Building-shaped cut-outs cast the shadow of a city onto a wall in this Copenhagen installation by Polish designer Izabela Boloz (+ slideshow + movie).
Shadow City by Izabela Boloz features 52 silhouettes in the shape of buildings, ships, boats, birds and fish. Each graphic is fitted to a transparent plastic sheet and positioned horizontally over a walkway at the edge of Sortedams Sø lake in Copenhagen’s central Østerbro district.
The shadows fall across a 100-metre-long green-painted wall below and slowly change throughout the day as the sun moves across the sky.
“Shadow City comes alive with the rising sun as the shadows travel across the wall,” said Boloz. “A playful image of a city appears, inspired by the history of Copenhagen, and changes as it slowly moves across the wall with the changing position of the sun.”
The whole project can be viewed by standing on a nearby pedestrian bridge.
“The installation introduces an element of surprise and intrigue, inviting the passers-by to observe the changing details in our surroundings,” Boloz explained. “As inhabitants of Copenhagen pass over the pedestrian bridge on their way to school, work or play, they will see the image of the city slowly travel across the wall, changing with every hour and every season.”
Shadow City will be on display until the autumn of 2014.
Sunlight and shadows are the materials in a public space installation Shadow City by Izabela Boloz in the picturesque district of Østerbro in Copenhagen.
With a series of 52 graphics that cast their shadows onto a 100 metre wall on the lake, Shadow City comes alive with the rising sun as the shadows travel across the wall. A playful image of a city appears, inspired by the history of Copenhagen, and changes as it slowly moves across the wall with the changing position of the sun.
Shadow City reveals the artist’s fascination with the passing of time. The installation introduces an element of surprise and intrigue, inviting the passers-by to observe the changing details in our surrounding.
As inhabitants of Copenhagen pass over the pedestrian bridge on their way to school, work or play, they will see the image of the city slowly travel across the wall, changing with every hour and every season.
Shadow City has been created in collaboration with Metro Copenhagen within a program to introduce art in public spaces in Copenhagen. The installation will be on view from the summer of 2013 until the autumn of 2014.
A hotel shaped like a giant horseshoe by Ma Yansong of Beijing studio MAD is set to open later this year on the edge of a lake in Huzhou, China.
The Sheraton Huzhou Hot Spring Resort was designed by MAD as a pair of curvaceous towers that connect on the upper levels to create an arched profile. Located on the edge of Taihu Lake, the building’s iconic shape is reflected in the still waters.
Architect Ma Yansong says the form was inspired by the traditional bridges depicted in old Chinese paintings.
“Throughout China’s history, people have always pursued a harmonious relationship with nature and this has become a major part of Chinese culture and tradition,” he said. “Huzhou itself is a place famous for traditional ink paintings and splendid water views, and the arch bridge is one of the key elements of traditional architecture.”
He added: “By incorporating this iconic ring-shape, my goal was to design a contemporary resort that seamlessly integrates with the surrounding environment while evoking the beautiful arch bridge over Taihu Lake.”
The 27-storey building contains a total of 282 guest rooms, but also encompasses 39 villas with access to hot springs. Additional facilities are contained within separate buildings and offer a variety of restaurants, a ballroom, conference suites and a wedding centre.
Although some rooms are already available, the building will officially open in December.
London studio Peter Barber Architects has added an L-shaped wing to an Arts & Crafts-style building in south-east London to create an advice and training centre for unemployed people (+ slideshow).
The new two-storey brick structure extends from the rear of the early twentieth-century offices of the Poor Law Guardians of Southwark, forming a quadrangle of new and old buildings around a paved courtyard.
Peter Barber Architects specified a sandy coloured brickwork for the construction of the new wing, setting it apart from the red brick and stone facades that have been restored as part of the renovation.
To complement the turrets and other decorative elements of the Arts & Crafts architecture, the studio added a three-storey periscope-shaped tower to the north-east corner of the complex.
There’s also a semi-circular wall recess with a half-dome roof, known as an exedra, framing one end of the central courtyard.
