*️⃣Walden 7

Architect #Bofill #RicardoBofill #RBTA
City #Barcelona
Country #Spain #EU

🔤Walden 7 is a project implementing some of Ricardo Bofill's earliest ambitions and addressing most of the problems of modern city life. The housing structure benefits from Bofill's earlier research and the idea of providing public spaces and gardens for residents to enjoy an enhanced quality of living.

The exterior facade has the appearance of a huge fortification completely painted in red. It is opened to the exterior through large overtures such as urban windows several stories in height.

The most interesting aspect of the project is the atypical way in which the housing block is approached. Eighteen towers, seven courtyards, a modular but unsystematic grid, and extensive public space create a vertical labyrinth with no repetitiveness or uniformity.

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Colour #coral #blue
Material #concrete
Function #residential
Feature #retro #adminvisited
Address: Ctra. Reial, 106, 08960 Sant Just Desvern, Barcelona, Spain
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©️
pics by Denis Esakov, Salva López and architects
text by Archdaily

*️⃣Xanadú

Architect #Bofill #RicardoBofill #RBTA
City #Calp close to #Benidorm
Country #Spain #EU

🔤The building began from the concept of the castle, evolving so that it arrived at a configuration inspired by the famous Peñon de Ifach crag located nearby. #context

The project is composed of cubes whose rigid geometry is broken on the exterior to create a façade portraying a beautiful play of light and shadow and breathtaking views of the landscape. Vernacular details, curving handrails, and roof elements were added to bring together this irregular façade which combines modern principles with select traditional elements.

Most inspiring in this project is the fact that no plans or elevations were drawn by the architects. The units are positioned diagrammatically after being tested against structural analysis in a model. Openings are determined by orientation, light necessity, ventilation systems, privacy, and connection points. The resulting spaces boast a beautiful quality of living.

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Colour #green
Material #concrete
Function #residential
Feature #retro
Address: Partida Manzanera, 2, 03710 Calp, Alicante, Spain
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©️
pics by architects
text by Archdaily

*️⃣Niterói Contemporary Art Museum

Architect #OscarNiemeyer #Niemeyer
City #RioDeJaneiro #Rio
Country #Brazil #SA

🔤Although the MAC is often described as UFO-like, Niemeyer’s poetic intention was for the form to emerge "from the ground" and "continuously grow and spread," like a flower that rises from the rocks.

Speaking of the MAC's rocky cliffside site, Niemeyer claimed that the "field was narrow, surrounded by the sea and the solution came naturally.” This natural, intuitive solution was an elegant, curvy structure that rises from a water basin, creating an ambient sense of lightness and allowing for full panoramic views of Sugar-Loaf Mountain and the Guanabara bay.

Throughout his seventy year long career as an architect, Niemeyer designed over 500 projects in Brazil (including the capital city Brasília) as well as in Algeria, France, Spain and Israel; however, he claimed that his museum in Niterói, along with the Congress and Cathedral of Brasília, was one of his favourite projects.

Just for fun: check out the intro to the film Oscar Niemeyer, An Architect Committed To His Century, where Niemeyer is seen flying over Rio de Janeiro in a MAC-UFO.

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Colour #white #monochrome
Material #concrete
Function #public #museum
Feature #retro
Address: Mirante da Boa Viagem, s/nº - Boa Viagem, Niterói - RJ, 24210-390, Brazil
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*️⃣Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

Architect #FrankGehry #Gehry
City #Bilbao
Country #Spain #EU

🔤Although the metallic form of the exterior looks almost floral from above, from the ground the building more closely resembles a boat , evoking the past industrial life of the port of Bilbao. Constructed of titanium, limestone, and glass, the seemingly random curves of the exterior are designed to catch the light and react to the sun and the weather.

Fixing clips make a shallow central dent in each of the .38mm titanium tiles, making the surface appear to ripple in the changing light and giving an extraordinary iridescence to the overall composition.

Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao not only changed the way that architects and people think about museums, but also boosted Bilbao's economy with its astounding success. In fact,the phenomenon of a city’s transformation following the construction of a significant piece of architecture is now referred to as the “Bilbao Effect".

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Colour #metallic
Material #titanium
Function #public #museum
Feature #retro
Address: Abandoibarra Etorb., 2, Abando, 48009 Bilbo, Bizkaia, Spain
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*️⃣French communist party headquarters

Architect #OscarNiemeyer #Niemeyer
City #Paris
Country #France #EU

🔤During the summer of 1965, an exhibition centered on Niemeyer’s projects in Brasilia at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris drew record breaking crowds as well as attention from French architects and politicians alike. The exhibition came at an opportune time as, only a year prior, the Brazilian government had been overthrown by a right-wing military dictatorship.

As a noted communist and outspoken political leftist, Niemeyer fled to France and established an office on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. He began work on a series of projects across Europe during this self-imposed exile.

Soon after, the French Communist Party (CPF) commissioned Niemeyer to design the party’s new headquarters. “Our shared views and political struggle were far more important than architecture,” Niemeyer wrote. “And we became good friends.”

"During this phase, my fourth, the prevailing idea was to manifest not only the plastic freedom of my architecture but also the advancements in engineering in Brazil,” said Niemeyer. “In the French Communist Party Headquarters, I demonstrated the importance of maintaining harmony between volumes and spaces on the exterior, which explains why the great workers’ hall is located underground.”

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Colour #white
Material #aluminium
Function #political
Feature #interior #retro
Address: 2 Pl. du Colonel Fabien, 75019 Paris, France

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