Se acabó la fiesta
31.8.10
0
OMA
Il fondaco dei Tedeschi . Venice
photos: OMA
First constructed in 1228, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi was a trading post for German merchants before becoming a customs house under Napoleon in 1806. Depicted by Canaletto and other masters, and photographed numberless times as the impressive but anonymous backdrop for the Rialto, the Fondaco now stands as a muted icon of the Venetian mercantile era. Twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt (in its current form in 1506), and then subject to a series of radical architectural interventions to accommodate new uses (towers removed, courtyard covered with glass, windows added, structure rebuilt again...), the Fondaco has constantly reshaped itself, accumulating many layers of 'authenticity': its preservation is a history of change.
The current role as a post office has diminished in tandem with the native population of Venice: an annual decline of 1.2 percent has left the bulk of the building, at 11,000m2 one of Venice’s largest, unused for the first time in centuries. The latest evolution of the Fondaco will reactivate the building a thriving contemporary trading post, in the form of a culturally-programmed department store.
OMA has designed a range of architectural modifications and developed a cultural masterplan to reestablish the building as a vital public space. A terrace with rare views of the Grand Canal will be created by removing two sides of the existing roof, leaving the building’s profile intact while unlocking potential for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi as a major destination and vantage point for tourists and Venetians alike, with rare views of the Grand Canal and Venice's stunningly dense roofscape.
New entrances to the building will be created from the Campo San Bartolomeo and the Rialto to encourage circulation (and existing entrances into the courtyard, used by locals as a shortcut, will be retained); escalators will be added to create a new public route through the building; rooms will be consolidated in a way that respects the Fondaco’s structure; crucial historic elements like the corner rooms will remain untouched. Some aspects of the building, lost for centuries, will be resurrected: the walls of the gallerias will once again become a surface for frescoes, reappearing in a contemporary form.
Department stores have historically been incubators for the arts, collaborating with graphic designers, fashion designers, musicians and artists in a very public venue. With the Cultural Masterplan for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, our ambition is to resurrect this relationship between art and commerce – a very Venetian mixture.
In a city already rich in the arts, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi must offer a new kind of cultural, aimed not only at the Biennale and festival crowds (900,000 annually), but also at the far larger number of visitors to the city each year who come independently of the city’s special events (20 million). In addition, the Fondaco must provide a permanent cultural venue and focal point for Venetians themselves.
AMO’s cultural masterplan is based on a Seasonal Curatorial Strategy. Each season, a specially invited guest curator will put on a series of events, activities, and projects for the public spaces of the Fondaco: the courtyard, the roof terrace, and the interior spaces. These curators will be invited from diverse disciplines: visual art, film, music, graphic design, environmentalism, politics, architecture, science, computer programming, journalism, blogging. An eclectic range of events and activities, from the spectacular to the small-scale, will entice people with a range of interests and tastes. The Fondaco will be a condenser for a diverse audience and ever-changing events, unpredictable in everything except its constant presence as a vibrant public venue in the city.
OMA's renovation scheme – composed both of architecture and programming – continues the Fondaco dei Tedeschi's tradition of vitality and adaptation. Venice will acquire a landmark department store that will become a shared civic facility and a crucial element in the cultural fabric of the city.
First constructed in 1228, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi was a trading post for German merchants before becoming a customs house under Napoleon in 1806. Depicted by Canaletto and other masters, and photographed numberless times as the impressive but anonymous backdrop for the Rialto, the Fondaco now stands as a muted icon of the Venetian mercantile era. Twice destroyed by fire and rebuilt (in its current form in 1506), and then subject to a series of radical architectural interventions to accommodate new uses (towers removed, courtyard covered with glass, windows added, structure rebuilt again...), the Fondaco has constantly reshaped itself, accumulating many layers of 'authenticity': its preservation is a history of change.
The current role as a post office has diminished in tandem with the native population of Venice: an annual decline of 1.2 percent has left the bulk of the building, at 11,000m2 one of Venice’s largest, unused for the first time in centuries. The latest evolution of the Fondaco will reactivate the building a thriving contemporary trading post, in the form of a culturally-programmed department store.
OMA has designed a range of architectural modifications and developed a cultural masterplan to reestablish the building as a vital public space. A terrace with rare views of the Grand Canal will be created by removing two sides of the existing roof, leaving the building’s profile intact while unlocking potential for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi as a major destination and vantage point for tourists and Venetians alike, with rare views of the Grand Canal and Venice's stunningly dense roofscape.
New entrances to the building will be created from the Campo San Bartolomeo and the Rialto to encourage circulation (and existing entrances into the courtyard, used by locals as a shortcut, will be retained); escalators will be added to create a new public route through the building; rooms will be consolidated in a way that respects the Fondaco’s structure; crucial historic elements like the corner rooms will remain untouched. Some aspects of the building, lost for centuries, will be resurrected: the walls of the gallerias will once again become a surface for frescoes, reappearing in a contemporary form.