Balconies and doorways reveal the thickness of the new walls. Meanwhile, windows on some of the existing facades have been relocated, made visible by the mixture of new and aged bricks.
The architects carried out a full renovation of the old offices, which now accommodate the administration facilities of the employment agency, while the new buildings provide the training centre.
A community cafe is positioned along the eastern facade and can be accessed directly from the adjacent Havil Street.
Read on for more information from Peter Barber Architects:
Employment Academy
The Employment Academy is a state of the art training and advice centre in Southwark. It is set up to offer skills training and support services for long term workless people with the intention of helping them back into sustainable employment.
In 2009 PBA were approached by the charity Thames Reach to make a proposal for the refurbishment and substantial extension of ET Hall’s magnificent late Arts & Craft Poor Law Guardian’s building in Camberwell, south-east London.
Barber’s scheme is laid out around a delightful courtyard formed on two sides by a new L shaped training wing. Administration offices and a community café within the existing building form the remaining sides of the courtyard. The courtyard is conceived as the social heart of the project.
New buildings are built in a rustic brick in a manner which might be called picturesque. Thick walls facing the courtyard incorporate a dramatic inset terrace, window seats and a south-facing domed exedra.
ET Hall’s treatment of the eastern wing of his building is pretty quirky, all turrets and mini towers… so Barber’s scheme adds one extra in the form of a tasty little tower with an extraordinary brick vaulted roof.
A gigantic golden chasm welcomes visitors to this shopping centre in Malmö by Swedish architects Wingårdhs (+ slideshow).
Located to the south of the city in Hyllie, the Emporia shopping centre is Wingårdhs‘ first realised building from a competition-winning masterplan of proposed housing and office blocks. Once all the buildings have been completed, the “amber entrance” will be the only section of the shopping centre visible from the surrounding new streets.
“The main idea of our winning competition entry was to hide inward-looking retail behind a wreath of residential and commercial buildings,” said the architects.
The curving golden glass stretches across a gridshell structure, which curves up and back to allow daylight to penetrate the entrance courtyard. From here, shoppers are led towards three storeys of retail arranged around a figure-of-eight plan.
Photograph by Perry Nordeng
The roof of the structure accommodates a large park with a faceted landscape made up of lawns, terraces and pavilions.
Photograph by Perry Nordeng
“In the future the roof will be developed with outdoor dining and a spa facility,” added the architects. “Like amusement parks, shopping centres need to offer new attractions at regular intervals.”
Photograph by Perry Nordeng
Atriums in bold shades of blue, green and red help shoppers to navigate the building, while the adjoining car park can be identified by an assortment of coloured panels.
Emporia is first and foremost an urban planning project in which offices, housing, and retail come together in a mixed-use development along Boulevarden and Stationsgatan in Hyllie, on the south side of Malmö. The main idea of our winning competition entry was to hide inward-looking retail behind a wreath of residential and commercial buildings. The whole shopping complex would thereby eventually become integrated into the fabric of the city.
Photograph by Traian Cimpeanu
It is a huge development, of which only the corner building with the Amber Entrance has yet been completed. This entrance will be the only part of the Emporia shopping centre that remains visible when the development is completely built out. The idea of lining the streets with mixed-use buildings demanded a strong form that could attract visitors from Station Square to come in and shop. A sequence of vaults from a previous competition proposal, along with a memory from the Pantheon, reemerged in a bronze-ochre tone. Double-bent glass encloses the diagonal slit that cuts through the building. Here the weather of the Öresund Strait, its fast-moving clouds chasing glimpses of sun, becomes present and tangible.
The diagonal entrance from Hyllie Station Square leads deep into the block. Inside, retail is organised around a three-storey figure eight. Shops are grouped together around boldly coloured atriums, each with a different theme. On the north side of the complex, a ramp leads into a rainbow-coloured parking garage (for 2500 cars) with direct access to the figure eight. To the east is a surface parking lot (for 500) right outside the supermarket.
