Drawing Board

ESET Slovakia

Plans have been unveiled for the new 55,000sqm ESET Campus in Bratislava, Slovakia. The campus – a tech neighbourhood designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), Pantograph, Buro Happold and Arup – will create a strong electricity-powered cybersecurity, AI and innovation ecosystem in the heart of Europe. Located on the site of a former military hospital between the Carpathian Mountains and the centre of Bratislava, the winning proposal of the global design competition saw BIG retained as the architect in 2019, tasked with designing a creative, green, collaborative hub where bold cybersecurity solutions come to life. The campus is expected to break ground in 2024, with a planned opening in 2027. Spanning the forested nature site, the campus consists of 12 individual buildings of varying sizes and uses organised around a central courtyard. The buildings on the outer perimeter will be designated public spaces, while four of the buildings on the inside of the site will be home to ESET’s 1,500 employees – with the potential to scale up to 2,400 employees. BIG’s design for the new neighbourhood replicates the spatial hierarchy of nature – the low and broad perimeter of the shared public spaces is easily accessible to all, allowing public life to flourish within the network of streets. The higher peak of the architectural ‘mountain’ reminiscent of the Carpathian Mountains nearby houses the ESET business, providing the company’s teams with innovative facilities while maintaining privacy. “Rather than a single hermetic entity, we have dissolved the ESET Campus into an urban village of interconnected buildings, framing public paths and urban squares,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG. “The diverse cluster of individual pavilions are unified by the undulating solar roofs – forming a single silhouette rising from

the forested park like a man-made addition to the Little Carpathians mountain range. Together with the adjacent University, the ESET Campus is set to spark the formation of Bratislava’s new innovation district.” On the north-west side, the campus opens up to the park – providing protection from both the busy main street and the railway, and connecting the wilderness of the Carpathian Mountains with the city. Embedded into the existing natural landscape, the park is filled with public areas for recreation, interaction, and relaxation while boosting local biodiversity and creating pockets suitable for outdoor working. The main courtyard, located at the centre of the four ESET HQ buildings, acts as a focal point for the local community. Public spaces serving retail, educational, sports, and cultural purposes are scattered around this courtyard, animating the ground floor and activating the network of streets. The overall massing of the campus has multiple frontages; the open corners of the four ESET HQ blocks, in combination with views into each building from the surrounding streets, create inviting moments that further connect the exterior with the interior. Upon entering the main ESET HQ lobby – located in the largest building of the campus – ESET employees are greeted by a cascading staircase that connects the ground floor with the upper levels. While each of ESET HQ’s four buildings have a central atrium – lit with skylights in areas of the floorplates that would otherwise be dark – the stairs in the main ESET HQ lobby atrium are surrounded with social spaces and biophilia, enhancing the connection of the active ground level to the upper office levels. The campus will be powered by all-electric energy, relying on renewable sources – including PV roofing – that will contribute to the campus’ carbon negative goal. ESET’s exterior will utilise timber and glass to help create high-performance façade system; balconies will provide additional outdoor spaces and shading while providing natural ventilation to maximise the campus’ energy efficiency. www.big.dk www.burohappold.com www.arup.com

DesertRock Saudi Arabia

The Red Sea Development Company (TRSDC) is taking immersive experiences to a new level with the DesertRock development – a luxury hotel carved into a rock mountain. Set in one of the most dramatic desert landscapes in the world, the Desert Rock resort is being integrated into the mountainside, offering panoramic views of the mountain canyons below and the canopy of stars above. Inspired by the surrounding mountains, volcanoes and wadis, Desert Rock will comprise 48 villas and 12 hotel suites. A variety of accommodation styles will be available to meet guests’ needs, from ground level dwellings to crevice hotel suites midway up the mountain; a select number of rooms will sit within the excavated rock-scape. The unique rock formations surrounding the resort were produced by a series of cataclysmic seismic events thousands of years ago, and so the architecture has been designed to keep this natural beauty intact while also reducing energy consumption, supercharging the ecosystem, and regenerating native flora. Guests will enter the resort through a hidden valley nestled between the mountains. Most roads leading into the resort will follow the edge of the main wadi, hidden behind landscape mounds, to provide uninterrupted views while also minimising sound and light pollution, allowing guests to fully absorb the surrounding dramatic desert landscape. Drawing inspiration from the unique surroundings and in line with TRSDC’s Dark Sky Initiative, the lighting design approach for DesertRock, led by lighting director Myrian Patricia Lopez Yanez, revolves around environmental principles, taking special care of the sky quality and sensitive species in the area. The lighting concept developed by Delta Lighting Solutions, respectfully follows the architectural language from lead designers Oppenheim Architecture. The buildings, fully integrated into the rocks, are lit from within, with minimal façade lighting, enhancing the striking silhouettes and night. All of the lighting for the resort is specified in a very warm colour temperature to minimise the impact on the environment. Architectural lighting is intended to remain anonymous and fully integrated within the unique interior design features from Paolo Ferrari. Following TRSDC’s vision of a residential approach to lighting, the locallyinspired decorative fixtures will be the protagonists of the different interior spaces. In keeping with the barefoot luxury approach, the landscape is lit to enhance the natural geometrical language created by Melk, with the use of light, shadow and patterns also assuring the necessary lighting for safety and wayfinding for guests. The use of smart technologies applied to the lighting is also important, as it will help with energy saving, and also to carefully adjust the light intensity at nighttime, according to the sunset, sunrise and operational needs. All of these elements combined create an unforgettable experience for guests after dark, who can enjoy beautiful spaces and a magnificent stargazing experience. “The intent is to leave this natural beauty better than it is,” said Lopez Yanez. “A sensitive approach is implemented to direct the process, deep analysis and research is undertaken to eliminate or substantially reduce the impact of lighting on fauna and flora and preserve the impressive dark sky aesthetic qualities to achieve TRSDC’s vision.” www.deltalightingdesign.com www.theredsea.sa