Viktorie Součková

BOGLE ARCHITECTS

– around the world in 10 years

Text: Viktorie Součková; Photo: Archive

Over the last decade, Bogle Architects have been working across the globe on a variety of pioneering and innovative projects from their London and Prague bases. The diversity of the studio’s output is breathtaking, covering nearly every continent.

In Bogota, the studio has completed the 20-storey Octava Apartamentos development, which strikes a handsome addition to the Colombian Capital’s skyline. The salmon-coloured stone façade sits as a welcome counterpoint to the adjacent red-brick apartment buildings.

At The Oxford Science Park, the Schrodinger Building is home to, amongst others, the company that developed the Coronavirus Vaccine; while in Prague this scientifi c journey continues with the ELI Beamlines project, which houses the most powerful lasers in the world.

The Tanneries in Porto is Portugal’s largest mixed-use urban regeneration project, combining purpose-built student accommodation alongside a commercial offi ces quarter and luxury residential apartments. The masterplan has a ‘green theme’ running throughout the development, with vertical gardens within each of the buildings linking the ground to the sky with greenery.

In Moscow, the Snegiri ECO development shows how the studio adapts its designs to meet the climatic challenges of Russia’s large temperature swing. The ‘winter’ gardens off er additional internal space in the winter season, while in the summer months become external balconies.

The Royal Grammar School in Guildford is cleverly designed to provide self-shading to the classrooms to reduce energy consumption in the heat of the Dubai climate, while off ering an internal oasis in the form of internal atriums.

Bogle

Ian Bogle and Viktorie Souckova fi rst met in London at Foster and Partners, where they worked on designing the Stirling Prize shortlisted school ‘Bexley Business Academy’. Now, 20 years later, they are working together on projects all over the world from their London and Prague studios.

The Tanneries, Porto

Biophilia is a strong recurring design feature in the practice’s philosophy. This can best be seen in the Early Learning Village in Singapore, which is the largest kindergarten in the world. A staggering 2,100 early-years children occupy this pioneering project, which has external classrooms for every child, following the philosophy of the importance of external learning at an early age.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the practice has cleverly situated a senior school within a tight urban block next to the River Saigon. Every square meter is utilized, resulting in the football pitch being located on the roof.

Snegiri Eco, Moscow

In Bratislava, the studio has recently completed both commercial and residential projects for the UNIQ brand of Cresco Real Estate, showing again the diversity of the Bogle Architects breadth of projects.

Octava Apartments, Bogota The studio boasts other unrealized projects in Morocco, France, Tanzania, and China; while recently completed projects in Croatia and Austria can be seen on the boards of the studio.

Closer to home, in Prague, the practice has designed the award-winning boutique residential ‘Sarecky dvur’, the Smichoff offi ce development, is working on Mephared II for the Charles University in Hradec Karlovy, and is engaged in a wide variety of other projects across many sectors.

Is it a coincidence that ‘Globe’ is an anagram of

‘Bogle’?