HGT Architects believes architecture must enhance our feelings and our emotions by manifesting a sense of place and wonder that inspire its users. The building aspires to generate this sentiment among discerning car collectors by simultaneously engaging visitors in the restoration process as well as the architecture of the facility, providing them with a new and unique experience. In 2015, Stanley Lie and Marthin de Porres founded the company in Bandung, Indonesia and aims to deliver the highest standard for their clients.

Our design strategy avoids this familiar approach in an attempt to create a unique place with a more engaging atmosphere. Furthermore, defining and constructing a building which embodies a forward-thinking physical expression. The building is neither introverted nor extroverted. Its articulation blurs the boundary by ambiguously interconnecting inside and outside.

The design of Stanley Marthin’s building embodies the spirit of experimentation firmly rooted in Bandung’s iconic structures of modern architecture, such as DENIS Bank and Savoy Homann Hotel designed by A.F. Aalbers. We carried this spirit forward in the creation of the Stanley Marthin facility, utilizing modern materials and techniques available to us today. Much of our effort is also focused on providing a comfortable atmosphere to work in and our concern for the need to preserve the level of concentration conducive for restoration work.

To meet the project’s goals of being both environmentally sustainable and economically efficient we re-used building materials the company had stockpiled in their warehouse. The materials included steel beams, marble and stone flooring, ceramic tiles, doors, windows, glass blocks, sheets of tempered glass and cabinetry, all of which were successfully integrated into our design.

We chose high-grade translucent polycarbonate sheets for the building’s facade. The translucent shell provides shelters from natural elements while allowing diffuse natural light to illuminate the space throughout the day. The building curvature was later developed with a vertical break in the facade’s structural ribs, allowing for the prevailing wind to move freely in and out of the main space while keeping rain water out. To disperse rain water from roof deck and translucent roof, a gutter system was developed to collect and redistribute the water into the ground via a dozen deep infiltration wells around the building.

Our design goal was to create a building that is simultaneously robust and light. A building that is both experimental in its form yet rooted by the fundamentals of scale and proportions.  Architectural details are well thought out yet understated and experienced unconsciously. The result is an introspective setting ideal for a variety of activates: social events, exhibitions, meetings or presentations but most importantly car restoration.

The design of the Stanley Marthin building strives to fulfill the functional requirements of a restoration facility while also embodying the spirit of automotive engineering and design.  It respects both the art of the restoration process and the engagement and education of its customers.

Our recently published monograph, Stanley Marthin Restoration Garage, documents design processes, drawings, study models, and building construction. The book also includes essays by Jose Oubrerie, Joe Day and Henry Gunawan Tjhi.