Castelo Branco

Design: Josep Lluís Mateo. Mateo Arquitectura.
Project: Maria Joao Pires Arts Centre and Largo da Devesa City Square / First Prize / Invited Competition.
Design / construction years: 2000-2007
Location: Castelo Branco, Portugal / Parque da Devesa
Area: 6ha

Urban Space

“As I see it, urban space can express one of the two sides of the following duality: it´s either the memory, the expression, of pre-existing nature (Carrer Balmes in Barcelona still contains and expresses the movement of water in the former stream: we have all been struck by the sight of raw earth in the holes dug by workmen in the streets) or it is the expression of pure artificiality, a film that converse a more or less sinister underworld where the greed of the contemporary city is directed towards the center of the heart. Here, the urban space has a twofold tension: the atmospheric exterior and the interior magmatic pressure that compresses it into a hard film. Like a tombstone. Naturalistic expression is earlier and more complex, and pure artificiality is abstract and difficult to design”.
Josep Lluís Mateo

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Topography

“When building, I have sometimes the feeling that the work of the architect evokes a strange symmetry with that of the archaeologist. We started by making holes in the ground: foundations and the laying of tubes. We then built structures and walls that looked broken down, unfinished, until, suddenly, something complete and polished appeared. Then we withdrew. Later, the constructions once again fell down and came apart, leaving just the foundations, fields of ruins of history that speak of the past. Castelo Branco never reached the stage of completion. A lack of founds and organization prevented it moving beyond the fragmentation of its construction. Furthermore, Castelo Branco offered something perverse but fascinating: The radical separation between work of extraordinary excellence (for example, the paving of Portuguese setts) and examples of spectacularly poor quality. No middle ground.

The project addressed the largest public space in the tow´s historic centre. From the outset, it was very important to define a topography: the large plaza sloping downwards to the centre to collect water and a difference in level where the shops are situated. Higher up came the most actively urban space. The edges are important, too: a green slope continues the street above on one side, and a semi-open pergola offers protection from the street with its heavy traffic on the other. The paving, the constant object of our attention is extraordinary. Some fun street furniture was added (movable seating…). It is much frequented, particularly at night in summer; when the place disappears as a tectonic presence and comes to life as a virtual space, I find it very attractive. It is a though the disappearance of the architecture as a shiny, polished, finished objects allows the town´s residents to appropriate it for themselves, collaborating enthusiastically in its destruction”

Josep Lluís Mateo.

This entry was written by admin, posted on November 25, 2009 at 6:54 pm, filed under Parks and tagged Portugal, Public space. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Parc Central de Nou Barris

Landscape Architecture: A. Arriola, C. Fiol
Collaborators: E. Amat, X. Arriola, V. Bagnato, M. Boutin, A. Carreras, L. Dazio, D. Dethlefsen,M. Fiore, U. Huber,C. Kolar, I. Kuhn, M. Marugg, R. Nana, S. Rux, A. Soler
Budget: 15.884.031 €
Dates: project:1997
Work:1999-2004
Area:170.000m²
Project cost: 11.326.424 €

Arriola & Fiol: The construction of Nou Barris Park is the central intervention in the complete renewal of Barcelona’s eastern periphery. It was begun under the leadership of the politician Antoni Santiburcio, who died a year ago after a long struggle to transform the dismal periphery into a self-respecting area. With the new international Forum organized by Barcelona on the maritime front in 2004, the decision to finish the park is quite an achievement.

The Nou Barris district is a part of Barcelona with no identity of its own. A vast conglomeration of different neighbourhoods with different urban histories and weak connectivity, it extends over eight square kilometers. Only after the 1992 Olympics, when the Ronda de Dalt ring road was finally built, was it connected to the rest of the city. Its potential was greatly increased, for the well-to-do areas in the west and the District of Nou Barris around Karl Marx Plaza are now only ten minutes apart.

