen and a living room became one space.