Hasta La Ideas

Shimmering brass walls surround this arts centre that Portuguese firm Pitagoras Arquitectos have just completed in Guimarães.

The new two-storey structure comprises a series of irregularly stacked volumes that extend out from a refurbished row of existing buildings on the edge of an old market square in the city centre.

Rows of rectilinear brass pipes give the centre its ridged golden facade, while mirrors clad the underside of cantilevered rooms on the first floor.

Two underground levels are located beneath the square to provide galleries, an auditorium and a car park, plus the building also houses creative workshops and offices.

The opening of the centre ties in with the city’s status as European Capital of Culture for 2012 and will showcase a permanent collection of works by local artist Jose de Guimarães.

Buildings with golden exteriors have been popular in the last year and so far we’ve featured a library, a pavilion, a museum and a wedding chapel with golden walls.

See all our stories about golden projects »

Photography is by Joao Morgado.

Here’s some text prepared by the architects:

Platform of Arts and Creativity
International Centre for the Arts Jose de Guimarães
Guimarães, Portugal

The buildings that make up the Municipal Market and the space defined by them, commonly referred to as “the square”, a name inherited from market square are, as a unit, characteristic elements of the urban landscape of the city of Guimarães.

The grounds of the old municipal market boasted a privileged and very central location with excellent accesses, very close to the Toural Square and the historic center.

With this project, the transformation of the marketplace into a multifunctional space dedicated to artistic, economic, cultural and social activities within the scope of European Capital of Culture 2012, allowed for the physical and functional reintegration into the urban fabric, to become a reality and so, to recover one key area of the city space.

In addition, the operation extended to adjacent plots, enabling the regeneration of the interior space of the block, which was completely uncharacterized, as a result of its occupation by a marble processing industry.

The program provided a clear concept and defined the objectives intended to achieve with this infrastructure, listing a series of skills and spaces that constitute the functional program for both the new and the existing buildings, as well as the adjacent plots of land.

For this purpose three major program areas were defined:

1. Art Center, which houses a permanent collection, in this case the Collection of José Guimarães, temporary exhibition area, a multipurpose space for additional activities, performances and shows, in addition to a series of complementary services.

2. Creative Labs (business support offices) for the reception and installation of activities related to creative industries, allowing the development of business projects.

3. Workshops to Support Emerging Creativity, consisting of workspaces and creative vocation for young creators in various areas, hoping to develop projects on a temporary basis.

Finally, the intent to recover the existing building on the eastern side, trying to promote the installation of additional commercial activities that could enhance the creation of a space with a broad scope in regards to multidisciplinary cultural activities.

The whole structure, according to the program would complement the existing equipment in the city, as well as those which are under development within the European Capital of Culture.

When interpreting the program, we aimed to allow for the possibility of each one of its components to function independently and simultaneously, creating accesses to each of the various services and support areas, as well as to the outdoor square and garden.

We opted for a methodology of intervention that involves the rehabilitation of the existing building to the east, keeping the materials and textures, but redoing the entire inside at level 0.

For the building at north, and for reasons previously mentioned, the façade towards the Avenue, which characterizes the building, is renovated, but its interior and façade facing the square were object of and almost complete demolition and redesign.

Although it is intended to maintain the scale and the existing formal relations, we propose a new solution for the building that promotes a strong relationship with the square and emphasizes the relationship of this structure with the outer space.

The new building takes a radically different language, by contrast with its surroundings, both from the standpoint of their language and image, discrete, repetitive, as well as by the succession of volumes, with full and empty, marked by the juxtaposition of contrasting surfaces.

The coatings, a grid of metal profiles in brass and glass surfaces chromatised on ventilated façades, accentuates a range of textures that is intended display, more dense and opaque in the majority of faces in the case of the metal structure, and transparent when it covertly comes to glass surfaces that intentionally conceal the few openings that the building comprises.

This series of volumes and dissonant elements, which result from decomposition of the initial volume, was originated by the need to create a variety of different spaces in the exhibition area, creating a tension evident in the volume of the building and the relationship with the space of the square, making it the main feature of its design.

