El “B” is this long construction, a body, that feeds on the heritage -the continuity- of a site’s treatment: THE Cartagena harbour, which is nothing but a harbour in Cartagena, borderline of the city from the sea. Everything here belongs to it, belongs to the port, any port we should say: the immaculate straightness of the pier edge (straight), the invariably calm sea (flat), the artificially horizontal plane of the dock (flat), the sky as the variable background for this plane (plane on a plane?), all based on an artifice to represent the simplest -and by virtue of its simplicity, the most natural, the most immensely artificial- plane that equates to the most natural.
The house, with a required implementation polygon defined in a development plan, is inserted in a batch of reduced dimensions, with southern exposure and views over the river mouth of the estuary of Alvor.
The project inverts the logic of immediate social/private, being the occupation at ground level, of the total area of deployment, made with private and service areas – bedrooms, bathroom and laundry. On this foundation rests a top floor with sloping roof, retreated to the south, resulting in a terrace that develops along the whole facade. On this floor are the social areas – living room, dining room and kitchen, taking advantage of the exposure and the outdoor area in terrace, sheltered by the very construction from the prevailing winds from the north.
With an area of approximately 2000 squared meters (20m by 100m) and an irregular geometry, the plot had uncharacteristic dimensions and form for the city of Porto. The program was built along with the project – never before had a building in Portugal been specifically designed for the social integration of immigrants. With these uncertainties we looked for clues in our immediate surroundings – we found warehouses, small factories, landfills and illegal constructions…
The medieval character of the former inn from 1650 – presently a store –, as well as its original timber framing on the back side, has been fully restored. This very particular building technique, which continued to be used in Limburg for a long time, uses the recycled wood of torn-down buildings. Inscriptions, as well as old mortise and tenon connections testify of the re-use.
“Villa Dular” is a typical modernistic villa originally designed in 1932 by architect Costaperaria; a white cube with an extensive roof terrace and a top volume finished in wooden cladding. It is surrounded by a garden and other similar residences of its time. The villa is currently inhabited by different owners on each floor. The family, who lives on the ground floor, commissioned the redevelopment on the south side of the existing building. The client has a functional disability and is restricted to a wheelchair. He lives with his wife, three children, and a dog.
In the district of the Olympics, the reconstruction of the kindergarten takes the shape of a toy gleaming between the towers and bars nearby. She participates in the revival of an operation planning, control of the 60/70, dense, and mixed functional. In this lively neighborhood, the city undertook a project of land consolidation and redevelopment of outdoor spaces. The school, tiny among the towers, intends to play its role in this context: enhancing the image of the equipment and resist the overwhelming presence of nearby buildings and pervasiveness of the concrete.
The Principals have directed a workshop entitled “Cosmic Quilt” with students from the Art Institute of New York. Over 1 week, students were instructed in the construction of a reactive architectural environment that opened to the public during New York Design Week, May 19-21.
The design direction for an 800 sf master suite addition was determined by the peninsular shape of the property and the desire to respect the 1950’s post & beam house. The addition’s orientation emerged as the negotiation between the existing house, the sloping site, and a beloved sycamore tree.
The building is essentially a cover protecting the remains of a Roman assembly (thermal baths, forum and domus) in the archaeological site of Molinete Park in Cartagena, Spain.
This cover is certainly another piece in the historic area of Cartagena whose main architectural challenge is to reconcile very different architectures; from the roman time, passing through baroque to nowadays, making all the interventions vibrate together in the neighborhood. It is a transition element, between very diverse urban conditions: in size, material and structure; from the dense city centre to the sloping park.
Article source: Martin Mostböck Design Development
A Single-family residence with garden. 150 m2 living area, terrace, office, carport. House with controlled living space ventilation (passive house).
The residence was designed for doing-it-yourself. Shape, geometry and internal organisation are inspired by the movement of the inhabitants, the sun and the moon. The body and shape of the house are designed on one hand to open up big and broad windows on two facades to the garden to bring in as much light as possible to the living areas.
Sustainability: Energy system: gas-calorific value boiler, Solar collector panels for warm water and heating Controlled living space ventilation – passive house