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Published on Leave a comment on A green wall by Capella Garcia Architecture in Barcelona

Since at least Babylonian times, hanging gardens of significant scale have been thought of as wondrous things. But beyond the spectacle of the garden itself, is the structure within which the garden is created. Capella Garcia Architecture have designed this hanging garden or, as they tend to be known these days, a green wall, to be around for some time. The garden especially when the planting is fully mature will be wondrous if not on the scale of the ancient mystical gardens. But I imagine that many, even without the plants, would be happy to sit and stare at the structure for a while.

Green wall products on the market tend to be cheap plastic affairs that can accommodate plants of a certain limited size. They tend to been used as a canvas in which different coloured, or structured plants are used as pixels to draw a large, if abstract design.

This project in Barcelona  (Spain) has a substantial galvanized steel frame creating eight levels which are accessed via a stair. It is altogether more substantial than the usual living wall described above, and with imaginative management could become a type of social garden where local residents could come together to tend it, exchanging flowers, produce, gossip and goodwill.

Architecture in Barcelona 01 - A green wall by Capella Garcia Architecture in Barcelona

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Published on Leave a comment on The Non Program Pavilion, Salobreña, Granada

This pavilion, located in Salobreña (Granada), does not have a specific use but it is carefully designed to fit into its surrounding landscape in a specific way.

Jesús Torres of García architects, who is Spanish, but who is currently living in Paris, was inspired by Oscar Niemeyer’s approach to building in harmony with nature.

On one side the building is clad with timber slats, whilst on the other it is apparently clad in landscape and sky. Of course this is just the reflection of its surroundings in the mirrored glass, but it was the intention to produce this illusion. It works in part at least, because of the minimal detailing to the glazing.

Inside the pavilion is open and flexible providing the perfect environment for exhibitions and other small scale events.

The building is very powerful in its own modest way.

The Non Program Pavilion - The Non Program Pavilion, Salobreña, Granada
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Published on 1 Comment on Eco Boulevard, Ecosistema Urbano Architectos, Madrid

This is a series of sustainable public spaces, a meeting point for those who live in the area of Vallecas, a suburb of Madrid. It is on a 500 x 50 m road, a pilot experience for the climatic adaptation of outdoor spaces, awarded in 2004 at the Eco-Boulevard competition organized by the Residential Innovation management office within the Municipal Housing Corporation of Madrid and funded by the European Union (LIFE programme). The tree of air is a light structure that is self-sufficient and can be dismantled. It consumes only what it can produce through photovoltaic solar energy collection systems. Selling this energy to the power network generates a superavit on the annual balance sheet and this is reinvested in the maintenance of the structure. “Three Pavilions, or air-trees, work as supports, open to multiple activities chosen by the users. Installed in the non-city as temporary prostheses, they will be used only until the inactivity and climatic adaptation problem is corrected.”

Eco Boulevard1 - Eco Boulevard, Ecosistema Urbano Architectos, Madrid

Eco Boulebard3 - Eco Boulevard, Ecosistema Urbano Architectos, Madrid

Via: mimoa.eu

Published on Leave a comment on Architecture in Spain: Atocha Monument, Madrid

This is a monumental tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks on March 11th, 2004, Madrid.

It consists out of 2 parts, intimately related: the glass cupola and the room underneath it. From this room, visitors can watch the inside of the cupola, where messages are visible, printed on the glass. These messages were written in the successive days after the bombing. The 11 m high glass cupola is formed by 2 different layers: transparent colourless glass blocks and an ETFE membrane. The blocks are glued together with acrylic glue that hardens when exposed to ultraviolet light. The glue is still transparent, but the ETFE foil contains a 97% transparency, subject to change, according to the pressure within the room. The messages will be seen through the glass skin during the day, and appear different during the night. The room is accessed directly from the main lobby of the station of Atocha. The blue coloured space is like “an empty space, in silence, with the light as a protagonist”.

Atocha - Architecture in Spain: Atocha Monument, Madrid

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Published on Leave a comment on ABC Museum, Illustration and Design Center, in Madrid

The new ABC Center of Drawing and Illustration, by Aranguren & Gallegos Architects, comes with a willingness to be an artistic international reference and a cultural symbol of Madrid. The installation in the old factory building in Amaniel Street has to be a suitable intervention in a historic building without sacrificing the character of expressing a contemporary center with a diverse range of cultural and artistic institutions.

The existing building has a possible dual access from two streets connecting them in an interior court. Before the intervention, one of the entrances was through a longitudinal height body that closed the courtyard. From this front we propose the principal access to the new Center ABC. To achieve this, the mentioned longitudinal body is restructured as a great “girder” of translucent glass that operates as a lintel towards the interior court. Located inside is the cafeteria, and under it, through a glass floor on which you enter the courtyard, the basement of the new center catche the light.

ABC Museum - ABC Museum, Illustration and Design Center, in Madrid

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Published on Leave a comment on Basque Culinary Center by Vaumm Arkitektura in San Sebastian, Spain

The Basque Culinary Center of San Sebastián, Spain, is a monument to Spanish culinary tradition. Within its wild walls, groups of students, researchers, private companies and government organizations work collectively on the progress of Spanish cuisine. The building around them is a truly inspiring place, its design reminiscent of stacked plates with a green roof above and modern facilities within.

