Prosthetic Enhancement

PROSTHETIC ENHANCEMENT is a case study project that deals with the development of a specific plot in a site, Dreispitz, ripe for heavy transformation. Understanding and accepting the political and economic pressures that plan to raise the effective surface of the plot by 120%, the project looks to minimize its impact on the existing logistics building and preserve with respect the industrial tradition that defined the identity of the site. A light roof is suspended above the building by a new steel structure touching the ground in only 15 points along the front façade. Following a strong structural precept to minimise the intervention and preserve the integrity of the hall, the intervention limits itself to the addition of a new façade and a new roof. Balancing forces as a mean of design in equilibrium, the two structural surfaces are expanded into double-layer elements revealing a space for air circulation working as a regulating medium of comfort for the spaces it envelops. Together, they form an extension that will host rentable spaces for laboratories and artists’ ateliers on top of the existing hall.