The unconventional office building

Building 5 of Business Park Sofia combines attractive architecture and efficiency

The year is 1999 in Sofia. The impacts of a recent economic crisis and political instability two years earlier are still quite fresh. One can hardly speak of the development of a real estate market. Nevertheless, it is just in this very moment that the concept of the first business park took shape - a vague and probably absurd for that time idea.
The year is 2007. The place is Sofia again. Building 5 of the completed largest business park in Southeast Europe wins the Audience's Award at the National Contest Building of the Year, organized by Stroitelstvo Gradat weekly newspaper under the patronage of the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works of Bulgaria.
Nine years have gone by since the very start of the project until the award ceremony. Meanwhile Business Park Sofia has been developed on 22 hectares, including 35 buildings with gross built-up area of 300,000 sq m; there are car parks for 4,000 vehicles; 10,000 people are working and other 10,000 visit the business park every day.
As large multinational companies entered Bulgaria demand for larger offices of better quality appeared. In the meantime, others, already on the local market, expanded their activities and as did their requirements for buildings that could fit their image and offer the needed technical solutions and space allocations. Offices built in the last years were yet not enough.
The lack of development land and parking space, poorly organized transport and traffic issues in the centre of the capital are some of the reasons why companies seek offices located on main boulevards, in the periphery or even far away from the city’s hustle and bustle. That is also why one would find most of the new commercial schemes in the areas of Bulgaria Blvd., Sofia Airport and of course Business Park Sofia.
Different to the other projects BPS has been planned as one whole complex, which should expand with the expansion of its tenants' businesses offering them additional space suited to their needs.
This project (large taken alone for Bulgaria) is actually just a part of a larger development area, Sofia Park, a city within the city located at the foot of Vitosha Mountain, where offices are to be complemented by a residential complex and a shopping center so that its inhabitants will be able to work, live and spend leisure time within walking distance.
The advantages of the concept include its proximity to Vitosha, the easy access to the main thoroughfares and Sofia's ring-road. The city center is just 20 minutes by car and the airport stands at 10-minute drive.
The Business Park Sofia development has been completed in the end of 2007 when the small (11,065 sq m) but architecturally different Building 5 was delivered and voted number one by the audience of the Building of the Year contest.
It was developed by Business Park Sofia 2, a subsidiary first of Lindner and later of American Gramercy Emerging Markets, the investment fund, which purchased the scheme. The design belongs to the architectural bureau A & A Architects with a team including Arch. Martin Georgiev, Arch. Desislava Angelova and Arch R. Zorteva headed by Arch. Angel Zahariev and Arch. Asen Milev.

Building 5, the last one built by Lindner in Business Park Sofia,
plays a key role in shaping the image of the whole complex, focuses the attention and this is a reason why more has been demanded in respect of its appearance. Situated in the centre of the complex, it is additionally accentuated by spacious undeveloped areas, something rarely seen in urban environment. The complex and flowing geometry, the abundant use of metal and unconventional details are some of the elements, which significantly make the building outstand the rest. Yet, the use of various other elements common with the neighboring structures, the scale and the connection to the area make it an inseparable part of the business park.
As for

functionality and technology,
Building 5 meets all contemporary requirements and in aspects such as seismic stability and energy efficiency even higher standards have been applied. The architects are mostly proud of their development of twisting metal elements, which add dynamics to the building’s image and have varying effects depending on the light and viewing distance. Their idea was to apply the architectural techniques of decorations from the past and to bend them in contemporary light, to create a unique architectural image that would not have any functional role by itself.
"Since the very beginning of the project it was clear that the building was bound to be extraordinary, somewhat different from the conventionality of office buildings. It was bound to be a landmark that would be the finishing touch of the business park. But, of course, this was not to happen at the expense of the rest of its characteristics. In the course of our work we paid special attention to the functionality and the flexibility of interior spaces and we can now boldly state that in regard of these features one can hardly find a better office building in Bulgaria at present", says Arch. Angel Zahariev, General Manager of the architectural bureau.
Building 5 consists of

two constructively separate blocks,
each with its own staircase and lifts around the lobbies. The number of floors changes from six on the Northwestern part to 7 in the Southern one. Offices total 6,700 of the built-up area. The spaces feature raised floors and suspended ceilings for technical fittings. This allows maximum flexibility at readjustments and new allocations of space to suit the particular needs of the tenants and to secure the maintenance.
Each office unit has independent bathrooms and kitchens. Roof terraces have also been projected. They are located on the last two floors and allow views to the Business Park Sofia and Vitosha Mountain. The building features an underground car park for the staff and one for visitors above ground. The ground-floor accommodates shops, a cafe and a medical center.
IBM has chosen the building for its global services center and some of the other tenants include Alex & Gross Communications, Catwalk and Bulbrokers. 

Sofia Park - Alfa Park will be developed on a 3 hectare plot. The gross built-up area of the new scheme will amount to 152,000 sq m 48% of which will be offices and 20% retail space. - Alfa Business Center is also a part of the project. It will be a multifunctional building of over 15,000 sq m and five over ground floors. The first levels will include retail space and restaurants. Offices take up almost 8,000 sq m of the building. The underground car park is to be divided into two levels and will provide 117 parking spaces. The developer of this project is Alfa Developments (a subsidiary of Alfa Finance Holding and manager of BPS for its owner - the Gramercy fund). - Residential Park Sofia complex is a development of Lindner Immobilien Management. It represents a combination of residential and park environment that naturally spread on 235,000 sq m of land. The complex will offer 700 residential units (apartments, single-family and semi-detached houses) with total gross built-up area of 115,000 sq m.  - Adjacently, Dutch developer Multi Development and Austrian investment fund Meinl European Land are developing Forum Sofia shopping mall on 17-hectare plot. The complex will include retail and entertainment areas situated in a park. The scheme will provide a shopping center, a furniture showroom and a do-it-yourself hypermarket.