Business Center “Sofia Airport”

The main idea is to shift the existing service access way towards Brussels Blvd. (through equivalent property substitution) and so provide as much space as possible to the south for the front of the main building of the compound. In this way, existing properties are merged in two new Zoned Property Areas. For this reason the project at hand offers two different strategies:
– For Zoned Property Area XXXV plans include the construction of economically sized buildings (Building 2 and Building 3) without underground levels with aboveground architectural space and a one level ground floor car park, assuming the area is not suitable for commerce. In this way the total floorage of the building is limited by the number of parking spaces with a 1:5 relation of parking spaces to office floors;
– For Zoned Property Area XXXVI plans include a multifunctional building (Building 1) with offices, business hotel and a shared conference and business block. In view of the request on behalf of the Investor for the construction of a multistory representative building, its height is restricted up to 75 meters by fire regulations for high-rise structures of type two, aiming to utilize as much architectural space as possible within the framework at hand. This space, of course, is just an illustration of the potential of the site and can easily be reduced to suit the economic goals set by the Investor;
In order to ensure the exhaustiveness of the survey and to explore all possible configurations and their efficiency, Building 1 has been designed in full functional detail in two versions:
– Version 1 has been assigned for design by the Investor and involves the vertical separation of the office and hotel sections, resulting in the formation of two functionally differentiated towers. This structure is characterized by a distinctive silhouette and offers a number of visual advantages. As a disadvantage it can be pointed out that this version leads to higher construction and operational costs;
– Version 2 is an alternative involving horizontal functional separation, situating the hotel section above the office section and the structuring of a linear building. In this way cost are reduced due to the utilization of a standard structure, sharing of vertical service lines, external ladder escapes, minimizing east-west exposure and a num- ber of other optimizations. To overcome the resulting monotonous exterior, it is suggested that winter gardens be added to the facade on different levels, serving as focal elements of both the exterior and interior of the structure. The possibility to install solar panels on the south facade is also explored. This could have both an economic and a cultural effect and would be directly linked to the zoning of the plot for the installation of technical infrastructure.
As a whole we regard the plot as extremely perspective for the intend- ed purposes and that a balanced combination of suggested solutions and strategies would lead to the construction of a highly efficient and profitable compound.