Santamaria Arquitectes have recently finished the restoration of the Community Centre and new accesses to historic downtown in Cardona, Spain.

Image courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes | Photo by Francesc Rubí

The building is a rectangular volume with a 282,73m2 site area. It is two storey and it has an only 43,23m frontage facing south to the Miracle road. It was built in the 60s, after the collapse of the retaining wall of the Fira Square. Previously, the building was occupied by the Senior Center, with access by the ground floor and was not having elevator. A circular volume placed on the back of the building was incorporating a spiral staircase that connected the Fira Square with the level of access to the building. This volume was getting up in the square, obstructing the scenic viewpoint placed in the trafficable roof of the building.

Image courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes | Photo by Francesc Rubí

The project respects the original volume of the building and only the facade and interiors have been adapted. The volume corresponding to the circular spiral staircase is removed from the trafficable roof to benefit the viewpoint space in the square.

Circulation diagram, drawing courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes

Instead of it, a new rectangular volume with staircase and elevator has been attached to the front of the building. The new vertical connections core simultaneously solves the mobility access to each of the floors and it also relates, through a weight of 14m, the level of the Fira Square with the lower area of the Miracle road, with sports area and occasional parking.

Section, drawing courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes

Section, drawing courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes

In order to provide the building with a more significance image, in the south facade windows are joined between the two stories, creating bigger holes emphasized by metal boxes giving depth and strong appearance to the facade. The windows and the new vertical connections core have a double skin consisting of metallic strips to protect the building from south solar radiation and to guarantee the privileged views to the castle and the saline valley.

Image courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes | Photo by Francesc Rubí

With reference to the exteriors, the project clans up the base of the building with the landscaping of the slope and the conditioning of a footpath with benches and trees.

Image courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes | Photo by Francesc Rubí

+ Project facts

RESTORATION OF COMMUNITY CENTRE AND NEW ACCESSES TO HISTORIC DOWNTOWN
Location: Miracle Road, Cardona. Spain
Architect: santamaria . arquitectes
Pere Santamaria, architect
www.santamariaarquitectes.com
Collaborators:
Mireia Palomas
Pilar Toll
Gemma Torras
Pictures: Francesc Rubí
Year: 2010-2011
Client: Cardona City Council
Budget: 1.238.463 €
Area: 565,46 m2

+ All images and drawings courtesy Santamaria Arquitectes

February, 17th 2012 – 6,30 pm
MACRO via Nizza 138, Rome
FREE ENTRY

I HAVE SEEN THE FUTURE will be the fourth cool event that the creative Roman group of CityVision will presents at the MACRO museum of via Nizza in Rome next February 17th 2012 – 6,30 pm.

After the great success of Rome CityVision Experience, Love and Kill your own Town and Y1 Independent Architecture Stuff, a new independent architecture event will host, for the first time in Rome, the famous London office SQUINT/OPERA with a lecture of Jules Coke (Squint/Opera founding director).

It will be announced a new international architecture competition to explore the future of the Big Apple: New York CityVision Competition. The jury panel will be composed by Joshua Prince-Ramus (REX Architects), Eva Franch i Gilabert (Storefront for Art & Architecture), Roland Snooks (Kokkugia), Shohei Shigematsu (OMA ny), Alessandro Orsini (Architensions) and Mitchell Joachim (Terreform One).

During the event the new issue #5 of CityVision Magazine will be presented and freely distributed as also winners and shortlisted of PFFF – Inflatable Architecture Competition organized by CityVision and FARM, will be revealed.

+ INFORMATIONS

curated by Francesco Lipari and Vanessa Todaro
with Paolo Emilio Bellisario, Marco Arciero and Maria Azzurra Rossi
web site: www.cityvision-mag.com | www.ihaveseenthefxxxxx.tumblr.com
e-mail: info@cityvision-mag.com
phone: + 39 06.39031053
timing: Friday February 17th, 2012 6,30 pm
free entry

ORGANIZATION – CityVision
PARTNERS/SPONSOR – Radisson – Tecnoart – Pometra – IstitutoQuasar – Multicom srl – Weeats
MEDIA PARTNERS – Architonic – Archinect – Archello – TheMoodIt – Atemporary Studio

SQUINT/OPERA London
www.squintopera.com

London based office for movies, post-production and new media focused on architecture.
More than 30 experts including graphic designer, 3D animators, web designers, musicians and filmmakers (mostly with an architecture related background) working on both national and international projects asl also on small and large scale. Squint/Opera is currently working on projects in Singapore, United Arab Emirates, England, Turkey, USA and China. The company is headquarted in London, Melbourne, Abu Dhabi and Istanbul. Among their clients are Foster and partners, Grimshaw, Skidmore, Owens and Merrill and many more.

