Church in La Laguna by Menis Arquitectos

Completed in 2008 by Spanish architect Fernando Menis of Menis Arquitectos, the church comprises four chunky concrete volumes separated from one another by sliced openings.

Two overlapping cracks in the building’s end wall create a large cross-shaped window that is visible from within the nave.

is is a project located in the city of La Laguna on the Island of Tenerife. It is a place

that encourages reflection, a meditation space, an intrinsic space where a person ofany condition can go to find himself in the temple or join with others in the cultural center.

The building exists as a large piece of concrete split and cut into four large volumes,
at these separations movement occurs. This space creates light, allowing to enter
and penetrating into the space, they exist as if to signify a higher meaning inspiring a
spiritual presence and sense of tranquility.

The building stands stark, stripped of superfluous elements that involve distractions far from its spiritual essence. The void has been sculpted to the same extent. The balance of proportions of void and building was vital to developing the identity of the project.

We chose to exploit the properties of concrete, based on its isotropic nature energy efficiency is optimized by the thermal inertia of the walls. The building also gets a better acoustics result; thanks to a combination of concrete and local volcanic stones called picón, which is chopped afterwards and acts as a rough finish that has a degree of sound absorption that is superior to conventional concrete.

Location: Los Majuelos, San Cristóbal de la Laguna, Tenerife, Spain.
Use: Social Center and Church.
Site Area: 550 m2
Total Constructed Area: 1.050 m2
Cost: 600.000 €
Structure: Reinforced concrete
Materials: Reinforced concrete, local stone, golden sheet.
Status: completed Social Center (2005-2008); under construction Church (2005-..)
Client: Holy Redeemer Parish.

Architect: Fernando Menis
Office: Menis Arquitectos

Daniel Libeskind "Crystals at CityCenter"

Located in the heart of Las Vegas Boulevard, Crystals is the 500,000-square-foot retail and entertainment space, which is the connective center of the MGM MIRAGE CityCenter project. Opened in 2009, CityCenter is a vertical city within a city which includes 2,400 private residences, two boutique hotels, and a 61-story resort casino.

The crystalline & metal clad façade signal to visitors well in advance of arrival that Crystals is not a traditional retail environment. An entryway into the retail area from the Strip will draw pedestrians into the public arcade, covered by a spiraling roof structure. From the interior, the roof’s dramatic angles and skylights become a backdrop for the luxury retail and dining it houses which include Louis Vuitton, TIFFANY & CO., and Bulgari as well as concept restaurants from Wolfgang Puck and Todd English. The public spaces allow for a variety of urban experiences: a water feature at the entry, cafes and a grand staircase leading to Casino Square at the end of the arcade, animating the entire space.

Daniel Libeskind "Royal Ontario Museum"

The Extension to the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), now called the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal is situated at one of the most prominent intersections in downtown Toronto. Opened in June 2007, the Extension provides 100,000 square feet of new exhibition space, a new entrance and lobby, a street level retail shop and three new restaurants. SDL also renovated ten galleries in the existing historical building as part of this project.

The Michael Lee-Chin Crystal derives its name from the building’s five intersecting volumes, which are reminiscent of crystals. The intersection of two of the crystals, both dedicated to new galleries, creates a void, known as the Spirit House. A large atrium rising from below ground level to the fourth floor and criss-crossed by bridges at various levels, the Spirit House is intended to be a place of reflections for visitors. A fourth crystal, known as the Stair of Wonders, is dedicated to vertical circulation but also features exhibition vitrines at the landings. A fifth crystal houses a restaurant. The intersecting spaces of the Michael Lee-Chin Crystal create a variety of atriums at different levels, affording views into galleries and other spaces within the Museum. One large atrium, known as the Gloria Hyacinth Chen Court, separates the new construction from the ROM’s existing heritage building and provides a nearly complete view of the restored heritage facades.

Helen Miller

 

Growing Up with Silver and About the Untitled Mirrors 

"Silver has always been part of my life. It is a material I grew up with and so it feels like part of me. When I look at silver so many memories emerge; of my father, his craftsmen, of their workbenches, the dirt of the polishing room, the sparkle of a sugar bowl chased with a pattern of strawberries. Silver takes up a significant part of my memory and most things are in some way connected to it.

