This service station is located on the new highway between Pamplona and Logroño, in front of the little village of Legarda, next to the Monte del Perdón, where Acciona installed the first wind turbines of Navarra.

The strict space planning has been incorporated in volumes that aim to be integrated in the surroundings and the landscape. It is not intended to present the service station as a latest generation or high technology facility, although it is just that, but as an element that has taken root in the surroundings and that has been integrated in order to transform the meeting point of the travelers. The zigzagging roof has photovoltaic panels to allow energetic autonomy in a facility that houses the selling of bio-diesel, bio-ethanol and, in the future, hydrogen.

The service station is formed by two volumes made of sandstone that contrast with the pine wood roof that enhances the light reflection through its photovoltaic panels. The result is a sustainable station, very different in shape and materiality and very delicate in its encounter with the surrounding rural areas.

Details/Credits

• Client: Acciona Biocombustibles
• Location: Legarda, Navarra, Spain
• Principal designers: Miguel A. Alonso del Val, Rufino J. Hernández Minguillón
• Design team: Daniel Azpilicueta Fernández de las Heras (Design Team Manager), Agustin Olivieri, Ohiana Ojanguren, Idoya Alba, Eduardo Ozcoidi, Carlos Arcalá
• Technical collaborators: Michel Aldaz García Mina (Technical Architect), Iturralde & Sagües Ingenieros (Engineering)
• Project type: Facilities
• Contractor: Acciona Infraestructuras
• Completion: November 2007
• Photographs: José Manuel Cutillas Medina

View images for Service Station in Legarda

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/930

The conceptual idea for this project was a desire to create a relationship between the present and the past. We wanted to prepare the visitors for a journey through time during their visit at the 19th century palace.

The façade was replaced by a stone frame which supports a double glazed door. This element opens the interior to small arcades at the front of the building.

The interior was configured to resemble a small white box, very modest but with some ‘glamorous’ accents such as leather on the countertop, shining furniture surfaces, black shining stone and a fresco pattern resembling authentic period wallpaper. We’ve also used a lot of white and transparencies to make the interior seem more lightweight.

The interior plan included the main ticket office space and a staff room with a sanitary unit.

Details/Credits

• Client: Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz
• Location: Lodz, Przedzalniana, Poland
• Design firm: wunderteam.pl
• Completion: 2008
• Photographs: Jakub Stepien

View images for Herbst Palace, Guardhouse

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/929

The client zone is very flexible. The meeting rooms can be changed into one big meeting room, or left separate. The entrance area also has a nice place to sit into leather lounge chair, in order to create a more genuine atmosphere.

Details/Credits

• Design: ISA STEIN Studio
• Completion: 2007

View images for Meinl Bank

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/928

The house is conceived as a succession of horizontal levels on a view point platform where the swimming pool has been installed. The interior space has been defined by big sliding glass windows so that the living space is only enclosed by the limits of the surrounding views. The seasons and the changing lights are what encloses this house.

The selected materials are of high quality and have been treated with austerity and economy. Travertine, natural wood and glass are the main materials used in this construction; however, the landscape and the surroundings, the light and its reflection are the real materials that more accurately define the shape of the house. The house of Martossa is a refuge where the landscape can be lived, where the landscape can enter into one’s life and modify it.

The access to the house is located on the highest floor where it is possible to find a living space that separate the bedrooms. In the low floor, the kitchen, the dinning room and the living room have been placed in relation with an exterior platform where the balcony and the swimming pool are located.

Details/Credits

• Client: Pirámide Grup Titan
• Location: Tossa de Mar, Girona, Spain
• Principal designers: Miguel A. Alonso del Val, Rufino J. Hernández Minguillón, Jorge Gambini Ons, Sebastián Fernández de Córdova Frerking
• Tecnichal collaborators: Jordi Ciurana Font (Technical Architect), ED Enginyeria (Engineering)
• Project type: Residential
• Contractor: Pirámide Grup Titan
• Built-up area: 280,94 m2
• Completion: February 2008
• Photographs: Sebastián Fernández de Córdova, Jorge Gambini Ons

View images for Tossa de Mar - Living the Landscape

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/927

At the far end of the property a building is designed, with five apartments in six levels, three of which are superimposed on the building. Each of these is recessed, creating terraces which open to an avenue lined with trees. The way in which the new building and house are joined, opens the space for a central patio, southerly oriented. All five apartments live toward this area. The façades of this new body are mainly in glass, in contrast to the massiveness of the Art Deco architecture, at the same time, a large stained-glass window in modern style with rectangular pieces of glass of different colors and textures pays homage to the stained-glass windows of the original house.

