newitalianblood

The new office and shopping building fits in with the typology of detached townhouses in the neighborhood. Slight twists of the basic volume actively impact the surrounding urban fabric: A bent in the longitudinal facade line relates the building to its surroundings, consolidating the adjacent streets and creating a usable plaza before the building. The staggering of the floors on the narrow sides takes account of different sizes and lighting needs of the neighboring buildings, improves the visual connection between enclosing streets and gives the building its unique shape. The facade structure qualifies the building a contemporary descendant of the neighboring Baroque houses. As “urban shelves”, it turns the variety of its interior life to the outside to achieve the detailed facade articulation that is needed to contribute to a lively streetscape.