Read more on designers’ website

Photos by Landezine cc

This entry was written by admin, posted on September 3, 2009 at 4:33 pm, filed under Parks, Playscapes, on the spot and tagged Barcelona, Public space, Spain, Water. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Plaza De La Luna

Landscape Architecture: Brut Deluxe
Location: Madrid, Spain
Photos by Landezine cc, Miguel De Guzman (following photo)

This entry was written by admin, posted on August 19, 2009 at 9:27 pm, filed under Squares, on the spot and tagged Madrid, Public space, Spain. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Caixa Forum /Green wall

Green wall design: Patrick Blanc
Location: Madrid, Spain

Wall is 24 meters high, and contains 15000 plants of more than 250 species. Wall is a part of project Caixa Forum, designed by Swiss architecture practice Herzog & DeMeuron. Located next to Prado Museum, wall reflects Royal Botanical Garden across the street.

all photos by: Landezine cc

Caixa Forum Green Wall from landezine on Vimeo.

This entry was written by admin, posted on at 12:53 am, filed under Green roofs & walls, on the spot and tagged Madrid, Public space, Spain. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Grafenegg Pavilion

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‘A starship crash lands on an alien world called Eden…‘ (excerpt from a plot of ‘Eden’, a novel by Stanisław Lem).
__________________________________________________________________________

©Lukas Schaller

Basic data:

Architect: the next ENTERprise – e.j.fuchs | mth.harnoncourt
Landscaping: Land in Sicht, Thomas Proksch
Address: Grafenegg, Austria
Client: Grafenegg Kultur Betriebsges.m.b.H., St. Pölten, A
Competition: Feburary 2005
Completed in: June 2007
Team: Paul Vabitsch; Claudia Cavallar, Daniel Harrer, Waltraud Hoheneder, Marianna Milioni, Egon Niedertscheider, Hannes Oswald, Maja Ozvaldic
Structural engineering: Ingenieurteam GmbH Bergmeister, Josef Taferner, Jochen Ehmann
Acoustics: Müller-BBM GmbH, Prof. Karlheinz Müller
Lighting concept: Christian Ploderer, Ploderer & Partner, Wien, A

Excerpt from designer’s description:

The castle grounds of Grafenegg are almost 250 years old. Every period has left its traces, and this stylistic variety is one of the reasons for the park’s appeal. The area, with the castle and moat at its centre, has a size of approx. 31 ha. The park and its dendrological collection are open year round and are accessible from two main entrances on the West and East side. The open-air pavilion to be erected in the park is used as a stage during festival season in summer, and as an attraction for excursionists and flaneurs — similar to the gazebos in historical landscape gardens, which were designed as a destination or a stop-over on extended walks. Read More on thenextenterprise.at

Sources: MiesArch / Grafenegg.at / the next ENTERprise

©Lukas Schaller

©Lukas Schaller

©Lukas Schaller

©the next ENTERprise

©the next ENTERprise

©Philipp Horak

©Andreas Hofer

©Philipp Horak

©Philipp Horak

If you are in the mood for Rachmaninoff, please watch the following video of a concert at the site. There are some spectacular camera slides over the scene every now and then.

This entry was written by admin, posted on August 3, 2009 at 10:34 pm, filed under Parks and tagged Austria, Grafenegg, Pavilion, Public space. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

New Old Market Square Nottingham

Landscape Architecture: Gustafson Porter
Location: Nottingham, UK
Client: Nottingham City Council
Completion: 2007
Team: Kathryn Gustafson, Neil Porter, Nilesh Patel, Dominik Bueckers, Ines Marcelino, Pauline Wieringa, Kinna Stallard

The new design incorporates the organic topography of the original medieval square, and accommodates existing falls by gradual level changes for wheelchair users and drainage. The predominant material is granite, to reflect the importance of the space and provide longevity. Seating terraces of grey, black, white and beige granite blocks delineate level changes and their tapering forms create rows of benches, whilst others form planters containing over 800 shrubs and 4,000 bulbs. Seven mature Gingko Biloba and six Quercus Palustris trees were also planted.

