OMA 5

st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) }
<!– /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:”"; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:”Times New Roman”; mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;} @page Section1 {size:595.3pt 841.9pt; margin:70.85pt 3.0cm 70.85pt 3.0cm; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} –>

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Tabla normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:”";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}

CORDOBA

IN 2002 OMA WON THE COMPETITION TO DESIGN A NEW CONGRESS CENTER LOCATED ON THE MIRAFLORES PENINSULA, FACING THE HISTORIC CITY CENTER OF CORDOBA, SPAIN. WISHING TO IMPROVE ON THE POSSIBILITIES OF THE ORIGINAL BUILDING SITE, OMA PROPOSED A NEW AND UNEXPECTED LOCATION ON THE PENINSULA.
LINEAR CCCITY
TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF THE POTENTIAL SITE THE PROJECT TRANSFORMS THE EAST-WEST STRIP ACROSS THE MIRAFLORES PENINSULA INTO A LINEAR VOLUME THAT ACTS AS PROMENADE, MALL, AND MIXING CHAMBER – A TAKEOFF POINT FOR THE CORDOBA EXPERIENCE.

FIRST, THE SITE IS THICKENED INTO A LONG BLOCK THAT MARKS THE THRESHOLD OF THE MIRAFLORES NEIGHBORHOOD AND DEFINES A SOUTHERN EDGE FOR THE PLANNED FLUVIAL PARK. A HORIZONTAL SLICE THROUGH THE SLAB ALLOWS THE NECESSARY ACTIVITIES – CONGRESS CENTER, AUDITORIUM, RETAIL, HOTEL – TO BE CONTAINED ALONG A CONTINUOUS TRAJECTORY RUNNING THE FULL LENGTH OF THE BUILDING. THE TRANSPARENCY OF THIS MIDDLE ZONE ESTABLISHES THE BUILDING AS A LINEAR VIEWING PLATFORM, LOOKING OUT OVER THE PARK, THE RIVER AND THE HISTORIC CENTER BEYOND. ABOVE AND BELOW ANCILLARY FUNCTIONS ARE CONSOLIDATED IN THE SLABS THAT PROFILE.
FUNCTIONING AS A PROGRAMMATIC SANDWICH, THE UPPER LOWER LAYERS FOLD OR CONVERGE TO RESPOND TO DIFFERENT INTERIOR/EXTERIOR PRESSURES ALONG ITS LENGTH: SEPARATING TO ACCOMMODATE THE CONFERENCE HALL AND AUDITORIUM; CONVERGING TO DEFINE THE HOTEL LOBBY; LIFTING TO ALLOW MIRAFLORES PARK AND THE STREET TO CONTINUE THROUGH TO THE SPECIFIED SITE. TO THE SOUTH, THE MAIN VOLUMES OF CONFERENCE CENTER AND AUDITORIUM PROJECT FROM THE SLAB; A RAMP BETWEEN THE TWO MARKS THE FORMAL ENTRANCE TO THE COMPLEX.
THE 360-METER LENGTH OF THE BUILDING IS CONCEIVED AS A PROMENADE, A COHERENT SEQUENCE OF PROGRAMS AND VIEWS. BRIDGING THE EAST AND WEST BANKS OF THE RIVER ALONG ITS LENGTH, THE PROJECT SPANS THE NEW SITE TO BECOME A ROUTE, THE CRUCIAL LINK IS THE TRAJECTORY THAT MOVES VISITORS IN AND OUT OF THE HISTORIC CENTER. A SERIES OF RAMPS CHANNEL THE PUBLIC SEAMLESSLY THROUGH THE BUILDING, ABSORBING ALL CIRCULATION INTO A SEQUENCE OF VISITOR’S CENTER, AUDITORIUM, CONFERENCE HALL, RETAIL AND HOTEL. A ROOF TERRACE ACCOMMODATES ADDITIONAL LEISURE ACTIVITIES: MINI GOLF, OUTDOOR CINEMA, AND LOOKOUT.
TAKING ITS PLACE WITHIN THE URBAN FABRIC OF THE CITY, THE SITING OF THE CCC ORGANIZES THE NOW DISPARATE ELEMENTS OF MIRAFLORES, RIVER AND HISTORIC CENTER INTO A COHERENT URBAN GROUPING THAT EXTENDS THE BENEFITS OF CORDOBA’S TOURIST INDUSTRY TO THE REST OF THE CITY.