As a youth I spent time working alongside skilled English craftsmen. Two in particular worked with glass so this recent collection of untitled mirrors is rooted to the European craftsmen I feel a deep connection with.

I found a piece of mirror one day and I picked it up because I saw that the silver was coming off. It was because it was falling apart that I noticed it. The disintegration made me more aware of the material because I saw it in a state of change. I didn’t think these things at the time I just felt an emotional connection to the old mirror so I put it in the workshop and left it there.

Some time later Helen was photographing a room in our house, which has dark walls. Looking at her pictures it struck me that all the light was being absorbed by the building and by the furniture and little was being reflected back. So I remembered the piece of mirror. And the shape came to mind from some black drawings of a crystal form I had made at that time. They are very dark drawings and within their blackness I felt the possibility of the opposite, of light.

I wanted to see if that crystal shape would work in three dimensions. So I had the form and the material and I put them together. But the main thing in my mind really was to create something the opposite of the drawing, the reverse, that did not absorb light and that gave energy and balance to the room. I wasn’t for a moment thinking about making something you could look at yourself in.\\

What is essential to me in these works is that the disintegration of the mirror surface makes you aware of the silver. By finding that first piece of abandoned mirror I identified a material in a particular state that I felt connected to and that I could work with. Most of the materials I work with tend to have such a patina. This can happen naturally or can be created. If the material has to be transformed in order to let it speak then that’s what I do. But I need to understand what has created the surface that draws me towards it. Whether it’s time, misuse or loving care, whatever has happened that makes it compelling, I identify. But sometimes new, unaltered materials can also be an interesting counterpoint. Simply because they have not yet had a life.


In my mind there is no hierarchy of one material over another, be it a diamond or charcoal. Part of growing up with silver made me realize it was just a substance that happens to be wonderful to work with because of it’s physical qualities, not it’s status or worth. The skill of working with silver is the understanding of reflection. When you make an object in silver you need to know how it captures the world around it.

Making the UNTITLED MIRRORS I have been working with ovals and facets over a period of time and a dialogue has developed between me and them, between the reflective and the dark, the shadow and the light, and there is always the chance that when I look into one of my pieces something unexpected might happen."


25 September 2010 Helen Miller

House inside the Church

The interior space is very cleverly used.  Zecc Architects designers added a rectangular structure inside the church space, this structure allowed them to create a second floor as well as several private rooms such as bedrooms and bathrooms. They decided to leave all the arches and doors and benches and windows of the old church, so it feels like, if the structure would be removed, the church could start functioning as a church again. There is lots of air and light and space.

harmony in color, i really like that fact that they decided to make the floors gray, as it looks great with Brownish coach and pinky carpet. Great, great work. 

Zollverein School

The design, a cuboid structural shell, picks up the basic functional and effective idea used by the original Zollverein architects Schupp and Kremmer.
The oversized cube, which measures 35 meters by 35 meters and is 35 meters high, reflects the dimensions of the Zollverein mine.
The seemingly coincidental organization of the openings, windows in three different sizes, create an unusual interaction with the surroundings and the interior.

The building has four floors with ceilings of varying height as well as a roof garden. The idea of stacking open floor plans was developed in compliance with the demands made by the various functions.
A multi-level presentation hall, exhibition and foyer areas for public use, and a café, are located on the ground floor.
The Design Studios on the second floor will be a production level, home to the creative workplaces.The library is on the third floor together with open, glazed seminar rooms as well as several separate, quiet workplaces along the north-east facade.
The fourth floor is the office level, with working areas of various sizes and characters, divided by glass walls.

Bouroullec Brothers

European brothers Roman and Erwan Bouroullec are the names behind the label Bouroullec Brothers. Their designs have received widespread acclaim and recognition, particularly for their unique and unusual use of materials and forms. They have designed for major names in the industry such as Vitra, Issey Myake and Habitat while continuing to exhibit their own experimental work.

