isaie bloch + gilles retsin propose angled karosta kube

isaie bloch + gilles retsin propose angled karosta kube
all images courtesy of isaie bloch

the ‘karosta [kube]’ by UK artist isaie bloch of eragatory and gilles retsin have won second prize in an architectural competition for the homemade dessert and liepaja city council. the brief called for the design of a public building in karosta, a former military town in the south-west of latvia. karosta’s urban space is defined as a vast open terrain with unique objects or artefacts, adding new elements with strong social interactions. despite the request to redevelop the complete site and add a big cultural centre, the project deliberately maintains the existing fabric of garages and storage areas already located there. the angled volume is relatively small, programmed with civic commonplace amenities including a canteen, a daycare centre, and a workshop located into neighbouring garage boxes / storage units.

exterior perspective from storage units

the new object is a simple cube, which is rotated around its central axis. it is composed of custom made prefabricated concrete panels that are mounted on a steel frame, transitioning into a fibrous yet highly striated and rectilinear structure of thin, yellow copper coated rebar. this manifests itself at times as surface, volume and strands, defining fenestration, folding into the interior to form columns and ornamental features on the concrete shell.

exterior perspective from the park

prefabricated concrete panels mounted on a steel frame which transitions into a fibrous structure of thin, yellow copper coated rebar

interior view of top level kantine space

interior views

exploded axonometric

detail view

circulation + program

ground floor plan

plan through top level communal space

section

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