Three days in Barcelona - Spain :: kk Letter

Three days in Barcelona
Spain

Went to Barcelona to meet with Benedetta Tagliabue and plan the construction of the pavilion she designed with her late husband Enric Miralles.
The pavilion, together with a pavilion designed by Arata isozaki of Tokyo, will be placed permanently by the lake at the Louisiana Museum in Denmark to celebrate the Museum’s 50th anniversary in 2008.

Photo courtesy EMBT

It proved to be an easy task as Benedetta showed me a slightly different version of the pavilion under construction in a park in Barcelona. This version will be open to the elements where as the Louisiana version will be closed. The material has not yet been decided.
Enric Miralles wrote a short essay about the pavilion when he designed it for Copenhagen Cultural Capital 1996.

Photo: arcspace
Benedetta Tagliabue in the pavilion

“Collecting the passing of time - the house becomes a calendar - it registers the movement of time during the year or during a lifetime...
Children's room...
A child inviting an adult at her playing, at her size. "Papa vient chez moi!" as drawn by Le Corbusier.
Parent and child entering the same place from two different doors; a small one and a big one.
A young girl taking her first steps with the help of a miniature chair.
The house is built around these familiar movements of time passing by; wrapping furniture, movement and time. The house is a miniature stone in a bonsai landscape; it is a rock in an artificial landscape of sand.
You can observe it and let your mind go.”
Enric Miralles

This being another short trip my priority was first to see the latest EMBT projects.
Lunched at the Santa Catarina Market with its huge, undulating, mosaic roof made of 325,000 colorful hexagonal Spanish tiles. The roof is supported on three primary clear-span trusses that cut through, up and over the roof. But, from below, it reads as an organic timber assembly. The market was totall renovated and enclosed by EMBT.

Photo: arcspace

...and the Gas Natural's New Headquarters
EMBT describes the new building as a living creature that reacts to external impulses, develops and extends, addressing the different conditions of the program and the complex environment.
The aim was to reconcile several objectives: to create an urban landmark in the skyline of Barcelona, to set up a dialogue with the low-rise houses of the neighborhood and to generate quality public spaces.

Photo courtesy EMBT

Photo: arcspace

...and, of course, the Diagonal Mar Park

Photo: arcspace

...and did not want to miss a visit to Jean Nouvel’s Torre Agbar

Photo: Thomas Mayer

...or Herzog & de Meuron’s Forum, both amazing buildings.

Photo: Thomas Mayer

...and Arata Isozaki’s poetic Entrance Court to the Caiaxa Forum, completed in 2002.
Placed between two major buildings, the restored 1912 textile factory designed by the great architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch for the Casaramona family, and the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion across the street, Isozaki had to very discreet with the placement of the Entrance Court.
By burying it under ground Isozaki says the work represents a mediation between the iron structure of the old factory and the utterly flat and simple finish of the Barcelona pavilion.

Photo: arcspace

...and what is a visit to Barcelona without a taste of Gaudi.

The Sagrada Família Church in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882 and is still some years from completion.

Photo courtesy SIAL

As part of an ongoing involvement with the Sagrada Família Church researchers in SIAL (Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory) lead by Professor Mark Burry are currently working on investigation into Antoni Gaudí's final design models.
By using parametric modeling to create designs that are consistent with all of the available historical information on the church, new insights are gained into Gaudí's own generative system. The results from these investigations are used to specify how the Church is actually being completed, thus making the church itself a statement of Gaudí's design intent.
Since I have been working with Mark Burry for the Digital Project exhibition I was invited to visit the workshop.

Photo courtesy SIAL

“We don’t have to worry about whether or not we are fitting in with a paradigm of planned sections and elevations, all the other typical drawings that architects are obliged to use. We can go straight from our computer to the stonemason’s yard, to their computer and we only sort of, negotiate though the prototypes that we make, and what we look at on our screens.”
Mark Burry

...and last stop at Gaudi’s La Pedrera 2 minutes from the Omm hotel where I stayed.

