Invisible Architecture

© Juan Rodríguez

 I've been writing occasionally for the weekend cultural supplement of El País, Spain's leading moderately progressive newspaper. Recently they've appointed a new arts editor and he's asked me to write on a more regular basis. The first article in this new commitment came out on Saturday, March 9th.

A PDF copy of the article can be found here (thanks to (Arquitectura Viva).

It  takes a look at some of the perverse effects of the media, especially the popular media, which promote the most exaggerated effects in architecture, while more considered work is rendered invisible. I develop the argument from two examples, a house in Portugal featuring light courts for the underground bedrooms 3 meters deep and without balustrades or any other protection,
and a social housing project in the northern Basque city of Vitoria, both illustrated here. The first is by Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus, and the second by Manuel de las Casas, with his daughter and son, Iciar and Sergio.

Here's a quote:

"Una tarea básica del crítico es la de examinar su propio papel dentro de su particular especialidad, de mantener una vigilancia crítica sobre el impacto de su propia mirada. Ante la pérdida generalizada de confianza en la manera de hacer arquitectura que sufre España en estos momentos, este papel de autocrítica se hace más relevante que nunca. En un proceso darviniano y de efectos perversos, los medios han llegado a funcionar como un mecanismo de retroalimentación para fomentar las tendencias más extravagantes, mientras condenan a otras a la oscuridad. Y quizás las claves de una renovación de la arquitectura se encuentran precisamente dentro de ese lado oscuro e ignorado."

 An American reader put the argument succinctly in a recent letter:

"It reminds me of a remark of Ken Frampton's last week discussing the state of architecture, with great delight he said he was given to understand that Denmark is now producing some 'boring" buildings.'"

So, here's a toast to boring buildings for a change.

© Fernando Guerra

Cegados por la arquitectura mediática
"Blinded by the Media"
El País, Saturday, March 9, 2012
Babelia cultural supplement, page 15

Sheep Safely Graze

This spring I traveled to the town of Alcázar do Sal, 85 kilometers south of Lisbon, to report on this Nursing Home by Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus. My cover story appears in the June issue of architektur.aktuell (sorry, no web page).

"A primary school is across the street, and the bright cries of children playing under the ancient trees of its grounds reach the garden, where a handful of sheep graze on the wild lawns under cork and olive trees – connections that keep the residents in touch with the life of the town and their rural origins."

"....a constant in Portuguese architecture over the centuries is clearly seen here: the tension between order and topography, between a rational, regular, repetitive system of settlement –from the urban street grid to individual buildings with their patios, gardens and terraces– and the accidents of topography and historical development that distort and transform this regular order. Amid the lush vegetation, vivid topography and mild climate of Portugal, with its mix of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, this is the formula for a contemporary Garden of Eden."

In the Garden of Eden
Nursing Home, Alcácer do Sal, Portugal
Francisco + Manuel Aires Mateus
architektur.aktuell 387
Issue theme: Solid Structures
June 2012, pages 64 - 75; cover.

 Photo: DC

Amman Cánovas + Maruri in Carabanchel

One of the more interesting projects in Madrid's excellent public housing program of the last decade is the subject of my latest article. It appears in Oris, a handsome Zagreb-based journal, together with an interview with Rafael Moneo, a report on Eisenman's City of Culture in Santiago de Compostela, and Housing for the Elderly by Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus, among other features.

The private terraces ... bring a much-needed permeability to the central courtyard [of the patio-block typology]. They can also be seen as a modern interpretation of the traditional Madrid street balcony, and in this sense are actually quite Baroque and theatrical in their essential role of giving individual privacy a public face.

The Public Face of Privacy
Carabanchel 17 Public Housing, Ensanche de Carabanchel, Madrid.
Amann, Cánovas + Maruri, Architects.
Oris (Zagreb, Croatia), No. 69, Year XIII, July 2011, pages 54 -61.

Photo © Miguel de Guzmán

More (FAD,Enor) Prize Finalists

The calender spins round and round and years spin by, and now the finalists for the 2011 FAD Awards have been announced. For the full list see the PDF prepared by Arquinfad. Benedetta Tagliabue headed the jury. Winners will be announced in the fall.

The finalists in the category of architecture:

A residence for seniors by the Aires Mateus brothers in Alcácer do Sal, Portugal. Photo © Fernando Guerra  FG + SG

Subsidized housing in Terrassa
Eva Prats and Ricardo Flores

Atrio Hotel, Cáceres
Mansilla + Tuñón.

