Our spaces, Roche guide of the built environment

Exteriors Key Features

 

Ahead of time

A changing landscape

  • Define a design intention that takes experience and natural changes into consideration.
  • Use perennial or deciduous vegetation depending on the solar radiation requirements of adjacent buildings.
  • Emphasize the changing of seasons by choosing deciduous plant species.

Exposing infrastructure

  • Feature infrastructure elements as an expression of their function to increase future flexibility.
  • Respectfully position and integrate green stormwater infrastructure.

Sustainable technology

  • Take design opportunities to promote and communicate sustainable awareness, considering local specificity.
  • Facilitate low-energy solutions for cooling, heating, lighting, etc. in compliance with Roche sustainability directives K6 – K18.
  • Choose non-toxic products and materials with a low environmental impact.

 

Fit to purpose

Indoor – outdoor continuity

  • Develop surrounding exterior spaces that relate directly to the use of buildings.
  • Create visual and material connections between the inside and the outside.

Walking experience

  • Prioritise the pedestrian experience by promoting connectivity between buildings and open spaces.
  • Support intuitive wayfinding and orientation.
  • Arrange seating and planting areas to be intertwined with user activities.

Creative outdoor spaces

  • Support creative uses of open spaces as unconventional work settings.
  • Place lounge seating or cafĂ© tables and chairs outdoors for casual work sessions or meetings.
  • Creative uses may promote well-being, recreation, and contemplation.

Easy maintenance

  • Select durable, resistant, easy-to-clean materials and design solutions.
  • Plan low maintenance systems and easy accessible HVAC and MEP installations.
  • Practice a low water use green concept.
  • Define a Life Cycle strategy based on the Dia Life Cycle Asset Management (LCAM) process.
  • Follow the building operation manual. Use the building management system to monitor, analyze and reset for optimum efficiency in operation.

 

Form at human scale

Form and character

  • Define a clear design concept, site-specific and that reflects local identity.
  • Formal language is to be consistent throughout the site.
  • Landscape elements belong to a series or design family to create a harmonious ensemble.

Vegetation in natural form

  • Respect long-term development of natural settings.
  • Simple geometries express clear, functional organization.
  • Let plants and trees grow and shape naturally; do not create artificial geometries or manicured elements.
  • Do not employ lawn as the default landscape.

Movement and organic shapes

  • Balance the rigid shapes of buildings with organic landscapes in between.
  • Design shapes that relate to body movement, proportions and are adapted to the topography.
  • Don’t use unnecessary elements, design complex compositions or too fragmented outdoor spaces.

Find the essential

  • Employ a consistent, harmonious and elegant formal language, beyond stylistic.
  • Focus on a reduced expression, without superfluous ornament.
  • Present a timeless, clear geometry and simple appearance.
  • Use reduced number of different materials, preferring the natural and authentic.

 

The atmosphere of space

Connecting spaces

  • Sites should be experienced and understood as a cohesive whole.
  • Plan a consistent articulation of spaces.
  • The character of spaces is defined according to their specific function, location, and relationship to buildings.

Spatial sequences

  • Create zones and sequences of spaces to enhance the user’s sensorial experience.
  • The linking of spaces through movement creates the place.
  • Design spaces of contrasted character according to function and typology.

Night-time experience

  • Establish focal points and connect them to guide the viewer across the site.
  • Create appropriate levels of lighting with uniform colour.
  • Employ modest and efficient light fixtures with neutral shapes to aid in wayfinding.
  • Avoid a theatrical appearance produced by artificial lighting effects.
  • Minimise light pollution.

 

Adapted to the local environment

Responding to the environment

  • Maintain harmony with the surrounding environment.
  • Work with the existing topography and respect natural water drainage.
  • Create comfortable micro-climates.
  • Provide temporary landscaping for future development plots.

Native vegetation

  • Preserve existing local plants and introduce other indigenous species.
  • Species of different ecological niches increase local biodiversity.
  • Drought-resistant plants should be used in zones where water is scarce.

Strengthen the site’s identity

  • Incorporate cultural influences through consistent abstract interpretation of the local tradition and architectural expression.
  • Consider the integration of art into landscape, in alignment with Roche brand and tradition.

Natural local materials

  • Employ natural materials that are sustainable, durable, locally sourced, and reflect the local character.
  • Use low contrast and muted colour variations to produce a monochromatic result overall.
  • Do not incorporate any discernible stylish pattern or graphic motif.
  • Limit the materials palette to a minimum, material changes should serve to assist site functionality and are not arbitrary.

 

> Download Roche Exteriors check-list