Morphosis Hypo-Alpe-Adria Bank HQ Udine, Italy

Located at the northern edge of Udine, in the town of Tavagnacco, the new headquarters for Hypo-Alpe-Adria Italy has developed as a dynamic and nuanced response to program and site. In this dialectical relationship between the specific architectural language of the project and the local landscape, each element informs, transforms, and adjusts the total composition. The result is a richly developed series of spaces and building elements.Occupying the extreme northeastern parcel of the 26-acre site, the bank building rises seven stories, an iconic landmark anchor for the site, highly visible and instantly recognizable from each approach. Various components of the banking facility are arrayed about the base of the building: a long sweeping low mass containing the secure archive wraps the surface parking lot to the east, while the auditorium and branch bank are located in order to establish a clear, legible, and secure public entry to the Hypo headquarters.The new Hypo Headquarters has been designed to reflect intelligent planning and efficiency from the outset, to achieve effective utilization of the floor area and the integration of critical engineering parameters and performance objectives. The unique form of the building relies upon the adherence to a 14 m. building width - an exceptionally narrow floorplate, which still allows for a very efficient space planning layout. The other advantages of the narrow floorplate include ample access to natural daylight and the benefits of cross-ventilation through operable windows. The working office environment:

At its heart, the new Hypo headquarters has been designed around the health, happiness, and productivity of the working population of the building. As such, each office in the building is afforded a view to the exterior and operable windows that allow for individual control of the environment. The generous office environment is filled with fresh air and natural daylight.

Structurally, the building derives great benefit from a simple repetitive system of gravity columns and shear walls incorporated into the building core. Though the building form is leaning to the south by 14 degrees, the columns are continuous and vertical throughout the structural frame. This strategy achieves a dramatic and unexpected architectural expression, with a minimum of additional cost and construction difficulty, and no loss in program efficiency. The structural offset for the building also allows the upper floors to provide solar shading for the lower levels of the building during the hotter summer months.

The performance of the building’s exterior envelope is maximized, supporting the engineering goals. As in previous Morphosis projects, the exterior envelope employs passive and active sunshading, in order to minimize solar heat gain without reducing the transmission of daylight below a useable level, or compromising the view for the office occupants. Site Area: 26 acres/10.5 hectares
Project Size:
171,150 gross square feet/15,900 gross square meters

Completed: 2007

Client: Hypo Alpe-Adria Bank
Architects: Morphosis
Project Manager: Tim Christ
Project Designer: Chandler Ahrens
Project Team:
Linda Chung
Ben Damron
Graham Ferrier
Ted Kane
Rolando Mendoza
Martin Summers
Natalia Traverso Caruana
Chris Warren
Project Assistant: Josh Barandon

Associate Architect: GEZA
Project Architects: Stefano Gri, Piero Zucchi
Structural and Mechanical Concepts: Ove Arup & Partners
Structural and Mechanical Engineer: IN.AR.CO. S.R.L.
Interior Design: Morphosis with GEZA
General Contractor:
Cesi Cooperativa Edil-Strade Imolesi S.r.l.
Design architecture, modern architecture, house architecture, design interior, design exterior, house décor architecture, architect., minimalist architecture, apartment., structure building, architecture building, multistoried building, architecture plan,

Landscape, tower building, architecture American, architecture UK, architecture Australia, architecture classic, arcade, city town, architectural, natural concept, green house, lamp interior, roof concept, architecture books, architecture magazine, journal architecture, modern kitchen

Related Posts by Categories

Widget by Scrapur