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Brazil Cuisine

Dekton - 28.05.2020

Brazil Cuisine RCB

Neutral textures by Cosentino fill the spaces in the restaurant designed by RCB. Located in the Museum of Image and Sound (MIS) of São Paulo, Pipo Restaurant offers a gastronomic experienceduring which the clients can follow and enjoy the reparation and plate presentation process of the menu designed by famed chef Felipe Bronze, distinguishedwith two Michelin stars. The architects Renata Castilho and Camila Buciani, of the São Paulo-based studio RCBArquitetura, were commissioned to design this open-plan space, connected with nature, sunlight, and the fresh breeze. Both the countertops of the grill area and the main wall are clad with Dekton Orix, a tone included in the ‘industrial’ collection and that gives a neutral image, in contrast with the colorist decoration signed by the artist TOZ. Along the same line, the walls and countertops are covered with Dekton Nilium, which reproduces a natural texture scattered with golden and gray metallic dots. Thismaterial is highly resistant to UV light, so it can also be used on the terrace, creating

Light Walls

Interior - 25.05.2020

Light Walls

RCR

A sequence of glazed courtyards renovate the spaces of an old industrial building. Located in the city of Bordeaux, the project renovates an old warehouse with vaulted spaces that were once cellars for storing fish and supplies. The intervention seeks to reactivate the area by making the most of its central location and the existence of a cozy garden adjacent to the property. The construction is reconverted into a mixed-use building that includes an exhibition gallery, a workshop, and the home of one of the studio’s members. The separation of public and private defines the intervention, organizing the uses vertically and dividing the space transversally. The basement storage spaces are transformed into exhibition halls, the street level houses the architecture studio, and the upper floor, with a characteristic sloping wooden ceiling, contains the dwelling spaces. The roof, fragmented by skylights and courtyards, creates a series of transversal bands that organize the different uses and circulation elements. These layers of glass create an ethereal image that blur
Ingels & Thorsen

Interview - 21.05.2020

Ingels & Thorsen

In Dialogue

The Danish architect Bjarke Ingels (1974), founder of BIG, and the Norwegian Kjetil Thorsen (1958), co-founder of Snøhetta, talk in Pamplona about the importance of landscape in design and architecture. Founders of two of the leading Scandinavian architecture studios, Bjarke Ingels (BIG) and Kjetil Thorsen (Snøhetta), coincided in Pamplona during the IV International Congress of the Fundación Arquitectura y Sociedad, held under the motto ‘Change of Climate’. Though their works are readily distinguishable and evidently different, their approach to architecture is practically the same. They both take inspiration from the landscape, the one they have known since their childhood, and that, as in the case of so many Nordic authors, has marked their career and work. Bjarke Ingels: Maybe this is a cliché in the concepts of Scandinavia but the fact that you guys do this annual hike to the Snøhetta mountain is very interesting to me. We also go on an expedition every year, but last year there was a terrible snowstorm in which seven people had died, so we had to stay in the valley. It was so shocking though that we haven’t actually planned this

Aerial Abstraction

Arts - 18.05.2020

Aerial Abstraction

Tom Hegen

After an intensive process of research on the concept of Anthropocene, the Munich-based photographer Tom Hegen has flown over different regions to document the human impact on the Earth’s natural landscapes.  The shine of the colors, the geometries of the landscapes, and the almost tactile textures make the images of Tom Hegen (Königsbrunn, 1991) look like impressive abstract paintings, when they are actually objective documents of reality. Through aerial images the photographer and designer shows the human impact on Earth, searching for artificially transformed territories and inviting the observer to discover the world from a different perspective, placing them face to face with the dimension of their interventions and making them aware of their responsibility in the preservation of our planet.  ‘The Salt Series’ is an abstract collection of images that explore human intervention in the production of salt. The presence of microorganisms and salinity change the color of the ponds. ‘The River Veins Series’ reflects the patterns left when the glaciers melt on black volcanic sand in Iceland, and ‘The Iceberg Series II’ captures the shapes&
Interpretation Centre of the Romanesque

Architecture - 14.05.2020

Interpretation Centre of the Romanesque

Spaceworkers

A facility designed to show visitors the ties between Portuguese Romanesque and current architecture. Spaceworkers is a studio in Paredes, in northern Portugal, that likes to work out connections between emotion and forms through contemporary architecture. One project it is known for is the Information Center of the Romanesque Route, near the town of Lousada. Through its play of volumes the building maintains the town’s urban continuity, tying in closely with the church and square – the Church of Senhor dos Aflitos and the Praça das Pocinhas. It also tries to forge a link between current architecture and the Portuguese Romanesque tradition. Volumes varying in dimensions form a unity while showing the diversity of features typical of Romanesque style. Each one contains a distinct exhibition space and is entered from an inner courtyard, the roof of which is a glass structure that ensures natural lighting and further unifies the complex. Inside, the monumentality of the space and the finishes, with the ceilings of the various volumes taking on the forms of Romanesque roofs, all contribute to t
Stockholm

