Success Story — design & construction
Industrial facility “LOHR“ 2016
design — arh. jelena samardzija
Black & blue rapsody
This industrial facility – a sandblasting and painting plant as part of the LOHR factory complex in Bačka Topola – is an expansion of an existing ground-level hall with an interior size of approximately 30x20m, as requested by the investor for a space required to house a combined booth as part of an expansion of the existing hall, providing for the flow of the technical process of applying liquid coatings to metal structures.
One specific aspect of the design was the purpose of the plant itself in the manufacturing process – a painting and sandblasting shop for metal elements that had to be accompanied by detailed documentation and an analysis of the technical process, adapting the architecture and structure of the hall and all the installations to this purpose. Architecturally, another specific aspect of the project was fitting the new building with the existing one, all of it in an environment of old and worn industrial halls.
The materials and form of the expansion were chosen with a simple form with flat edges, a façade made of black sandwich panels contrasting with the existing architecture – single-storey brick production halls – with a three-nave cross-section and pitched roofs from which the new building directly extends. The only architectural element that connects them is the one that admits daylight, which seems to be time-travelling, the copelite skylight that continuously and visually extends from the old building to the new.
The desire of the architect was to contrast the form and appearance of two different times in a single facility, bridging this immense gap with a single element - thereby in fact honouring the not-so-distant past that we are inexorably starting to forget, its outlines discovered only through its fragments, in worn and abandoned buildings.
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Aspect of the design was the purpose of the plant itself in the manufacturing process
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— arh. jelena samardzija
Preliminary sketch
project manageR — civil ing. petar zivanovic
From liquid coatings to metal structures
Dismantling the old installations and building an annex to the plant for sandblasting and painting steel elements created a unique edifice, unique not only for its purpose but also for its method of construction. The structure is made of steel, with a sophisticated selection of profiles that make up a unified whole using bolts and angle welds. I would particularly highlight the concrete foundation pits for the sandblasting and painting facility with specially precise concrete as a basis for the
installation of cabins of various materials according to their purpose and technical description. The facade consists of horizontal panels and kopilit glass that provides the interior with as much natural light as possible. This facility has substantially increased the productivity of the finishing treatment of trailers. A pleasant experience with French investors.