The design took part in all the spaces, highlighting the decorative elements, such as moldings and windows, which were preserved in remodeling, These elements are combined with current elements, such as the newel stairs, or the contemporary chandeliers, and when mixed, they create an eclectic and warm environment.

The lighting combines elements in the ceiling, as well as decorative elements, creating warm atmospheres which are complemented with repetitive materials and colors throughout the apartment.

Details/Credits

• Location: Amsterdam 235, Colonia Condesa, Mexico
• Design team: Javier Sanchez, Juan Soler, Mariana Paz, Enrique Salazar, Edurne Turcott, Mariana Sanchez, Daniela Sainz, Angelica Soberanes, Domingo Granados
• Interior design team: Javier Sánchez, Karen Kimura (depto 102+202)
• Construction: Fernando Valdivia, Gabriel Jiménez, Jose Luis García
• Structure: Héctor Margain, Fernando Valdivia
• Architectural Supervision: Julio Marce, Rafael Figueroa, Karen Cheirif
• Units: 8
• Average surface: 2,476 sq ft
• Surface for sale: 19,913 sq ft
• Total surface: 27,770 sq ft
• Completion: 2009
• Photographs: Jair Navarrete, Pedro Hiriart

View images for Amsterdam 235

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/926

Learn more about JSa - Javier Sanchez Architects

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/profiles/305

Architecture is story-telling. We listen to the story of the site and make that story lead the design concept. This is the process we have summoned with the words ‘investigate, ask, tell, draw, build’.

Architecture shapes the world. We seek to develop designs that encompass in a single expression the spatial needs, the spirit of the location, the constructive solution and the main theme of the project. This process is equally divided between craftsmanship and deliberations and driven by a love of good design.

Architecture creates behaviour. We aim to create places for people to interact because we believe that buildings, like people, are more than just the sum of their many parts. We believe that it is possible to achieve a synthesis of design, function and context, and thus a holistic approach is our guiding principle.

Learn more about 3XN

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/profiles/304

The Museum of Art in Lódz has an avant-garde tradition. It contains 19th and 20th century art, at the same time being contained in an 19th century middle-class palace. In order to modernize the ground floor of the building and adapt it for new functions, it was necessary to pay respect both to the avant-garde tradition, as well as the building’s historic function. The previous functional division of the rooms at the Museum’s entrance (porter’s room, narrow stairwell, cloakroom) failed to create an impression of accessibility. The Museum also lacked a common space as a venue for social life. The objective was to create a place with its own personality, encouraging people to stay in the museum after an exhibition, discuss their views and share their opinions.

This visual policy employed in our design becomes clear already at the building’s façade at Wieckowskiego Street, into which a glassed-in entrance was incorporated without violating the building’s historic structure. This made the Museum stand out among the other buildings, simultaneously indicating that its interior may hide “the other”, something that transcends the common perception of reality.

After entering the gateway passage, the viewer is directed by means of clear signs towards the exhibition (right) or the cafeteria and bookshop (left). In addition, specific places are identified visually by means of sparingly used color and light. The clear division of space should make it easy for the viewer to understand it and use its functions intuitively. Opposite the exhibition entrance, there is an information and ticket desk, designed with a strong note of red, providing a powerful counterpoint to the rest of the interior.

The cloakroom and the museum pass office are linked with a shared counter. Clothing is stored in slide closets with glass fronts. This practical solution prevents disorder, but also gives ample access to daylight. Spread over an entire wall next to the cloakroom, a mirror multiplies and optically enlarges the meagre space.

