ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Puzzle Piece in Canary Islands, Spain by Romera y Ruiz ArquitectosNovember 16th, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos
Puzzle Piece wins World’s Best New and Old Building at World Architecture Festival Awards 2011 Puzzle Piece, Spain, designed by Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos, has won the ‘World’s Best New and Old Building’ award at the prestigious World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards 2011. The presentation of the WAF Awards are taking place during the largest global celebration of architecture – the World Architecture Festival, which is being held at the Centre Convencions International Barcelona (CCIB) this week.
The brief demanded a cover solution for the existing patio of the Infant School ´La Herradura’ that would generate naturally ventilated shadowed areas and protection from the sun and rain for the childrens’ games. The result is this sort of puzzle piece that inserts itself into the old, subtle dialogue by barely touching it, almost floating like a cloud, with light flooding the existing walls. The building was selected by a panel of esteemed architects and designers, beating off competition from a shortlist of 17 entries. Speaking at the WAF Awards 2011 Paul Finch, WAF Programme Director, said: “The World Architecture Festival is the world’s largest, live, truly inclusive and interactive global architectural awards programme. Attracting entries from internationally renowned practices to small local architects, the stellar quality of this year’s designs demonstrates their commitment to designing the world’s most exciting buildings. This year we’ve attracted more entries than ever before, with over 700 submissions from 66 different countries. Our congratulations go to the winners for a truly accomplished project.” This is the 4th year the World Architecture Festival Awards have been presented, and by the end of the awards 38 WAF Awards will have been announced across the three main sections of Completed Buildings, Structural Design and Future Projects. The Festival culminates with the announcement of the prestigious ‘World Building of the Year 2011’ award. Previous winners include ‘World Building of the Year 2008’ – Luigi Bocconi University, Milan, designed by Irish practice Grafton Architects; ‘World Building of the Year 2009’ – Mapungubwe Interpretation Centre in South Africa, designed by Peter Rich Architects of Johannesburg, and ‘World Building of the Year 2010’ – MAXXI (National Museum of the 21st Century Arts) in Rome, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects. The WAF Awards see unsung local buildings take on internationally acclaimed projects in what is the world’s biggest architecture contest. Unlike other architectural competitions, architects present their work in front of leading industry judges and a live public audience as they compete for the accolade of ‘World Building of the Year’. At the patio of the Infant School ´La Herradura´ a new organic landscape grows agaisnt the rigid tipology of the original building, opposed and superimposed. The bright colours and soft shadows gently fill the newly covered patio, turning it into a living landscape. In a similar intent to Villa Mairea the supports vanish and the satinated treatment of the enclosing walls captures the luminous reflections, helping to fragment an impressionist reality formed by spots of colours. The patio, thus, becomes a scenario for representation, a limitless scenario adequate to the magic of the infant games. Whilst glympes of the outside trees can be seen from the patio, the new roof cover has been permissive only with them and with the clouds, the rest erased from the canvas. – Juan Luis Trillo de Leyva, Professor at the Seville School of Architecture.
The brief demanded a cover solution for the existing patio that would generate naturally ventilated shadowed areas and protection from the sun and rain for the infant games. On plan, the organic form encloses the exterior envelope of the direct routes between classes, dining-room and main access. The result is this sort of puzzle piece that inserts itselft into the old, subtle dialogue by barely touching it, almost floating like a cloud, light flooding the existing walls. Despite the poured 60m³ of reinforced concrete the cover appears light and airy, with a changing slab section of 20cm-30cm. The cover is suspended from the existing roof structure minimising the number of pillars. The metallic circular pillars of dimension 114mm x 5,4mm, are coloured like a small forest, dissappearing agaisnt the enclosing walls. The roof slab is suspended from the existing roof structural beams with bolted metallic HEB120 profiles. The cover changes the character of the space, the result achieves an expressive and unitary vision of the object, allowing to control the solar radiation, light, rainwater and providing intimacy and scale for the infants. Contact Romera y Ruiz Arquitectos
Tags: Canary Islands, Spain Category: School |