DEE AND CHARLES WYLY THEATER, USA, DALLAS, TEXAS, 2004

AN UNPRECEDENTED RECONFIGURATION OF THE TRADITIONAL THEATER TYPOLOGY IS THE DISTINGUISHING FEATURE OF THIS 600 SEAT CENTER FOR CLASSICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PERFORMANCE. UNLIKE CONVENTIONAL CONFIGURATIONS IN WHICH SUPPORT SPACES WRAP THE STAGE HOUSE, THE DESIGN FOR THE DEE AND CHARLES WYLY THEATER ORGANIZES SUPPORT SPACES VERTICALLY, STACKING THEM ABOVE AND BELOW THE PERFORMANCE SPACE. NO LONGER OBSCURED BY FUNCTIONAL PROGRAM, THE THEATER IS LIBERATED, ALLOWING THE PUBLIC TO LOOK IN ON PERFORMANCES AND THEATER GOERS TO LOOK OUT ON THE CITY.

TO DESIGN A THEATER TODAY IS TO LEARN FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS OF SPONTANEOUS PERFORMANCES, WHILE ENSURING THAT THEATER SPACE CAN REMAIN A POLITICAL SPACE FOR MODERN REFLECTION, AND FUTURE EXPRESSION. HAVING LONG BEEN DISPLACED BY THE CINEMA, THEATER TODAY CAN NO LONGER HOPE TO SURVIVE AS MERE POPULAR ENTERTAINMENT. RATHER, THEATRES ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE BEEN CHALLENGED TO RECLAIM THEIR POSITION TANGENT TO MAINSTREAM CULTURE BUT NOT PART OF IT. IT IS FROM THIS CRITICAL DISTANCE THAT THEATRES ARE AGAIN CLAIMING THEIR ANCIENT FUNCTION AS SOCIAL MIRROR AND CULTURAL CRITIC.
WE HAVE RECENTLY COMPLETED A THREE-MONTH RESEARCH PHASE PRIOR TO BEGINNING WORK ON THE NEW DALLAS THEATER PROJECT. DURING THIS RESEARCH PHASE WE EXAMINED SEVERAL QUESTION REGARDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEATER IN THE 21ST CENTURY, INCLUDING QUESTIONS AS TO THE OPTIMAL CONFIGURATION OF A FLEXIBLE PERFORMANCE SPACE, THE SITING OF THE BUILDING IN RELATION TO THE DALLAS PERFORMING ARTS DISTRICT, AND THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN OF THE BUILDING ITSELF.
DURING THIS RESEARCH PHASE WE TRAVELLED TOGETHER WITH OUR CLIENT AND THEATER PROJECTS CONSULTANTS TO VISIT SEVERAL NEW THEATRES IN LONDON AND CHICAGO. WE WORKED TOGETHER WITH RESEARCH ASSISTANTS WORKING FOR OUR SISTER-OFFICE AMO TO INVESTIGATE THE HISTORY OF THE THEATER TO DEVELOP A RESPONSE TO THE PROGRAM WHICH PUSHED THE CONCEPT OF WHAT A THEATER COULD BE FURTHER.
THIS RESEARCH PHASE PROVIDED INVALUABLE INSIGHT INTO THEATER DESIGN AND PROVIDED AN IMPORTANT CONCEPTUAL BASE DEVELOPED TOGETHER WITH OUR CLIENTS UPON WHICH THE PROJECT NOW CAN BE BUILT.

LA DEFENSE PROJET PHARE, FRANCE, PARIS, 2006

LA DÉFENSE IS EMBLEMATIC OF THE UNRESERVED OPENNESS OF THE FRENCH TOWARDS MODERNITY, AS WELL AS THEIR CURRENT PERPLEXITY TOWARDS ITS RESULT.
THE LA TOUR PHARE, OR THE LIGHTHOUSE TOWER, COMPETITION IS REPRESENTATIVE OF THIS: AS THE NAME SUGGESTS ITS FUNCTION IS TO ACT AS AN ICON, YET IT WILL BE LAUNCHED FROM A BASE WHICH IS ALMOST NONEXISTENT. ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS THE DIVISION OF THE SITE INTO TWO SECTIONS ALLOWING THE PASSAGE OF THE PEDESTRIAN WALKWAY PASSERELLE DE L’ARCHE.

