In a world where a company’s image is built as consistently as its products, Gambit Office’s thesis is simple and bold: the material is the message. The distributor of specialised pipes asked for a headquarters that would be both a warehouse and a brand showcase, but within as low a budget as possible. The architects at KWK Promes responded to this constraint with a surprisingly logical idea: make use of what the company trades in. The result is a building that, from a distance, reads like a tube store – a coherent trademark in which form speaks of content and economy becomes part of aesthetics. The building was recently honoured with the International Architecture Award 2025 in the office building category.
The plot in Gliwice bore the memory of a cuboidal production hall, but the neighbourhood was made up of classic single-family houses, often augmented by outbuildings. This tension between the industrial and residential fabric became the starting point: the new volume was to form an urban frontage on the street side, to then fragment and soften the scale. The task was exacerbated by planning requirements, including a height limit, which outlined the boundaries but did not stifle the architects’ ambitions.
Idea and form
The three functions of the building were translated into three clear volumes. The two-storey section with sloping walls houses the offices, the lower section acts as a workshop and the higher, austere cuboid is an unheated warehouse. The slope of the roof in the office section was decided by… the product itself: the arrangement of the pipes in the slant imposed the only sensible angle, which the architects literally translated into geometry. In order not to exceed the permitted height and generate unnecessary volume, the slope was cut at second-floor level – pragmatically and without loss of expression.
On the street side, the building closes in the frontage and brings order to the front, while on the residential side, its fragmented mass diffuses its monumentality. This duality allows the building to function simultaneously as a clear brand icon and a good neighbour that respects the rhythm of its surroundings. The impression of a ‘line-up of pipes’ is not the result of a decorative metaphor, but a consequence of the structure and the logic of use – here form grows out of content.
Material as manifesto
The initial idea of enclosing the façade with Gambit pipes had to give way to technical requirements: pipes designed for underground installation oxidise when exposed to UV rays and do not meet fire safety standards. They were replaced by inexpensive, raw aluminium sheeting, a material proven in the architects’ earlier projects such as the OUTrial House, Unikato and Konieczny’s Ark. Aluminium catches a delicate patina over time, tarnishes and takes on a character reminiscent of concrete – a restrained yet gravity-defying aesthetic. Importantly, it is extremely durable and virtually indestructible, thus reducing maintenance and simplifying operation.
Sound is also an architectural matter, so the pipes at the edges have been blanked off to prevent them from sounding in the wind. Bird netting has been abandoned, although it was originally envisaged – a decision backed by a mixture of ecological and economic arguments. This gives the building an additional, unplanned role: it becomes a friendly habitat, which fits into the wider, everyday ecology of the site. Here, austerity is not a compromise, but part of an intelligent, hospitable strategy.
Interiors, light and everyday life
The ground floor office spaces benefit from classic glazing overlooking a small, green garden separated from the car park – an oasis that balances the hard logistical context. Where aligned walls and maximum flexibility are needed, light is introduced by skylights: light reaches the warehouse and ancillary spaces on the first floor evenly, with no loss of space. As the building is mainly surrounded by car and truck parking, a seating terrace for employees is planned on the roof of the lowest section. It is a simple decision that enhances working comfort and adds a dimension of hospitality to the architecture.
Gambit Office shows that constraints can be fuel for expressive, honest architecture. With budgetary discipline, local context and corporate identity, a building was created that does not have to shout to be remembered.
design: KWK Promes(https://www.kwkpromes.pl)
photos: Juliusz Sokołowski
Read also: KWK PROMES | Office | Elevation | Detail | Modernism | whiteMAD on Instagram