Bouroullec design is always on the edge between modern technologies (use of modern new materials and forms) and some kind of free flowing organic, as if almost undesigned shapes. The interior world that they create is very curvy, smooth, bright and clean. it looks a bit like a fairy land even, as if some kind of fairy-land story. Their works are very interesting to me because i love to use some kind of natural flow, some kind of humor.  

Cluster Complex Dubai by Denton Corker Marshall

Rising impressively from a podium, the Office Tower is the complex’s core element. Comprised of four shafts, each is a series of individual office buildings clustered vertically along a dramatic 255m atrium.

The clusters are divided into typical 11-level modules by four sky lobbies regularly punctuating each shaft. The larger clusters are broken down to smaller 5- and 6-level blocks, creating two cluster sizes of 10,000m2 and 5,000m2. The shafts connect to form two offices per floor plate, with a typical range of 1,800-2,200m2.

Below the imposing Office Tower sit smaller blocks of Hotel and Apartment towers. Residents – globally mobile and largely expatriate creative knowledge workers – are close to work and recreation, with easy transition from one to the other, and back again.

In Dubai’s extreme and challenging climate buildings are commonly designed to exclude the harsh elements, eliminating any connection between buildings and their surrounds. The structures of the Cluster Complex look outward as well as inward, and are fully merged with generous landscaping which integrates the building program, public spaces, common areas and circulation patterns.

A continuous mesh canopy envelopes the podium, and grounds the towers in a tapestry of green. A sculptural form evoking a sand dune or tent, the canopy’s variable profile creates a wide variety of spaces beneath it. The perforated metal, as both podium screen and building façade, performs well in the harsh environment, setting it apart from other high rise projects in Dubai.

The vitality and spontaneity of Middle Eastern culture are captured in the rich program of spaces and buildings. Like a bazaar, intense narrow streets of activity are punctuated with courtyards and frequent glimpses of the lush green zones for relaxation and reflection. The effect is very different from the over-conditioned and over-lit enclosed experience of a typical mall.

Public space is fundamental to the concept, from the integration of landscape through to the use of atria and multi-level lobbies encouraging vital horizontal connections. These interstitial spaces extend through the entire complex, promoting discourse and interaction – the social vitality to turn it from a project into a community.

The podium’s fourth level is a lively street scene – a teeming blend of cafes, bistros, performance spaces, art galleries and retail outlets connecting the main Hotel and Apartment foyers with the Office Tower, conference and leisure facilities.

This building reminds me of some kind of puzzle. I am developing the idea of puzzle now, so it's structure inspires me and open my eyes to many more ways of presenting the puzzle idea in my project.

PTW Architects Watercube

PTW Architects  is an Australian firm with offices in Sydney, Beijing, Sanghai,Hanoi, Hp Chi Minh and Abu Dabi, delivering excellence in environmentally sustainable architecture and master planning over a diversity of buildings types.

Watercube was designed for a Beijing 2008 Games aquatic centre. In addition to being an aquatic competition venue for the games, the centre will provide public multi-functional leisure and fitness facilities before and after the Games.

Unfortunately this building has never been built.

Alhambra Palace

On a hill overlooking Granada, the Alhambra—a sprawling palace-citadel that comprised royal residential quarters, court complexes flanked by official chambers, a bath, and a mosque—was begun in the thirteenth century by Ibn al-Ahmar, founder of the Nasrid dynasty, and was continued by his successors in the fourteenth century. Its most celebrated portions—a series of courtyards surrounded by rooms—present a varied repetoire of Moorish arched, columnar, and domical forms. The romantic imagination of centuries of visitors has been captivated by the special combination of the slender columnar arcades, fountains, and light-reflecting water basins found in those courtyards—the Lion Court in particular; this combination is understood from inscriptions to be a physical realization of descriptions of Paradise in Islamic poetry.

Highly decorated surfaces, look very busy but light at the same time. I appreciate this architecture as i can visually see how my idea of highly decorated ceiling and plane concrete walls will work, and approximate vision of how it will look like.