RB Music Academy

Para comenzar podemos decir que la intervención que el joven estudio Langarita-Navarro ha realizado en el centro cultural El Matadero, con motivo de la celebración anual del Red Bull Music Academy puede resumirse en dos términos: inteligencia y sencillez.

Importante también sería recalcar no solo estos aspectos, sino también el principal motivo por el que fue adjudicado dicho evento a Madrid.
Debido a los desastres naturales sucedidos en Japón, el proyecto presentado por el estudio madrileño resultó ser el sustituto perfecto por su bajo coste y la rapidez con la que podía ser realizado y pensado.

Teniendo en cuenta el contexto temporal de la instalación y su uso meramente musical, nada han dejado a la improvisación estos jóvenes arquitectos. El hecho constatable de comenzar trabajando con un experto en sonido antes de proyectar nos muestra hasta que punto el proyecto está pensado expresamente para su finalidad. Igualmente, la totalidad de la intervención está pensada para no dejar huella en la nave de Matadero una vez concluido su uso.

La intervención podríamos decir que se divide en cuatro zonas diferentes. La zona de oficinas, no varía mucho en cuanto a su forma de la zona de estudios. Ambas se componen de pequeñas casetas de madera reciclable, perfectamente aisladas unas de otras evitando así la mezcla de sonidos en un ambiente de “investigación musical”.

Todas ellas se encuentran elevadas por unos muelles que evitan que las vibraciones producidas en su interior influyan en las casetas contiguas. A la vez, las cubiertas finalizan en aristas cónicas para eliminar el rebote de las ondas sonoras en su interior. La zona de mayor envergadura, donde se encuentra la cafetería, el salón de conferencias y el estudio de grabación, se nos presenta de otra forma realmente llamativa. Los muros realizados a través de sacos de arena, consigue evitar una vez más la propagación de las ondas sonoras y soportar el peso de ambientes más amplios. Todo ello con el componente de la temporalidad bien presente.

Por último, el ambiente creado mediante zonas de paso amplias a la vez que íntimas, la vegetación que rodea las construcciones y la tenue luz que ilumina la estancia; crea un espacio ideal para la interacción musical entre los jóvenes que fueron invitados a la edición del Red Bull Music Academy realizada este año en Madrid.

Concluyendo ya, podemos afirmar que el estudio español Langarita-Navarro han vuelto a sorprender con sus proyectos, creando una pequeña aldea en el centro de Madrid de una forma original, reciclable y 100% sostenible.


Borja Moronta Alvarez

“De cuna a cuna” William McDonough

Open publication - Free publishing - More cuna

Red Bull Academ

Academia Red Bull

La Academia Red Bull que el estudio Langarita-Navarro ha levantado en el Matadero de Madrid.

La empresa Red Bull no tenía pensado montar su nueva academia temporal en Madrid ni María Langarita y Víctor Navarro podían imaginar que uno de sus encargos mas importantes les llegara justo en el verano. Hicieron una propuesta capaz de integrar vegetación y construcción. Esta arquitectura esta apta para el plazo corto y el largo.

Les encargaron hacer una academia para ochenta personas y que fuese capaz de unir a los músicos con la gente externa del barrio.

Este año le tocaba organizarla a Tokio, pero con el terremoto aconsejaron cambiar de ubicación.

Entrevista Norman Foster (Charlie Rose)

How much does your building weight?

Interview

Pina Bausch & SANAA´s Zollverein School of Management & Design

Red Bull Music Academy

Hasta el Domingo 18 de Diciembre se puede visitar (con guía) la academia que Red Bull inauguró hace poco en una de las naves del Matadero. Ha sido diseñada por los arquitectos Langarita-Navarro.
Tenéis viernes, sábado o domingo para realizar la visita.
Os pido, para nuestro último día de clase del año (jueves 22), una última reflexión personal sobre este espacio.
Recordad adjuntar una foto vuestra en el lugar.
(Subir a este blog, y a Moodle)

Until Sunday December 18th it is possible to visit (with a guide) the Red Bull Music Academy. It is a fresh, low-cost project designed by architects Langarita-Navarro. It has been recently opened in one of Matadero´s spaces.
You have Friday, Saturday and Sunday to visit the space.
I ask you to write a last reflection for the last class of the year (Thursday 22nd), based upon your visit to the place.
Please remember to add a photo of yourself in the space.
(Upload to this blog, and to Moodle)

Analysis Media-Tic

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A True Innovation from the Future

“Today, in the era of information we find ourselves in, architecture must be the technological platform, where connectivity, new materials and nanotechnology stand out. We are now talking about an electronic and immaterial planet in which the importance is given to the network and not to gravity.”

-Cloud 9

Taking into account this new described world and playing with the aims of sustainability, we are encountered with the media model building in Barcelona: the Media-Tic. It pretends to be an emblematic throne of the digital world and a vehicle of diffusion of new technologies. A new advance and concept in our society has been put to challenge and green architecture has taken a step forward towards our future.

Media-tic is probable to have quite an impact in its natural habitat in Barcelona and in the world at large. Its structure, its singular space, how it communicates and its energetic efficiency are concepts all relatively new to every one of us.

“Is this building a Mac, or a PC?”

- Asked by interviewer at a conference held in Madrid.

“I would say the building is a Mac because it is compatible with its surroundings: nature, people, innovation, future… It is a Mac because it is more powerful than the rest of its kind.”

