Halle A by Designliga » CONTEMPORIST

A former industrial complex from the mid-20th century, with 650 square metres of hall space and visible traces of its previous use as a machine shop: an elevated foreman’s office once used for supervising shop-floor operations tells a tale of order, streamlining and clear-cut hierarchies. For Designliga, this legacy of German industrialization is a mirror reflecting the quintessence of work, and an inspiration to examine the meaning of work in our contemporary age.

Starting-point
The hall has a rectangular footprint and ceilings over 10 metres in height at their highest point. The east and west sides are built of glass bricks and incorporate a row of windows at eye level. The hall is thus flooded with a consistent level of glare-free light. Flooring combines areas of cross-grained larchwood parquet with concrete, adding visual structure to the hall. Exposed crane tracks and heating elements extend throughout the entire hall. Part of the interior is two-storey; what was once the foreman’s office overlooks the hall and the entrance, which is flanked by two brickwork walls.





Halle A by Designliga » CONTEMPORIST

George Nakashima’s wood designs still stunningly modern decades after his death - The Globe and Mail

In the design world, nature and artifice are often locked in a complex dance, designers and architects frequently struggling to reconcile the demands of contemporary life with the timeless beauty of natural materials. George Nakashima, the Japanese-American “woodworker” with a globe-spanning career, was among the first modern craftsmen to address this challenge head-on. Beginning in the 1940s, he sought to make furniture that combined contemporary attitudes, traditional craft and ancient timber. And by any standards he succeeded.





George Nakashima’s wood designs still stunningly modern decades after his death - The Globe and Mail