Category: Architecture

Mobility center Reitbahnstreet

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Mobility center Reitbahnstreet

“Future traffic development is an important topic for architects. That’s why the study of the mobility center for Dresden’s city center is not about a parking garage in the traditional sense, but rather about flexible architecture for an innovative, future-oriented mobility concept.” Ruairí O’Brien With the concept we are in line with the medium- to long-term mobility development, in which the use of the automobile is only one option among many alternatives. The central location in the city center and the proximity to the main train station enables different mobility approaches to be linked in an innovative mobility hub (electric mobility, bike & ride, park & ​​ride, rental stations, charging stations, rentals, etc.) and thus sustainable concepts for the city Future. An innovative, adaptable and evolving architectural concept was developed to take into account the future development of the city and transport in the city. Transformability is a property that will be important for future architecture in general to demonstrate true sustainability. The future decline in motorized individual transport and the long-term development towards a car-free city are already conceptually integrated here and the conversion of the building to benefit other uses, such as living, working/office, trade/services, has already been planned in advance. A sensible solution should be found for the inner-city brownfield site at the back of Prager Straße, with which the existing backyard atmosphere can be improved through the urban development context of Prager Straße and other current problems in connection with the inner-city development of Dresden can be addressed – as a benefit for the city and in favor of less vacant wasteland.

Prefabricated Construction Museum “Concrete Timeline”, Dresden

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Prefabricated Construction Museum “Concrete Timeline”, Dresden

Museum project on wasteland revitalization, urban and building history

The wasteland in Dresden-Johannstadt was revitalized by Ruairi O’Brien from 2002-2005 through the creation of the Prefabricated Construction Museum “Concrete Timeline”. In the micro museum for prefabricated construction, the architect thematizes diverse time periods specific to the site and its history. Likewise, universal questions from the fields of housing, culture, architecture and urban planning, art and society, which also affect future developments, are presented.
For more information on the project, click here

Euthanasia Information and Memorial Site, Berlin

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Euthanasia Information and Memorial Site, Berlin Tiergartenstrasse

Competition entry for the design competition Memorial and Information Site for the Victims of the National Socialist “Euthanasia” Murders at the site of the planning headquarters, Tiergartenstraße 4 in Berlin.

Based on the artistic core idea of creating a dialogue between the spatial expression for the commemoration of the victims, the sculptural “pool of tears” and the site of the perpetrators with the ground plan of the building Tiergartenstrasse 4, both a mental and emotional approach to the topic of “euthanasia” murders becomes possible.

Awarded by: City of Berlin, 2012

City Warehouse Jena with Hologram Façade

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City Warehouse Jena with Hologram Façade

Architecture-light-artwork

After years of vacancy, the historic post-and-beam building of the city warehouse in Jena was brought back to life through the step-by-step implementation of the city warehouse concept developed by Ruairí O’Brien. The identity-creating overall concept for the revitalization of the monument connects inside and outside and past, present and future and creates an attractive upgrade of the inner-city living space.

Hologram facade Jena

According to O’Brien’s design, the city warehouse at Jena’s market square presents itself with a hologram façade and new roof, integrated into the existing market ensemble in terms of urban development. After years of vacancy, the historic post-and-beam building was brought back to life through the gradual implementation of the city warehouse concept developed by Ruairí O’Brien. The identity-creating overall concept for the revitalization of the monument links the past, present and future of the city and creates an attractive upgrade of the inner-city living space. The hologram conveys a holistic message that breaks new ground in the living preservation of monuments.
Services: Lph. 1-8 HOAI
Awards: Recognition for the façade award of the city of Jena, recognition “architektourpreis” Chamber of Architects Thuringia.

Hologram façade- Built urban identity

The hologram façade embodies the essence of the city of Jena, it is a tribute to its spiritual and economic identity. The façade as an independent aluminum-steel-glass construction placed in front of the listed building depicting a spatial expression of the city storage concept. The identity-creating “eye” of the building highlights the historically significant structure inside with translucent to transparent effect and protects the valuable center of the monument. The hologram façade of the city warehouse forms a tailor-made connection between contemporary architecture and the historic structure.

Beirut Memorial

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Beirut Memorial “Pool of Remembrance”

Memorial for the victims of the gas explosion in 2020

International call to develop an architectural idea for a memorial in Beirut to mark the site of the tragic explosion in 2020.

