Mexico and Spain-based architectural firm sanzpont [arquitectura] won the 2nd place of the competition for Cancun City Basilica, Santa Maria del Mar.

courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

+ Design statement from Sanzpont arquitectura

Design Concept

Santa Maria del Mar is one of the oldest virgin avocations. She isn't related to any apparition; instead she relates with the need that marines and their families who stay on land feel for having the highest protection from heaven. Stella Maris, Star of the Sea is how they call her since ancient times.

Cancun is a city of sun, beach and tourism. The architectural project though of religious character must respond to these 3 key elements and their correspondent transcendence. The city owes its foundation to the Caribbean architecture, composed of open and green spaces, latticeworks, etc. which provides natural comfort to the user.

When designing a basilica one must offer an official religious public building for the liturgical celebration and the adoration of the lord, a sacred space that provides purity, protection and serenity which by tradition is achieved by a standard of identity, top esthetic beauty, symmetry and proportion.

Inspiration for the concept comes from the strength and softness of the Caribbean ocean waves and the white sand of its beach. The rhythm of the ocean and the sensation of peace and harmony serve as design principles to provide a unique identity with a strong relation to the region and the project site.

The project is composed of a big public-religious (Catholic) space that can receive hundreds of people for mass inside a space of purity that radiates protection, harmony, softness and peace, all this simulating the protecting mantle of Santa Maria del Mar as maternal inspiration.

The project is located in a new public sector of recreation in front of the Nichupte lagoon. The project must integrate, relate and complement the public space throughout a strong pedestrian connection with the new walkways, generating a plaza with green areas that invite the user to enter to the religious center.

Architectural Concept: for a functional, bioclimatic, emblematic and urban project.

The virgin's mantle inspires the project's form as a maternal protection symbol. The ocean waves underline the roof's silhouette in search for rhythm, harmony and balance. The perfection and balance of marine life also serves as inspiration in the design line.

Bioclimatic Design: Minimizing Environmental Impact.

The project counts with bioclimatic strategies to achieve an adequate comfort using natural renewable energy; this includes natural cross ventilation, solar protection and thermal isolation. Because of its bioclimatic design oriented to energy savings it avoids the use of mechanical cooling equipment that would imply excessive consumption of energy without even taking into account if the basilica were at its maximum or minimum capacity; By these means the environmental impact and the carbon footprint are reduced. The design responds to a correct and constant flow of ventilation, favoring the pressure difference that generates wind movement throughout all the spaces.

+ Project facts

Architectural project:
sanzpont [arquitectura]

Design Team / Collaboration:
Arq. Victor Sanz Pont
Arq. Sergio Sanz Pont
Eder Jafet Hernández
Mónica Merlín Becerra
Zahzil Sophia Martínez Juárez
Elizabeth Valencia Domínguez
Mauricio Duhart Hernández
Eric Gallegos Merchand
Julio Polanco Reyes
José Miguel Cano
Gerard Delgado
Oscar Sanz Pont

Structure Consulting:
Aviña & Duarte Asociados

Installation Consulting:
Edificaciones ARBIBE

+ All images and drawings courtesy Sanzpont arquitectura

SFJAZZ Center by Mark Cavagnero Associates is the first freestanding building in the United States designed exclusively for the enjoyment and performance of jazz. Located in the arts district of San Francisco, the 35,000-square-foot Center provides the 30-year old SFJAZZ organization with its first permanent home and strengthens its mission to reach new listeners. The glass and concrete structure reveals the activities within Center’s 700-seat auditorium, 80-seat “lab” and cafe, engaging passersby and energizing the neighborhood. The building is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification.

© Tim Griffith, 2013

© Kyle Jeffers, 2013

© Tim Griffith, 2013

© Kyle Jeffers, 2013

© Tim Griffith, 2013

+ Statement from Mark Cavagnero Associates

The SFJAZZ Center is the first freestanding venue in the United States designed specifically for the performance, appreciation and enjoyment of jazz. The transparent, three-story Center comprises the Robert N. Miner auditorium, Joe Henderson Lab, rehearsal spaces, digital learning lab, cafe, box office, and administrative offices. The Center, which opened in January 2013, provides SFJAZZ with its first permanent home in the organization’s 30-year history and establishes a hub of music, culture, and community. It is expected to achieve LEED Gold certification from the USBGC.

History: SFJAZZ, founded in 1983 by musician and entrepreneur Randall Kline, is one of the world’s most comprehensive and innovative jazz organizations. In the decade prior to opening the Center, SFJAZZ presented year-round programming for nearly 100 concerts annually, reaching an audience of 100,000 patrons, in venues throughout San Francisco. An anonymous $25-million gift–the largest in history given to a jazz organization–catalyzed an ambitious $63-million capital campaign to fund the creation of the SFJAZZ Center and bolster the organization’s endowment and programming.