-Response by Architect José Miguel Hernández Hernández

Even though opinions vary, I believe that Media-Tic is indeed different. It has a cubical form made out of steel and is covered with plastic, inflated bubbles, which due to their transparency, allow viewers to admire the internal structure of the building. These interesting bubbles regulate light and temperature all around. Media-tic saves up to 20% of electrical energy every year compared to other constructions. All its facades are different and the ETFE used in the building begins a new era in Spanish architecture. The ETFE serve as solar panels. To top-up the amazing inventories Media-Tic holds, its walls are painted with a special paint that absorbs the light during the day, allowing the building to illuminate itself during the night. How amazing is that?!

The building was designed as a socially open civic area. It is the nucleus connecting the space between the Media and the other constructions of the 22@ Barcelona district. It also serves as a meeting point and exhibition location. The building is an incubator for new businesses. It offers a base of work for many different companies all along six of its floors. This also means a great lot to our architectural population, because it gives all sorts of groups a chance to pursue their dreams and design. This is why Media-Tic is said to be socially open; it is a structure and service designed for the public, for the professional and the interest use of the people. It is open for anybody, even for first year university students like us.

Media-Tic communicates with everything and everyone. There are many critiques to its external appearance and its social posture. For example, Maitiú Ward, an Australian Architect/magazine publisher questions himself about the real significance of this building:

“Is Cloud 9’s new Media-TIC building in Barcelona the prototype of the building of the future, or just wondrous bespoke fancy?”

The answer to this question and theory is given by the point of view of each one of us as an individual. However, we can all agree that we somehow find ourselves identified with at least a minimal part of its structure or concept. I feel identified by its concept; the concept of using crazy ideas to construct buildings that sustain themselves and that respect their surroundings and nature.

Society grows by the minute and becomes more demanding, making Media-Tic the first model of many creations yet to come. It has been a cultural boom both negatively and positively, capturing the attention of some and not of others. It is what I personally refer to as: A True Innovation from the Future. Enric Ruiz Geli (architect of Media-Tic) stated in one of his speeches:

“Media-Tic is a big machine. A machine of the future.”

References:

My personal notes from visit

9, C. (Dirección). (2011). Edificio Media-Tic [Película].

Barcelona, E. C. (2011). VISITA DE OBRAS EN EL CUBO DIGITAL PARA LAS ACTIVIDADES TIC. Recuperado el 07 de 11 de 2011, de http://www.22barcelona.com/documentacio/pdfcaste.pdf

Bennets, P. (s.f.). Media-Tic Building Barcelona. Recuperado el 15 de 11 de 2011, de http://www.peterbennetts.com/project/index/category/architecture

Geli, E. R. (2005). Media-Tic. Barcelona: ACTAR. (BOOK)

Open publication - Free publishing - More 22barcelona

THE FUTURISTIC CUBE

WALKING NEAR MEDIA-TIC…

After visiting the Agbar Tower and have walked few meters from it, we found this futuristic, green looking building that we did not know what it was done for.

There are many buildings that grab people’s attention while walking along 22@ district and Media-TIC is one of them. The area of Poblenau in the city of Barcelona is changing a lot nowadays as many buildings are being constructed there at the moment for the same purpose: working with hi-tech and media. Due to this fact 22@ district is turning to be the “area of new technology” in Barcelona.

The district of innovation 22@ Barcelona reaches all the goals in terms of urban, economical and social and cultural development with the plan of the territory, the location of scientific-technological companies and the extension of public spaces and green zones among others.

FROM THE EXTERIOR…

Being outside Media-TIC and seeing it for the first time it is impossible not to stop and stare at this building as its bright green color and its spectacular façades make it be very noticeable. Media-TIC is a cubic shaped building sustained by a metallic structure which can be mostly appreciated from the outside. A high percentage of its weight is put upon the four beams at the top of the construction which leaves very wide spaces in the interior of the building.

Each façade of Media-TIC looks different from the others:

The entrance face is composed by triangular figures with circles on them which are made of three plastic layers that form a chamber that is automatically blown when sunlight is detected. When this happens the circles close themselves so that light cannot get through.

The second façade is completely covered by glass due to the fact that the sun does not impact directly this part of the construction. With this the daylight is able to illuminate the interior of the building.

The back façade displaced the basis structure of the construction so its design can be appreciated from the exterior.

The last face of Media-TIC is covered with two layers of ETFE (a new material used in construction) which regulate the light coming into the building by inflating a deflating themselves. Artificial smoke is provided to pump the ETFE which is extracted from an engine placed underneath the building. The engine receives this energy from the solar panels situated on the top of Media-TIC.

MEDIA- TIC: SUSTAINABLE or EXPENSIVE?

All four façade are joined to evaluate the main goal of sustainability. This has cause many political debates in which have been discussed the reasons behind the budget being relatively high for the construction of Media-TIC. People have defended the ideas that even though the budget goes over the price of the normal edifices, it will serve its purpose in the long run.

In my opinion, as petrol and other sources of energy used nowadays are reaching their end point, the concept of this project of saving energy and using natural resources will be the concept imitated by the constructions in the future trying to make them all as sustainable as possible.

REFERENCES

Books:

· AA.VV: Media-TIC, Barcelona, Ed. Actar.

DVD:

· Andrés Hispano (director), Alicia Reginato (productor), Benet Román (director of photography). Media-TIC, 2010. La chula productions.

Website:

· http://www.22barcelona.com/

Images:

· Images taken by me editated in PhtoShop.

Jueves 1 Diciembre - Ted talks - Greenness & Procesos

GREENNESS
> William McDonough sobre el diseño de cuna a cuna William McDonough on cradle to cradle design
> Cameron Sinclair y la arquitectura de código abierto Cameron Sinclair on open source architecture


PROCESOS / PROCESSES
> Joshua Prince-Ramus: Construcción de un teatro que se reinventa a sí mismo Joshua Prince-Ramus: Building a theater that remakes itself

> La Agenda verde de Norman Foster Norman Foster´s green agenda