“The need of people to face death, tragedies and losses has produced great art, music, poetry and architecture. Burial chambers, cemeteries, remembrance gardens and memorials reveal to us countless human stories. They reflect us, our time and our culture.
As part of the healing process, we must close the wounds and tend to the scars, to leave a mark for new beginnings. It’s very challenging to create a place where people can feel a transition, an access to spirituality or just to their own inner selves, a place where they can find peace, whether it’s through hope or acceptance.” Ruairí O’Brien, 2020

Design guide Bahnhofstrasse Berlin-Lichtenrade

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Design Primer Bahnhofstrasse Berlin-Lichtenrade

Design Guidelines for the Active Centre, the Bahnhofstrasse Shopping Street

The design guideline is intended to contribute to an increase in the quality of stay and to the valorisation of the special features, e.g. the urban qualities in the active centre area. The Design Primer can serve as an advisory tool, which is aimed in particular at property owners and tradespeople, in order to contribute to improving the design quality of the properties and consequently of the entire AZ area.

With the design primer, proposals for measures for a coordinated design of the façades were developed, which should serve the owners as a guideline for action in the redesign of their façades. For Bahnhofstraße and especially the ground floor zones, the retail location, possible ways were shown, for example, how façades with their structuring/design elements can fit into the built environment. The design primer uses exemplary illustrations to make the design aspects comprehensible and offers advice for conversions or an energetic refurbishment of the buildings.

Essential components:

  • Analysis of the situation on site: Brief description of the building history of the street and creation of a façade typology with examples of suitable façade designs and those in need of repair
  • Derivation of design recommendations for façades, especially the ground floor (structure, advertising, structuring elements, colouring)
  • Recommendations for the energetic renovation of façades and for implementation
  • Preparation of the design primer as a brochure.

Light Sculpture for the Schwerin Market Place

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Light Sculpture for the Schwerin Market Place

micro light sculpture 01

The micro light sculpture in Schwerin was the first in a series of light sculptures that architect and artist Ruairí O’ Brien purposefully developed using simple means, simple materials and simple construction as a tribute to the art of architecture, to the effect of light on people, space and time.

Light sculpture for the Schwerin market place, consisting of 3 equal, variably combinable modular parts, which in the present composition form a cube space and a focal point to the light theme with quiet action character. During the day it takes the function of a shadow caster, in the evening that of a light machine. In a subtle way, it reflects the chronology of the daily routine and the dramaturgy of life, ergonomically illustrating the relationship between micro and macro scale.

Slaughterhouse Five

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Slaughterhouse-Five, Messe Dresden

Memorial wall and information light sculpture

The artistically designed information light sculpture / memorial wall “Slaughterhouse Five” is visited annually by tourists from all over the world.
In the basement of the former slaughterhouse, the American author Kurt Vonnegut – like his protagonist Billy Pilgrim – survived the Allied forces bombing of Dresden on February 13, 1945 as a prisoner of war. The multimedia literary sculpture allows the viewer to experience the metamorphosis of the city of Dresden.
Through the artful superimposition of drawings, paintings, photographs, and city map excerpts, embedded in a complex grid of wood and Plexiglas, various temporal levels of the city’s history and at the same time the collage-like nature of the novel become visible. Lit from behind, the structure appears sculptural incorporating light and shadow as part of a larger picture.

Frankfurt Riedberg 2

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Housing Estate Containing 18 Single-family Houses

In Frankfurt’s Riedberg district, a lively, urban neighborhood is being developed with a university, schools / kindergartens and very good transport links to the city center of Frankfurt am Main.

For an investor, we planned 12 single-family houses as semi-detached houses and 6 detached single-family houses using the design-and-build method.

The house type has 2.5 floors, a staggered roof with an attractive sun terrace on the upper floor, a basement and is built from sand-lime bricks in a solid construction. Due to the floor-to-ceiling windows, all rooms are flooded with light. Inside, the house type offers clear simple floor plans with an optimal division of the premises. The modern urban single-family house type is tailored to the market of modern urban residential architecture.

House-Evolucio, The architect house for everyone

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House-Evolucio, The Architect House for Everyone

Innovative living concept in modular construction

  • Flexible: minimal tiny house or spacious Loft house character and pre-planned interfaces for easy architecture changes according to individual needs;
  • Environmentally friendly: minimal ecological footprint
  • Cost-effective: modular construction and architectural-grade materials for cost-effective construction
  • Flood-proof: elevation for safety in flood-prone areas

House EVOLUCIO is a flexible, growth-capable and intergenerational housing concept that combines living and working in the city.

The distinctive architecture is able to structurally adapt to the changing needs of its residents without changing the basic architectural concept. Flexibility in floor plan design and planning of the individually separable apartments as well as barrier-free accessibility are planning principles that create the conditions that allow for the house to be able to adapt equally to the individual requirements and needs of different generations and life situations. The consistent architectural concept enables a cost-effective realization without compromising quality.

Services: HOAI LP 1-9

Client: private