House for a Photographer, Folgoso do Courel, Province of Lugo, Galicia
Carlos Quintáns
Also a special mention in the XI Biennial of Spanish Architecture and Urbanism.

Vigo Headquarters, College of Architects of Galicia
Jesús Irisarri + Guadalupe Piñera
(Subject of my article last year in Speech).

Houses in Santa Isabel, Lisbon
Ricardo Bak Gordon

Water Museum, Palencia
David Serrano Amatriain, Maier Vélez Olabarria  (MID Estudio)

Media-Tic, Barcelona
Enric Ruiz Geli  (Cloud 9)

Houses in Colonias Viladoms, Castellbell ( Barcelona)
Carlos Ferrater, Núria Ayala  (OAB) 

House R, Cabrera de Mar (Barcelona)
Arturo Frediani Sarfati

Childcare Center, Pratdip, Tarragona
David Tapias Monné, Núria Salvadó Aragonès.

Subsidized and Public Housing, El Monte Hacho, Ceuta
José Morales Sánchez, Juan González Mariscal  (Morales de Giles Mariscal)

Nuestra Señora del Rosario Public School, Murcia
Martin Lejarraga.

For diehards there is also a PDF of selected projects (runners-up to finalists).

And while I'm on the subject, the V edition of the biennial Enor Prizes has also  announced 45 finalists, chosen from 350 entries from Spain and Portugal. Winners will be presented in a ceremony next November. Here's the list, from SCALAE news (I was on the jury for Enor's last edition):

1. Centro de Saúde 
   Oleiros, A Coruña
   Ábalo Alonso arquitectos
2. Hotel Moure
   Santiago, A Coruña
   Ábalo Alonso arquitectos
3. Casa A5
   Oleiros, A Coruña
   Carlos Seoane
4. Hotel Pazo de Altamira
   Santiago, A Coruña
   Creus e  Carrasco arquitectos
5. PAAR. Parque arqueológico del arte rupestre
   Campo Lameiro, Pontevedra
   rvr arquitectos
6. Reintegración urbana do patrimonio cultural da ribeira do Traba
   A Pedra Chan, Noia, A Coruña
   Salgado e Liñares arquitectos enxeñeiros
7. College of Architects of Galicia
   Vigo, Pontevedra
   Irisarri+Piñera arquitectos
8. Casa da Maxia
   Ourense
   Trespes arquitectos
9. Centro Cívico Municipal
   Boecillo, Valladolid
   José Manuel Martinez, Inés Escudero y Fernando Nieto
10. Colegio de arquitectos y Fundación cultural del COAL
    Salamanca
    Carmen Martínez y Rodrigo Pemjean
11. Museo del agua [Also a FAD Finalist]
    Palencia
    MID estudio
12. Espacio para una sociedad Gastronómica
    Medina de Pomar, Burgos
    Carlos Pereda y Óscar Pérez
13. Centro Cultural: Biblioteca y Teatro
    Simancas, Valladolid
    Gabriel Gallegos
14. Aulario ABC Facultad de Bilogía. Universidad de León
    León
    DMG arquitectura
15. 22 viviendas sociales en alquiler para jóvenes
    Madrid [X! Biennial too]
    Mónica Alberola, Luis Díaz-Mauriño y Consuelo Martorell
16. Nave 8B. Matadero
    Madrid
    Arturo Franco Díaz
17. Oficinas Inmobiliaria Chamartín
    Madrid
    Burgos & Garrido arquitectos y Isasi & Pieltáin arquitectos
18. Auditorio y escuela de música
    Madrid
    Milla, Mira y Navarro arquitectos
19. Edificio de laboratorios y almacenes químicos en la Universidad de Alcalá
    Madrid
    Héctor Fernández Elorza
20. 132 viviendas promoción pública. Parcela 5.16. Ensanche de Vallecas
    Madrid
    Estudio Entresitio
21. Bar no jardim 9 de abril
    Lisboa
    J. Mª. Magalhaes Pavia y Nuno Sousa. ASPA
22. Casa das Caldeiras
    Coimbra
    João Mendes Ribeiro y Cristina Guedes
23. Pavilhão do Acolhimento. Escola francesa do Porto
    Porto
    Nuno Valentim y Frederico Eça
24. 12 habitaçoes unifamiliares em banda – L286
    Bom Sucesso. Óbidos
    Nuno da Graça Moura
25. 24 habitaçoes unifamiliares em banda – L158
    Bom Sucesso. Óbidos
    Nuno da Graça Moura
26. Casa em Melides
    Melides. Grándola
    Pedro Julio Guerreiro
27. Recuperación del Palacio de San Telmo para Presidencia de la Junta de Andalucía
    Sevilla
    Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra
28. Hotel y restaurante Atrio [FAD too]
    Cáceres
    Mansilla+Tuñon arquitectos
29. Valle urbano. Piscina municipal en un valle artificial
    Granada
    Diego Jiménez y Juana Sánchez
30. Reforma y ampliación de la escuela Sant Gregori
    Barcelona
    Coll-Lecrec arquitectos
31. Museo de arte contemporáneo
    Alicante
    Sancho-Madridejos Architecture Office
32. Cap Progres Raval
    Badalona, Barcelona
    Bass Jordi Badía
33. Parque empresarial del Arte Sacro
    Sevilla
    Suárez Santas arquitectos
34. Vivazz. 131 viviendas protegidas  [XI Biennial First Prize Winner]
    Mieres, Asturias
    Zig Zag arquitectura
35. Escuela porche
    San Feliu de Guixols, Girona
    Bosch.Capdeferro
36. Casa Collage
    Girona
    Bosch.Capdeferro
37. 80 viviendas protección oficial [Also XI Biennial]
    Salou, Tarragona
    Toni Gironés
38. Pasarela peatonal y urbanización
    Pamplona [Also FAD Finalist]
    Carlos Pereda, Oscar Pérez e Ignacio Olite
39. Centro Cultural Cap Vermell
    Cala Ratjada, Mallorca
    Barceló-Balanzó arquitectes
40. Piscina Cubierta
    Barbate, Cádiz
    EDDEA arquitectos
41. Teatro municipal de Zafra
    Zafra, Badajoz
    Enrique Krahe
42. Museo del agua [Also XI Biennial]
    Lanjarón, Granada
    Juan Domingo Santos
43. Gimnasio 704
    Barberá del Vallés, Barcelona
    H arquitectes
44. Centro de remo y piragüismo
    Alange, Badajoz
    José Mª Sánchez
45. Centro de día y actividades comunitarias
    Palma de Mallorca
    Flexo arquitectos

