Plaza de Espana, Tenerife

 

Plaza de Espana was designed by Herzog & de Meuron Architects and was completed in 2008. The primary design element for the Plaza is a single circular water basin, a huge wading pool for young and old, with a geyser like fountain in the middle. The basin has been built over the remains of a former Castle, of which the graphic marking reveals the castles foundations.

The surrounding mountainous landscape is exemplified through the simple use of water, reflecting and framing the views. The gentle sloping basin and delicate edging of the water welcomes people into the space, forming in effect a sort of amphitheatre-like public space.

The plaza is well lit at night encouraging the public to feel comfortable and use the space throughout the day and into the evening when the plaza creates a more relaxed, romantic atmosphere.

Four pavilions surround the space, which contain tourist information, retail spaces, a café and access to below ground parking. Each pavilion is different in form however they all resemble natural forms, with green walls and individual plants growing up the sides. The incorporation of vegetation in this form helps absorb sound pollution from the surrounding road traffic, and also encourages a cleaner, fresher atmosphere within the space as the plants help clean the air. Throughout this post i sourced information and photos from the web page http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2009/07/plaza-espana/

Delta Modelling by Little River

 

 

A portable/moveable thermoplastic base together with a recirculated water current enables Emriver Em2 to realistically simulate river processes.  Little River Research and Design are based in Illinois and have created this modelling setup as a tool for River Scientists, Research groups and also for education. The model is able demonstrate the basic principles of a river's behaviour, studies the channel morphology and also explore's how sediment transport takes place. A model with such a capability provides an insight into how water flows across the land, the model expresses how a river might react from human intervention and the changes this forms further along the river. A fascinating hands on way of learning about the processes of a river and how and why it changes its course. Information for this post was gathered from the website 'http://www.emriver.com/index.html' where also the video was sourced from

Bunker 599

Bunker 599 is a project recently completed by Dutch firms Atelier de Lyon and Rietveld Landscape. The project aims to rediscover the military line of defense in use from 1815 – 1940 to protect the cities Muiden, Utrecht, Vreeswijk and Gorinchem from intentional flooding in the Netherlands. The project has sliced open one of 700 remaining bunkers, opening up the insides to public view. A long wooden boardwalk cuts through the halved bunker, leading the visitors down to a flooded area. The bunker is visible form a nearby main road and is seen by many passers by each day. This small project is part of a larger strategy plan by the designers to make this part of the unique Dutch history more accessible to visitors. I find this project fascinating in what it has achieved, exhibiting the inside spaces of a ‘secretive’ bunker and revealing the heavy construction. However I feel such monuments hold a special character due to being left as they are, the design is incredibly intrusive of the structure. With this being 1 of another 699 I don’t specifically feel this is a major issue. Images and information used within the text sourced from 'http://www.rietveldlandscape.com/en/projects/7'

Water Tower, Rio Olympics 2016

In 2016 Rio de Janeiro are hosting the Summer Olympics. Zurique Architects have proposed a vertical structure that acts as an observation tower and also as a substantial landmark/ welcome sign for the visitors flying in. The structure is proposed to be situated on Copacabana Island, just off the mainland and in full view the Copacabana beach. The design stores solar energy throughout the day to pump sea water up to the top which then falls as a large wall of water. The force of this falling water is also utilized within the design to turn turbines and produce power to allow the system to function at night. The structure has been called Solo City Tower and includes a Café, ampitheatre, auditorium, shops etc. Bungee jumping is also proposed from a special platform from the top. The idea of a falling wall of constant water is a powerful image, and designed to this height it would be seen from miles around. However i don’t feel the specific design of its form is sensitive at all to the Natural island its proposed on. The modern style and finish seems to hold no character suggestive of its native location, this design could be placed within many modern cities and hold no real relevance to its environment, which I find disappointing for such a major landmark to a great city. At the very least this proposal should be saying something about Rio's culture and approach to life, not wholly conforming to a seemingly global modern and sleek design style. It should be saying 'Welcome to Rio, Brazil'  not just simply 'welcome to a destination'. Images and text sourced from 'http://inhabitat.com/solar-city-tower-for-rio-olympics-giant-energy-generating-waterfall/'

John Stezaker, Collages

John Stezaker takes imagery from film stills, publicity photographs, studio portraits and postcards etc and uses them to create images that form new identities and portray a new awareness of fantasy within the media.

He uses images of landscape scenes and positions them very purposely over portraits to suggest psychological and emotional states.

This image is named ‘Mask XXXV’ and shows the opening of a cave looking out on a blue sky placed over the centre of a lady’s face, the purpose of this seemingly strange combination links the materiality of the landscape with the physicality and possible feelings of the woman.  

Stezaker’s unique approach aims to highlight to the viewer their own method of receiving the imagery and plays with our own capacities to form the meaning within the creative image.

John Stezaker has just opened a new exhibition of his work at the Whitechapel Gallery in London, open until the 18^th march. For more info on this exhibition visit this link - http://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/210231/john-stezakerhttp://www.timeout.com/london/art/event/210231/john-stezaker.

I will be making a visit soon and am looking forward to seeing a wider range of his distinct montages. Images sourced from http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2011/01/collages-by-john-stezaker/, also information has been gathered from the same web page and also from the 'timeout' link above.

A Landfill Landscape, Barcelona

A landscape restoration of a rubbish dump in Barcelona, Spain. ‘La Vall d’en Joan’ project was designed by Spanish architects Battle and Roig and has transformed a landfill site of 150 hectares into a terraced, agricultural landscape.

The architects said the idea behind the scheme was ‘’was to create a system of hills and banks in a way that would avoid erosion from water and to give the rubbish dump back to nature with a natural design."

Underneath the pleasing aesthetics of the design the intervention drains the site and filters out contaminated fluids, this recycled water is then used to irrigate the park. The gas released by the biodegrading of the rubbish is also emitted to produce electricity.

The large steel cages at the entrance to the site contain compressed rubbish, constantly reminding of the site’s previous use.

To take such a landscape used for dumping rubbish and transform it into a park where nature can begin to take hold acts as an efficient model for the future of landfill sites. The natural location of this manufactured site draws people to begin to use the park as a public space away from the city. Information within the text and images have been sourced from 'http://www.landezine.com/index.php/2011/01/landscape-restoration-of-landfill-in-vall-den-joan-by-batlle-i-roig/'.