Hasta La Ideas

L’artiste Daniela Carvalho, vivant en Espagne, a voulu rendre un hommage tout particulier à la saison de l’été avec sa série « 39 degrés ». Elle a donc combiné des photographies de vacances, de plages et d’été avec de la peinture à l’huile qui finit et prolonge les images. Un très beau travail entre photographie et peinture.

Over the last few years Mies van der Rohe‘s Barcelona Pavilion has been loaded with junk, and had its pools filled with coffee and milk. Now photographer Jordi Bernadó has taken the doors out and mounted them onto the facade.

Spanish photographer Jordi Bernadó is the latest in a series of artists to be invited to make his mark on the iconic structure, which was first completed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1929, dismantled in 1930, then reconstructed in the 1980s.

Responding to Mies’ original desire for the pavilion to be photographed before its doors were installed, Bernadó’s temporary intervention, named Second Reconstruction, involved removing the two glazed entrances and positioning them in front of one of the building’s travertine walls.

In this way, Bernadó says he has “restored the image” of the building. “The pavilion once again becomes, temporarily, what Mies imagined,” said the photographer.

“The doors ask the question. The building without doors is the answer,” he added.

The Barcelona Pavilion was reconstructed in the 1980s, using only black and white photographs as reference. Since then a number of architects, designers and artists have been invited to create a site-specific installation inside.

Last year Spanish architect Andrés Jaque filled the structure with items found in the basement, while Japanese duo SANAA installed a spiral of acrylic screens in 2009 and in 2008 Chinese artist Ai Weiwei replaced the water of the pools with milk and coffee.

Here’s a description of this year’s project from Jordi Bernadó:

The Pavilion. Second Reconstruction. An artistic project by Jordi Bernadó

Mies referred to the Pavilion as a “pavilion of representation”. An ephemeral building whose maximum value was to represent an idea.

The aspect of the pavilion that has endured is therefore an evocation, not an object. A conceptual, not a material, act. A generator of thought, not a generator of physical space.

Consequently, what remains of the Pavilion is the idea and its images. And Mies ordered the Pavilion to be photographed without doors. In Mies’s thought and view, the Pavilion had no doors.

In fact, the Pavilion existed in all its plenitude only when the doors were removed. The moment of the gaze is the only real moment.

The photographer proposes, through a minimal gesture, to restore the image of the pavilion by removing the doors. The pavilion without doors at last. At its side, doors without a building. The pavilion reconstructed at last. And the doors out of their setting, by themselves generating the question posed by the intervention. The doors ask the question. The building without doors is the answer.

Photographing is not only fabrication of images (and therefore objectual). It is above all a gaze (and therefore intellectual). The photographer gazes. And gazes, presumably and ironically, as Mies did. And curiously enough, it is thanks only to the gaze that the pavilion once again becomes, temporarily, what Mies imagined. In this way, the time factor is transformed also into a fundamental aspect of the project.

Concept, immortality, time, estrangement. Ideas with which Mies worked and which constitute the essence of the Pavilion. And which the project reclaims also. As Ms Hock said, ‘gazing is inventing’.

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Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion appeared first on Dezeen.

Madrid studio Adam Bresnick Architects has revived the sixteenth-century interior of a chapel in Spain by reinstating a vaulted ceiling and building a timber-clad box that hovers above the floor.

Located in the small town of Brihuega, the former chapel was redesigned by American-born architect Adam Bresnick for use as a multi-purpose events space that can accommodate different community activities, or function as a wedding venue.

The main intervention is the addition of the new two-storey timber volume, which cantilevers into the space above the entrance lobby to create a modern alternative to the chapel’s former choir box.

The structure only makes contact with one original wall, as the design team didn’t want it to overpower the existing architecture. “The philosophy guiding the intervention was to respect time’s passing,” they said.

Glass balustrades surround the two suspended floors, but the entire volume is also clad with vertical pine slats that define its outline whilst allowing sound and light to pass between.

An original vaulted ceiling above had crumbled away, so was replaced with a matching construction of timber slats.

The chapel’s former nave is the building’s largest space. It sits below a domed ceiling, and is lit by a suspended fixture that mimics the ceiling’s size and circular shape.

On the opposite side of the lobby, a new four-storey structure was inserted to accommodate ancillary functions including toilets, staff areas, a kitchen and an elevator. A staircase also extends back into this space.

A beige marble floor runs through the interior. The team also restored the building’s exterior by repointing the stone walls, repairing tiled eaves and retaining original stone mouldings.

Here’s a project description from the architect:

Restoration and adaptation of a 16th century chapel in Brihuega, Spain

The chapel rehabilitation is for a new typology – a multi-purpose space for events ranging from a formal wedding to the mellow ambiance of a yoga retreat. The reconstruction involved resolving the complex pathologies suffered by the original structure since being abandoned in 1969.