CITYVISION Rome
www.cityvision-mag.com

CityVision is an architecture laboratory with the aim of generating a dialogue between the contemporary city and its future image. It's a way to explore the reality and the future of architectural design thanks to an editorial project, CityVision magazine; the organization of international architecture competition, CityVision competition; events and lectures, CityVision events. CityVision is a place to invent, experiment and generate new ideas, a space in continuous evolution, as the urban environment itself.

MACRO – Museo d'Arte Contemporanea Roma
www.macro.roma.museum

2012 kicks off by MACRO (Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome) taking a new course under the direction of Bartolomeo Pietromarchi. Based on a wide and various exhibition program, following an innovative concept, the museum represents a main center for artistic production and research on contemporary arts. The aim was born by the need to review the artist's role as a main actor of the museum's activities. The revitalization and enhancement of each new spaces of the MACRO are the cornerstones of this course. This is true not only for the exhibition spaces, but also and especially for those spaces whose function and vitality are expressed through the public's presence. It is to the public itself that Odile Decq's 2010 architectural intervention (awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 1996), above the Peroni factory, is addressed, being situated in a privileged location.

As well as this location the MACRO Testaccio space was also completed, located in the same Roman district.

REHABILITATION OF THE OLD FACTORIES STRUTURES CROS. PHASE I

Faced with the Burgo estuary, along the new promenade stand proud of the old factory Cros structures. The first phase project includes the decontamination of structures and terrain as well as a complete renovation. To undertake this phase structures were settled with pine wooden formwork and the roof was recovered ceramic tiles.

Old Factories La Cros, image courtesy Díaz y Díaz Arquitectos

CULTURAL CENTRE BUILT IN CROS OLD FACTORY

Carefully studying the circulation of the Cros Old factory buildings and in knowing, that when considered together, the three existent buildings have a great value for its urban and architectural system, volumetric plastic qualities and spatial configuration, Díaz y Díaz Architects sought an integration of architectural space. In doing so, their design is perceived as a unified whole.

Old Factories La Cros, image courtesy Díaz y Díaz Arquitectos

The auditorium, as the Library and the cafeteria, have their own entrances and circulation systems, so they can be operated independently.

From the formal point of view, all new projected spaces are conceived as free bodies, with a clear volumetry, staying within the existing buildings, touching them in essential and specified points. The special treatment, seeking to adequately express the contrast between old and new: on the one hand the ships restored with its original volumetry of barrel-vaulted naves and visible structure; furthermore, the new bodies based parallelepiped volumes smooth surface.

Old Factories La Cros, image courtesy Díaz y Díaz Arquitectos

These old factory buildings are a magnificent example of industrial architecture of the time, which are parts of architectural modern heritage to preserve and to convert in a great cultural pole of attraction and urban entertainment not only for the municipal level, but to the entire metropolitan area.

Old Factories La Cros, image courtesy Díaz y Díaz Arquitectos

Old Factories La Cros, image courtesy Díaz y Díaz Arquitectos

+ Project facts

Architects: Díaz y Díaz Architects (Lucas Díaz and Gustavo Díaz)
Location: Galicia, Spain
Project: Rehabilitation of the old factories structures Cros. Phase I. El Burgo. A Coruña
Client: Culleredo Town Hall
Surveyor: Ramón Rodilla Marcos
Photography: Xoan Piñon
Area: 9.000 m²
Date of Construction: 2011 (phase I)

“skyfarm” is the latest project created by Manuel Dreesmann. Its a new concept to grow food on your balcony.

Skyfarm, image courtesy Manuel Dreesmann

+ Design statement by Manuel Dreesmann

We are facing big global issues in the next decades.

Our own consumption of energy and materials give by mother nature is way too much to keep our global system running in the future as it is at the moment. We as the first generation of its kind have to make a global change to reduce our consumption. In order to this we have to grow our food as near to our homes as possible to reduce the negative environmental impact by transportation. More and more people become citizens and so by now there are more people living in urban than in rural areas. So how can we provide a solution for the minimalistic space thats available for them to grow food?

Skyfarm, image courtesy Manuel Dreesmann

With the growth of cities the height of the buildings is raising. And so there are less gardening spaces but more balconies. So my idea is to use this minimal space on the balcony to grow your own food. But most of the balconies offers small space for gardening. The space on the floor is mostly needed for placing your chair and tables. But they offer a lot of unused space above your head. This is the space for the skyfarm!

The skyfarm consists of a moulded acrylic sphere where you can grow your delicious herbs for dinner. Its attached to the ceiling of your balcony. With a simple pull the height can be adjusted. Whether it might be over the head for a nice talk with your friends on the balcony, or spread over the whole height during your vacation.

Skyfarm, image courtesy Manuel Dreesmann

You can grow your own food, which means you can be sure that no toxics are sprayed and you can see by yourself the process from a little seed to a delicious arugula salad.

Skyfarm, image courtesy Manuel Dreesmann