Project Overview: A small multipurpose space with a larger than life design sits in the downtown area of old Amman. The architect’s vision was to capture the beauty of the 50+ year old structure by preserving the deteriorated finishes while infusing fine modern elements to highlight the splendor of aging through time.
Standing firmly for more than 50 years, the walls at turbo naturally deteriorated, developed mold, changed color, and became very fragile and brittle. AJC was challenged to perform the necessary works to restore these walls providing a safe environment for the client while preserving the old deteriorated feel. The entire space was polished with special disks attached to grinders to remove dangerous mold and undesired scum. However, due to fragility and brittleness, chunks of the plastering would fall off. AJC had to powder down the broken chunks and mix them with special modern cements to apply the plaster again. With skillful carefulness and artistic mastery, new plaster touchups were applied to the wall chunks mimicking the appearance of the surrounding aged plaster. A watered down paint wash was then applied to the wall leaving behind a beautifully faded white hue to the aged walls.
Among the requirements needed at Turbo, the outdated plumbing and electrical systems had to be replaced. However, preserving the aged finishes meant that AJC had to be accurate and methodical performing hard-civil and 1st-fix MEP works in a manner that presumes that the finishing works have already been completed and cannot be corrected. This meant that 50+ year old tiles needed to be removed carefully without any damage and stored safely for reuse later. Replacing electrical and mechanical connections had to be done while minimally disturbing the plastered walls. With surgical precision and strict meticulousness, AJC were able to replace the outdated MEP works without compromising the authenticity of the vintage finishes or requiring compromises in the designer’s vision.
With the architect’s vision to merge old retro finishes with fine modern ones, a number of contradictory features were purposefully implemented to create a contrasting effect that leaves the viewer speechless. For example, a free standing wall was constructed to separate the back-of-house areas from the front. And while all the walls have an aged finish; this wall stands out with perfect straightness, smoothness, and extravagance. A modern bronze mirror covers the wall and reflects all the aged finishes against the modern wall. Additionally, perfectly straight strips of smooth plaster painted black and white create a dazzling effect along with rough chiseled plaster strips. A stunning fusion of black & white and rough & smooth stripes captures the eye, forcing the person looking to smile!
