SUMoffice

Loft-Nonloft . lima

SUMoffice

A loft space is the postcard image of a successful urban lifestyle. The loft-typology originates from the increasingly densely populated urban environment, where industry has moved away from the city centre and left large warehouse floors to be converted into places for living. The loft apartment is the opposite of a traditional apartment. One could classify a household program in three types of rooms: living rooms, private rooms and service rooms. In a traditional apartment the living rooms accommodate the collective activities of the household, while separate private rooms accommodate the more private activities. In a loft apartment this distinction is diffuse or absent, which means that the activities are not strictly separated. This makes it particularly suited for singles or childless couples, who require limited in-house privacy. The continuous space can be organized in virtually limitless ways.The given program contains a significant amount of functions that traditionally would be part of the private areas of the household. How can this elaborate program result in a loft? In order to acquire an significant amount of loft space, the initial program is interpreted by means of components that can, and components that cannot be part of the loft space. In this space a diffuse distribution of collective and private activities is realized by translating the so-called nonloft elements (bathrooms, stairs, elevators, pantry’s) into volumes and placing them in the apartment. As a result a loft is created that consists of one continuous open space and offers a great variety of spatial qualities. It is the nonloft that defines this loft. Every member of the household (parents, children, maid) inhabits a certain part. The architectural configuration of the nonloft elements creates the necessary privacy and allows other spaces to be wide and open. Between these two extremes is a wide variety of spaces that allow different ways of usage.

Intermediate
Each building consists of four individual lofts stacked on top of each other. Within, each apartment is connected to the entrance hall and parking area by its own stairs. The urban scheme leaves a very narrow space of only three meters wide between the buildings. In this in-between space a glazed panel-façade sits opposite of a mainly closed concrete wall. Together with the glass balustrades, the massive wall frames the space and directs the view to the lush green landscape of the Los Incas Golf Club. On the bottom of the in-between space lies a pool, which allows for a usage of the in-between space. The pool is the only element that extends beyond the front of the building and into midair.

Grouping
The eight buildings, grouped in two rows, are strung together by a winding uphill-road. The buildings on the lower row are mirrored in relation to their up-hill neighbors. Where the road makes a corner a type B building replace the common type A building. These type B buildings complement the grouping by means of a ‘dent’ in de façade that counterparts the curve of the road. This results in a subtle shift in angle in the floor plan. The shift changes the characteristic of the loft space because of a sudden interior friction between the nonloft objects. Without the presence of a neighboring building the panorama is wider than elsewhere in the grouping, enabling impressive views from the living quarters over the golf course and, on clear days, the Pacific Ocean.