A fantastic, intuitive, well-krafted site/aggregator of all things design. So good, I just had to add it to the blog roll. A must - see site on the daily browse.
[Yar Rassadin, Industrial Design, sourced from cpluv.com ]
I’ve recently become a contributor on this one, so stay tuned.
Based in Barcelona, Kate Moore lends her words to D.A.U. More to come.
INTRODUCING HUESCA STADIUM
[Huesca Stadium, 1000 snaps, Kate Moore Gallery]
Perhaps you are driving inland from Barcelona, on your way to Bilbao. It is summer, and you think it’s better to avoid the coastal roads of the Costa Brava. You might stop in Zaragoza to see how the city is unfolding into the 2008 Expo. (It is possible that you are a little underwhelmed by the place). The map is dotted with a plethora of medieval towns, and bodegas (wineries), and you scan it idly or the most convenient option for lunch.
Counting the exits from the AP-2, you might register the name Huesca. If, on the other hand, you make the deliberate 80km detour to the town of pre-Roman origins now somewhat dominated by modern industrial buildings, it’s possible that it registers as an unexpected important moment in your life (my favourite type of moment).
[Huesca Stadium, 1000 snaps, Kate Moore Gallery]
The Huesca Sports stadium (described more lyrically in Castilliano as Palacio de Deporte) is a sports facility designed between 1989-91 by Enric Miralles and Carme Pinos. Characteristically of several other projects by Miralles, the project was surrounded by controversy in terms of large cost overruns. Another unfortunate parallel between Huesca and the more recently completed project of Miralles’ Scottish Parliament, was its spectacular structural collapse of part of the roof. The offending bolt in the ceiling of the great hall of the Scottish Parliament, echoes the night when one of the two steel tension wires that supported an elaborate roof system at Huesca, snapped, and sent the whole roof crashing down partway through the construction process. I imagine a mysterious night complete with a full moon, whispering, dry grass and the creaking metallic grinding of mechanical site equipment, that night in 1993 when the half constructed roof came crashing down in the dead of night.
[Huesca Stadium, 1000 snaps, Kate Moore Gallery]
Probably, the truth is much more mundane, but what else is intended by the tantalising clues strewn across the site such as the steel masts for the original roof structures, if it isn’t as a starting point for memory, mystery and history to be intertwined and re-invented by the divine faculty of imagination. So, that is the version I choose. The local variation also incorporates sabotage, an angry group of Huesca residents, enter the site, late at night, (to ensure no workers would be injured), and tighten the tension wires to breaking point. Their intention to save the town from the exorbitant indulgences of these architects, and their inflexible ideals, preferring the project to be completed with an alternative, simpler roof structure.
In the end, it is interesting to hear a response from Enric Miralles as he considered the potential catastrophe, “Observing the foundations. Only making observations about the way to do things. Not interpreting the ruin at hand.” Could it be this attitude that considers all events as an inevitable part of the story of a project, and all constraints as potential opportunities, that helped make Miralles such a great architect?
[Huesca Stadium, 1000 snaps, Kate Moore Gallery]
In the end, this article has been about the story of discovering Huesca Stadium, rather than a description of the spaces it contains. Suffice to say, spatially - it is an incredible experience. At a time when there are projects of a similar scale and program being built for the Olympic Games in London, or in many sites around Australia, it is surprising to arrive in a small, semi-rural town in Spain and finnd a captivating sculpture of light, form and interweaving functions that rivals any of its contemporaries.
References:
El Croquis “Palacio de deportes de Huesca”
Paisajes “Pabell—n de deportes - Enric Miralles”
green….green green greengreengreengreengreengreengreengreen.
Yes its all getting a little old. There are some capitalists out there milking it for all its worth. Even the ACCC are on the case, making sure everyone adheres to its true meaning.
Then, you get the goods. Jetson Green. I really like this site. It has a lot of integrity, its intention is to promote awareness for sustainability, and moreso for me, identify what the bloody hell sustainability means.
I’ve linked here to their critique of the beautifully proportioned Federal Building in San Francisico by Morphosis, and its relationship to the LEED energy rating system.
Architect’s working on a plethora of buildings types in the western world are sure to have encountered Energy Efficiency, Green Star Ratings etc. etc. blah. blah. blah.
I am a strong believer in steps toward energy efficiency as it is obvious that these more ‘considered’ environments contribute to better workplaces and higher standards of living. Though the whole process is still lacking credibility.
For instance. Although still in their early stages of development, no Energy rating systems take into account the concepts of Embodied Energy.
It boggles the mind that a residence with a total livable footprint of close to 700m2 can be rated in the same fashion a residence one third of its size accomodating the same amount of people. What about all the extra concrete, the extra energy used to create all that extra steel, the extra water used on site to prevent dust, the extra energy used to create the vast quantities of glazing? Bricks? Timber? Ikea furniture?
But then the whole concept of carbon trading waters down any “Green” thinking. How can you justify polluting, by offsetting it somewhere else?
I’m sure all of this will settle eventually.
I think the greatest benefit from “Energism”** is an awareness of the pollution in the first place. Speaking of awareness, I’ve sourced this image from the blog AnArchitecture. They wrote a succinct little summary including these figures on carbon dioxide per metre square of construction technique;
Adios amigos!
**Energism. I coined this word just then. As the “green” in our society could be a passing movement. Urgh, I hate how green Architecture has this kitschy aesthetic. More on this later.
another link to the blogroll. Only the best blogs make it on here. This is a great architecture site.