Adam Bresnick Architects studied and restored the existing architecture as well as inserting new uses. The philosophy guiding the intervention was to respect time’s passing. From the exterior the stone facades were repointed, traditional tile eaves restored and stone mouldings left with their worn faults, including the original scarred Serlian entrance. In the interior three distinct areas are articulated, the refurbished dome where the original space is restored, the entrance into the nave is a mix of archaeological remains and new construction cantilevered over the space, minimally touching the original.

The fallen vaults that once covered this space are recalled by a new vaulted ceiling of pine slats. Plaster mouldings cutout over the bare masonry of the original wall also mark the shapes of the original vaults. The last third occupying the old choir area houses all modern uses, from the elevator allowing for handicapped access to all levels, to restrooms, kitchen, staff and storage areas. This four-story structure is inserted within the stone walls, a skylight in the stair accentuating its conceptual separation from the original container.

The materials used are the same as the original; beige marble main floor, white paint on the plaster mouldings, pine slats on the ceiling and to enclose the modern choir that floats within the volume of the nave.

The creation of new uses for historical spaces, and new employment possibilities in the context of rural Spain is an outstanding contribution to European culture. The innovation of the initiative has been recognised by the FADETA (Federación de Asociaciones para el Desarrollo Territorial del Tajo-Tajuña), a local program forming part of European Union FEADER (Fonds Européen Agricole pour le Développement Rural) program. The total construction cost is €852,000, and is privately funded. Nevertheless the quality of the intervention and its novelty has been awarded a subsidy of €200,000 by FADETA.

Principal architect: Adam Bresnick
Team architects: Miguel Peña Martínez-Conde & Antonio Romeo Donlo
Structural engineers: Juan F. de la Torre Calvo & Ana Fernández-Cuartero Paramio

Archaeologist: Olga Vallespín Gómez
Construction coordinator: Joaquín Fernández González
Clerk of the works: Federico Vega Ortega
Industrial engineering: José de Andres Abad
Contractor: José Lucas Hernández
Foreman: Alberto Martínez Gamboa

Steel structure: Mariano del Olmo
Marble: Incom Pastor
Carpentry: Hermanos Esteban
Electricity: Tabernero de Andres
Circular chandelier: Ecoaneva

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repurposed by Adam Bresnick Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

This house near Madrid was designed by local firm Bojaus Arquitectura as a simple white cuboid punctuated by openings that create windows, porches and patios (+ slideshow).

Located in the Las Rozas municipality, the home is flanked by a road and neighbouring properties, so the clients asked Bojaus Arquitectura to prioritise privacy whilst providing light-filled internal and external spaces.

“The proximity of the houses that surround the plot led [us] to develop a system of voids, deep windows and patios which would allow these large openings without neglecting the equally important need of privacy,” said the architects.

Local planning regulations determined the position of the house within its plot as well as its exterior dimensions, which the architects optimised by creating a regular geometric volume.

Windows contained in voids punched into the walls are positioned to restrict views from outside, and in some cases are set back from the facade to further enhance privacy.

The building’s smooth surface is also interrupted by apertures that create outdoor spaces around the perimeter, as well as a small shaded terrace on the top floor.

A large space carved out of the ground floor at the rear of the property acts as a sheltered porch that connects the living space with the garden.

Internally, a void at the centre of the house creates a double-height room with a skylight and window providing views of the sky.

“The main space in H House is an interior patio which, apart from connecting the diverse levels by the stair, organises all the different rooms,” said the architects, describing the space that allows views between the house’s main living areas.

A staircase in this central void disappears through a doorway and leads to the upper floor containing the bedrooms and a series of patios.

The main patio is connected to the master bedroom by sliding doors and features a frosted glass window on the opposite side that lets daylight reach the staircase while obstructing views of the interior.

Practical spaces including bathrooms, closets, storage and toilets are arranged along the building’s northern edge, creating a thick and highly insulated wall that also supports structural beams so the interior walls can be arranged as desired.

Photography is by Joaquín Mosquera.

Here’s a project description from the architects:

Casa H

House H is located in a typical suburban area near Madrid, where the houses in small individual plots are often too close to each other. In this situation the challenge was to combine certain degree of privacy with the desire of opening big windows and merging interior and exterior in a continuous space flood by natural light.

The proximity of the houses that surround the plot lead to develop a system of voids, deep windows and patios which would allow these large openings without neglecting the equally important need of privacy.

The volume is the result of the strict application of local urban regulations: maximum occupation, perimeter definition, alignments, maximum height… Then, we subtract the voids, porches and patios, to this maximum volume in order to accomplish the FAR (floor area ratio). The result is a pure simple prism (20x9x9 meters) drilled by big hollow voids which are connected generating and organising the interior space.

The main space in H House is an interior patio which, apart from connecting the diverse levels by the stair, organises all the different rooms. The small pieces, bathrooms, closets, storage, toilet… are aligned in the north facade, building a thick wall with a high level of isolation. At the same time this layout reduces the length of the main beams simplifying the structure of the house and assisting the free organisation of the principal spaces. All of them are related to each other visually through patios and voids, as it can be observed in the longitudinal section.

