Niels Torp: airline headquarters, Amman, Jordan.This new corporate headquarters for Royal Jordanian Royal Jordanian Airlines (Arabic: الملكية الأردنية; transliterated: al-Malakiyah al-Orduniyah) is an airline based in Amman, Jordan, operating scheduled international services over four Airlines, Jordan's national carrier, follows on from Niels Torp's pioneering airline offices for SAS (1) (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, www.sas.com) A software company that specializes in data warehousing and decision support software based on the SAS System. Founded in 1976, SAS is one of the world's largest privately held software companies. See SAS System. in Stockholm (AR March 1989) and British Airways British Airways in full British Airways PLC International passenger airline based in London. In 1936 British Airways Ltd. was founded through the merger of three smaller airlines. at Heathrow (AR August 1998). Torp's forte is architectural de-institutionalisation: breaking down large organisations into manageable, humanly-scaled elements linked by a network of internal streets to encourage casual interaction. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Though this latest project finds him on familiar territory programmatically, it transplants the cool-headed, social idealism of Scandinavia to the very different culture, context and climate of Amman. But the Torp signature is still clearly identifiable. Two separate blocks, one conventionally orthogonal and the other cranked into an aerodynamic prow, are linked and penetrated by internal bridges and routes that break up floorplates into a series of corporate communities. Their external treatment is very different, with the orthogonal block more massive and imperforate imperforate /im·per·fo·rate/ (-per´for-at) not open; abnormally closed. im·per·fo·rate adj. Lacking a normal opening. , and the serpentine prow clad in a layered, lightweight skin of glass and louvres. The static, linear block anchors the building and forms a bulwark against future development to the north, while its more fluid south counterpart has licence to be an expressive urban and corporate landmark. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Analysis of the rectilinear rec·ti·lin·e·ar adj. Moving in, consisting of, bounded by, or characterized by a straight line or lines: following a rectilinear path; rectilinear patterns in wallpaper. site, which lies on the south-west edge of the city, suggested that two parallel, linear elements would be the most efficient in terms of daylight penetration and air circulation. The linear configuration also encloses and shields the main internal street at the heart of the building. Inspired by the traditional Arab souk and dappled dap·pled adj. Spotted; mottled. [Middle English, probably from Old Norse depill, spot, splash, diminutive of dapi, pool. with diffuse light, the street is anchored at each end by points of gravity. To the east is the main entrance and zone for dealing with the public, while to the west, a private canteen opens up onto a garden courtyard. These poles act as social and organisational magnets, enticing employees into many different sorts of activities (from working out to prayer) along its length. C. S. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Embracing organisational democratisation Noun 1. democratisation - the action of making something democratic democratization group action - action taken by a group of people and ecological awareness, the workplace is changing. |
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