Photo: arcspace

More about Barcelona in earlier KK letter

More about the Kolonihaven Pavilions at the Louisiana Museum

October 1, 2007





		kk Letter		Features
		Three days in Barcelona Spain Went to Barcelona to meet with Benedetta Tagliabue and plan the construction of the pavilion she designed with her late husband Enric Miralles. The pavilion, together with a pavilion designed by Arata isozaki of Tokyo, will be placed permanently by the lake at the Louisiana Museum in Denmark to celebrate the Museum’s 50th anniversary in 2008. Photo courtesy EMBT It proved to be an easy task as Benedetta showed me a slightly different version of the pavilion under construction in a park in Barcelona. This version will be open to the elements where as the Louisiana version will be closed. The material has not yet been decided. Enric Miralles wrote a short essay about the pavilion when he designed it for Copenhagen Cultural Capital 1996. Photo: arcspace Benedetta Tagliabue in the pavilion “Collecting the passing of time - the house becomes a calendar - it registers the movement of time during the year or during a lifetime... Children's room... A child inviting an adult at her playing, at her size. "Papa vient chez moi!" as drawn by Le Corbusier. Parent and child entering the same place from two different doors; a small one and a big one. A young girl taking her first steps with the help of a miniature chair. The house is built around these familiar movements of time passing by; wrapping furniture, movement and time. The house is a miniature stone in a bonsai landscape; it is a rock in an artificial landscape of sand. You can observe it and let your mind go.” Enric Miralles This being another short trip my priority was first to see the latest EMBT projects. Lunched at the Santa Catarina Market with its huge, undulating, mosaic roof made of 325,000 colorful hexagonal Spanish tiles. The roof is supported on three primary clear-span trusses that cut through, up and over the roof. But, from below, it reads as an organic timber assembly. The market was totall renovated and enclosed by EMBT. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace ...and the Gas Natural's New Headquarters EMBT describes the new building as a living creature that reacts to external impulses, develops and extends, addressing the different conditions of the program and the complex environment. The aim was to reconcile several objectives: to create an urban landmark in the skyline of Barcelona, to set up a dialogue with the low-rise houses of the neighborhood and to generate quality public spaces. Photo courtesy EMBT Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace ...and, of course, the Diagonal Mar Park Photo: arcspace ...and did not want to miss a visit to Jean Nouvel’s Torre Agbar Photo: Thomas Mayer ...or Herzog & de Meuron’s Forum, both amazing buildings. Photo: Thomas Mayer ...and Arata Isozaki’s poetic Entrance Court to the Caiaxa Forum, completed in 2002. Placed between two major buildings, the restored 1912 textile factory designed by the great architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch for the Casaramona family, and the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Pavilion across the street, Isozaki had to very discreet with the placement of the Entrance Court. By burying it under ground Isozaki says the work represents a mediation between the iron structure of the old factory and the utterly flat and simple finish of the Barcelona pavilion. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace ...and what is a visit to Barcelona without a taste of Gaudi. The Sagrada Família Church in Barcelona has been under construction since 1882 and is still some years from completion. Photo courtesy SIAL As part of an ongoing involvement with the Sagrada Família Church researchers in SIAL (Spatial Information Architecture Laboratory) lead by Professor Mark Burry are currently working on investigation into Antoni Gaudí's final design models. By using parametric modeling to create designs that are consistent with all of the available historical information on the church, new insights are gained into Gaudí's own generative system. The results from these investigations are used to specify how the Church is actually being completed, thus making the church itself a statement of Gaudí's design intent. Since I have been working with Mark Burry for the Digital Project exhibition I was invited to visit the workshop. Photo courtesy SIAL Photo courtesy SIAL Photo courtesy SIAL “We don’t have to worry about whether or not we are fitting in with a paradigm of planned sections and elevations, all the other typical drawings that architects are obliged to use. We can go straight from our computer to the stonemason’s yard, to their computer and we only sort of, negotiate though the prototypes that we make, and what we look at on our screens.” Mark Burry ...and last stop at Gaudi’s La Pedrera 2 minutes from the Omm hotel where I stayed. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace More about Barcelona in earlier KK letter More about the Kolonihaven Pavilions at the Louisiana Museum October 1, 2007