EACH OF THESE CONDITIONS INFLUENCED OUR DESIGN, AND RESULTS IN THREE DIFFERENT OPERATIONS:
1. CREATION OF A BASE.
2. REINSTALLATION OF RATIONALITY.
3. PROJECTING LIGHT OUTWARDS TOWARDS THE CITY.

1. AT THE BASE, THE TOWER EMERGES FROM AN IRREGULAR SITE DEFINED BY A NEIGHBORING MOTORWAY AND A RAIL LINK. TO MINIMIZE THE FOOTPRINT WE SUSPEND THE FAÇADE AND THE FIRST FLOORS WHERE THE PASSAGEWAY PIERCES THROUGH THE HALL OF THE BUILDING TO CREATE AN INTENSE URBAN EXPERIENCE. INSTEAD OF CHARGING THE GROUND OF LA DEFENSE WITH YET ANOTHER INTENTION, WE REDUCED THE FOOTPRINT TO THE ABSOLUTE ESSENTIAL FROM WHICH THE SLAB EMERGES OFFERING PERSPECTIVE SIGHTS.

2. THE MAIN RECTANGULAR VOLUME OF THE BUILDING IS DEVOTED TO OFFICE FLOORS OFFERING MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY AND FLEXIBILITY: FROM TRADITIONAL OFFICE CONFIGURATIONS TO OPEN SPACES FOR CONTEMPORARY WORK CONDITIONS.

3. ONE OF THE WEAKNESSES OF THE SKYSCRAPER IS THE FACT THAT IT HIDES ITS MOST PRECIOUS ORGANS. AT THE LEVEL OF THE SKY-LOBBY, WE PROPOSE TO RADICALIZE THE STATUS OF THE SKYSCRAPER INTO A BODY WITH ORGANS: FOUR SATELLITES HOVER AROUND THE MAIN VOLUME CONTAINING THE MOST PUBLIC FUNCTIONS OF THE BUILDING MAKING THEM AUTONOMOUS. IN THE HEART OF THE TOWER THIS GESTURE LIBERATES SPACE FOR A FORUM WITH SURPRISING VIEWS OVER PARIS. SEEN FROM THE FRENCH CAPITAL, THE PROFILE OF THE TOWER WILL NEVER BE SEEN AS JUST ANOTHER RATIONAL AND SOBER TOWER.

THESE THREE MEASURES ALLOW US TO RESPOND TO EACH OF THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS IN THIS COMPETITION WITHOUT RESIGNING TO THE IRRESISTIBLE LOGIC OF THE EXCEPTIONAL, THE MASTER PIECE, THE LAND MARK, THE CONTEMPORARY TRANSFORMATIONS THAT COULD NOT INCARNATE DUE TO THE SITE, THE WORK, THE PLACE.

SNU MUSEUM OF ART, SOUTH KOREA, SEOUL, 2005

THE SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY MUSEUM IS SITUATED NEAR THE UNIVERSITY’S MAIN ENTRANCE. THE BUILDING ITSELF, A RECTANGULAR BOX SO TO SPEAK, HOVERS OVER A CONCRETE CORE. THE BOX IS SLICED AT AN ANGLE CREATING A SLOPING FLOOR FOR THE AUDITORIUMS. THE GROUND PLANE BENEATH IS KEPT COMPLETELY FREE ALLOWING FOR MAXIMUM INTERACTION BETWEEN THE STUDENTS AND THE BUILDING.

THE DESIGN FOR THE SEOUL NATIONAL UNIVERSITY MUSEUM IS DRIVEN BY THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CAMPUS TO THE COMMUNITY AND SERVE AS A LINK BETWEEN THEM. THIS LINKAGE IS THE DEFINING OPERATION BEHIND THE PROJECT’S MORPHOLOGY. THE OPERATION IS A SLICE THROUGH THE MAXIMUM BUILDING ENVELOPE AND ESTABLISHES A PEDESTRIAN CONNECTION BETWEEN THE COMMUNITY AND THE CAMPUS. THE HOVERING MASS GENERATED BY THIS SLICE IS MODULATED BY THE CIRCULATION PATH AND SITE TOPOGRAPHY. THIS MASS IS A CANTILEVERED STRUCTURAL STEEL SHELL BEARING ON CONCRETE CORE.