Department stores have historically been incubators for the arts, collaborating with graphic designers, fashion designers, musicians and artists in a very public venue. With the Cultural Masterplan for the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, our ambition is to resurrect this relationship between art and commerce – a very Venetian mixture.
In a city already rich in the arts, the Fondaco dei Tedeschi must offer a new kind of cultural, aimed not only at the Biennale and festival crowds (900,000 annually), but also at the far larger number of visitors to the city each year who come independently of the city’s special events (20 million). In addition, the Fondaco must provide a permanent cultural venue and focal point for Venetians themselves.
AMO’s cultural masterplan is based on a Seasonal Curatorial Strategy. Each season, a specially invited guest curator will put on a series of events, activities, and projects for the public spaces of the Fondaco: the courtyard, the roof terrace, and the interior spaces. These curators will be invited from diverse disciplines: visual art, film, music, graphic design, environmentalism, politics, architecture, science, computer programming, journalism, blogging. An eclectic range of events and activities, from the spectacular to the small-scale, will entice people with a range of interests and tastes. The Fondaco will be a condenser for a diverse audience and ever-changing events, unpredictable in everything except its constant presence as a vibrant public venue in the city.
OMA's renovation scheme – composed both of architecture and programming – continues the Fondaco dei Tedeschi's tradition of vitality and adaptation. Venice will acquire a landmark department store that will become a shared civic facility and a crucial element in the cultural fabric of the city.
domusweb . Sou Fujimoto
biennale2010 . Palazzo delle Esposizioni . Giardini
video: domusweb
The Japanese architect proposes a new living prototype, a model that erases the boundary between support structure and furnishings. A Primitive Future House that revisits living archetypes such as the nest and cave.
The Japanese architect proposes a new living prototype, a model that erases the boundary between support structure and furnishings. A Primitive Future House that revisits living archetypes such as the nest and cave.
J. Mayer H. Architects
Audi Urban Future Award
source: audi-urban-future-award . more photos: bustler . archdaily
A driving machine becomes a viewing machine. That means
that the occupant can experience the urban environment in a
completely different way, independently of whether the car is
moving or has to stop or brake. What we are advocating is cleansing
the city of all of the tools that are important today in order
to make individual mobility within the city possible.
A driving machine becomes a viewing machine. That means
that the occupant can experience the urban environment in a
completely different way, independently of whether the car is
moving or has to stop or brake. What we are advocating is cleansing
the city of all of the tools that are important today in order
to make individual mobility within the city possible.
Visiondivision
Cancer City
photos: Visiondivision
A country gentlemen once bought 10000 crayfishes in the 90’s to plant in a stream running through his land. In the autumn he would capture about a hundred of them to eat at the annual Swedish crayfish parties. The crayfishes however slowly started to emigrate to another nearby lake outside the patron’s estate. Desperate of seeing his neighbors feast on his crayfishes, he contacted visiondivision to solve his problem.
Visiondivision decided to help the patron by building him a refugee where the crayfishes could imigrate back. By investigating the condition of the stream we soon found out that it was the lack of stones, hiding places and the lack of calcite that probably had made the crayfishes emigrate. The city planning would focus on solving these issues
The design became an undulated concrete landscape where the crayfish live inside the hills. The hills are equipped with lids so the gentleman can walk on top of the landscape, capturing his yearly crayfish quota. A white path runs on the construction so the hunter can hunt at night time when the crayfish are as most active. Water proof LED lights are attached inside the hills that attract the crayfish and make them visible for the hunter. The hills have several escape holes and underground safe zones so the hunting won’t be too easy which would be unjust to the crayfishes.
A country gentlemen once bought 10000 crayfishes in the 90’s to plant in a stream running through his land. In the autumn he would capture about a hundred of them to eat at the annual Swedish crayfish parties. The crayfishes however slowly started to emigrate to another nearby lake outside the patron’s estate. Desperate of seeing his neighbors feast on his crayfishes, he contacted visiondivision to solve his problem.
Visiondivision decided to help the patron by building him a refugee where the crayfishes could imigrate back. By investigating the condition of the stream we soon found out that it was the lack of stones, hiding places and the lack of calcite that probably had made the crayfishes emigrate. The city planning would focus on solving these issues.
The design became an undulated concrete landscape where the crayfish live inside the hills. The hills are equipped with lids so the gentleman can walk on top of the landscape, capturing his yearly crayfish quota. A white path runs on the construction so the hunter can hunt at night time when the crayfish are as most active. Water proof LED lights are attached inside the hills that attract the crayfish and make them visible for the hunter. The hills have several escape holes and underground safe zones so the hunting won’t be too easy which would be unjust to the crayfishes.
The choice of material was crucial for the success of the project. The construction obviously should be water resistance, the city should be strong enough to carry some full grown persons or animals walking on it, the city should also provide shelter to the crayfishes and the construction should not be too heavy since it should be moved to a remote place where no machines can go. The choice of material became "Butong"; a lightweight slightly transparent concrete invented by the firm with the same name.