The rooftop park is designed as a bit of cultivated nature. Its vegetation (sedum, prairie grass, and trees) and its sun-facing, wind-sheltered patios are accessible from both inside and outside the building. The hills that provide protection from the wind are actually hiding mechanical rooms. In the future the roof will be developed with outdoor dining and a spa facility—like amusement parks, shopping centres need to offer new attractions at regular intervals.
Emporia can expand upward and to the west, but not in any of the other directions. The freestanding residential buildings facing Boulevarden have yet to be built, as do those that will stand atop the podium along Stationsgatan on the south side.
Emporia’s interior challenges established shopping centre conventions. Its bold colours and bent sight lines break with the norm, as do the project’s size and ambition—which have made it possible to do custom designs for everything from ceilings, floors, and storefronts to signage, ropes of hanging plants, furniture, and cast glass door handles.
Our motto has been “no intermediate scale” — because that is the realm of the products on display. Large-scale patterns and intricate details characterise the interior. The terrazzo floor is typical of this approach, with its oversized triangular joint pattern, its gradual shift from white to graphite in seven steps, and its flashing inclusions of coloured mirror glass. The design has been wrought with extraordinary attention to detail, down to the leather-wrapped handrails and the colour of the stitching on the built-in seating.
Emporia also includes a quantity of art seldom seen in a commercial environment. A lighting installation (ninety-nine bollards) by Petteri Nisunen and Tommi Grönlund lifts the Amber Entrance, bronze sculptures by Joep van Lieshout and a glass art piece (4 x 81 m) by Silja Rantanen adorn the Sea Entrance, and a line painting on film at an extremely outsized format (20 x 114 m) by Per Mårtensson clads the façade of the parking garage. On the interior is a series of photos by Signe Maria Andersen.
Architect: Wingårdhs through, Gert Wingårdh, Johan Eklind and Joakim Lyth Interior architect: Wingårdhs through, Helena Toresson Graphic design: Wingårdhs through, Jennie Stolpe Landscape design: Thyréns AB (Anders Dahl, Pamela Sjöstrand) Landscape design (roof park): Wingårdhs, Landskapsgruppen Öresund AB Client: Steen & Ström Sverige AB
News:Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto has unveiled his design for a mixed-use retail building as part of the developing Miami Design District.
Fujimoto‘s proposal features a facade covered with glass fins, which references the tropical rain that falls in the city during the summer.
Arcades on two levels will be enveloped by the glazed structure, which links the storefronts with a pedestrianised courtyard in the southern part of the Miami Design District.
“We believe the proposal will create an emblematical environment for the area surrounding Palm Court. The daily experience of our harmonised facade-corridor will enrich the city experience,” said Sou Fujimoto.
The building is already under construction and is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Here’s some more information from the Miami Design District:
Miami Design District Unveils Plans for Building by Sou Fujimoto
The Miami Design District is proud to announce the commission of a new mixed-use retail building located in the neighborhood’s Palm Court. The latest development’s building façade is designed by award winning Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto. The project, one of the cornerstones of the pedestrian-centric area is scheduled for completion in 2014.
Inspired by the flowing movement of waterfalls and Miami’s tempestuous rain squalls, the building’s two-floor structure will feature an elongated series of glass fins extending from the rooftop down to the open courtyard creating a dynamic visual spectacle and alluding to the prevalent aquatic nature of the city. Spanning approximately 17,000 square-feet, the building’s façade encompasses first and second floor arcades creating a unique pedestrian experience under the structural waterfall. The retail housed within this project is part of Palm Court – the District’s southern pedestrian promenade. The addition of Fujimoto’s building furthers the Miami Design District’s dedication to create vibrant public spaces where art, commerce and community harmoniously coexist.
“We called on Fujimoto, one of the most exciting architects working today, to design the building and contribute his vision to the overall aesthetic of Palm Court. We are firmly committed to distinctive architecture and design as a way to realize our vision of enhancing and ultimately transforming the neighborhood. Creating engaging mixed retail and public spaces is integral to a thriving community. Fujimoto’s building will contribute well to the unity of design, fashion, art and architecture within the Design District,” said Craig Robins, President of Dacra.
