Vox Technology Park distinctively awarded at the National Architecture Biennial 2018

The office building project Vox Technology Park (Timișoara) has recently received  the highest honor from the Romanian Architects’ Union (UAR) in the 2018 National Architecture Biennial: winner of the Public Construction Architecture section.

The office building VOX Technology Park is situated on Calea Torontalului, a major traffic area in the north of Timișoara. The location is surrounded by a geographical area whose building potential is only at the beginning.

As the first building of such dimensions ever to be placed in this vast unbuilt space, the main objective of the project was to create a building defined by a strong urban identity, an authentic landmark. The unbalanced length of the land, along with the owner’s wish of using the most of the land’s features reflected in the final result: building an uninterrupted space that uses the surface and height approved by the urbanistic committee at its maximum.

The building has been covered in a transparent glass shell. The ethereal-like wrapping gives a certain touch of poetry to an otherwise massive geometrical volume. Also, the aesthetics of the facades only try to tame this massiveness, not to eliminate it, as it gives a proper base for the elegant, white, perforated architectural ornament that gives unity to the entire composition. The impressive volume of the building is being balanced by the diaphanous texture of the facades.

The building was designed as an office building with supplementary functions. The parking lot is placed underground, while the ground floor is hosting the retail and services area, as well as the lobbies accessible from the offices. Higher floors are for the actual offices. The building includes a food-court, conference rooms and a green terrace for all those who use the building.

There are two types of volumes that define the building, differentiating the two types of heights and surfaces. Both the 1100 m² of built surface (floors 8-10) and the 3500 m² built surface (floors 1-6) are highly functional and adequate for a large spectrum of potential users, from startups to corporations, each with its own needs in terms of space and functionalities. Each level of the building has been projected to host multiple tenants at once.

The 3000 m² left unused- the walls adjacent to the stairwells, have been transformed into a playground for the artists invited to give life to a unique urban art project- “VOX Grafitti Wall Mural”. Each one of the 4 guests left a personal mark, creating a one-of-a-kind story that practically erases the boundaries imposed by the dull concrete walls. The brave users of the stairs can enjoy the experience of an unexpected, experiential art gallery, full of life and color in a place usually treated as meaningless.

Vox Technology Park building was finished at the beginning of 2018 and it offers a rentable surface of 26.600 m². It has been developed by the Vox Property Group and the investment was of 30 million euro. The project is defined by unique features, such as the app that generates QR codes for facial or print recognition in order to make biometric identification for building access. The employees have designated facilities, such as storing and showers for those who use bicycles, food court, gym, shopping, and services areas.

The project also received the highest BREEAM score ever seen in Romania (Excellent).

“This awards validates our direction, that of creating a new pole on the map of real estate and economic development of Timisoara, by focusing on this particular area that provides fast access to numerous interest points and is situated at a 6-minute drive from the center of the city. We have developed a top-notch office building, therefore now we are concentrating our efforts on another unique project, a residential one”, declared Vlad Vela,  Vox Property Group general manager.

The developer has recently started the building of the residential project Vox Vertical Village, right near the office building. Vox Vertical Village represents the first concept of an actual vertical village on the local real estate market. The 14 million euro investment is estimated for completion and ready to be put into use at the end of 2019.

The idea of the new project is to reunite the benefits of living within a community with those of living on private property- a “house with a garden”: generous spaces for social interaction and vast terraces for the apartments. The spatial and volumetric structure of Vox Vertical Village has been determined by those two objectives: getting enough space for the community and making “houses with gardens”  instead of simple apartments. Another defining element for the Vox Vertical Village identity is the greenery, as more 1.000 trees and bushes will be placed both on the private terraces and the shared interior spaces.

The future tenants will also enjoy a whole range of benefits, like a generous atrium area naturally illuminated- for a higher interaction within the community, an outdoor pool, a reception area, cinema, and fully-equipped gym. The general contractor of the project is PORR Construct, one of the largest active building companies in Romania.