For the square, we formulated a proposal with a drawing significantly more aseptic and a coating with large concrete slabs, as a counterpart to the surrounding buildings, characterized as a large reception and a multifunctional meeting area, translated into a physical platform, summing its vocation as public space by nature.

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It will be an area purposely under fitted, with the preservation of the large trees to the east, by introducing some elements of vegetation along the north building, but leaving most of the free space allowing for the development of numerous spontaneously or organized activities, in the scope of the Platform or not.

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The urban furniture used in the square comprises moveable elements, allowing for a more versatile use.

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Location: Guimarães
Date: July 2012

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Architects: Pitágoras Architects
Project team: Fernando Sá, Raul Roque, Alexandre Lima, Manuel Roque

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The post International Centre for the Arts Jose
de Guimarães by Pitagoras Arquitectos appeared first on Dezeen.

Slideshow: Danish architects 3XN have completed a riverside cultural centre in Norway with glass hills outlined on its facade.

A roof with a timber underside arches across the interior spaces, which include a theatre, cinema, concert hall, library, gallery and cafe.

White walls feature both inside and out to match the painted wooden houses of the surrounding town of Mandal.

The architects won a competition to design the centre, named The Arch, back in 2003 and are also working on proposals for a bridge leading across the river.

In the last year 3XN have also completed an experimental food laboratory – see it here.

Photography is by Adam Mõrk.

Here’s some more information from the architects:

Elegance and conviviality merge under The Arch in Mandal, Norway

Historic white wooden houses, charming narrow streets, a river running though the center and beach and forest nearby. The town of Mandal is the essence of southern Norwegian idyll. Danish practice, 3XN, has designed the town’s new cultural center, a project which required great sensitivity to the town’s special environment.

A House of the People

The cultural center, called “The Arch”, is about creating a common base for the cultural institutions of Mandal. Thus, The Arch contains theater, cinema, concert hall, library, gallery and café, offering activities for all ages of the town’s 15,000 inhabitants. “The Arch is a house of the people, so we designed a building that in an elegant and soft motion gathers the town’s cultural life, while the modern expression bears witness to a town in development”, explains Jan Ammundsen, Partner and Head of Design at 3XN.

The modern expression is created with a deep respect for the history of the town and the surrounding landscape. The arched shape refers partly to the soft hills, located around Mandal, and partly to the industrial center, which previously was located on the site. It is planned that the building will have a green roof, which will contribute to giving the building an organic expression, and will increase integration with the surrounding nature, when looking at the Arch from one of Mandal’s popular vantage points. The white color corresponds with the old white wooden houses, which Mandal is known for and which gives the town its character.

“A Dream”

The wish for optimal use of daylight, and a building that seems open and attractive to visitors, resulted in a facade characterized by panoramic windows facing the river and city. “It is important that the building’s activities are visible, and that the building connects to all the residents. Therefore, we have also emphasized designing the south-facing outdoor areas, so they are attractive sunny, recreational spaces with views to the river. In this way the building brings value to everyone in Mandal,” says Jan Ammundsen.

According to the manager of the cultural center, Alfred Solgaard, The Arch has had no difficulties in attracting visitors: “In just the first two and a half months after we took the building into use 25,000 people visited, and that was even before the official opening”, says Alfred Solgaard, and adds, “the Arch is a dream come true for our entire community”.

Besides the design of the architecture for the cultural center 3XN have delivered the graphic design for the Arch, the area’s master plan and a bridge that will go from the cultural center and over the river. The bridge, which is under construction will, in line with the cultural center, has curved organic shapes and pitches from which the view of Norway’s southernmost town can be enjoyed in full.

Team:
Architect: 3XN, Denmark
Client: Halse Property, Norway
Engineer: Rambøll, Norway
Landscape: Asplan Viak, Norway
Theatre Technique: AIX architects, Sweden
Art Decorations: Marianne Bratteli “Chaos and Gaia”, Norway

Building Data:
Address Havnegt. 2, 4515 Mandal, Norway
Price: approx. 33 million euros
Size: approx. 4,500 m2
Floors: 2
Construction: Concrete
Façade: Aluminum and glass

Timeline:
Construction Start: December 2009
Completion: December 2011
Official opening: April 2012

Windows are set within two-metre-deep recesses in the stone walls of this castle visitor centre in southwest Germany by Swiss architect Max Dudler.

