11.2.14

Praça de Lisboa/Passeio dos Clérigos

For my second post I've decided to write about a space I serendipitously found: the Praça de Lisboa or also known as the Passeio Dos Clerigos

Photo Cred: KJ Arciniega
I'll begin by telling you that I stumbled upon this place on New Year's Eve when I was supposed to be spending the New Year and the following two days in Belgium; as my wonderful fate would have it, I had to make a sudden change of plans (confession: I forgot my passport). After realizing I would not be travelling out of Porto's Airport, I decided to go into the city to explore it once again. I had previously spent a November day with my roommate in Porto . It had been a long and rainy day so I had one other opporunity to see Porto in its holiday glory (and with little rain). I walked around the downtown area and headed towards the Livraria Lello (the one featured in the Harry Potter films) but what immediately caught my attention was the second floor park across the street: the Praça de Lisboa


Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega


 Architects: Balonas & Menano Architects
Location:Porto, Portugal
Clients: Urbanclerigos
Inaugurated: Nov 15 2013

[[Ithe first time I visited Porto, the Praça had not yet been opene, a fact I wouldn't discover until I researched the project and wondered if the heavy rain during my first visit had distracted me from it.]] 


The Praça's site was once the location of the Mercado de Anjo (1839-1952) pictured below:





monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com
    In the 1990s, the area had become an open square with peripheral galleries and commercial spaces known as the Clerigos Shopping. The center did not have much success and it was permanently closed in 2006.
    In 2007, the city decided to put forth a very exclusive competition, disconcerting citizens and local architects. The site had long been considered a fundamental transition space for the city. It is situated between Porto's picturesque medieval city and the grand public beaux arts projects of the 18th and 19th century bourgeois city (i.e. Torre dos Clerigos, Cadeia da Relaçao, Reiteria da Universidade do Porto & Marques da Silva's works).
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega
monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com
 As a response to the city's 2007 competition and inspired by a graffitti on the demolished Praça-The "No Rules, Great Spot" was an international competition started by  the collective Esta é a minha cidade? [This is my city?] in order to get citizens and local architects more involved in the debate surrounding the space. The competition brief explains that "it pretend[ed] to make the urban rehabiliation project more informed and shared, participative and discussed". The project competition reflects a what I believe to be a"right to the city" approach (coined and described by Lefebvre in 1968).


architecturelab.net
While plans for the space were already in process, the idea of the city forming its own competition despite the ongoing work of the clients I believe is something that should be more than encouraged in every process that involves a city's public space. It's not completely clear to me if the final design involved the work from the competition but nevertheless it's a step in the right direction.
Drawing:Balonas and Menano Architects
The architects of the project, Balonas and Menano, state that the project was meant to 
a-revitalize the detoriating and problematic square
b- take into account the topographical curves from the various inclinations of the site
c-extend the urban landscape by using three layers of program. 

They describe their objective as a square/public space that would "adopt an open shape to the city drawing pedestrians, losing interiority and ensuring an appealing relation to the surrounding". 

Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega


The project was a 6 million Euro investment measuring 2,000 m². 


Program: 

Roof-
Balonas and Menano Architects

Jardum das Oliveiras: a green roof with 50 locally derived Olive trees is meant to recreate the Porta do Olival Gate (once the entry to the city). The" Olive Tree Garden" (literal translation) features a statue of Dom Antonio Ferreira Gomez by Arlindo Rocha. Gomes is an important Portuguese figure against the fascist regime in Portugal and Catholic Bishop.
portopatrimoniomunicipal.com



Photo Creds:Pedro do Canto Brum





Ground Floor-

Photo Cred: Pedro do Canto Brum


Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega
Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega
 Passeio dos Clérigos: a commercial space of 10 shops connecting to the Lello Bookstore and Clerigos Tower. The Passeio (passage) is a walkway that cuts through the building, holding up the roof garden, and creating the two principle commercial masses within the structure.


Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega
Notice the man sitting by the window
Photo Cred:Pedro do Canto Brum


Photo Cred:Diogo Duque
The Passeio also has room for sitting as well as space for afternoon public concerts and shows.