One of today’s most forward thinking international architects, Sou Fujimoto is known for delicate, light structures and permeable enclosures. Inspired by organic eco-systems, such as forests, nests and the caves, Fujimoto’s signature creations exhibit a vibrant interplay between nature and architecture, blending the internal and external. Among Fujimoto’s projects in Japan are the Final Wooden House, T House and House N – in which one almost transparent volume is nested inside another – the Musashino Art Museum and the Library at Musashino Art University. In 2013, Fujimoto was selected to design the Serpentine Gallery pavilion in London, one of the world’s most ambitious architectural commissions.
“We believe the proposal will create an emblematical environment for the area surrounding Palm Court. The daily experience of our harmonized facade-corridor will enrich the city experience.” said Sou Fujimoto, about his design.
The Miami Design District is a unique, 18 square-block neighborhood just north of downtown Miami comprised of creative experiences and is committed to the unity of design, fashion, art and architecture. The development is owned by Miami Design District Associates, a partnership between Craig Robins’ company Dacra, and L Real Estate, a global real estate development fund focused on luxury retail driven mixed-use projects in which LVMH is a minority investor.
Complex wooden lattices provide a stage set for archery competitions and boxing matches at this pair of university buildings in Tokyo by Japanese studio FT Architects (+ slideshow).
Located on the campus of Tokyo’s Kogakuin University, the two structures are both dedicated to sporting activities and called for column-free spaces built from low-cost materials.
Katsuya Fukushima and Hiroko Tominaga of FT Architects used locally sourced timber for the construction of both buildings.
They said: “We have salvaged the purity of traditional Japanese timber composition, simply made up of horizontals and verticals, which has been somewhat disregarded ever since the advent of modernism in Japan.”
“Small timber sections, normally reserved for furniture making, were chosen for the archery hall, and timber members deemed defected because of insect damage, for the boxing club,” they added.
A simple bolt-and-nut assembly was used for both frameworks, but required meticulous accuracy to ensure that each grid is made up of only perpendicular elements.
Archery Hall and Boxing Club, Kogakuin University, Tokyo
Structure & Space – medium-span, column-free
The project consists of two buildings, an archery hall and a boxing club, standing a few hundred metres apart on the grounds of Kogakuin University in west Tokyo.
The formal rituals of Kyudo (Japanese archery) and the very physical nature of boxing may appear worlds apart. However, surprisingly, the two built facilities share a number of commonalities.
The University’s brief was for low-cost structures made of locally sourced timber to provide accessible and inspiring spaces for the students. By chance, both facilities called for a column-free space of 7.2m by 10.8m, a size that is comparable to a sacred hall in a traditional Japanese temple. In order to achieve this span, without columns and using low-cost methods of timber construction, it was necessary to come up with an innovative timber solution. We began the project by investigating a number of structural forms that would be appropriate for each sport.
Underlying Principles
Through collaborative exploration with timber experts, from researchers, manufacturers to suppliers, we derived at timber materials that are not commonly associated with structural or architectural usage. Small timber sections, normally reserved for furniture making, were chosen for the archery hall, and timber members deemed defected because of insect damage, for the boxing club.
We have salvaged the purity of traditional Japanese timber composition, simply made up of horizontals and verticals, which has been somewhat disregarded ever since the advent of modernism in Japan. Delicate lattice frame composed of slender ties beams and posts for the archery hall, and a bolder, stepped frame, was employed for the boxing club. Here, timber, a historical material, has been reanalysed and transformed into a new building material.
Contrast/Complement
The two structures have been constructed employing a simple, lo-tech method of bolt-and-nut assembly. However, due to the scale of the space and simplicity of construction, the execution had to be meticulous, in order to produce spaces that are out of the ordinary.
For each building, the main subject is the 7.2m x 10.8m space and the timber structure, merely its backdrop. The powerful presence of the timber structure emphasises the stark transparency of the void below. The whole is only achieved by the juxtaposition of these two contrasting and complementing qualities.
Departing from the same starting point, the two buildings have arrived at a shared architectural theme via two different structural and spatial solutions.