CIRCULATION THROUGH THE BUILDING IS A CONTINUATION OF THE DEFINING SLICE, INTERNALLY THE PATH BIFURCATE AND SPIRALS INWARD. AS ONE ENTERS THE BUILDING THE CIRCULATION AFFORDS CONNECTIONS TO THE DIFFERENT PROGRAMS. THERE ARE FOUR BASIC PROGRAM AREAS: EXHIBITION, EDUCATIONAL, LIBRARY AND OPERATIONS. THE EDUCATIONAL SPACES, THE LECTURE HALL AND AUDITORIUM, BENEFIT FROM THE SLOPE FORMED BY THE SLICE AND INTERNALLY ACCOMMODATE RAMPED SEATING. THE LIBRARY INHABITS THE CENTER AND STRUCTURAL CORE OF THE BUILDING. PERIPHERAL AND CENTRAL CIRCULATION PATHS CREATE TWO SPIRALING LOOPS, WHICH ALLOW PROGRAM CONTIGUITY IN THE BUILDING. THE EXHIBITION SPACE BEING THE PRIMARY SPACE IN ENVELOPE IS LOCATED AT THE TOP.

THE EXHIBITION LEVEL IS DESIGNED FOR EXPANSION BY ALLOWING ITS INVASION OF THE EDUCATIONAL SPACES. THIS INVASION AND RESULTANT MULTI USE OF THE EDUCATIONAL SPACES FOR EXHIBITION PURPOSES ARE ARTICULATED BY A RAMPED CIRCULATION PATH AND IN MATERIALITY.
THE BUILDING IS FURTHER DEFINED BY A SELECTION OF FINISHES AND MATERIALS, WHICH ARTICULATE ITS COMPOSITIONAL ELEMENTS AND FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS. THE MONOLITHIC VOLUME IS STRATEGICALLY PUNCTUATED TOWARDS SPECIFIC SITE VIEWS, CONSEQUENTLY EXPOSING MOMENTS OF ITS STRUCTURAL FRAMEWORK.