Positioned at the entrance to the historic Heidelberg Castle ruins, the two-storey visitor’s centre borders the retaining walls of the sloping grounds, alongside a seventeenth century saddle-store.

The roughly cut stone blocks that comprise the exterior walls are made from local sandstone.

Inside the building, the windows sit flush against the white-plastered walls, while the floor is finished in terrazzo.

If you’re a fan of castles, see more stories about them here.

Photography is by Stefan Müller.

Here’s some more information from Max Dudler:

Heidelberg Castle Visitor Centre

The first new building to be constructed at Heidelberg Castle for more than four hundred years – a visitor centre designed by architect Max Dudler – is now open to the public.

Heidelberg Castle ranks as one of the most important Renaissance buildings north of the Alps. Having been partially destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War, and on many occasions since, the castle was abandoned altogether in the eighteenth century. Today the famous ruin serves as a museum. Receiving more than one million visitors a year, it is one of the country’s top tourist destinations and makes a lasting impression on international tourists visiting Germany.

The purpose of the visitor centre is to familiarize guests with the castle before they proceed to the castle proper. The visitor centre showcases the castle’s history as well as orientating guests so as to ensure a trouble-free visit. In May 2009, Max Dudler’s design prevailed in the architectural selection procedure. The visitor centre’s foundation stone was laid in summer 2010, making it the first new building to be constructed at Heidelberg Castle for more than four hundred years. This building shows how the contemporary architecture of Max Dudler is rooted in history. At the same time, its abstract form underscores both the grandeur and actuality of this German cultural monument.

The new building is situated outside the old defensive ring wall, at the entrance gate to the castle and garden (Hortus Palatinus). The narrow strip of land chosen for the new structure lies between a small garden house and a saddle store built in the reign of Frederick V. The building backs onto a seventeenth century retaining wall which shores up the park terraces above. With its building lines following those of its neighbours, the sculpturally designed visitor centre structurally completes this small ensemble of buildings in the forecourt area.

In architectural terms, the building blends in with the surrounding historical fortifications through its re-interpretation of elements of the existing site’s architecture. The window embrasures, for example, are set more than two metres into its walls, echoing the large-sized apertures that can be seen in the neighbouring saddle store. The windows of the visitor centre are positioned according to the building’s interior requirements and also offer visitors new visual relationships with the entry building and garden outside. The popular Elisabeth Gate in particular can be seen from many parts of the interior. The façade’s deeply-set embrasures are made possible because of the special layout of the building: the broad expanse of its exterior walls hide a number of small side rooms and a stairwell. Like pockets (French: poches), these interior recesses offer space for display cabinets, shelves and seating areas, while the centre of the narrow building remains open.

For the façade, local Neckar Valley sandstone has been machine-cut to form a monolithic wall of roughly-cut blocks with joins that are barely visible. This masonry detailing is a contemporary re-interpretation of the historical retaining wall, with its hand-cut, undressed stonework. Unlike the heavy relief of the building’s exterior, the surfaces of its interior are smooth. The large window panes are fitted flush with the white plastered walls, as are the lighting panels set into the white plastered ceilings. The floor consists of a light blue polished terrazzo. All the fixtures and fittings in the recesses, as well as the doors and other furnishings are made of cherry wood.

Ensuring a smooth flow of large numbers of visitors was a particular challenge posed by the architectural brief. Dudler’s design solves this with its ingenious ‘architectural promenade’ through the building: visitors proceed from the entry hall through to the educational room, then up onto the roof terrace with its elevated views of the castle before exiting via the exterior stairs at the rear of the building to begin a tour of the castle proper. In this way, the full potential of this small building is realised, ensuring it has both multi-purpose usage and allows the maximum throughput of visitors.