Completion: 2013 Location: Tokyo, Japan Principal use: archery hall (Japanese archery=Kyudo) and boxing club Total floor area: archery hall 106.00 sqm, boxing club 92.75 sqm Structure: wood Architect: FT Architects/Katsuya Fukushima, Hiroko Tominaga
This towering commercial block in Ginza, Tokyo, by Amano Design Office features a faceted aluminium facade reminiscent of a crumpled-up sweet wrapper (+ slideshow).
Tokyo-based Amano Design Office was asked to design an eye-catching building that would entice shoppers from Ginza’s Central Street to a second shopping street just beyond.
The nine-storey tower accommodates small units that can be used as either offices or shops. Apart from the glazed ground floor, each storey is concealed behind a double-layer facade that comprises a perforated metal exterior and a clear glass interior.
The architects used computers to generate the faceted aluminium form, then added a floral pattern to soften the appearance.
“In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention and has an appeal as a commercial building,” they explained.
Lighting installed behind the metal panels is programmed to change colour depending on the season, switching between shades of red, blue and green.
“The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains,” added the architects.
Here’s the project description from the architects:
Dear Ginza Building
The client is a developer company. It purchased a long-sought after lot in Ginza, and planned to build a commercial/office building. The building site is on the Ginza 1-chome Gaslight Street, which is one street behind the Ginza Central Street. It is on the back side of the Mizuho Bank and Pola Ginza buildings on the Central Street. The atmosphere is quite different from the gorgeous Central Street, and the site is on an empty street which is often seen behind the street with large-sized buildings. Attracting as many people as possible into such a street is our task. The client desired the building to be a gorgeous existence. In addition, the designer desired to provide a “slight feeling of strangeness” to the passersby that would attract them to the building.
Considering the views from the inside, simply obtaining openness with glass seems futile, since the outside scenery is hopeless. Therefore, a double skin structure is employed, which consists of glass curtain walls and graphically treated aluminium punched metal. The facade becomes a part of the interior decoration and obviates the need for window treatments such as blinds or curtains. By using a double skin, reduction of the air conditioning load and the glass cleaning burden was also intended.
The irregular facade design was determined by computing a design to avoid arbitrary forms and to approximate forms in nature. We thought that a well-made incidental form would likely be a less-disagreeable design. In the neighbourhood of mostly modernist architecture with horizontal and vertical or geometric shapes, the building has a proper feeling of strangeness, attracts special attention, and has an appeal as a commercial building. The abstract flower graphic is used to balance the impression of the facade, i.e., to free it up from becoming too edgy.
By computing the design, individual aluminium punched panels are irregular with different angles and shapes, yet all fit into a standard size, resulting in excellent material yield. To avoid being clunky, an extremely lightweight structure is required. Therefore, much caution was taken in its details. The coloured LED upper lighting, which is installed inside the double skin, entertains the passersby with different programs depending on the season. Expected tenants included a beauty salon and aesthetic salon, and the expectations are materialising.
Building location: Ginza-1-chome, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, Japan Completion year: March 2013 Designer: amano design office Collaborators: Atorie Oica, Azzurro Architects Construction firm: Kumagai Gumi Co.,Ltd.
Main use: store building and office building Lot size: 187.20 sqm Building area: 155.55 sqm Total floor space: 1300.02 sqm Maximum height above rail level: 31.955 m Structure: steel frame Number of stairs or stories: nine storeys above ground and one underground story Main material: aluminium graphic punching metal, extruded cement panel
News: London studio Weston Williamson has won a competition to design a new athletics stadium for Brasilia with a concept for a shape-shifting structure that opens like a flower in response to wind direction and sunlight.
The competition called for ideas for a 70,000-seat athletics venue and Weston Williamson’s winning response features a circular building with a skeletal structure modelled on the wings of a bird in flight.
A series of feather-like sections would make up the animated exterior. Each would be able to shift itself independently, adapting to changing weather and lighting but also creating a spectacle during ceremonial occasions.
