Award Winning House On Formentera Island By Maria Castello

"Es Pujol de s'Era" is a very representative fragment of Formentera island's landscape, with fields of wheat and barley, a small forest of juniper and rosemary, and dry stone walls over a practically flat topography. The house was placed among the existing vegetation and a part of the stone wall as a way to shelter it from the weather. Those are the two features that condition its dimensions, orientation, and height, creating a house with an austere geometry, in line with the architectural tradition of Formentera. It's a contextual architecture, thanks to its relationship with the surroundings, without relying on mimicry.

The north-south orientation created a duality that the program needed and the ground plan radically synthesizes it, segregating the public area from the private one. The northern area is the most exposed one, and can be clearly seen from Cami Vell de la Mola, its access route. The northern area has a small architecture studio, while the southern one has a small dwelling-refuge for a couple. 

Besides being designed to be exposed to sunlight as much as possible, the dwelling's orientation allowed for taking the small forest as an indigenous garden, which doesn't require any changes or maintenance, providing intimacy and privacy.

There is a nexus of services between the studio and the dwelling, separating work from the private life, but it also gives the house infrastructures at the same time: library, archives, bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, closets, service areas, and two sliding walls that allow splitting the two main areas, segregating the more intimate one from the guest room. This allows for flexibility and multi-functionality. 

The envelope containing the program (40x40 ft) stretches towards the two main orientations, generating transition spaces between the interior and exterior, essential in those latitudes.

The envelope is made of reinforced concrete and thermo-clay blocks,in a rectangular section that extrudes horizontally. The rest of the interior and exterior closings were built with glass and Iroko wood. A cleft made at ground level lets the building's floor be off the ground - a transition between the artificial and the natural. The lateral openings were made as vertical cuts that fragment the facade's elevations. The facade's furniture and accessories were designed ad-hoc in order to give the place more sobriety and harmony, with the same materials of the interior areas.

Gallery

Glass walls in the kitchen

Floor plans

Bedroom

Inside, studio

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Trans World Airlines Terminal in JFK - New York (1962 Architecture)

JFK Airport, New York. 1956-1962

The practices of modern architecture identify specific guidelines concerning the planning and execution of architectural projects. However, among several examples that don't necessarily follow this rule 100%, there is a building that never stops fascinating those who see it. Even though it is not wholly modern, in light of commonly held conceptions, it is perhaps an exercise of research into the many possibilities of the materials used, which allow for many different forms.

This building is the TWA Terminal by Eero Saarinen, in JFK Airport, New York. Construction began around 1956 and it was inaugurated in 1962. 

The possible forms of reinforced concrete and the plasticity used by Saarinen in this building are simply spectacular, not advocating economical results and emphasizing the flexibility of forms revealed in the proposal.

I believe it is very complicated and unnecessary to develop these amazing forms, which, despite being very "plastic" and "organic", might become unnecessarily rigid and not very universal. Nevertheless, they are part of the development of our architecture and the manipulation of these possibilities presents the professional architect with tools he may eventually use in a project he comes across. 

The works of Gaudi in the beginning of the 20th century, or the Einstein Tower (1921) by Erich Mendelsohn, could represent the first world renowned "organic" experiments in the use of modern materials. The Ronchamp Church would be an example of form experimentation carried out by Le Corbusier in the early 1950s. However, these "architectonic/sculptural sparks", despite not being as universal as is claimed by modern architecture and the movement that supports it, represent valid exercises in experimentation which allow us to know the possibilities of reinforced concrete and its many forms.

Below are some images of the TWA Terminal, all of them obtained on the internet (the majority of them authored by photographer Ezra Stoller):

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Bottega Veneta: One of the Luxury Boutique in Melrose Place!

Bottega Veneta is opening its latest boutique at 8445 Melrose Place in Los Angeles, California.

The new shop is the first designed to attract clients through an exhibition that has been designed to bring out the essence of each product: the concept is an art gallery, with furniture elements in stainless steel painted white and a network of panels.

The new boutique measures approximately 250 square meters (820 square feet) and offers a careful and specific selection of articles for the home, men's and women's leather accessories, ready-to-wear clothing, footwear, jewelry, gift articles, and fragrances.

The exterior of the well-known building, which is covered in ivy, remains practically unchanged in respect to the original project, with the only addition being two small Bottega Veneta store signs.

The pre-existing windows and stainless steel grating were maintained, as well as the day lilies under the windows. The interior of the new boutique was conceived and designed by Creative Director Tomas Maier, who concentrated on the idea of brightness and clean lines.

The element of brightness is further underlined by the presence of an open-air courtyard found in the back of the boutique, featuring wooden floors and polished cement seats.

Overall, the goal of this design project was an additional evolution of the identity of the brand, through the creation of an interior flooded with light and refinement that evokes the characteristic luxury and warmth of the Bottega Veneta shopping experience.

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