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Estancia Morro Chico

Architecture - 02.04.2020

Estancia Morro Chico RDR Architectes

RDR Architectes remodels a livestock complex from the late nineteenth century through constructions inspired by the building tradition of Santa Cruz. At Puente Blanco, a remote spot in the Argentinian Patagonia, close to the southern border with Chile, we find this stockbreeding estate that has been renovated and expanded by Richter Dahl Rocha & Associés architectes (RDR architectes), the firm run by Jacques Richter and Ignacio Dahl Rocha from offices in Lausanne and Buenos Aires.Morro Chico Ranch was started by a late-19th-century Scottish immigrant who took part in the ‘great drove,’ when close to 5,000 sheep were herded over 2,000 kilometers across the Humid Pampas to vast tracts of land granted to settlers by the government.A century later their descendants commissioned RDR architectes to renovate the wool and meat production complex, which includes new constructions like a shed for shearing sheep, a depot for machinery and general storage, accommodations for staff and guests, and a family house.Wood dominates the house, but fades as the constructions become more utilitarian, altogether disappearing in the shear
Fabra i Coats

Architecture - 30.03.2020

Fabra i Coats

Roldán & Berengué

An old Fabra i Coats textile factory is revamped into a sustainable complex for social housing and cultural spaces. The firm Roldán + Berengué gives the old Fabra i Coats textile plant in Barcelona’s San Andreu neighborhood a revamp, turning it into a social housing development strong on sustainability criteria. The building presents a 19th-century industrial style characterized by brick in abundance and a regular rhythm of large windows bringing in light.Prominent among the elements preserved is the building envelope, which functions as thermal insulation. The 46 apartments inside are separated from the facade and the original tiled roof, and the spaces formed in between are places where residents can be neighborly and develop a community life. The double enclosure lets natural air circulate freely and makes artificial heating and cooling unnecessary during much of the year.The structure emphasizes the longitudinality of the building, with 24 successive trusses marking a modular pace throughout. In an endeavor to acknowledge textile manufacturing processes, different kinds of
Liminal Encounters

Arts - 26.03.2020

Liminal Encounters

Panoramah

A collective exhibition exploring ways of inhabiting liminal or transitional spaces through design. Panoramah! is a Portuguese company that specializes in minimalist systems of glass frames for large picture windows. Its pavilion at Calle Albasanz 79 in Madrid, designed by Estudio Herreros, hosts the exhibition 'Liminal Encounters,' in which Miguel Leiro, Fabien Cappello, Piovenefabi, Selina Feduchi, MAIO, Teresa Fernández-Pello, Tornasol Studio, Claudia Paredes, and Objects of Common Interest have taken part. The show, which has also been part of Meyrit Design Festival last February, begins with a definition of liminal space – "waiting or transition spaces between a point in space-time and the next" – and presents ways of inhabiting from the logic of architectue and design. It explores the limit concept through the manner in which Panoramah! uses materials: aluminum frames and glass pieces shaped to take on a variety of geometries. The result is a framing of the duality between interior and exterior, public and private, fragility and durability. a
Madrid Design Festival 2020

Innovation - 23.03.2020

Madrid Design Festival 2020

Cosentino City Madrid

MDF2020 Madrid Design Festival is an event that makes Madrid the world’s design capital every February. Different artistic fields mix to create a contemporary, innovative format attractive to both local and international audiences.In line with the festival program, several activities were planned for Cosentino City Madrid: Ron AradCosentino brought Ron Arad, a leading figure of world design, to the Spanish capital.The Israeli designer presented a run-through of his professional trajectory and gave firsthand insights on his ToHa building in Tel Aviv, where 28,000 m2 of the ultracompact surface Dekton® was used for facades, floors, elevators, ceilings, and interior partitions. Room 2030“Room 2030, the room of the future” was installed at the Niemeyer Center in Avilés.Various firms of different sectors could try their latest developments and technologies in this technological laboratory.
Depósito del Rei Martí

Architecture - 19.03.2020

Depósito del Rei Martí

Archikubik

A space reappropriated. A salute to building with ceramic and to the historical origins of a water tank. Some construction work carried out in 2001 on the grounds of the Bellesguard Tower in Barcelona – built by Gaudí over the remains of the stronghold of King Martin I of Aragon, also known as Martin the Humane – unveiled the Depósito del Rei Martí, a 14th-century water tank that had been hidden under a pine grove.A budget was approved and the digging up of the tank began with the intention of keeping it as is, with no alternations. “There are spaces that surface unexpected… Such surprises quickly create a need to appropriate them and give them some use.” This prevents a new space from forming and attracting attention. The idea is to preserve the original as much as possible while giving access to it, for all to appreciate.Inside, the ceramic is the centerpiece, appearing in seven rows of arches and pillars, separated by Catalan vaults, that serve to organize the almost 600 square meters of space. The walls and floors are clad in wood
Gharfa Pavilion