The Future: The 35,000-square-foot Center unites SFJAZZ’s multi-faceted mission to showcase world- class jazz artists, nurture young musicians, and promote jazz education, preservation and experimentation. Located on the edge of San Francisco’s Civic Center performing arts district, the Center joins a constellation of established cultural venues that include the San Francisco Opera, the San Francisco Symphony, and San Francisco Ballet. The glass and concrete structure establishes a contemporary and dynamic counterpoint to these venerable neighbors, embodying the vibrancy of jazz and actively engaging its urban surroundings.

A transparent glass fa ade wraps the ground floor public spaces to reveal the excitement within. The floor-to-ceiling glass allows the lobby, cafe and ensemble room to activate the urban streetscape and invite the public inside. The all-glass, acoustically isolated, multipurpose ensemble room–the Joe Henderson Lab–puts artists within feet of passersby on Franklin Street, further enhancing the sense of accessibility and connection. On the upper two stories, a rhythmic fa ade of opaque and clear glass and street-facing balconies underscore the Center’s civic spirit.

While the public spaces open to the city, the Robert N. Miner auditorium is intimate and focused. This flexible, state-of-the-art room accommodates audiences from 350 to 700, and provides a range of experiences including views from behind the stage. A reconfigurable stage supports a wide variety of acts while raked seating establishes an intimacy that makes the audience itself part of the performance, contributing to a more dynamic experience.

Underpinning all of the spatial and visual design priorities is the most import goal: to create performance spaces with the highest quality acoustics throughout. Every detail from the custom seats to the wood slats wrapping the hall’s interior was developed to ensure an optimal live jazz experience. The Center also integrates next-generation technologies; the building is fully wired for recording, broadcasting and production.

Finally, the Center expands SFJAZZ’s capacity for educational programming and outreach, providing rehearsal space for the SFJAZZ High School All-Stars and serving as the new home of the SFJAZZ Collective. The Collective, established in 2004, brings together the world’s finest jazz musicians to examine the work of a great jazz master, followed by composing an original work. Through these experimental and educational efforts, the SFJAZZ Center promotes the vitality, evolution and cultural significance of jazz.

+ Project facts

SFJAZZ CENTER
San Francisco, CA

COMPLETED: January 2013
SIZE: 36,500 square feet
CONSTRUCTION COST: $33 million
OWNER: SFJAZZ
ARCHITECT: Mark Cavagnero Associates
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Hathaway Dinwiddie Construction Company

PROJECT TEAM
Project Manager: Ingram & Associates, Inc.
Structural Engineering: Forell/Elsesser Engineers
MEP/Architectural Lighting: WSP
Theater Consulting / Video Consulting: Auerbach Pollock Friedlander
Acoustics / Audio Consulting: SIA-Acoustics
Landscape Architecture: Monica Viarengo Landscape Design
Civil Engineering: KCA Engineers, Inc.
Façade Consulting: Maurya McClintock Façade Consulting
Telecom: TEECOM Design Group
Security: Guidepost Solutions
Signage: Propp + Guerin
Vertical Transportation: Syska Hennessy Group, Inc.
Code Consulting: ARUP
LEED Consultant: Green Building Services
Specifications: Emily Borland Specifications

PHOTOGRAPHY: Tim Griffith & Kyle Jeffers

+ About Mark Cavagnero Associates

Mark Cavagnero Associates is a San Francisco-based architecture firm noted for its design of cultural, education, civic and other community-oriented projects. Established in 1988 with a deep commitment to serving the public good through modern architecture, the firm’s work has been recognized with more than 45 awards, including the 2010 Distinguished Practice Award from the American Institute of Architects, California Council. In addition to the SFJAZZ, Cavagnero Associates notable projects include the Mammoth Lakes Courthouse in Mono County, Community School of Music and the Arts in Mountain View, the renovation of the Oakland Museum of California, and the ODC Theater in San Francisco.

+ All images and drawings courtesy Mark Cavagnero Associates \ photo by Tim Griffith & Kyle Jeffers

Polish design studio WAMHOUSE recently has created the new Armchair “PSINA“.

courtesy WAMHOUSE

courtesy WAMHOUSE

courtesy WAMHOUSE

courtesy WAMHOUSE

courtesy WAMHOUSE

Mangado y Asociados in Pamplona is pleased to announce that Francisco Mangado's Municipal Auditorium of Teulada has won the RIBA EU Award, an honor bestowed by the Royal Institute of British Architects on buildings outside the United Kingdom but within the European Union.

The Teulada Auditorium is one of nine projects selected for the award. Among the awarded are the MBA Building / HEC Campus by David Chipperfield, the Pierresvives by Zaha Hadid Architects, the Sorø Art Museum by Lundgaard and Tranberg.

The winners will be presented at the awarding of the RIBA Stirling Prize in October 2013. For more information about this project in our earlier story, click here.

© RolandHalbe

© JuanRodriguez

© JuanRodriguez

© RolandHalbe

+ Photography © RolandHalbe & JuanRodriguez