J A V I E R E. G O N Z A L E Z
PORTFOLIO selected works 2019 | 2017
Tijuana, Mexico 1990 | Milan, Italy “Architecture has a soul, a poetic sense, a reason for being. And if it improves people’s lives ... it’s on the right track.” -Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
Politecnico di Milano | Italy MSc. Sustainable Architecture & Landscape Design Instituto Tecnologico de Tijuana | Mexico Bachelor of Architecture
CONTENT MINERVA CENTRUM Innovation Center Milan | Italy
PANDORA’S BOX Concert Hall Piacenza | Italy
TUA LIHNA
Winery & Museum Duoro Valley | Portugal
Prologue
Beauty is something relative, something we find in ourselves without knowing the depth of why. It comes from our sensitivity to perceive what causes emotions in relation to how we live, who we are, our religion and culture, country of origin and gender. It is difficult to define what is beautiful and for whom, because true beauty lies in the eyes of those who admire it.
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Milan|Italy | 2019
Minerva Centrum [A Manifesto] Re-thinking the future of public realm
“Megacities have the tendency to be anonymous and rapid. Room and time for leisure is rare. Ways to share affection are hampered by concrete walls, rapid development and little public space for human interaction. Challenges of big cities, such as overflowing traffic, environmental issues, gentrification, slums/ghettos and homelessness for example increase the need for protection of the inhabitants.� - The Human Scale (2012)
Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
“Every human being has needs and wants; it is our nature to feel that way. Deep inside we all incorporate a need for freedom, identity, creation, leisure, understanding, affection, protection etcetera. These are the things we want to achieve in life, and we search for places to fulfil them.” It’s thru different states of mind that we can discover what we need and want, but only in an environment that provokes a deep understanding of oneself.
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[ 1 ] Umberto Boccioni | State of Mind III: Set in a train station, explores the psychological dimension of modern life’s transitory nature.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
The highest expression of Italian art is sculpture, which is present in the most important buildings in Italian history. Within it, marble plays a very important role. This is why I thought that, even if the materials change and modernize, the use of marble in a contemporary building is the perfect combination between the Italian cultural heritage and the revolution that globalization brings.
[ 2 ] The study of Candoglia marble and the relationship with the famous Duomo of Milan.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
“Today we are seeing emerge of a new kind of civic building, a meeting place for global technology, citizenship and cultural democracy.�
-Warpole, 2013
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[ 3 ] Time, Content, and Sharing are the perfect ingredients to reach a hyper-conscious level for learning, creating, and innovating.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
[ 4 ] The fact of visualizing a space without knowing what it was but could give the user an experience outside of everyday life was the main objective thru the entire process.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
PIAZZA DUOMO
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[ 5 ] The main idea was to create a public space capable of placing the activities of a square in a calmer and more relaxing space. The idea of improving and expanding the square in which the building is located adds even more value to the public experience.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
[ 6 ] It was interesting to discover that Piazza Fontana is the square of the local Milanese. Since it tells their story, it was important to think about how to recover and establish a direct relationship with the Milanese citizens. [7] Also overcoming the negative impact that history has on it.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 8 ] The building is conceived as a declaration of Milanese modernization and creativity. The minimalist style was designed to create a detachment with the Italian Gothic architecture of the Duomo. However, the contrast is attenuated by the choice of material: the same marble used for the Milan Cathedral was chosen.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
Minerva Centrum is a new way to rethink a space that combines elements of a public environment with those of a learning place, becoming something completely new. Thinking about future generations, the idea of “content� is changing from a physical form to a digital one. For this reason, the project embraces this change by creating a connection between the two worlds. In fact, this project offers the opportunity to decide which path to take and which environment to stay in, breaking the rules of space and functionality, transforming places into democratic spaces.