Building Name: Besucherzentrum Schloss Heidelberg
Location: Heidelberger Schloss, Schlosshof 1, D-69117 Heidelberg
Client: Land Baden-Württemberg represented by Vermögen und Bau Baden-Württemberg, Mannheim Office
User: Staatliche Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg

Building Volumes: 490 m² usable floor area, 770 m² gross surface area, 3450 m³ gross building volume
Total building cost: 3 million Euros

Design and Construction Period:
Design commenced: April 2009
Construction commenced: 2010
Building Completion: December 2011

Architect: Max Dudler
Project Manager: Simone Boldrin
Co-workers: Patrick Gründel, Julia Werner

Slideshow: our second project this week by Madrid studio Exit Architects is a civic and cultural centre inside a former prison in Palencia, Spain.

Constructed from load-bearing brickwork, the nineteenth century building comprises four wings that have been completely refurbished to accommodate an auditorium, a library, multi-function rooms and classrooms for art and music.

A translucent glass pavilion provides an entrance to the building, while new walls and roof structures have been created over and around the existing blocks using zinc and more semiopaque glass.

At the centre of the four wings is a new hall, inside which large round skylights extend down to create cylindrical light wells and miniature courtyards.

The library is contained within the wing that previously housed prisoner cell blocks and features a central reading area beneath an octagonal skylight.

Our other project this week by Exit Architects is a concrete sculpture museum, which you can see here.

Photography is by Fernando Guerra.

Here’s some more text from Exit Architects:

Rehabilitation of Former Prison of Palencia as Cultural Civic Center

The former Palencia Provincial Prison complex was created at the end of the XIX century, built with brick bearing walls following the “neomudéjar” style, and composed mainly of four two-storey wings and some other with one storey.

On this building was planned a comprehensive refurbishment to transform the former use and convert it into a center that promotes the social and cultural activity in this part of the town.

Our proposal intends to convert the former prison into a meeting place, recovering some of the old spaces, and creating at the same time new structures that make possible the new planned activities.

It is a project that respects the existing building, which is given a contemporary, lighter appearance, and where the natural light will play a key role.

With this aim the main two-storey wings have been refurbished, emptying their interior and placing a new independent structure to bear the new floors and roofs. Besides, between the main wings have been built new connecting pavilions, which form the new complex perimeter and give it a modern and friendly aspect.

To introduce the light in the building we had to remove the old covered with tiles which were in very poor condition, and have been replaced by others of zinc that open large skylights which introduce light into the open halls of the Center.

The entire building is organized around a great hall that connects the 4 pavilions of the former prison. It is a diaphanous space based only on a few mild cylindrical courtyards of glass that illuminate and provide the backbone of the stay.

Due to its central location in relation to the pavilions, this space acts as a nerve center and distributor of users, across the Pavilion access and reception, directed towards the rest of the areas of the Centre.

The hall gives way to the lateral pavilions where the auditorium and various music and art classrooms are. On the upper floor, under a large glass skylights, are two multi-purpose areas dedicated to more numerous groups.

In the area where is the cells of prisoners were, we placed the library. The reading rooms are articulated around a central space of high-rise under a lantern of octagonal shape that acts as a distributor for the different areas and that arrives vertical communication and control areas and offices.

Finally, access to the Centre are carried out through a very light and bright glazed perimeter that pretends to be a filter between the city and the activity of the interior.

A structural steel beam travels abroad tying areas glazed with the former factory walls getting an alleged industrial air.

The use of metallic materials in all intervention, as the zinc in facades and roofs, glass and uglass in the lower bodies and skylights and the aluminium lattices as light filters also contributes to this.

architects: EXIT ARCHITECTS – ÁNGEL SEVILLANO / JOSÉ Mª TABUYO
location: AVDA. VALLADOLID Nº 26, 34034 PALENCIA
clients: MINISTERIO DE FOMENTO, AYUNTAMIENTO DE PALENCIA

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area: 5.077 m2
budget: 9.675.038 EUROS
project date: 2007
completion date: 2011
quantity surveyor: IMPULSO INDUSTRIAL ALTERNATIVO. ÁLVARO FERNÁNDEZ

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structural engineers: NB35. JOSÉ LUIS LUCERO
mechanical engineers: GRUPO JG. JUAN ANTONIO POSADAS
light consultant: MANUEL DÍAZ CARRETERO
collaborators: MARIO SANJUÁN, IBÁN CARPINTERO, MIGUEL GARCÍA-REDONDO, SILVIA N. GÓMEZ

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Slideshow: a bronzed box window peers out like a periscope from the auditorium of this cathedral visitor’s centre in Lund, Sweden, by architect Carmen Izquierdo.