The greatest challenge was the area of the building where we placed the cafeteria and bookshop. This space includes a glassed-in box with a bookshop opening into the club, two rooms belonging to the club/cafeteria, the bar’s facilities, as well as a cloakroom and toilets. The cafeteria is also open outside of the Museum’s exhibition hours, hence the need for a separate entrance to this part of the building.

We used simple materials, such as plywood, metal and glass, which stemmed from our original concept, i.e. finding a way to emphasize the beauty of the palace’s historic interiors, without imitating their style. We employed contrast, juxtaposing the 19th century interior with contemporary design. We were also looking for direct references to the museum as a building and came up with an interior that would resemble a forgotten art warehouse, containing mobile furniture, reminiscent of transport crates used to carry works of art, carts, platforms, etc., as well as the “crystalline” form of the bar.

The latter was the most difficult element of the entire design, both for us and the carpenters. We wanted to build a structure that resembles a fragment of some mysterious sculpture – a form that grows right out of the floor and walls. At the same time, the bar was supposed to be comfortable and visually attractive. We managed to build a “broken” crystalline structure out of plywood and lit-up Plexiglas, simultaneously respecting the principles of ergonomics. Oh, and one more thing: the result is a perfect match for the bar stools designed by Konstantin Grcic...

All of the elements incorporated into the design allude to the Museum’s collection. However, these analogies are indirect and implicit, creating their own visual world of signs consistent with the universe of art collected in the Museum.

Details/Credits

• Client: Muzeum Sztuki, Lodz
• Location: Lodz, Wieckowskiego, Poland
• Design firm: wunderteam.pl
• Visual identity: Jakub Stepien (www.hakobo.art.pl)
• Completion: 2009
• Photographs: Ula Tarasiewicz, Jakub Stępień

View images for Muzeum Sztuki

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/925

In this project we tried to meet different goals, such as creating space as refugee, transporting information about the culture of the city and especially its cultural institutions and mixing it up with contemporary architecture.

Every floor represents a cultural institution, and each room shows another artist. In the bathrooms we worked with glass and mirrors in order to mirror ourselves as well as again work with the logo color of the art institutions.

Architecture is about creating different and special places and not necessarily about continuous repetition.

Details/Credits

• Client: SPITZ GmbH
• Location: Fiedlerstrasse, Linz, Austria
• Architecture, Design: ISA STEIN Studio
• Partner Office: TEAM M Architects
• Site area: 1.460 m2
• Built-up area: 610 m2
• Cubature: 13.050 m3
• Start of planning: April 2006
• Construction: 7 months
• Completion: November 2006
• Cost: Approximately 4 M Euro

View images for Spitz Hotel

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/924

In addition, a new place has been built next to the old chapel in order to host a sculpture donated by Jorge Oteiza. This building is known as Misterio. The cultural centre “Gandiaga Topagunea” is conceived as a group of stony blocks that are perforated by large holes, like an excavated void and horizontal cuts that open the building to the imposing natural landscape. The cultural centre holds cultural and exhibition programmes.

Details/Credits

• Client: Provincia Franciscana de Arantzazu and the Town Council of Oñati (Special Plan)
• Location: Oñati, Gipuzkoa, Spain
• Project type: Renovation and Urbanization
• Principal designers: Miguel A. Alonso Del Val and Rufino J. Hernández Minguillón
• Design Team: AH Asociados (Juan Biain, Francisco Trujillo, Isabel Gordoa, Patricia Biain, Juan Oroz, Jesús Sanz, Miguela Modrego, Eduardo Ozcoidi, Juan Manuel Filice Viale)
• Technical Architects: AH Asociados (Michel Aldaz, Fernando Azpiazu, María López, Saioa Iñurrategi, Ana Moral, Edurne Urcelay)
• Construction start: September 2003
• Completion: June 2005
• Built-up area: 8.400,00 m2
• Urbanization Area: 22.900,00 m2
• Cost Of construction: 4.155.190,06 €
• Photographs: Jose Manuel Cutillas and Gotzon Aramburu

View images for Renovation of Arantzazu

URL: http://www.architecturenewsplus.com/projects/923