Housing and Commercial Development in Bayenthal, Cologne
The bright red colour of the free sculptural roof form is a logical outcome of the architectural concept for this infill scheme in Bayenthal, which was designed in a deliberately bold, exaggerated manner. The location is a former industrial area in Cologne with a heterogeneous development structure. Laid out to a footprint 5.50 m wide and 25 m deep, the new complex exhibits features that seem to contravene building regulations and that lend it the appearance of an “illicit” structure. For example, the roof dominates the complex in a provocative manner apparently infringing the physical laws of construction. With free spans of up to 12 m and sloping areas of concrete, the distinction between wall, roof and floor is relativized if not dissolved. Square window openings with bold, protruding surrounds (which the architect refers to as “bulging eyes”) punctuate the solid roof sculpture and illuminate the interior like spotlights. The seamless UV- and weather-resistant skin, consisting of several layers of plastic sheeting sprayed with liquid polyurethane resin, have been applied over the entire roof surface, including the arrises and corners. The architects deliberately avoided a solution with more refined details. The aggressive red coloration of the volume and the minimal degree of architectural differentiation lend the roof form an aphoristic, comic-strip-like effect.