Located opposite the cathedral, the two-storey Domkyrkoforum building is clad entirely in the bronze-coloured brass alloy, which will continually darken with age.

Entrances lead into a double-height atrium from both a public plaza at the front of the building and from Kyrkogatan Street, the road that runs alongside.

This reception lobby accommodates temporary exhibition spaces and a cafe, while the auditorium is located just beyond and a series of offices and meeting rooms occupy the floor above.

Walls inside the building are of exposed concrete and reveal the grain of the wood used to form them.

Carmen Izquierdo previously designed the perforated orange facade for Tham & Videgård Arkitekter’s Moderna Museet Malmö – see it here.

Photography is by Åke E:son Lindman.

Here’s some more information from Carmen Izquierdo:

Domkyrkoforum – Cathedral Forum

The site of the new cathedral forum is central Lund, in direct connection to the cathedral itself. On the site is situated the existing “Arken” house, which is a building of historical value.

The new building aims to integrate itself in the urban fabric in a natural way, by adapting to the scale and lines of the surrounding cityscape.

At the same time our vision has been to create a contemporary building that adds a new layer to the many historic layers that characterize the urban environment of central Lund.

The shape of the building creates new adjacent public spaces: The entrance plaza towards Kyrkogatan street, the entrance passage facing the cathedral, and a triangular square towards Kungsgatan street.

In addition to the welcoming exterior spaces an internal atrium is created, as well as an interior courtyard, shaped by the existing and the new building.

The central public space in the building is the entrance hall that is reached from both entrances. The entrance hall is formed as a meeting space; a general and generous which can hold various activities like reception, exhibitions and a cafe.

A two-storey atrium allows daylight to enter from above, while visually integrating the public spaces with the congregational facilities on the second storey. The auditorium is conceived as a unique space, with its skylight pointing up towards the cathedral towers.

The exterior is a simple yet characteristic volumes, its lines playing with the surrounding buildings.

Towards Kyrkogatan street the roof lines of the Arken house are continued over the entrance plaza.

Towards the cathedral the entrance is signaled by the characteristic skylight.

The facade of the building is made of a brass alloy, a natural material that ages with a rich and living texture, allowing the building to age into its surroundings; at the inauguration it shimmers like gold, but in a couple of years it will have oxidized into a deep and matte bronze color.

The interior of the building is cast in concrete with form of wooden boards.

The massive and heavy character of the material is balanced by the play of light in the interior spaces.

Name of project: Domkyrkoforum
Address: Domkyrkoplan i Lund / Domkyrkoplan in Lund
Architect: Carmen Izquierdo Arkitektkontor AB
Project managers: Carmen Izquierdo & Andreas Hiller
Collaborating architects: Andreas Hermansson, Erik Törnkvist, Isabel Gonzaga, Malin Belfrage

Landscape:
Domkyrkoforum: Carmen Izquierdo Arkitektkontor AB
Domkyrkoplan: Ateljé Landskap

Other consultants:
Project leader: Lars G Gustafsson
Structural engineer: Jan Lövgren
Mechanical engineer: Patrik Holmquist
Electrical engineer: Ronny Sjöholm
Acoustics: Anna Swanberg, Maria Carlsson
Artwork in the lecturehall: Anita Christoffersson

Client: Domkyrkrådet i Lund
Construction form: Partnering- General entreprenad
Building Contractor: PSG
Gross Area sq.m:
New buiding: 1617kvm
Rebuilding: 883kvm
Year of construction: 2010-2011