Gambit, a specialist pipe distribution company, commissioned us to design an office-warehouse building that would serve as its unique showcase. Yet we were asked to do it at the lowest possible cost.
So we came up with the idea of using the material they trade in, which they could also acquire at cost. At the same time, we wanted the office and warehouse sections to form a unified whole. As a result, we designed the building to look like a stack of pipes, immediately communicating what the company does.
A rectangular production hall once stood on this site, but the immediate surroundings consist of residential houses with steep roofs, often accompanied by long, cubic outbuildings. This inspired the final form of the building.
The three main functions of the building—a warehouse, a workshop for preparing orders, and an office area—are reflected in its form. A two-storey section with sloping walls houses the offices, a lower section serves as the workshop, and the higher cuboid is an unheated warehouse.
The way the pipes were laid out determined the pitch of the roof. The angled layout of the pipes creates the only possible inclination angle, which defines the shape of this part of the building.The office section with the sloping roof was trimmed at the second floor level to stay within the height limit set by the local zoning plan, and the additional volume would have been unnecessary.
The office section with the sloping roof was trimmed at the second floor to comply with the local zoning height limit, and to avoid generating unnecessary volume.
Interestingly, a few years later, Christo presented The London Mastaba, in which he achieved a similar form—this time resulting from the only possible arrangement of barrels.
The Gambit building forms a frontage from the street, while, when viewed from the residential district, its fragmented volume blends into the dispersed context.
The façade was ultimately not made from Gambit pipes—designed for underground use—as we found that they oxidised under UV light and did not meet fire safety requirements. Instead, we reached for inexpensive, raw aluminium sheeting, which was not only cheaper but also proven in our previous projects such as the OUTrial House, Unikato, and Konieczny's Ark. This material develops a patina over time, taking on a matte, raw character reminiscent of concrete. Importantly, the sheet is incredibly durable and virtually indestructible, making it easy to maintain. This is crucial for us because the operation of buildings generates up to 30% of CO₂ emissions, so we always seek simple, low-maintenance solutions.
The pipes at the edges of the building have been capped to prevent them from whistling in the wind. Although the investors initially feared that the building might become a shelter for various animals, we ultimately decided against installing bird nets. The protection had been planned in the design, but the more we thought about it, the more we leaned towards the idea that it would be beneficial if birds liked the building and it gained an additional function. We began to convince the investors—and in the end, we succeeded, although we are not sure whether it was the ecological or financial arguments that convinced them, as skipping the nets significantly reduced investment costs.
The interiors are well-lit by traditional windows and skylights. In the office spaces on the ground floor, designed for regular occupancy, employees have classic glazing with a view of a small garden carved out of the parking area. The storage area and auxiliary rooms on the upper floor, which require flexible space along the external walls, are illuminated by skylights.
The building serves a strictly industrial function and is primarily surrounded by parking for cars and trucks. Therefore, on the roof of the lowest part, we have designed a relaxation terrace for the employees.