CASA DA MUSICA, PORTUGAL, PORTO, 2005

DEFINED BOTH VISUALLY AND SPATIALLY BY ITS FACETED EXTERIOR, THE CASA DA MUSICA INVIGORATES THE TRADITIONAL CONCERT HALL WITH ITS DARING INTERIOR FORMS AND INNOVATIVE USE OF MATERIALS. WAVE-LIKE CORRUGATED GLASS IS USED IN BOTH THE 1300 SEAT GRAND AUDITORIUM AND ITS SMALLER 350 SEAT COUNTERPART. MATERIAL TRANSPARENCY ALLOWS FOR EACH SPACE TO REVEAL ITS CONTENTS TO THE CITY; MAKING VISIBLE AN ARRAY OF PERFORMANCES AND CULTURAL EVENTS.
AFTER PORTO WAS SELECTED ONE OF THE TWO CULTURAL CAPITALS OF EUROPE IN 2001, THE MINISTER OF CULTURE AND THE CITY OF PORTO FOUNDED PORTO 2001, AN ORGANISATION WHICH WAS TO INITIATE AND PREPARE DIFFERENT URBAN AND CULTURAL INTERVENTIONS FOR THE CITY OF PORTO. IN THIS CONTEXT FIVE INTERNATIONAL ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICES, AMONGST WHICH WAS OMA, WERE INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A RESTRICTED COMPETITION FOR A NEW CONCERT HALL TO BE POSITIONED IN THE HISTORICAL CENTRE OF PORTO, THE ROTUNDA DA BOAVISTA.
URBANISM
SINCE THIS PART OF PORTO WAS STILL A CITY ‘INTACT’, OMA CHOSE NOT TO ARTICULATE THE NEW CONCERT HALL AS A SEGMENT OF A SMALL SCALE CIRCULAR WALL AROUND THE ROTUNDA DA BOAVISTA BUT TO CREATE A SOLITARY BUILDING STANDING ON THE NEW, MORE INTIMATE SQUARE CONNECTED TO THE HISTORICAL PARK OF THE ROTUNDA DA BOAVISTA AND ENCLOSED BY THREE URBAN BLOCKS. WITH THIS CONCEPT, ISSUES OF SYMBOLISM, VISIBILITY AND ACCESS WERE RESOLVED IN ONE GESTURE.
THROUGH BOTH CONTINUITY AND CONTRAST, THE PARK ON THE ROTUNDA DA BOAVISTA, AFTER OUR INTERVENTION, IS NO LONGER A MERE HINGE BETWEEN THE OLD AND THE NEW PORTO, BUT IT BECOMES A POSITIVE ENCOUNTER OF TWO DIFFERENT MODELS OF THE CITY.
ACOUSTICS
THIS CENTURY HAS SEEN AN ARCHITECTURALLY FRANTIC ATTEMPT TO ESCAPE FROM THE TYRANNY OF THE NOTORIOUS ‘SHOE-BOX’ SHAPED CONCERT HALL. HOWEVER, AFTER RESEARCHING THE ACOUSTIC QUALITY OF EXISTING CONCERT HALLS WE HAD TO CONCLUDE TOGETHER WITH OUR ACOUSTIC SPECIALIST THAT THE BEST HALLS IN THE WORLD HAVE A SHOE BOX SHAPE.
THIS LEFT US WITH THE QUESTION: WHERE TO INNOVATE IN A CASE OF A TRADITIONAL TYPOLOGY LIKE THE CONCERT HALL?
ARCHITECTURAL CONCEPT
MOST CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS SERVE ONLY PART OF A POPULATION. A MAJORITY KNOWS THEIR EXTERIOR SHAPE, ONLY A MINORITY KNOWS WHAT HAPPENS INSIDE.
OMA ADDRESSED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CONCERT HALL AND THE PUBLIC INSIDE AS WELL AS OUTSIDE THE BUILDING BY CONSIDERING THE BUILDING AS A SOLID MASS FROM WHICH WERE ELIMINATED THE TWO SHOE-BOX-SHAPED CONCERT HALLS AND ALL OTHER PUBLIC PROGRAM CREATING A HOLLOWED OUT BLOCK. THE BUILDING REVEALS ITS CONTENTS TO THE CITY WITHOUT BEING DIDACTIC; AT THE SAME TIME THE CITY IS EXPOSED TO THE PUBLIC INSIDE IN A WAY THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE.
THE ‘REMAINING SPACES’ BETWEEN THE EXPOSED PUBLIC FUNCTIONS CONSIST OF SECONDARY SERVING SPACES SUCH AS FOYERS, A RESTAURANT, TERRACES, TECHNICAL SPACES AND VERTICAL TRANSPORT.
A CONTINUOUS PUBLIC ROUTE CONNECTS ALL PUBLIC FUNCTIONS AND ‘REMAINING SPACES’ LOCATED AROUND THE GRAND AUDITORIUM BY MEANS OF STAIRS, PLATFORMS AND ESCALATORS: THE BUILDING BECOMES AN ARCHITECTURAL ADVENTURE. THE LOOP CREATES THE POSSIBILITY TO USE THE BUILDING FOR FESTIVALS WITH SIMULTANEOUS PERFORMANCES; THE HOUSE OF MUSIC.
THE BUILDING PROVIDES A LARGE AMOUNT OF REHEARSAL ROOMS, SOLOIST ROOMS AND DRESSING ROOMS TO HOUSE THE PORTO PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA AND TO PROVIDE IN ADDITION FACILITIES TO EXTERNAL AND GUEST PERFORMERS.
DURING THE DESIGN PHASE OMA RESEARCHED NEW MATERIALS AND NEW APPLICATIONS OF EXISTING AND PORTUGUESE MATERIALS EXCLUSIVELY FOR CASA DA MUSICA SUCH AS; THE CONCRETE MIX FOR THE EXTERNAL FACADES, THE CORRUGATED GLASS FOR THE WINDOWS OF THE AUDITORIA, THE USED TILES FOR DIFFERENT ROOMS AND THE CHAIRS, CANOPY AND WALL FINISH IN THE GRAND AUDITORIUM.
STRUCTURE
CASA DA MUSICA IS VISUALLY AND SPATIALLY DEFINED BY ITS STRIKING FACETED EXTERIOR FROM WHICH ITS CONVENTIONAL INTERIOR SPACES HAVE BEEN EXTRACTED. THE BUILDING’S 400MM THICK FACETED SHELL IS THE PRIMARY LOAD CARRYING STABILITY SYSTEM THAT SUPPORTS AND TIES THE SHELL TOGETHER IN THE LONGITUDINAL DIRECTION, ACTING AS INTERNAL STIFFENING DIAPHRAGMS TO THE SHELL.