The program planned by the client was the typical on a traditional house of this characteristics. Nevertheless the conception of the different spaces demanded by the client and the relationship between them aspire to a freer layout where a more open and ambiguous functional scheme could be developed.

The structural layout defines a cross banded scheme of fixed dimensions where the main spaces, living, kitchen, main bedroom, studio, secondary bedrooms group… are equivalent and interchangeable depending on the user’s needs.

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Casa H by Bojaus Arquitectura appeared first on Dezeen.

Laboratory for Architecture in Barcelona uncovered barrel-vaulted brick ceilings during the renovation of this apartment in the architects’ home city (+ slideshow).

For the renovation of Casa Tomás, Laboratory for Architecture in Barcelona separated the interior into areas that will be used most at night and those that will be active during the day, connected by a small intermediate room.

Architect Pepe Gascón told Dezeen they discovered the “lovely roof” when they demolished the existing plaster ceiling.

“We supposed there was this kind of roof in the apartment because most of the apartments and flats built in this period of time were built with this kind of construction,” Gascón said.

“In the Catalan language it’s called ‘volta catalana’ which means ‘Catalan arch’ and it was an easy way to build a roof with ceramic tiles, where the arch distributes the forces it receives to both sides,” he explained.

On one side of the apartment’s H-shaped plan, four rooms have been transformed into a single open-plan space for the living, dining and kitchen areas.

A bathroom on the opposite side of the apartment features green tiled walls that never meet the vaulted ceiling, but a row of glazed panels is slotted between to bring extra light into the space from above.

Two bedrooms are situated on either side of the bathroom, completing the side of the residence dedicated to night time.

The ceiling in the living area has been left exposed to show the red tones of the clay ceramic, while vaulted ceilings elsewhere are all painted white. A mixture of wooden boards and patterned Mallorcan tiles cover the floors.

Narrow terraces are positioned at each end of the apartment. The one at the bedroom end is screened by a steel trellis covered with climbing plants, while the second faces down onto the street.

Photography is by José Hevia.

Here’s some information from Pepe Gascón:

More Dualism, Less Monism

Louis Kahn divided spaces into two types: served and servant (where ‘servant’ refers not to domestic staff but to spaces serving other spaces). Marcel Breuer structured a considerable number of his single-family homes into a bi-nuclear scheme. The pre-existing H-shape of the Tomás home already favoured its spatial organisation into two living areas, as in Breuer’s plan: one part to be used for daytime activities – the social area – and the other for night-time functions – the private area. The connecting room was to be a servant space but also given its own character so that, rather than being relegated for use as a mere passageway, it could also function as a living area. The other two rooms would be served spaces.

Although these two served spaces are almost similar in terms of dimension and geometry, both are defined in completely opposite ways. The public part is clear space while the private section is divided. The former is open to the street and the latter closed off by the inner courtyard of the block. The main space extends outwards via a balcony, while the other area is filtered and separated from outside by a uniform glassed-in veranda where climbing plants partly screen the glass slats that close it off. The balcony acts as a kind of solarium before the living room, dining room and kitchen area. The veranda, however, is like a shade house in front of the dormitories thanks to the plant filter provided by the creepers.

Dimorphism is the term used in biology for the phenomenon in which two different anatomical aspects appear in the same species. This principle was used to “furnish” the served spaces of the house. In the public zone, it is by means of the free-standing bench in the kitchen. In the bedroom area, the bathroom is set out like one more piece of furniture since it rises from the floor and does not reach up to the joists or the vaulted ceiling. The bathroom can be understood in Kahn’s language as a servant space since it serves both bedrooms.

The same applies to the transversal strip comprised by the vestibule, the toilet and the storage space for household appliances – paved and finished with decorative tiles – which also serves the living-room, dining room and kitchen. Even the servant space connecting the two parts of the house is multiplied by adding a dual-level or, better said, a bi-vertical loft space.

The spatial result of this project is therefore a contrivance whereby opposites, symmetries and balances mediate served and servant spaces. This is a house structured in a bi-nuclear fashion which repeats dualities again and again or, in other words, it brings together in one very small home twofold, different and contrasting spatial characteristics: clear-divided, open-closed, extended-separated, broken up-filtered, above-below. In short, it is a project based on dualism rather than on monism, with Kahn and Bauer as its double references.

Architecture: LAB, Laboratory for Architecture in Barcelona – Pepe Gascón & Víctor Sala (architects)
Client: Miguel Gayoso
Contractor: Constructora Montnegre (Tordera, Barcelona), Spain
Dirección de obra: LAB, Laboratory for Architecture in Barcelona – Pepe Gascón & Víctor Sala (architects)
Coordinación de seguridad y salud: LAB, Laboratory for Architecture in Barcelona – Pepe Gascón & Víctor Sala (architects)
Project area: 8000 m2
Cost: €73.000, 00

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renovated Barcelona apartment appeared first on Dezeen.