Koening Books is a specialist contemporary art bookseller, occupying the site of the former Zwemmer bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London, a neighbourhood of specialist booksellers.
The project respects the store’s urban context and reflects the unique character of the Koening family business. While the original Victorian facade has been retained, the interior has been completely rebuilt, maximising the space available on the ground and basement floors and improving circulation.
A single surface treatment to floor, walls and stairs of black stained oak, imbued with contemporary and traditional qualities, ensures that the …

The new offices for the law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are located in an existing freestanding building. The projet sought to provide a feeling of quality as well as inspiration for employees and clients alike, and to promote the visibility of the practice whilst maintaining its privacy and professionalism. The building is located between the new Amsterdam World Trade Centre, a dynamic cluster of new towers, and a residential neighbourhood of modest mid-century villas.

The project was initially an office interior design project and grew into an architectural project. The existing …

Des Moines Public Library,USA/ david chipperfield
The library forms an integral part of the new Des Moines “Western Gateway Park”. This area of the city is currently undergoing extensive redevelopment and the new library and park are the centrepiece for the urban renewal of Des Moines.
Located at the east end of the park, the new library acts as a link between downtown Des Moines and the park. One the one hand, it responds to the city block, but at the same time it stretches out into the parkland, floating in the …

The building and park were the social focal point for the 2007 America’s Cup-the world’s premier offshore racing competition, staged in Europe for the first time in over 150 years following Swiss Team Alinghi’s win over Team New Zealand in 2003, and the selection of Valencia as host city. The Louis Vuitton Cup started in April 2007 and the climax, the 32nd America’s Cup match, started at the end of June 2007.

The America’s Cup Building “Veles e Vents”(Sails and Winds) was completed within 11 months of winning the competition in …

This office building is located within “Campus Audiovisual”,a part of the regenerated 19th  century industial area of Poblenou, fronting a southern section of the Diagonal and close to the boundary of the Eixample and Sant Mart areas of the city. The site occupies approximately one half of an urban block within Idefons Cerda’s masterplan. Simple and bold sculptural forms have been carved out of the given project boundaries.

The spaces between these buildings form small piazzas-social spaces that link the buildings of the masterplan. To reinforce the object-like quality of each …