“The exterior form of the new athletics stadium reflects the utopian spirit of the Brasilia plan by incorporating a geometry that is ever-changing,” said the studio. “The stadium, therefore, has no fixed identity, but alters in relation to the condition of its surroundings.”
The base of the stadium would be elevated on a wooden plinth and surrounded by pools of water and trees, using passive cooling to moderate the interior temperature.
Position one
The competition, which was organised in connection with the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, was intended to be “design constraints free”, allowing applicants to “be creative and test the boundaries of what is possible”. A $12,000 prize is awarded to the winner.
Weston Williamson + Partners has won 1st prize in the Brasilia Athletics Stadium Competition run in connection with the upcoming Olympics.
The exterior form of the new Athletics Stadium reflects the utopian spirit of the Brasilia plan by incorporating a geometry that is ever-changing. The stadium, therefore, has no fixed identity, but alters in relation to the condition of its surroundings.
Position four
The stadium references the iconographic plan for Brasilia, that represents a bird in flight, by incorporating massive feather like structures that envelop the interior. These fine structural elements shift in relation to wind direction and sunlight, meaning that the form is constantly in flux. The movable envelope also acts ceremoniously, reaching upwards to the sky when an event is about to unfold, adding another layer of visual spectacle to the games.
Position five
The stadium is situated on a wooden plinth surrounded by water pools and dense greenery which helps to cool the site in the intense heat. A network of shaded facilities is situated beneath this plinth, all lit with top light from perforations within the timber structure above.
The design proposes a fluid icon, suited to an environment that is being continually redefined.
Here’s another project from Dutch firm Mecanoo: a sports college in Eindhoven featuring a black brick exterior with perforations in the shape of athletes (+ slideshow).
Mecanoo completed the sports centre last year in Eindhoven’s Genneper Park for students at Fontys Hogescholen – a local science university. It houses swimming pools, indoor sports facilities, a 15 metre-high rock-climbing wall and student classrooms.
“The sports complex’s logistics are sophisticated and provide maximum opportunities for cross-disciplinary interaction between sports and education,” said the architects.
“The teaching areas can be sealed off so that only the sports halls are accessible, for example at sporting events or sports association gatherings,” they added.
Images of cyclists, gymnasts and other athletes decorate three of the facades, plus more are printed onto brightly coloured walls inside the building. There are also sporting motifs adorning some of the pieces of furniture.
A large window offers a view from the main reception area towards the climbing wall, which is slotted into a corner.
Other facilities include a canteen, a multimedia library and a sports laboratory, plus there’s a car park underneath the structure.
The building generates its own electricity and heating from solar-panels on the roof.
Terraces and seating line the perimeter, leading down towards trees and large grassed areas in the surrounding parkland.
Starting in 2012, 2200 students and teachers will make daily use of sports facilities in their own building, including the National Swimming Centre, the Tongelreep and the Indoor Sports Centre.
Fontys Sports College, with state of the art sports facilities and a comprehensive sustainability concept, will house Fontys Sports College’s three curricula which are currently housed at the Sittard and Tilburg locations. Mecanoo has created a social sports facility design that contributes to the vibrancy of Genneper Parks.
The intelligence of this building is that most of the sports accommodations are located on the first floor. This creates not a closed off sports box, but a completely transparent ground floor which is in relationship with the environment. The compactness of the building’s layout provides the advantage of room left for a stage to the building – in the form of a plinth – inviting athletic and social encounters in the outdoors. The glass plinth gives way to a black brick facade beginning on the first floor and sculpturally building up and around the rest of the building.
The literal highpoint of the building is the climbing wall which is situated at the corner of the building and acts like a beacon. A huge glass window offers a distant view of the climbers. The sports complex’s logistics are sophisticated and provide the maximum of opportunities for cross disciplinary interaction between sports and education.
It is possible to see into the sports halls from the corridors, study areas, the restaurant and the entrance halls. Simultaneously, sport and education are logistically separated. The teaching functions can be sealed off so that only the sports halls are accessible, for example at sporting events or sports association gatherings. Also in the evening, the building is lively, contributing to the security of Genneper Parks.
