CAPITAL BANK SELECT (STAND ALONE)
Status:
Completed
Year:
2018
Type:
Institutional
Size:
1,100 m²
Scope:
Architecture & Interior Design
Location:
Amman, Jordan
Capital Bank Select is a distinctive architectural statement that redefines the traditional image of a bank by merging two contrasting typologies: the functional rigor of private banking and the refined comfort of a boutique hotel. Designed to serve affluent clients, the building maintains the necessary security and formal systems expected of a financial institution while offering a spatial experience rooted in warmth, hospitality, and intimacy. This conceptual duality is central to the project, challenging established norms of bank design and imagining a softer, more personalized future for banking culture.
Capital Bank Select is a distinctive architectural statement that redefines the traditional image of a bank by merging two contrasting typologies: the functional rigor of private banking and the refined comfort of a boutique hotel. Designed to serve affluent clients, the building maintains the necessary security and formal systems expected of a financial institution while offering a spatial experience rooted in warmth, hospitality, and intimacy. This conceptual duality is central to the project, challenging established norms of bank design and imagining a softer, more personalized future for banking culture.
The mass of the building is composed as a collection of autonomous yet interconnected elements that work together on structural, material, and formal levels. The building rests directly on the ground along the main street, but from the secondary street, it appears elevated on massive cylindrical columns, creating a visual sense of suspension and lightness. Structurally, it is supported by a post-tensioned concrete skin and a suspended steel frame, while the main staircase stands as a self-supporting feature made of translucent concrete and steel. These deliberate contrasts between mass and lift, opacity and light, further reinforce the hybrid nature of the project.
The mass of the building is composed as a collection of autonomous yet interconnected elements that work together on structural, material, and formal levels. The building rests directly on the ground along the main street, but from the secondary street, it appears elevated on massive cylindrical columns, creating a visual sense of suspension and lightness. Structurally, it is supported by a post-tensioned concrete skin and a suspended steel frame, while the main staircase stands as a self-supporting feature made of translucent concrete and steel. These deliberate contrasts between mass and lift, opacity and light, further reinforce the hybrid nature of the project.
At the heart of the interior is an open atrium, organized around a central olive tree that symbolizes rootedness, locality, and cultural continuity. This atrium is not enclosed but visually extends outward through a large opening that invites a connection with the surrounding neighborhood. Materiality plays a vital role throughout, with a palette that includes Jerusalem stone, translucent concrete, and glass. These elements allow for shifting levels of transparency and natural light, while also referencing local context and landscape. Together, they form a tactile and visual language that blends monumentality with softness, grounding the building in its environment while projecting a new model for what a bank can be.
At the heart of the interior is an open atrium, organized around a central olive tree that symbolizes rootedness, locality, and cultural continuity. This atrium is not enclosed but visually extends outward through a large opening that invites a connection with the surrounding neighborhood. Materiality plays a vital role throughout, with a palette that includes Jerusalem stone, translucent concrete, and glass. These elements allow for shifting levels of transparency and natural light, while also referencing local context and landscape. Together, they form a tactile and visual language that blends monumentality with softness, grounding the building in its environment while projecting a new model for what a bank can be.
Capital Bank Select is a distinctive architectural statement that redefines the traditional image of a bank by merging two contrasting typologies: the functional rigor of private banking and the refined comfort of a boutique hotel. Designed to serve affluent clients, the building maintains the necessary security and formal systems expected of a financial institution while offering a spatial experience rooted in warmth, hospitality, and intimacy. This conceptual duality is central to the project, challenging established norms of bank design and imagining a softer, more personalized future for banking culture.
The mass of the building is composed as a collection of autonomous yet interconnected elements that work together on structural, material, and formal levels. The building rests directly on the ground along the main street, but from the secondary street, it appears elevated on massive cylindrical columns, creating a visual sense of suspension and lightness. Structurally, it is supported by a post-tensioned concrete skin and a suspended steel frame, while the main staircase stands as a self-supporting feature made of translucent concrete and steel. These deliberate contrasts between mass and lift, opacity and light, further reinforce the hybrid nature of the project.
At the heart of the interior is an open atrium, organized around a central olive tree that symbolizes rootedness, locality, and cultural continuity. This atrium is not enclosed but visually extends outward through a large opening that invites a connection with the surrounding neighborhood. Materiality plays a vital role throughout, with a palette that includes Jerusalem stone, translucent concrete, and glass. These elements allow for shifting levels of transparency and natural light, while also referencing local context and landscape. Together, they form a tactile and visual language that blends monumentality with softness, grounding the building in its environment while projecting a new model for what a bank can be.
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