The 4,400m2 water feature comprises a reflecting pool, a 1.8m waterfall, rills, 53 jets and a scrim, arranged as terraces. These can be turned off and used as stages or temporary viewing areas. Indirect lighting is via feature masts which can support temporary lighting trusses and banners, complemented by fibre optics below the jets, and concealed lighting to benches, steps and handrails. Five listed lanterns and two flag poles have also been refurbished and integrated into the new scheme

More info on Gustafson Porter
Live webcam in Nottingham’s Old Market Square from 8am until 6pm

Photo: Dom Henry

Following photos by AK

This entry was written by admin, posted on August 1, 2009 at 5:35 pm, filed under Playscapes, Squares, Waterfronts and tagged Nottingham, Public space, UK, Water. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Butcher’s Bridge-House

Project: Butcher’s Bridge
Archtecture: Sadar Vuga Arhitekti (Jurij Sadar, Boštjan Vuga, Nataša Mrkonjić, Bor Pungerčič, Margarida Dias, Adrian Petrucelli);
Structural engineer: Atelier One, London/Mancheste
Source: open anonymous competition
Client: City Council Ljubljana
Address/Site: The Ljubljanica river and embankments in the centre of Ljubljana, Slovenia
Site area: 5.722 m2
Building area: 722 m2
Total floor area: 7.166 m2
Storeys: ground floor + 2 storeys
Structure: cast-on-site reinforced concrete, prefab reinforced concrete
Programme: market opening, public event space, bridge

Excerpt: The new Butcher’s bridge concludes the arrangement of the Jože Plecnik’s covered market from the mid-1930s. It connects the market area on the Adamic-Lunder embankment with the new market area on the regulated Petkovšek embankment.

The proposal envisages a ‘house-bridge’ with three horizontal platforms. The lower, the upper and the canopy platforms determine two levels of covered space above the river. The dimensions of the platforms, 39×19 m, enable a continuation of both the market and the public event area on the lower and upper levels of the bridge. All three platforms are equipped with slender bell-shaped columns that alternatingly widen either downwards or upwards, tied to a homogeneous spatial structure. The columns are placed onto the platforms in two longitudinal rows, which leave open a central space on each level. The columns are set at a distance from all edges of the platforms so that the space between the fence of the platforms and the columns offers room for a three-metre passageway.

The entire bridge construction is made of concrete. The columns are of artificial stone, the paving of the platform is terrazzo. All three platforms are perforated and covered with glass floor tiles that are permeated by diffuse light.

More info:: sadarvuga.com / All images:: © 1996-2007 SVA

This entry was written by admin, posted on July 31, 2009 at 8:00 pm, filed under Competitions, Waterfronts and tagged Bridge, Ljubljana, Public space, Slovenia. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

Teardrop park

Landscape Architecture: Michael Van Valkenburg Associates, Inc

Location: Lower Manhattan / NYC / USA

Area: 1.8 acres, less than a hectare

Teardrop Park is a public residential park surrounded by buildings higher than park’s width. It offers places for people of all ages, especially children can enjoy playing in sand, climbing the rocks, hiding in high shrubs etc. Special feature is a stony wall with ice water-fall, which crosses the park and divides it on two different parts. The first is more grassy, classy, chill-out meadow surrounded by shrubs and small trees and a bit elevated on the edges. The other part is structured in different smaller playgrounds, very exciting for children, with many features for stimulating their minds and bodies. Design (with all it’s physical elements, materials) refers to a landscape of Hudson River Valley as a wild, stony, green, natural landscape.

All images via ASLA

This entry was written by admin, posted on July 30, 2009 at 8:08 pm, filed under Parks, Playscapes and tagged NYC, Public space, Residential Park, USA. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.

900 cacti sculpture /Spain

Project: Cacticity

Designer: Anouk Vogel

Location: Bilbao / Spain

Photos of Cacticity by Jeroen Musch.

Cacticity is a sculpture / garden, made of 900 cactuses, all from same species (Cleistocactus straussii). Project won the first prize on Bilbao gardens 2009 Competition and (among other 26 works) it was conceptually one of the most straight. It would be very interesting to observe this garden over next few years and see how vertical proportions would change.

Here are few other projects from the competition’s exhibition. www.bilbaojardin.com/

This entry was written by admin, posted on July 4, 2009 at 7:59 pm, filed under Exstalations, Parks and tagged Bilbao, Exhibition, Public space, Sculpture, Spain. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.