Travel - 11.05.2020

Stockholm

Sweden

Main home of the Nobel prizes, the Swedish capital extends the pursuit of excellence to fields like design, ecology, and cuisine.  59.327450,18.054346 Architecture Stockholm City Hall The subtle delicacy characterizes the Swedish romantic style is reflected in the town hall building -designed by Ragnar Östberg between 1909 and 1923- with a towerthat offers views of the Old Town or Gamla Stan Hantverkargatan 1, 111 52 Stockholm, Sweden stadshuset.stockholm +46 8 508 290 00 59.343402,18.054749 Modern Architecture Public Library Generously filled with toplight, the municipal library – designed by Gunnar Asplund between 1918 and 1927 – is an emblematic example of refined classicism and was the first in Sweden to include open bookshelves. Sveavägen 73, 113 80 Stockholm, Sweden +46 8 508 309 00 59.326809,18.071618 Monument Royal Palace Located by the water in Stockholm’s city center and organized around a square-shaped courtyard, the Royal Palace (or Kungliga slottet) is the official residence of the King and Queen of Sweden.  Slottsbacken 1, 111 30 Stockholm, Sweden kungligaslotten.se +46 8 402 61 00 59.273754,18.
OMA*AMO for Prada

Style - 08.05.2020

OMA*AMO for Prada

AMO

Envisaged as true architectural projects, the runway show designs developed by AMO permit a high level of creative experimentation that resonates with Prada’s innovative character. Since their first collaboration in 2004, every year AMO – the research and design branch of OMA, the office founded by the Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas – designs the sets for the runway shows of the Milanese luxury fashion house Prada. Proposing issues like the relationship of spectators with fashion, the hierarchy of the industry, or the use of performative spaces, AMO’s projects transform industrial facilities like those in the group’s headquarters on Via Fogazzaro or those of Fondazione Prada – built by OMA in 2015 in an old distillery – into dazzling stages, turning the fashion shows into true sensory experiences protagonized by fashion and architecture alike. The design of the settings is not necessarily related with the collection presented, but seeks challenging the established conventions, placing the audience in an unexpected place or reinventing the way of walking down the runway. Through resources like lighting, materiality, or color, the catwalks evoke theate
House in Maitamon

Architecture - 05.05.2020

House in Maitamon

Tomohiro Hata architect & associates

A box of wood and glass set over the woods for admirable views of the natural landscape of Hyogo, in Kobe Prefecture. The design philosophy of Tomohiro Hata Architects & Associates involves creating spaces that adapt to the topography of the site and can maintain their essence as the years go by. The Japanese firm endeavors to make each project unique, and with the idea that the building is to be inhabited for a long time.‘House in Maitamon’ rises on the slope of a mountain outside a quiet residential district. Taking advantage of a 4-meter clearing in the woods, the wooden dwelling is raised over the ground to give it expansive views. It progressively inserts itself into the forest, growing in height and emerging amid the foliage. Nature is treated with respect: the project refrains from altering the geological features of the place, as well as from felling trees. The facades are almost entirely glazed, and the transparency makes the interiors merge with the surroundings. The house is only 3.6 meters wide, enabling the branches of the nearest trees to embrace it, not to mention the privacy p
House A12

Interior - 30.04.2020

House A12

Lucas y Hernández-Gil

Imagination and the original treatment of lighting as tools for the creation of different atmospheres in House A12. Occupying what used to be a store, with direct access from the street, this dwelling is conceived as a mix between the Mediterranean house – introverted and spilling out into a courtyard – and the phenomenological house as described by Gaston Bachelard: a space governed by the power of imagination. The former’s functional and climatic efficiency thus combines with the latter’s capacity to transcend reality, and this is possible thanks to the importance given to sunlight, which shines into the atrium through skylights, windows, and even an English courtyard-garden that works like an all-tropical urban oasis into which the entire lower level of the house spills, as in a dream.From a functional angle, another challenge was to resolve the circulation elements, given the extensive program and the linear composition of the house. The solution was to concatenate a series of different atmospheres whose particular qualities result from a free interaction of geometry, lighting, and color.

Interview with María Crecente & Pablo Castro

Dekton - 28.04.2020

Interview with María Crecente & Pablo Castro

Cosentino

The architects María Crecente and Pablo Castro of the firm COTECNO describe their everyday life carrying out local and international projects from home. María Crecente and Pablo Castro, both from the Galicia region, have been a couple for 26 years and professional associates for 9. They head COTECNO, an architectural practice with engineering services built into it. The firm is busy with major ongoing projects in Spain and abroad.Like many other enterprises in the sector, COTECNO has had to adapt to the current situation and embrace telework. It’s about these new challenges in their day-to-day activity that we have conversed with María and Pablo.María and Pablo, you are at the helm of COTECNO, your own company. How did this come about?María: When we finished architecture school, we found work immediately, separately. The important thing was to learn. At that age we had no responsibilities, no obligations, just a lot of enthusiasm. Straight out of school, I joined the COTECNO team. I was very lucky to be able to start that way. You get out of school and real life is
Landaburu Borda

Architecture - 23.04.2020

Landaburu Borda Jordi Hidalgo Tané

Jordi Hidalgo Tané merges old and new in Landaburu Borda, a country house to rest in and relish the landscape. The owner of an old farmhouse on the slope of a mountain close to the town of Bera, in Navarre, joined hands with the architect Jordi Hidalo Tané to give the place a makeover. While creating a dialogue of new and old, the project made a clear differentiation: the original building on one hand, and on the other a modern construction anchored to the slope, facing the breaktaking landscape of the Navarrese mountains.The preexisting stone caserío maintains its long-time relationship with the surroudings, cutting a figure in keeping with the architectural tradition of the area, but we are in for a surprise inside, where rooms for use by guests present new concrete walls and oakwood claddings. The other building becomes part of the mountain as it is embedded into it. Connected to the caserío by a glazed passageway, it contains a large living room and a kitchen with views of the exterior. Concrete and wood reappear in the bedrooms to reinforce the project's discourse, pursui