The Ongoing Work.

The Work is Ongoing. A Reflection on the Design’s Orientation

The list of works exhibited in this monograph offers various readings. Looking at the groupings of the projects, it becomes clear that they do not keep to a strict chronological order.

Even so, when reviewing the work in a certain chronological order, there is an evident trajectory in terms of construction. As Rafael Moneo expresses in the prologue to a Chipperfield* monograph, architects can orient projects according to any number of morphologies, but at the moment of materializing them we are inexorably faced with the reality of construction.

I think I can affirm that construction has informed the physiognomy and formalization of our projects over the course of the studio’s career. At least the work presented in this monograph.

When carrying out any anthological retrospective, reflections on aesthetic critical thinking always emerge. In our case, at TdB Architects, a turning point came in the form of the author’s doctoral dissertation of the person. Under the title Matter Architectures, it revisited the work of Peter Zumthor and many other exponents of architecture that takes construction as an inherent part of a design’s formulation. That dissertation represents a milestone in terms of the references for the work we develop in the studio.

In that sense, the FCK house in Castellcir (2011-2013) was completed during the final stages of writing that dissertation (2005-2013) and during a period of few commissions – coinciding with the financial crisis that began in 2008. The house, with clear allusions to the house in Jenaz (2007) by Peter Zumthor (which may have been designed by the Swiss architect under the influence of the house in Norrkoping (1963) by Sverre Fehn (1963)), shows signs of an inquisitive self-awareness in design precipitated largely by the aforementioned research.

Regardless of the milestone of the FCK House, 25 years after beginning our professional journey, it is possible to assume a certain degree of awareness regarding our ongoing work.

At the studio, each new project or commission begins with a conversation in which materiality is present from the very beginning.

TdB Architects Main Office

Barcelona, Spain

IN PRAISE OF THE MEDITERRANEAN COURTYARD

The project is located inside a courtyard, in a largely residential area of Barcelona’s Sant Gervasi neighborhood.

The intervention consists of transforming an old mechanic’s workshop for use as an architectural studio.

The intervention consists of two actions:

1 Reinforcing structural wooden fences.

2 Creating two courtyards at the ends of the bay.

These actions lead to a longitudinal division of the porticoed interior space, which allows the space to be transformed into a configuration offering multiple diagonalized sightlines.

The intervention confers the possibility of occupying and developing activities in small sub-areas, always within a single space. All new materials are white, keeping only the colors of natural materials (ceramic and wood) in the original construction elements.

Access is through the ground floor of a residential building, in a long 20-m-long gallery for holding exhibitions and workshops. The end of the corridor leads to the main hall, which is the permanent workplace.

The open “Mediterranean courtyards” make it possible to work with natural light, introducing the presence of vegetation and providing an outdoor space for moments of leisure.

Architect Juan Trias de Bes

Pilar de Alós, Marta Pascual, Fernando Herrero

Collaborating Architects

Mireia Figueras, Carlos Garcia.

Structural Engineers BIS structures

Location

Carrer Arimón, 64, Barcelona Built Surface Area

Barcelona, Spain

THE INTERVENTION

The commission consists of the extension of a university residence hall in the northern sector of Barcelona, next to the Ronda de Dalt, on a site marked by the geography of the Collserola foothills.

The proposal is intended to provide the character of a residential university campus.

THE DESIGN

The design is derived from an initial decision. Two constructive elements are defined as a resource for scale: the concrete envelope and the ventilated façade of slate and glass.

— The concrete envelope resolves the planning and the urban relationships.

— The ventilated façade envelope resolves the building program.

In this list of constructive elements, the void appears as the spatial element with the greatest presence – the one that provides the spatial quality and atmosphere.

MATERIALITY AND ITS ARCHITECTURAL FUNCTION

Structural white concrete for the roof and the vertical envelope. It is arranged forming longitudinal strips. Along the urban frontage they are aligned with the layout of the road; inside, they form a volumetric sequence.

The façade of the rooms is made of a prefabricated panel with a metal structure, a ventilation chamber and green slate plates that contribute to the atmosphere of the landscaping in the outdoor spaces.

Architect

Juan Trias de Bes

Building engineer

Ricardo Villoria

Collaborating Architects

Jordi Perramón

Structural Engineers

STATIC Ingeniería SLP

Installations

Ofiproject

General Contractor

Vopi 4 S.A.

Location

Carrer Esports, 1-3 Can Caralleu

Barcelona. España

Built Surface Area

9.345,90 m2

Start of Construction

2008

Finalization

2009

Photography

Dani Rovira

1. Location Plan