The Luxembourg Freeport

Built near the international airport of Luxembourg-Findel, Luxembourg Freeport is a building containing premises for storage, showrooms and offices. The project, developed by Atelier d’Architecture 3BM3  (Carmelo Stendardo and B. Montant), is based on the transformation of the legal, technical and functional in architectural qualities: not only a deposit, but also a space dedicated to art, characterized by the presence of temporary showrooms and private galleries.

Constraints become pretexts to create volumetric and formal tensions that break the banality of a simple box. The casing without windows is illuminated by skylights and lined by a series of caged stone panels, designed in order to do not disperse heat and make the shifting facades according to the light and atmospheric agents.

This architectural option reflects the desire to relate the building to the environment, largely characterized by the presence of stones and buildings built with the same type of construction, as well as representing a choice linked with the standards for energy efficiency and sustainable development. Collaborations with american designer Johanna Grawunder e Portugese artist Vhils, emphasize the close relationship between architecture, art and design in this project. The participation of the two artists took place from the earliest stages of design in order to propose a work which is not a simple addition, but a constituent part of the building. The lighting design by Johanna Grawunder starts from the formal characteristics of the space, to investigate on the relationship between light and architecture through a spectacular light installation ad hoc designed system, developed by Light by Flos Contract.

firm: Atelier d‘Architecture 3BM3
architects: Carmelo Stendardo, Bénédicte Montant
light design: Johanna Grawunder
developer: IMDA
art walls: Vhils
project manager: Marcos Perez
collaborators: Raphael de Paulin, Eliana Trindade, Bruno Ferraz
location: Luxembourg
year: 2015