Architizer describes this (photo) as the "point of spatial tension at the tallest point". The Passeio's website describes it as more than a "mere commercial space" and an "example of Urban Renewal: the new commercial street".




Lower Level: Parking lot with some Pedestrian Areas

Drawing:Balonas and Menano Architects
The new parking lot surpasses the previously exisiting parking area by semi submerging it and improving both the pedestrian and automobile circulation.




Photo Cred:Pedro Alves


Photo Cred:KJ Arciniega
 The structure is composed of prefabricated concrete components and the façade of white structural members which also provide shading for the commercial space. The commercial enterprise is in charge of paying for the maintenance of the place, cleaning/pruning trees and any other necessary arrangements, while the city pays for public lighting and water costs (irrigation of the park).


Photo Creds:KJ Arciniega
The project is very new so I am curious to know how the space develops. Spaces are many times imagined and then they are written about through the eyes of expectation rather than reality. I really love the concept and I think it fits very subtly and elegantly in the space, so much so that I thought it had been there since the first time I visited. Since this space has been a bit controversial for Porto's citizens, I would be curious to know how the space will develop once summer rolls around and even more tourists start to invade the city. The commercial space itself contains some big international shops and cafes. I think it would be an even more interesting space if it could incorporate the local businesses of Porto much like it once did when it stood as a market. The project has already been nominated in the Urban Intervention Awards of Berlin 2013.
monumentosdesaparecidos.blogspot.com

Here are some videos in Portuguese about the project and the inauguration:



Below are some elevations and sections of the projects by Balonas and Menano.









So what are your thoughts?

Works Cited:


http://www.bmconcept.biz/

16.12.13

Palacio de Cibeles- Centro Centro- Palacio de Comunicaciones

Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA

Architects: Antonio Palacios + Joaquin Otamendi

Refurbishment:Arquimatica

Location: CentroCentro. Plaza de Cibeles, 1. 28014 Madrid, España


After my first week of transition, I decided I needed some architectural inspiration so I headed towards the famous Spanish arch, la Puerta de Alcala. When I asked for directions I was told to continue down La Gran Via until I reached it. On my way over, I was held back by an immense white decorative building which hugged the Plaza Cibeles. I headed towards the building without any previous knowledge of what it was and was pleasantly surprised to find that I could enter for free. Turns out the interior would be even more awe-inspiring...
Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA



Photo Cred:Centro Centro

The building is currently Madrid's City Hall, but it also serves as the city's cultural center. Upon entering, the first floor quickly informs the visitor about the history of the building through panels hung along the first floor's walls. 
Photo Cred: Centro Centro

 The building, once nicknamed the "Cathedral of Communications" (Catedral de las Comunicaciones), was previously in charge of, not only Madrid's, but also the rest of the country's telegraphs and mail. It was considered a "symbol of modernization and progress" because it not only embraced the technology of the time, but it also united the traditional notion of monumentality, decoration, and classicism with the rationalism and functionalism the building required.

The architects, Palacios and Otamendi, won the competition put forward by the state in 1904 and construction began in 1907. It took twelve years to complete and was inaugurated March 14, 1919. The buildings main materials at the time consisted of stone, steel and crystal.  


Communication technology changed and the building continued its post office function, but now incoporating a Telegraphic Museum. In 1993, the building was declared a national monument. And in 2004, the state, once again, put forward a competition in order to restore and rehabilitate the building.




Photo Cred:Centro Centro Original Plan
Drawing Cred:Arquimatica


Photo Creds:Arquimatica


The winning firm Arquimatica (comprised of architects 
Francisco Rodríguez Partearroyo, David Márquez Latorre, Ángel Martínez Díaz and Francisco Martínez Díez) won the competition in February of 2005. The project took five years to complete. In 2007, the building became the official City Hall, as well as the space for Centro Centro-the cultural center (also nicknamed the 5 Cs "CentroCentro Cibeles de Cultura y Ciudadania").

Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA



 The project's main intentions consisted of 
1. Assessing the damage of the original building and trying to restore as much of it as possible.
2. Restoring some of the original elements and values which had been compromised by newer interventions. Specifically the exterior form, the light quality, space distribution, and original construction and materials.
3. Adapting the building to its new program and to current security and accessibility requirements.




Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA
Arquimatica's challenge was to rehabilitate a building so closely tied to the city's history and image. Honing the architect's favorite cliché, Arquimatica describes the interventions as having "[introduced veins, nerves, arteries, lungs, giving the building a new youth, but respecting the values of the architects who created it]". They're biggest surprise was figuring out what the original light treatment intents had been compared to what the building had become over time. 
The new spaces include: El Salon del Pleno, La Caja de Musica Auditorium, and La Galeria de Cristal (yet major attention was put into the central core area and the observation tower).

PROGRAM:

-1: 
>>>Salon del Pleno (Government's Conference Room)- This used to be the mail distribution center and it's been restored to its original double height.
Photo Creds:CentroCentro


>>>Caja de Musica Auditorium-  Triangulated Wooden Panels for sound optimizations, 270 Seat Capacity and holds open conferences and debates for the Cultural Center


>>>stock rooms, studios, archives, dressroom areas,

>>>Installation Room

0 Ground Floor: 

>>>Galeria de Cristal Public Access (which serves as a multifunctional space)- This used to be where the mail trucks were parked 2800 m2. 30m high. The ceiling holds 2000 pieces of crystal, 2966 Steel Rods and 1034 joints all weighing 500 tons.

2 Main Floor: 
>>>Information Desk, Visitor Services, Palacio de Comunicaciones Historical Exhibition, Cafeteria

1,3-5:

>>>Exhibition Spaces (5000m2)


Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA
Photo Creds: KJ ARCINIEGA

6: >>>Restaurant and Terrace Bar

8: >>>Outlook Tower (70m) 


Drawing Cred: Arquimatica



Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA
My first visit was very pleasant- I have visited Centro Centro a few times now and I want to say that the cultural center felt like a cultural place of shelter. The information desk is always filled with event flyers for museums, fairs, galleries, libraries, and other cultural centers of the city and it is open to the public everyday of the week except for Tuesdays.





The building  also has an amazing view from the third floor corridor which runs along the core of the building. The corridor looks down
onto the ground floor and captures a better 
view of the skylight. 

Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA




The auditorium is also a very beautiful space which I got to see while attending one of the many free public programs (in my case a debate on "What is Contemporary Art?"). For the most part, the exhibitions are free and if they're not there is usually a day of the week when they are or in the last week of the exhibition.
Drawing Cred:Arquimatica
Photo Cred:Arquimatica



I am not a huge fan of the way the glass courtyard structure looks, but I love the way the building's historical programmatic elements can still be spotted. I also enjoy the manipulation of light in the building. I was least impressed with the interior decor and furnishings since I thought they were a bit loud, making them clash with the already very decorative building. I think the purpose of the decor was that it could reflect a youthful, fun and welcoming atmosphere but it could definitely be improved.
Photo Cred:Arquimatica

Photo Cred: Arquimatica
The More Beautiful Decorative Elements:

Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA and Google Awesome
So if you visit Madrid don't just take photographs from the plaza, but go in, explore the spaces, take a break, read the news, grab some flyers or simply enjoy the vistas out onto La Gran Via.


AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS
Photo Cred: KJ ARCINIEGA and Google Awesome
What are your thoughts?


CENTRO CENTRO
FACEBOOK:https://www.facebook.com/CENTROCENTRO5CS
TWITTER:https://twitter.c
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Works Cited:
http://www.arquimatica.com/xhtml/proyecto.php?id_prj=11&id_news=1

http://www.arquimatica.com/xhtml/prj_tipo.php?id_tipo=1

http://www.centrocentro.org/centro/lasede#


http://inhabitat.com/madrids-palacio-de-cibeles-renovated-into-jaw-dropping-centrocentro-cultural-center/arquimatica-centrocentro-refurbished-palacio-de-cibeles-madrid-2/?extend=1

[any necessary corrections or inquiries please let me know]