The building is equipped with a sustainable energy system, making it largely possible to provide for its own energy. The educational features in this compact building are efficiently oriented to the north.
To save on cooling, the south side features a building canopy. The energy roof makes use of solar energy. Further the excess of heat and cold of the buildings in the vicinity is being used and stored in two buffer tanks in the garage.
Sports complex of 16,500 m2 with 5 sports halls of which several meet the NOC * NSF requirements, 1 with 400 seats, a 15 meter high climbing wall, a restaurant, a library and educational facilities as a multimedia centre and a sports lab, and a parking garage with 200 parking spaces.
This volcano museum in western Hungary features walls of dark concrete and Corten steel designed by Budapest studio Foldes Architects to reference the colours of volcanic rock and lava (+ slideshow).
Located on a flat plain between the city of Celldomolk and a former volcano, the Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Centre tells the history of the surrounding region, which five million years ago was home to many volcanoes.
Foldes Architects won a competition to design the museum, using materials and forms that subtly reference the shapes and colours of volcanoes.
“Instead of the straight translation of the brief, such as creating a volcano-shaped museum building, we wanted to capture the true substance of the location,” said architect Laszlo Foldes.
“The raw materials, the homogeneous grey of the concrete, the lava-inspired colour of the Corten steel and the flue-like arrangement of the space deliver the spirit and essence of a volcano,” he added.
Corten steel boxes puncture the rectilinear volume of the five-storey building, forming self-contained screening rooms and exhibition spaces that project out towards the landscape.
The entrance leads into a full-height atrium. A small skylight five storeys above lets in a beam of light and is intended to recreate the feeling of being inside a volcano.
Concrete walls are left exposed inside the building, while steel staircases ascend to exhibition spaces on all four upper floors.
Here’s some more information from Foldes Architects:
Volcano Visitor Centre opened in Hungary, designed by Foldes Architects
Though Hungary, located in Central Eastern Europe, is not rich in active volcanos, a large expanse of the country used to be volcanic some 5 million years ago. However, this does help ensure good quality soil for high level wine production, one of Hungary’s largest export products.
The iconic Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Centre lays 200 km west of the capital Budapest, and has been realised following a national architectural contest announced in 2009 by the Celldomolk City Council, when Foldes Architects celebrated their winning entry from the competing 44 projects. The chosen plot for the centre highlighted a flat area between the city of Celldomolk and the 5 million year old Sag Hill, a former volcano.
“Instead of the straight translation of the brief, such as creating a volcano-shaped museum building, we wanted to capture the true substance of the location. According to our concept, the raw materials, the homogeneous grey of the concrete, the lava-inspired colour of the Corten steel, and the flue-like arrangement of the space, deliver the spirit and essence of a volcano.” – Laszlo Foldes, chief designer of Foldes Architects.
Upon entering the vast interior of the building, the visitor meets two engaging attractions. At first sight the vertically open space captures the eye. Five floors above, a small window lets in a beam of light offering the ‘eruption’ point on the flat roof. On the opposite side, the industrial materials of the facade appear consistent with the interior: naked concrete walls, dark grey resin flooring, steel staircase and corridor, and the Corten steel cubes also visible from the outside. The varied height and location of bridges link the different sizes and positions of the Corten boxes. These offer a range of functions, from screening rooms to interactive installations area, and present the fascinating history and typology of volcanos. To create a more refined interior, the exhibition texts are situated directly on the wall without any supporting board.
If you ever wanted to imagine walking through a cubist painting, this building is a great example of how it might feel to wander into Picasso’s Guernica. While passing below the red cubes, grey walls and bridges of the building, you have a real opportunity to comprehend the transience and vulnerability of human existence bracketed by such a formidable force of nature.
Project name: Kemenes Volcanopark Visitor Center Location: Celldomolk, Vas County, Hungary Program: Specific museum building to represent the volcanic history of the territory Type: competition commission
Area/Size: 965 sqm Cost: 1.238.000.EUR Client: Celldomolk City Council Project by: Foldes Architects
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