Butong is only two centimeters in depth without any metal reinforcement that can rust and the mould could be bendable after casting which enabled us to make an undulated landscape of concrete without having to build time consuming casting forms. Another attribute with Butong is that it includes calcite; a substance that attracts crayfishes.
The exquisite concrete endeavour is now resting in the stream waiting for its inhabitants to arrive. Walking on the flawless craftsmanship just one week after inauguration we met one of the first inhabitants staring at us from its new nest.
A country gentlemen once bought 10000 crayfishes in the 90’s to plant in a stream running through his land. In the autumn he would capture about a hundred of them to eat at the annual Swedish crayfish parties. The crayfishes however slowly started to emigrate to another nearby lake outside the patron’s estate. Desperate of seeing his neighbors feast on his crayfishes, he contacted visiondivision to solve his problem.
Visiondivision decided to help the patron by building him a refugee where the crayfishes could imigrate back. By investigating the condition of the stream we soon found out that it was the lack of stones, hiding places and the lack of calcite that probably had made the crayfishes emigrate. The city planning would focus on solving these issues
The design became an undulated concrete landscape where the crayfish live inside the hills. The hills are equipped with lids so the gentleman can walk on top of the landscape, capturing his yearly crayfish quota. A white path runs on the construction so the hunter can hunt at night time when the crayfish are as most active. Water proof LED lights are attached inside the hills that attract the crayfish and make them visible for the hunter. The hills have several escape holes and underground safe zones so the hunting won’t be too easy which would be unjust to the crayfishes.
A country gentlemen once bought 10000 crayfishes in the 90’s to plant in a stream running through his land. In the autumn he would capture about a hundred of them to eat at the annual Swedish crayfish parties. The crayfishes however slowly started to emigrate to another nearby lake outside the patron’s estate. Desperate of seeing his neighbors feast on his crayfishes, he contacted visiondivision to solve his problem.
Visiondivision decided to help the patron by building him a refugee where the crayfishes could imigrate back. By investigating the condition of the stream we soon found out that it was the lack of stones, hiding places and the lack of calcite that probably had made the crayfishes emigrate. The city planning would focus on solving these issues.
The design became an undulated concrete landscape where the crayfish live inside the hills. The hills are equipped with lids so the gentleman can walk on top of the landscape, capturing his yearly crayfish quota. A white path runs on the construction so the hunter can hunt at night time when the crayfish are as most active. Water proof LED lights are attached inside the hills that attract the crayfish and make them visible for the hunter. The hills have several escape holes and underground safe zones so the hunting won’t be too easy which would be unjust to the crayfishes.
The choice of material was crucial for the success of the project. The construction obviously should be water resistance, the city should be strong enough to carry some full grown persons or animals walking on it, the city should also provide shelter to the crayfishes and the construction should not be too heavy since it should be moved to a remote place where no machines can go. The choice of material became "Butong"; a lightweight slightly transparent concrete invented by the firm with the same name.
Butong is only two centimeters in depth without any metal reinforcement that can rust and the mould could be bendable after casting which enabled us to make an undulated landscape of concrete without having to build time consuming casting forms. Another attribute with Butong is that it includes calcite; a substance that attracts crayfishes.
The exquisite concrete endeavour is now resting in the stream waiting for its inhabitants to arrive. Walking on the flawless craftsmanship just one week after inauguration we met one of the first inhabitants staring at us from its new nest.
Cloud 9
Audi Urban Future Award
more photos: audi-urban-future-award
Our focus is on empathy that is created by
human resources. Therefore, humans are our
starting point – individuals or collective
groups, couples or families.
Our focus is on empathy that is created by
human resources. Therefore, humans are our
starting point – individuals or collective
groups, couples or families.
BIG
COBE . Transform
photos: dezeen . renders: Luxigon.
The Northwest area of Copenhagen is located in the diverse and lively transition zone between the dense urban Nørrebro area and the villa neighbourhoods at the edge of the city. Even though many people live and work in the multi-ethnic Northwest Copenhagen, the area is by many Copenhageners mainly passed through going in and out of the city by car. The reason for this is the area’s vicinity to numerous entry roads as well as the lack of cultural facilities and recreational areas.
With full conscience of the differences between these two concepts we propose a enclosing wall which is in itself an edge and not a limit ; that is to say, a not definied space, but an uncertain space which is impossible to apprehend, a space where all dreams may take place.
The Northwest area of Copenhagen is located in the diverse and lively transition zone between the dense urban Nørrebro area and the villa neighbourhoods at the edge of the city. Even though many people live and work in the multi-ethnic Northwest Copenhagen, the area is by many Copenhageners mainly passed through going in and out of the city by car. The reason for this is the area’s vicinity to numerous entry roads as well as the lack of cultural facilities and recreational areas.
With full conscience of the differences between these two concepts we propose a enclosing wall which is in itself an edge and not a limit ; that is to say, a not definied space, but an uncertain space which is impossible to apprehend, a space where all dreams may take place.
