새롭게 건립된 인터콘티넨탈 다보스 호텔의 독특한 외형; 다이나믹한 무브먼트가 느껴지는 메탈 파사드와 타원형태는 외부환경과 건축물 내부의 관계; 열림과 닫힘을 상이한 각도에서 접점한다. 그리고 이를 통해 공간의 다양성과 유니크함을 표현하는 동시에 이지역의 새로운 랜드마크로 건축물을 자리시킨다. 디지털 시뮬레이션을 통해 디자인되는 빌딩의 지오메트릭; 비정형은 다시 2차원 부재의 가공을 위한 전개작업을 거치며 구축을 위한 패브릭케이션 과정을 거친다. 그리하여 재가공된 스팬드럴 판넬은 연속된 곡선과 곡선이 연속된 곡면을 구현하기 위해 모듈단위로 레이져 커팅하여 동일한 부재의 반복적인 패턴으로 전체 타원형태를 구현한다. 오가닉한 형상은 총 791개의 스팬드럴 판넬; 62,000개의 개별적인 피스조립을 통해 최종 구현된다. 진부하지 않은 사선형태의 흐름 속에 또다른 건축의 힘이 느껴진다.
reviewed by SJ,오사
With its oval form and a metal façade that almost seems to be flowing,
the main building of the InterContinental Davos Hotel has become an
unmistakable new landmark. The undulating envelope wraps itself tightly
around the structure, leading to an interplay between open and closed
surfaces which appears different from every angle.
Project New InterContinental Davos Hotel/Switzerland
Construction time 2008 to 2013
Façade erection Sept 2012 to Sept 2013
Client/Investor Credit Suisse Real Estate Fund Hospitality (CS REF Hospitality), a real estate trust of Credit Suisse AG
Architects Oikios GmbH, Munich/Germany
General contractor Consortium: TU Baulink AG, Toneatti, Davos/Switzerland
Geometry design designtoproduction, Stuttgart/Germany
Façade seele, Plze?/Czech Republic
Structural engineers, façade Wilhelm + Partner, Stuttgart/Germany
Photos René Müller Photographie/seele.com
Oliver Hofmeister from Munich-based architects Oikios worked out the underlying idea for the supple yet incisive external form while actually in Davos. The official name of the parcel of land on which the hotel stands is “In der Stilli” – a name that reflects the tranquil, sheltered surroundings. That peacefulness and security also had to be expressed in the architecture of the building. A pine cone with its smooth scales from the nearby forest provided another source of inspiration. So that is how the hotel got its curving oval envelope.
Hofmeister was able to persuade top-notch partners to join him in
realising his “organic” design concept. Those partners included
designtoproduction, responsible for the complex digital modelling of the
façade surfaces and the parameterisation of the façade geometry,
structural engineers Wilhelm + Partner and seele, known as a specialist
for extraordinary façade designs. Working closely together, this team
developed and built an innovative façade with three-dimensional, curving
spandrel panel elements. Seen in the light of the budget available and
the high quality demands, many experts had first deemed the façade
“unbuildable”.
It was seele who contributed what was perhaps the most surprising idea: producing the spandrel panel elements from steel instead of the aluminium originally envisaged. Taking this as its starting point, the team developed a design for the laser-cut primary and secondary ribs which is based on a square. It is this supporting frame – with a main grid identical for all elements – that is responsible for the three-dimensional curvature. The frame is covered on all sides with sheet steel just 3mm thick, which with its champagne-coloured metallic coating forms the visible surface of the façade on the finished building.
The steel construction proposed by seele proved to be less costly
than aluminium and less susceptible to changes in length due to
temperature fluctuations. Primarily, however, it enabled the intended,
original geometry to be realised with great precision, minimum
tolerances and the smooth surfaces specified in the design brief. At the
same time, the ribs of the supporting structure allowed a totally new
concept for the structural fixings and the transfer of the loads to the
floor slabs at each storey.
The challenge that faced the team in the production and erection of the
elements was mastering the logistics for 791 spandrel panel elements –
more than 62,000 individual pieces including the dome crowning the
hotel. Such numbers can only be managed by automated procedures in
design and the preparation of fabrication drawings. All the architects’
requirements were incorporated in a parameter-controlled script by
designtoproduction. The 3D model of the façade geometry was adopted by
seele and imported into programs, some of them developed by seele, for
producing the fabrication drawings and laser-cutting data. But not only
that, the 3D data could also be used by Wilhelm + Partner in Stuttgart
for their detailed structural calculations.
Every spandrel panel element is unique. However, each has an identical, square, steel rib construction, so the elements could still be produced very economically according to a modular system. In terms of the manufacturing precision, the individual elements (in standard sizes of about 1.6 x 4.5m and special sizes up to 14.6m long) are comparable with pieces of furniture – and were handled with similar care! Every façade element had its own bespoke transport frame so that it could be safely transported to Davos by road from the production plant in Plze? in the Czech Republic.
Façade specialist seele was able to draw on the planning and research work of the design team. Between building the crucial mock-up in the alternative steel design and the final handover of the façade in October 2013, the entire project, involving detailed design, production and erection, took only two years.
from plusmood