Technology: Planning a "Refined Carcass Structure" - Economical, Functionally Neutral and Robust
The concept underlying the U.F.O loft and commercial development in Ferchenheim, Frankfurt am Main (which won this year's Detail Prize) was for a building "without a specific programme". A better description of the goal would perhaps be "programmatic flexibility", in which stress is laid on providing for a large number of options. This concept was the outcome of two constraints: the economic need to develop the site within a certain time; and the impossibility of getting potential leaseholders to commit themselves for the whole period between the application for building permission and the completion of the scheme. It was thus decided that there should be scope to accommodate not just one specific function, but all conceivable uses. Situated in a classical "industrial location" in the east of Frankfurt, the building was also to activate a process of transformation in a hitherto neglected area. The sculptural volume that was realized, distinguished by its simple, clear-cut geometry, makes the requisite impact and also creates a sense of identity. In addition, the material chosen - exposed concrete - allows a balance to be achieved between physical robustness and haptic refinement, a balance that is necessary if the building is to assert itself in its "raw" surroundings and to generate greater architectural quality in the area. In addition to its urban-planning function, the structure was to comply with the spatial and technical needs of as broad a range of users as possible, who were completely unknown at that time.