Architecture - 16.03.2020

Gharfa Pavilion

Edoardo Tresoldi

A pavilion to showcase works of different artists under the Studio Studio Studio seal and to create a space for disconnection. Studio Studio Studio is a multidisciplinary laboratory created by Eduardo Tresoldi, an architect known for his efforts to blur physical limits through transparency of material, and for using industrial elements tos strike up a dialogue between art and the surroundings. This collaboration project involves artists, musicians, designers, architects, and filmmakers gifted with an unconventional imagination.The proximity to Riyadh’s Al-Turaif District (UNESCO World Heritage Site) is used as leverage in the design of the Gharfa Pavilion, and the architect works hand in hand with the musician Max Magaldi, the designer Arberonero, and the garden designer Matteo Foschi to come up with a space for encounters, meditation, and rest.The scheme works upon the ruins of the space, and reveals the different spaces through narrow passageways. The structure, resembling an old fortress, shows the Tresoldi seal by means of a cork-filled wire mesh rising 26 meters. The atmosphere created reflects an intimate
Apartment XVII

Interior - 09.03.2020

Apartment XVII

Studio Razavi

Looking for peace and introspection through formal simplicity in a Renaissance-era apartment in Vieux-Lyon. Studio Razavi has renovated a 16th-century apartment located in the well-preseved Renaissance quarter of Lyon, France.Abandoned for over sixty years, the apartment was in a ruinous state when a young scientist decided to have it renovated and turned into an ‘introspective space,’ conducive to reflection and reclusion. While celebrating certain original features, the architects chose to reduce the preexisting decoration to a minimum, plastering all the walls with a pale gray finish that strikes a contrast with the tones of the furnishings and the kitchen cabinets of MDF boards, which are painted a sea-green.As a counterpoint to the minimalist aesthetic, arches here and there break the apartment’s overall rectilinear geometry and square proportions, forming doorways, cupboards, display niches, and radiator covers. The old features that were preserved include two large stone fireplaces, the oak-beam ceiling, and a clear height exceeding four meters.A spira
Cortijo Boquera Morilla

Arts - 05.03.2020

Cortijo Boquera Morilla

Álvaro Carrillo

Renovation of a farmhouse in Níjar by the Málaga architect Álvaro Carrillo, with the photographic collaboration of the artist Ernesto Artillo. This house in Níjar is part of a late 19th-century farmhouse that has been subdivided and modified over time to accommodate members of one same family. The client inherited a series of rooms in a ruinous state, autonomous and uninhabitable, originally meant for animals and farming needs: a haystack, a dovecot, a henhouse, a granary, and a couple of barnyards.For the innovation Álvaro Carrillo proposed a sequence of rooms following two superimposed strategies: work with existing elements, assigning a greater role to distinctive stone objects and manipulating loadbearing walls so that new openings with timeless shapes would be created; and making new light separations to address domestic needs. The result is a continuos space at various levels where massive old walls are fused with new elements. The notion of discovering spaces with movement is accentuated by the placing of stone panels of different shapes and compositions on the uninterrupted cement floor, an intervention carried o
Horst Festival

Style - 02.03.2020

Horst Festival

Assemble Studio

Assemble Studio was commissioned to design 2017’s venue of the Horst Festival, a music and art event held in Belgium. A two-month art exhibition and two-day music fest make up the Horst Festival, held on the grounds of Horst Castle, an idyllic Renaissance building near the village of Sint-Pieters-Rode.As the castle was undergoing renovation, Assemble was commissioned to build one of the festival’s two venues. On a budget of 20,000 euros the idea was to imitate the shape and dimensions similar to the original setting’s, hence the three-level scaffold structure on a clearing in the woods, close to the lake.With blue netting all around it and looking different by day and by night, the pavilion seems caught in a permanent state of ongoing construction.In imitation of classic Shakespearean theaters, where the audience interacted with the actors, the performance space or dance floor is overlooked by two levels of balconies. The stage/show is no longer just something to look at, but something to be part of, intensifying the artist-spectator rapport.The festival has esta
Termitary House

Architecture - 27.02.2020

Termitary House

Tropical Space

Efficiency of brickwork modeled on termite nests in resisting the inclemencies of Da Nang’s climate. The design of the Termitary House draws inspiration from termites’ ability to build their nests and addresses the extreme climate of Da Nang, a central Vietnamese coastal city.The house is built mainly with the region’s traditional baked brick, the same material used in erecting the famous Champa towers from the 4th to the 15th century. The brick helps to keep indoor temperatures at bay during warm seasons, and to keep humidity stable. Perforated walls serve to let daylight and breezes into the home and all the way to the least accessible corners. In the communal spaces the perforations enable the residents to see and talk to one another at all times, in pursuance of the termitarium concept. As the day progresses, the bricks take on different red tones, but at night the house becomes a giant lantern. All furniture is designed using the timber of the old roof, reducing costs.At ground level, a large, double-height central space encompasses the shared zones while giving ac
Funicular in Mogan

Style - 24.02.2020

Funicular in Mogan ATELIER LOPEZNEIRACIAURRI

A funicular for universal access to Hotel Riosol in Gran Canaria, with minimal ecological impact. Commissioned to renovate a 1970s hotel in Gran Canaria, the firm decided to address its unique location, 183 meters above sea level, by installing a funicular system. Choosing this transit system because it presented the possibility of spreading an ecological blanket also over the old roof, where obsolete uses and services have been replaced. Overall, the project sought to put special emphasis on the building’s sustainability.The new facilities include the funicular machinery, grounds for planting, and swimming pools that help reduce energy needs through the exchange that takes place between the heat of the water masses and the air conditioning systems, contributing to the ventilation and cooling of the interior spaces. Energy consumption inside the hotel is substantially diminished.Crowning the hill of Mogán, the funicular, with its 42º incline, manages to connect the hotel’s various levels, ensuring general accessibility. To enhance the user’s experie