ALBERTA NORWEG

martes, 10 de abril de 2012

Furadouro Complex / Claudio Sat Unipessoal lda

11 Marzo 2012

This has a covered area of 6,512 m2 and occupies a site with a gentle incline in the South, with excellent solar exposure. Before the intervention there was a dense eucalyptus forest, in the centre of which was a triangular shaped clearing of vegetation. This clearing led to a suggestion for the architectonic proposal of the building, structured around a central triangular patio, a calm space secluded from the movement of the National Highway.

The proposal shows the grouping of three blocks (systems): the pedagogical block, formed by the administration, classrooms and special rooms to the West; the sports block, which includes the shower room/changing rooms, the pavilion and the open-air games field to the East; and, lastly, the social block, in a central position, formed by the dentist’s room, the multi-purpose and music room, the dining hall and buffet.

The general complex is articulated by the main atrium, located on the axis of the North façade. From here there is the option of following in the direction of the spaces of the sports or pedagogical systems. After entering the main atrium, to our right we have the entrance counter with the reception. From this point we can head towards the stationer’s/reprographics
room and resource centre grouping, which function as the dynamic spaces of this zone, and then follow on to the classrooms and/or special rooms.

The resource centre is the special classroom that is the closest to the main atrium, so facilitating the use of these installations by the diverse users. As is the case in the blocks of the classrooms, here there is also the possibility of expanding out onto the patio where the pupils can perform activities in the open-air. It may be said that here the social system constitutes a small «cultural centre», bearing in mind the characteristics of the spaces that comprise it and the accesses that limit it (the main atrium and the atrium of the pavilion), factors that end up by granting it great functional autonomy, meaning that its subsystems can be used by the population without interfering with the normal functioning of the specific pedagogical and sporting activities of the school. As in the Alvito school complex, the dining hall and the buffet can be extended like a terrace onto the central patio so that users can enjoy shows that can take place on the outdoor stage of the multi-purpose room.

The multi-purpose room is also characterised by a large opening to the South that relates the interior space with the best views of the surrounding landscape. At the North end there is another window, so allowing correct lighting and ventilation, at the same time that a system of blinds means that these areas can be closed off and blacked out. On the first floor, and in the same way as in the Arcos Complex, the administrative system and four more classrooms are grouped together, with an exit onto a playground connected with the central patio by a ramp and also connecting the classrooms with a covered recreational zone and another open-air one.

The sports system defines the eastern end of the complex with the pavilion forming the main subsystem. Grouped around this are the atrium of the pavilion, the long and narrow proportions of which running along the North-South axis relate it with the pavilion, the shower rooms/changing rooms, the multi-purpose room, the buffet and the dining hall. The games field area completes this system. The outdoor spaces include the playgrounds, the access area which comes before the main atrium, extending to the atrium of the pavilion, the central patio, bordered on the East by the social block, to the West by the pedagogical block and open to the South, with a ramp that connects it to the playground on level 1.

http://www.archdaily.com/210950/furadouro-complex-claudio-sat-unipessoal-lda/

lunes, 12 de marzo de 2012

MPA Building / Lousinha Arquitectos

12 Marzo 2012

© Luís Ferreira Alves

The project is implanted on a ground with a total area of 1364 m2 and takes place in the old industrial zone of Porto, which is now being regenerated, by using the land for activities related to enterprises, replacing the previous industries. The land-use planning classifies the ground as a zone of “ … progressive settlement of enterprises representative of different business areas and those that develop investigation and innovation in order to promote the city competitiveness and its role in the region, as well as complementary uses such as dwelling, services, commerce, equipments and hotels, tourist enterprises and restaurants”. Making part of this process of regeneration, the building is implanted perpendicularly to Manuel Pinto de Azevedo (MPA) Street.

© Luís Ferreira Alves

The project respects the planning, as it is inserted in a lot object of division. The southwest façade defines a new square opened to Manuel Pinto de Azevedo Street. It looks for dialogue with this public space, designing a front marked by the relation of the entrances and shops with this “square”. This idea is reinforced by the fact the building closes itself in the small front of the street. Formally restrained, the built volume wants to show two moments: the contact with the ground, very clear (transparent), in glass, where all opaque plans are covered with steel plates; and the relation with the more opaque horizon line, where the alternation of the openings introduces tension in the drawing of the elevations.

The superior floors will be overlaid with thin plaster applied on thermal insulation – thermal insulation composite system. By being protected by exterior awnings of the same color of the plaster, the openings contribute, in these floors, to a dynamic relation of the façade, which therefore can have multiple combinations. These materials, steel and thin plaster of a dark color, remind the industrial past of the zone. The reference to the industrial past of the place has always been present in our options concerning the design and the materialization of the building.

© Luís Ferreira Alves

The building, of mixed use, shelters a school and offices. In order to allow autonomy of uses, two columns of vertical communications serve each of the programs independently. On the ground floor, a “front” of commerce turns to a broad square in the northwest. In this front, two shops with public access by the exterior of the building – a cafeteria and a stationery centre – work associated with the school program.

The school has a door on the southwest façade, near Manuel Pinto de Azevedo Street. This program takes place on five floors: ground floor, first floor, second floor, third floor and half of the fourth floor. On the ground floor there is the reception and a foyer supporting the auditorium with 200 seats. The entrance of the school is through a space with triple ceiling height, marked by a staircase that besides the function of a strolling way assumes a sculpture character. The first floor is constituted by the school office, the library and six classrooms.

3rd floor plan

The next two floors have seven classrooms each, the library – which is organized in two floors – occupies part of the second floor and the staff room is located on the third floor. On the fourth floor, there are two classrooms and the Head Office. The interior corridor, naturally illuminated, is broad enough to allow other uses besides distribution. Flexibility in the use of the classrooms was a main concern in the whole process of conceptualization. Therefore is presented a solution that makes possible, either on the first floor or on the second or the third floors, create a unique space by joining four or five classrooms from the southeast wing. The northeast entrance will allow the distribution to the offices that occupy half of the fourth floor and the whole fifth and sixth floors.