[ 9 ] The relationship between the piazza and the building generates a kind of symbiosis for socialization and the development of creativity.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 10 ] Thinking of a public building that behaves like a square was an opportunity to encourage a new approach in which technology is used to share and connect people. The typical contents of a library are used through a vertical element that acts as a “physical download� of information.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
ROOF PIAZZA
THE CLOUD
HEAVEN
THE BEACH
LIVING ROOM
DIGITAL REAL
SERVICE
ADMINISTRATION
THE FORUM
[ 11 ] In the development of the building, I realized that creating different environments on each floor can generate a unique experience, in which the user exercises his power by choosing where and what to do depending on his state of mind.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 12 ] Introducing THE BOOK SPIRAL, an element created to replace book shelves due to the limited space. [ 13 ] The idea is to use technology to facilitate the user of in their search for knowledge and innovation without leaving their environment.
Selected Works | Minerva Centrum
RECREATION
08 ROOF PIAZZA
07 THE CLOUD
06 HEAVEN
LEARNING & STUDY
05 THE BEACH
04 THE LIVING ROOM
03 THE FACTORY
OFFICIES
02 DIGITAL REALM
01 ADMINISTRATION
PUBLIC
00 THE FORUM
“Today libraries are as much about creating places where people meet, read, discuss, and explore ideas.”
[ 14 ] Just as each level is connected by The Book Spiral, the democratic management of the spaces offered by the building is a manifesto of creativity and pure innovation capable of adding value to a creative city like Milan.
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Piacenza|Italy | 2018
Pandora’s Box Music over the river Po’s awareness
The legend of Pandora’s box holds a message of chaos and destruction, but it also conveys an exhortation to “hope”. The main idea of this project is to create awareness about the pollution and contamination of the Po River, which endangers the ecosystem and the wildlife that surrounds it, as well as agricultural activity in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 15 ] The idea of making a statement of the contamination of the river Po was essential from the start. For this reason, through landscape art and contemporary art, a space was designed located on the border between Lombardy and Emilia Romagna.
Selected Works | Pandora’s Box
“Music can transcend in all areas, even in the most vulnerable environments”
[ 16 ] In this regard, we have designed a concert hall in the middle of an island. The goal was to create a building that could integrate with nature while remaining an artistic manifesto, while protecting the environment and using as little space as possible.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 17 ] The most important idea of this project is the fact that it is a building that does not seem to have entrances or openings, which blends directly with nature, creating a subtle link between artificial and natural. [18] For the interiors, a mix of materials was thought to create detachment between the different rooms, taking into account the acoustic needs of a concert hall.
Selected Works | Pandora’s Box
The idea behind the choice of a simple shape like the cube was to use an abstract form different from that of the classic building. This will allow the creation of a monolith that will have the same faces in all its orientations. In this way, even if the building were to lose its functionality and be abandoned, the structure would still remain a monument that lasts for decades. As for the choice of facade materials, the idea is to use untreated copper plates. In this way the slabs will, over time, take on an emerald green color, creating a changing architecture. This choice of materials therefore allows us to reflect the message conveyed by the story of Pandora’s box, launching a message of hope.
[ 19 ] The goal was to design a building that, in addition to having very specific functions, was at the same time a piece of art.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 20 ] Since it is of primary importance that the building maintain the shape of a cube, the main entrance was strategically located at an underlying level. [21] The design of the main concert hall, given the limited space available, was conceived with the vineyard-style design, in which the seats surround the stage.
Selected Works | Pandora’s Box
[22] Due to the typical purposes of a concert hall, it was thought to create a supporting structure, with four pillars located in the corners, in order to leave ample free space. Three rooms have been designed on three vertical levels.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 23 ]The choice of material relied on copper because it is able to physically reflect the deterioration. This alteration metaphorically assumes a positive meaning representing the change that the Po river could also assume in conditions of pollution: becoming “green�. [24] The sustainable approach was also adopted for the quantitative use of the material: the characteristics of the structure allow savings from this point of view.
Selected Works | Pandora’s Box
Service
Main Hall
Secondary Hall
Public Hall
“Compressing a space can in many cases maximize the efficiency of the building, in this case it does.�.
