LABORATORY STUTTGART
Wolframstraße 20b
D – 70191 Stuttgart
Phone +49 (0) 711. 72 23 29 01
Fax +49 (0) 711. 72 23 29 11
directors@l-a-v-a.net
www.l-a-v-a.net
Office
“Green is the new black: LAVA aspires to form the architecture of tomorrow characterised by a low environmental impact but a high architectural and sculptural quality.”
LAVA
LAVA is an international network of specialists that works on visionary architectural and urban planning projects across the whole world. The company, founded in 2007, employs around 50 staff at its offices in Berlin, Stuttgart and Sydney, and takes its inspiration from nature, technology and human ingenuity. In their designs, the architects strive for anintegration of space, structure and adornment.
From the conceptual and visualisation stages, right up to the creation of model-like prototypes, LAVA work with the very latest digital design tools. The list of projects they’ve realised spans hotels, office complexes, high rises, museums, sport stadiums, residential and commercial
buildings plus resorts in Germany, Australia, Mexico,China and the near east.
Project
King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KASCT), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
For the King Abdulaziz City of Science and Technology (KASCT), an innovative research campus in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh, the research building that came into being is not only the centre of the site, but at the same time a landmark in the capital that can be seen from afar. The 20-storey newbuild provides space for 1,700 staff, and conceptually, is strictly fitted out to meet the specific cultural and climatic requirements of its location. Therefore, circulation and the building technology were not placed in the core of the building, but instead integrated into the solidly constructed strucinventing tures of the east and west facade. As a result, on the one hand, necessary protection against solar radiation was conceptionally incorporated into the architecture. And on the other hand, a generous and genuine spatial volume results in the building’s interior. This interior features staggered levels that open out into the varied atriums, which alternatively face north and south. This ensures that lots of light enters the interior, which thanks to the luxuriant greenery, is transformed into an oasis.
LOCATION, COUNTRY: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
YEAR: 2010–2016; under construction
GFA: 42,000 m2²
TOTAL BUILDING COSTS: US $100m