well done to supercolossal, who have just won the competition to design the Australian Peacekeeping Memorial. Supercolossal overpowered 3 other finalists to win the commission. The proposal includes two monolithic forms separated by fiercly lit space through which visitors may pass in order to enter a calm space for ceremony and contemplation beyond… read more
Langdon Reis Architects have been awarded a special mention in the International competition for the renovation of Tabakalera in San Sebastian. Following is a short summary of our text and images from the competition submission. More information can be found on the Tabalalera Website.
Concept:
The Tabakalera has become a valued ICON inextricably linked with the city of San Sebastian. Its renovation means taking into account its HISTORY in order to define accurately its present and future place in the local community and further afield.
Once emblematic of industrial progress, the new Tabakalera will be the twenty-first century factory of social and cultural enhancement.
Tabakalera has to become a place of ACCESS to culture and ideas, a place of DEBATE, a place where PEOPLE as USERS and ACTORS can learn, communicate and express their ideas and will locally and globally.
As a local icon, the meaning and physical envelope of the renovated Tabakalera is also weaved into the singularity of the Basque cultural environment. I will act as a PLATFORM of interaction, a point in a wider NETWORK where identities are flexible and multilayered, here and there, locally and globally, where one can be Basque, citizen of the world, and European at the same time and anywhere.
Action:
A new urban street is carefully cut through the Tabakalera, maximizing transparency and interconnectivity, whilst minimising disturbance to the existing structure. The internal street becomes a new CULTURAL AGORA.
The four existing courtyards become stages for display, performance and interaction. The street is both an extension of the spectacle within the display/production spaces and a service spine, providing amenity and respite.
Activity flows seamlessly between enclosed and open spaces. Blurring the boundaries between public and private.
Design Team + Credits:
Architecture: Langdon Reis Architects Ltd
Project Leaders: Ross Langdon, Ana Reis
Assitants: Naofumi Takaoka, Moeko Yamagata
Engineering: Ove Arup + Partners
Environmental Engineer: Becci Taylor
3D Rendering: Rock Hunter
Christiaan Klaassen (Internal street image)