[ 25 ] The organization of the concert halls was designed in a different way from the traditional one in order to protect the building from any floods and to use as little ground as possible. In fact, the rooms have been arranged with a vertical logic that will allow on the one hand to protect the main room (located higher up) from potential damage and on the other hand to impact as little as possible on the surrounding ecosystem.
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Duoro Valley |Portugal | 2017
Tua Linha [A Statement] Bonding Earth and Water
TUA LIHNA uses the value of the landscape of the Duoro valley, a UNESCO heritage site, as a resource. It is a “line” that cuts the landscape in half, from the Terrior to the Duoro river, creating a direct relationship between land and water. The goal is to create a structure that blends into the context rather than competing with it, using two underground spaces used for cellar and museum activities. The element that most distinguishes and makes this project innovative is that the orientation of the “line”, called “The Cut”, was arranged so as to be perfectly aligned with the inclination of the sun during the autumn equinox, radiating completely, at that precise moment, the entire path. This moment takes on a great symbolic value since it coincides with the beginning of the harvest.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[ 26 ] [26] Richard Serra’s sculpture, “East-West / West-East” provides an example of how art, through a simple form, can connect separate worlds: heaven and earth. [27] Also in this project, an architectural element as simple as a “line” has the burst of connecting two worlds: Earth and Water. The use of a line allows you to insert the structure into the landscape, without invading it excessively
Selected Works | Tua Linha
“The more simple outside, the more complex inside”.
[ 28 ] Inside the complex, the cellar for the production, tasting of wine and the museum have been designed as underground rooms. This atypical arrangement is an example of how, without compromising the functionality of places, space can be used in a more efficient and innovative way. Furthermore, the “line” directly impacts on external flows, favoring the protection of the environment. For example, the structure cuts a disused railway, making a potential reuse.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[29 - 30] The orientation of the line, called “The Cut�, has been arranged so as to be perfectly aligned with the inclination of the sun during the autumn equinox, radiating completely, at that precise moment, the entire path. This moment takes on a great symbolic value since it coincides with the beginning of the harvest.
Selected Works | Tua Linha
A
B
The goal was to cross the entire complex, with a single passage connecting all the spaces. Recreating a visually pleasing route for those visiting the cellar and the museum: the vineyards on one side and the Douro river on the other. The most complex challenge was to design the route taking into account the differences in height created by the terrain topography. In this regard, stairs and paths have been designed to connect the main corridor to the cellar and the museum which are located at different levels.
[31] The flow of people within the “line� becomes a single open-air passage that starts from the highest point (A) to the lowest (B) which coincides with the beginning of the river. The most extraordinary aspect is the panoramic view that is offered to the user, creating a unique experience of its kind.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[32] Thinking about the functionality of the project, the biggest challenge was to connect the cellar and the museum to the main route due to the differences in height. However, this obstacle has become an added value since it has favored the creation of an unparalleled project.
Selected Works | Tua Linha
[33] In the design phase the most complex part was figuring out how to support the huge walls due to the great pressure exerted by the ground. The development of the construction part was also conceived in a logic of sustainability and relationship with the site. Indeed, the huge walls were designed with a more natural exterior cladding material to create a positive connection between nature and humans. At the extreme (B) the walls gradually disappear into the water.
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Portfolio Javier Ernesto Gonzalez
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[34] Regarding the museum and the cellar, the main challenge was to devise two spaces that would function in an integrated way. The goal was to create a very dynamic and diversified path for the user that works at the same time with an overall logic. [35] The user is thus able to experience the beauty of the Duoro valley through a single “line� full of richness both inside and outside ..
Selected Works | Tua Linha
[36] The most distinctive and innovative component of the project was the design of a building that was able to create a connection between nature and astronomy, two components that directly influence the activity of the harvest. Discovering the perfect angle of the autumn equinox within this line was undoubtedly the most beautiful and appreciated attribute of this project.
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J A V I E R E. G O N Z A L E Z
PORTFOLIO selected works 2019 | 2017