Projects Wanted - Juncal & Rodney Home, Pepe Gascón Arquitectura

Projects Wanted is an initiative promoted by DIMSCALE Blog, in which we invite Architecture offices to share their new projects with us. We are open to receive projects from all around the world, regardless of their dimension or typology. Please send us high quality photos (indicating their authors), drawings and descriptive texts in English to our Marketing e-mail - david.cardoso@dimscale.com. It will be our pleasure to help spreading new Architecture concepts and ideas.



JUNCAL & RODNEY HOME

Begur, Spain
Pepe Gascón Arquitectura
Area: 361 sqm
Cost: 518.000,00 € 
Photos: José Hevia

BETWEEN ROCKS AND HORIZON: JUNCAL & RODNEY HOME

 

s close in on themselves when connection with their surroundings is not desirable. However, others open up to their setting when it is clear that it endows them with qualities and provides their raison d’être and hence must become an intrinsic part of the project. This is the case of the Juncal y Rodney home since it is built on a plot of land located on the Begur massif (Girona) in one of the most sublime settings of the Costa Brava. The longitudinal volume of the north-south-facing building of two storeys – the upper one with three bedrooms and the lower one with the shared spaces – is thus open to the Mediterranean and the series of mountains and coves that are glimpsed on the horizon.

This, then, is a house opening out towards distant views, although it is protected from behind by means of levelling work on the steeply sloping land. Indeed, the construction clings to a long continuous wall running parallel with the access road and joined to a shorter wall aligned with the dividing wall of the neighbouring plot. These walls are finished with local stone, as are the masonry walls of the site. They therefore shape the land into a large terrace, while also providing the backdrop for the construction.

The house is entered via the upper floor, from the downwards sloping road, at the highest point of its land. This entrance clearly divides the volume into two parts, which are linked by means of a central courtyard offering views of the rocks remaining after the excavation work on the plot. Apart from the entrance porch, this bare space is connected to the stairway which is set into the façade overlooking the garden and, accordingly, accentuates the division of the house into two parts.

Acting as a kind of areaway, another smaller courtyard on the southwest corner affords views of the rocky landscape from inside the house, which is also the case with the kitchen. Consequently, although the volume is attached to the stone retaining wall, the latter is breached by these two courtyards, letting light in and opening up visual perspectives between the two levels of the house. All of this is further enriched by the set-back volumes, the cantilevered balconies and overhanging terraces.

A considerable part of the land has been left free since the house has been built in one of its corners, which means that a large, flat and open platform projects out towards the horizon. This level ground provides the necessary leisure spaces for a home that is mainly occupied in the summer. The terraces, the garden, the barbecue and swimming pool are therefore an integral part of the inside spaces of the living room, dining room and kitchen, which have been left totally open by means of large plate glass windows. This spatial continuity is framed by the lift-slab of the upper storey which projects beyond the outer limit of the lower floor.

The contrast between the two storeys is evident since one is opaque and compartmentalised, while the other is open and diaphanous. The Juncal y Rodney home is, then, a pavilion of bedrooms floating over a platform that offers different spaces for good living. The fanning-out form, by means of which the project is essentially designed – freeing corners in the upper part and literally opening out to the sea in the lower part – unequivocally establishes relationships between the house and the sea, the plot of land and the craggy geography of the Costa Brava, the rocky ground and the spectacle of Mediterranean skies. This is a house built between rocks and horizon."

- Pepe Gascón Arquitectura 

 

Projects Wanted - San Mamés Stadium, IDOM / ACXT

Projects Wanted is an initiative promoted by DIMSCALE Blog, in which we invite Architecture offices to share their new projects with us. We are open to receive projects from all around the world, regardless of their dimension or typology. Please send us high quality photos (indicating their authors), drawings and descriptive texts in English to our Marketing e-mail - david.cardoso@dimscale.com. It will be our pleasure to help spreading new Architecture concepts and ideas.



SAN MAMÉS STADIUM

Bilbao, Spain
IDOM / ACXT
Capacity: 53.000 spectators
Photos: Aitor Ortiz 

"Athletic Club of Bilbao is one of the big clubs in European football and its previous stadium, over a hundred years old, was one of the legendary ones, popularly referred to as the cathedral of football.

Located practically in the same place as the existing one, the new stadium overlaps with the old San Mames. This fact forced its construction to be carried out in two phases in such a way that it prevented the team from having to play away.

One of the main challenges in the design of the New San Mames was maintaining the intense and magical football atmosphere of the old Cathedral. This effect has not only been sustained but increased, thoroughly satisfying the demands of one of the best fan bases in the world.

The location of the new stadium, at the end of the urban mesh of the expansion district of Bilbao, peeping over the estuary with privilege, turns the building into a piece of architecture that must be introduced categorically and with force, but at the same time, respecting the rest of the buildings that make up that area of the city. From this reflection comes one of the first aspects borne in mind for its design. That is, the perception of the erected construction as an urban building, in relation to the others and not just as simple sports facilities.

It was intended for those stadium areas that are traditionally worthless to become valuable. These are located between the stadium’s perimeter and the rear part of the stands and constitute the circulation areas through which you can access and exit the stands, which are, after all, the main part of the whole football stadium. In order to give these areas an added value, the strategy of the project consisted of, not only giving them spatial features, but also making sure that they had a very intense connection with the city and the surroundings. For this purpose, a basic element that will surely give character to the New San Mames stadium is put into play on the façade. This is, the repetition of a twisted ETFE element, giving the elevation energy and unity. This element will be illuminated at night, thus creating an urban landmark over the estuary, projecting a new image of Bilbao from within, thanks to one of the most advanced dynamic lighting systems in the world. The roof, formed by powerful radial metal trusses orientated towards the centre of the pitch, is covered with white ETFE cushions, covering the entire stands. The set-up of the stands is totally focused on the field, maximizing the pressure that the fans exert on the game, just like in the old San Mames, known the world over for being like a pressure cooker where the public would be on top of the players.

The stadium has ample hospitality areas, with VIP boxes, premium seating and its leisure and meeting areas, restaurants, cafes, the Club’s Museum, the Official Shop and areas for meetings, as well as a sports centre open to the general public under one of its stands. Its capacity will exceed 53,000 spectators."

César Azcárate 

Idom/ACXT