Watch your Step

My article on a house in the small Portuguese city of Leiria by the architects Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus is the cover story in this month's Record Houses 2011, Architectural Record's annual special issue on the single-family house, which publishes six projects from around the world chosen from 250 candidates. The full text and a portfolio of photos are found here.

... the perfect archetype of a house, straight out of a Monopoly game box or a fairytale; an apparently solid volume wrapped completely in white plaster, pitched roof and all...

House in Leiria, Portugal
Manuel and Francisco Aires Mateus, Architects
Architectural Record: Record Houses, April 2011

Photos © Fernando Guerra

FAD Winners 2010

As I announced in July, the winners of the annual FAD Awards were presented this month in Barcelona.

The Architecture Prize went to the Grupo Aranea (Francisco Leiva and Marta García) for their High School in Rafal, Alicante (featured in a photo in my July post).

José María Sánchez received a Special Mention for his Sports Center in Guijo de Granadilla, Cáceres, a project I have published several times.

The prize for Public Spaces was awarded to Carlos Ferrater and Xaxier Marti for their Beachfront Promenade in Benidorm, also in the province of Alicante.

In the category of Interior Design, a bar in Oviedo, Spain, I+DRINK. by Merche Alcalá and Marion Dönneweg,was recognized, and in the category of Ephemeral Spaces, Weltliteratur, an exhibition in the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon designed by Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus.

Among the Prizes of Opinion awarded by the public attending the ceremony, Jordi Baas received two, one in the category of Architecture for his Museum Can Framis in Barcelona, which I published earlier this year, and another for his CP House in the category of Interiors.

Photo: Beachfront Promenade, Benidorm by Carlos Ferrater and Xavier Marti. Photo © Alejo Bagué/Ascer.

Bauwelt: Aires Mateus in Cascais

My story on the Lighthouse Museum in Cascais, Portugal by Francisco and Manuel Aires Mateus has just been published in Bauwelt 37.09 (October 2, p. 34-39).

From the text: "This tension between past and present has been brilliantly addressed by a number of Portuguese architects on different occasions – think for example of the Pousada of Santa Maria do Bouro, where the ruinous state of the original convent is fully legible against Eduardo Souto de Moura's exquisitely minimalist "occupation" of its gutted interior (see Bauwelt 4, January 22, 1999). In the project considered here, the Aires Mateus brothers propose a radically different approach from Souto de Moura's dialogue across time, a solution that carries the site out of time entirely, out of the dialectic between past and present, and situates the work instead in the timeless realm of the icon."

Photo: Amelia Moreno