This design by Vaumm Arkitektura features modern design elements and sustainable functionality, both intended to inspire its guests. The building is constructed into a sloped hill with the plate-like elements up front and a terraced inner garden in the rear. The roof raises out of the hill, lined with solar panels and a garden of fresh, aromatic herbs. The sections of the building’s exterior that face inward are laced in perforated metal panels which add a strong styling element to an already imaginative building.

Inside, a bright auditorium is used for meetings, seminars and presentations, while chefs practice and research in nearby kitchens. The building spans five floors, each wrapped with a “plate patio” that overlooks the San Sebastian environment in the distance. From its design philosophy to its functionality, this work of architecture by Vaumm Arkitektura is a success, one that will serve the practice of Spanish cuisine for many years to come.

Basque Culinary Center - Basque Culinary Center by Vaumm Arkitektura in San Sebastian, Spain
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Published on Leave a comment on Metropol Parasol, Seville, finalist for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture

The European Commission and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe have announced the five finalists who will compete for the metropol parasol Seville - Metropol Parasol, Seville, finalist for the EU Prize for Contemporary Architecture2013 European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award. In total, 335 works in the 37 European countries which participate in the EU Culture programme were nominated for the award. An expert jury drew up the final shortlist. The overall winner of the Prize, as well as the 'special mention' award for best emerging architect, will be announced in May, with an award ceremony on 6 June at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in Barcelona, Spain.

The biennial European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture and the Special Mention for an Emerging Architect are awarded to highlight recent, excellent examples of architectural creativity of works which are less than two years old and to underline that modern architecture is socially and culturally rooted in European cities and is important in people's everyday life. The prizes are awarded for works in the countries participating in the Culture Programme.
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Published on Leave a comment on Architecture in Spain: Innovation center for children, Valencia

Five cylindrical buildings clad in colorful ceramic tile comprise the Children’s Education and Innovation Center, located in the heart of the Technology Park of Paterna in Valencia, Spain. The park contains over 450 companies that all together employ nearly 8,000 people. As these numbers continue to rise, so does the need for easily accessible day care.

The Foundation for Innovation in Childhood of Valencian Community, an organization formed by companies headquartered in the park, commissioned Foursquare Arquitectos to design a children’s center promoting creativity, educational innovation and socialization. Last but not least they tasked the architects with integrating sustainable technology. Lead architect Ana Garcia Sala teamed with M2 Distribución and Natucer of Tile of Spain to bring the $5.5-million project to fruition.

The curved edges on the buildings’ exteriors and interiors were inspired by observing children at play. “The rounded shapes lack sharp edges, promoting a comfortable, social environment for the children,” says Sala. “This allows even the youngest to lean along the walls without fear.”

While the school of colorful buildings makes a strong visual statement about forward-thinking education, the center’s carbon footprint is minimal thanks to geothermal energy, exterior solar panels, and resin-treated floors that help to regulate temperature.

Childrens Innovation Centre - Architecture in Spain: Innovation center for children, Valencia

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Published on Leave a comment on Madrid skyline to get a touch of nature

Argentinean architect Emilio Ambasz has decided to locate his Museum of Art, Architecture, Design and Urbanism in Madrid on the Paseo del Prado, close to the CaixaForum, the Prado, the Thyssen, and the Reina Sofía museums. The project, which will turn an abandoned lot into a 3,672-square-meter, five-floor building covered with plants that act as natural thermal control mechanisms, and with a foliage-covered roof that will collect rainwater, exemplifies Ambasz's concept of introducing greenery into the heart of the gray city. With a budget of 10 million euros, the Emilio Ambasz Foundation will take care of the design and construction as well as the running of the museum, which will include a program of grants for young architects.

Ambasz in Madrid 300x225 - Madrid skyline to get a touch of nature"I know it sounds presumptuous, but I lay claim to being the precursor of current architectural production concerned with environmental problems," says Ambasz.

From the beginning, Ambasz says he was obsessed with reconciling nature and artifice. His first built project, the Lucile Halsell Conservatory, in San Antonio, Texas, completed in 1988, is a collection of chimerical glass cones planted into earth berms like diamonds, invoking some vision of Arcadia, either ancient or futuristic, or maybe both.
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Published on Leave a comment on Modern Architecture in Spain: Bilbao City Hall by IMB Arquitectos

The new headquarters of Bilbao City Hall in San Agustín, is situated in front of the back façade of the Neobaroque Palace that holds the present Town Hall, built in 1892 by Joaquin Rucoba Architect. The recent building contains the technical offices of the Town Hall. The historic building will keep the representative image of the city corporation and the headquarters of the Mayor.

The treatment applied to the residual public spaces has the objective to fluff the urban fabric and increase the available area to generate a little plaza becoming an urban antechamber or lobby to access the Town Hall Headquarters. The fragmentation of the whole in two volumes has the will to integrate the building into the city plot, adapt the scale and the heights to the place and enhance the traditional pedestrian way across the parcel.

Inside the building the aim has been to create flexible terms of use in the different floors, which are able to generate different types of offices, from the closed one to open work areas or common elements to relax. From the point of view of the Environmental improvement it has been adopted different strategies and actions to increase the quality of the work area and minimize energy consumptions and CO2 emissions.

Bilbao City Hall by IMB Arquitectos - Modern Architecture in Spain: Bilbao City Hall by IMB Arquitectos

Bilbao City Hall by IMB Arquitectos2 - Modern Architecture in Spain: Bilbao City Hall by IMB Arquitectos

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