Herzog & de Meuron_Tate Modern

Tate Modern is the national gallery of international modern art. Located in London, it is one of the family of four Tate galleries which display selections from the Tate Collection. Tate Modern was created in the year 2000 to display the national collection of international modern art (defined as art since 1900). 
By about 1990 it was clear that the Tate Collection had hugely outgrown the original Tate Gallery on Millbank. It was decided to create a new gallery in London to display the international modern component of the Tate Collection. An immediate problem was whether the modern art gallery should be a new building or a conversion of an existing building, if a suitable one could be found. As a result of extensive consultations, particularly with artists, it was decided to search for a building to convert. When the building that is now Tate Modern presented itself, it appeared something of a miracle. It was a former power station that had closed in 1982, so it was available. It was a very striking and distinguished building in its own right, by the architect Sir Giles Gilbert Scott. 
An international architectural competition was held attracting entries from practices all over the world. The final choice was Herzog and De Meuron, a relatively small and then little known Swiss firm. A key factor in this choice was that their proposal retained much of the essential character of the building.
The power station consisted of a huge turbine hall, thirty-five metres high and 152 metres long, with, parallel to it, the boiler house. The turbine hall became a dramatic entrance area, with ramped access, as well as a display space for very large sculptural projects. The boiler house became the galleries. These are on three levels running the full length of the building. The galleries are disposed in separate but linked blocks, known as suites, on either side of the central escalators. Above the original roofline of the power station Herzog and De Meuron added a two-storey glass penthouse, known as the lightbeam. The top level of this houses a café-restaurant with stunning views of the river and the City, and the lower a members room with terraces on both sides of the building, the river side one offering the same stunning views as the restaurant. The chimney was capped by a coloured light feature designed by the artist Michael Craig-Martin, known as the Swiss Light. At night, the penthouse lightbeam and the Swiss Light mark the presence of Tate Modern for many miles.


http://www.tate.org.uk/

From_Interim

Notes and thoughts from Interim;

JOURNEY THROUGH PRAGUE;

_Journey through history [the past and the present].

_Journey through the site [progression, crossing, navigate, intersect].

Creating environments for the performance and the audience to move through - cross through [LEDGES/STAIRS/RAMPS], transfer, journey through the spaces, proceed through.

INTERPLAY BETWEEN SAMLL AND LARGES SPACES; MODERN AND HISTORIC ELEMENTS;

_New elements stand for the renewal of the church and the theatrical culture.

_Weaving of dense texture of interior and exterior spaces.

Dancing in and out of: TIME / SAPCE / HISTORY / THE PAST / TIMES PAST

The journey between: TRAVEL / CROSS / PROCEED / WITHIN

[TO CROSS BETWEEN]

_Between the past and the present.

_Between the inside and the outside.

_Between the National Theatre and the Prague Crossroads.

Testing out renders so far of the interior Vectorworks model;

Front of house; view of the ledges in the arches and the main staircase

Top of large staircase; view towards the existing windows and the lighting effects they make.

Inside the large room on Level 2, high ledges that the dancers move across in front of the windows.

View of glass roof from Level 3 with the fold in the structure.

Notes for development;

Zaha Hadid_Contemporary Arts Centre

The Contemporary Arts Center, founded in 1939, was one of the first institutions dedicated to exhibiting contemporary art. The new center, which opens to the public on June 7, will be available for temporary performances, exhibitions and site-specific installations.

Zaha Hadid designed the Lois & Richard Rosenthal Center for Contemporary Art museum in downtown Cincinnati, which opened in 2003. Hadid is the first woman to design a major museum in the United States.

The obvious color contrast in the Deconstructivist layered exterior continues inside with a very loose and slipping arrangement of material. The CAC rather fits into the texture of the urban downtown, with no attempt to stand above or degrade the city architecture.

The ground floor invites the young and poor, a non-elitist "urban carpet" that leads through dynamic stairways to various levels of temporary art exhibits and curves into the very fabric of the form. The circulation carves voids out of the mass of the building.

Hadid has explained that her vision was non-elitist. Thus, she wanted the lobby area of the museum to serve as a kind of public square. Visually, this point is made through the "urban carpet": the sidewalk is pulled into the building and rises to become the back wall--providing a continuity between the outside and the inside.

Nieto Sobeiano Arquitectos_Moritzburg Contemporary Art Museum

Moritzburg Contemporary Art Museum Extension, Halle, Germany. NIETO SOBEIANO ARQUITECTOS.


The design of Nieto Sobejano based on a simple yet elegant architectural idea: West and north wing of the castle are by one of skylights plastic molded, with aluminum covered roof together, which stands out as an irregular folded platform and lowers it but on the crown flat wall recedes. "Stand on the historical styles and forms from the different epochs in the Moritzburg added modernity, marked by the modern roof landscape, which moved to the language of the existing historic gabled roofs and gables and respond to signs of the new museum is. West and north wing of the Moritzburg be left in their entire extent than large spatial forms within the old buildings. The upper floors of exhibition spaces are as white boxes suspended from the roof and reached by a gallery along the Außermauern. Fill the floor levels are not full, so that there are next to them two-story Areas of overwhelming dimensions. The west wing of the castle are the Außermauern left untreated stone and keep as a historical building envelope alive the memory of the former West Ruin. With this design creates an exciting interplay of small and large, modern and historic rooms. The architectural resources of modernity remain independent and occur with the historic building into an exciting dialogue. From the galleries open up stunning views of the city, the old hall with its five towers and on Halle-Neustadt with his blocks.


The entrance to the museum is located in the northwestern corner of the courtyard. It is designed as a prefixed structure in the architectural language of the roof and covered with aluminum. Even at first glance, it stands out as you enter the courtyard as the main entrance from the many side entrances of the castle. On the ground floor of the north wing contains the lobby with box office and dressing room, a museum shop and the museum cafe with outdoor seating in the courtyard, the staircase with a lift. In the vault of the basement toilets and lockers are located. The design idea of the box returns in the cash room again, which can be separated as a segment, and in the sanitary area, which is set as a cube in the vault room of the basement. All new components have been trained in the same abstract language of form. Outside they are covered with aluminum and separated by a gap from the stock, sold inside their panel with white plasterboard walls or cement fiber board of the historic building envelope.


The architects Nieto Sobejano have presented their project in a fascinating dialogue between the existing castle and the new architecture, reminiscent of the Expressionist painting and the formal world Lyonel Feininger also includes the historic building stock as he meets with respect. West and north wing, which once housed the state rooms and living rooms of the Magdeburg archbishops are in their draft drawn back into a unit together and have something original of their monumental effect recovered. It is thus possible, the place and its varied artistic history to translate into the present. The new components of the Moritzburg stand for the renewal of the museum and symbolize its integration into the 21 Century.

Week 9_Interim Presentation

Sasha Waltz;
Precedent for site- and architecture specific interaction.

Dance is Communal;
Development of mapping between National Theatre of Prague and the Prague Crossroads.

Between the Past and the Present;
Keeping the original elements of the existing building that inform the historical past of the site.
New elements added that create conditions and environments for the dancers to perform on and act as the present.
_Contrasting materials so that the two can be easily distinguished.


Glass and steel structured roof: Removed the original roof and added a structure that allows natural light into the building and a connection to the exterior environment; where the movements made through the city of Prague can be seen from.
Extends down the front of the buildiing where the audience stands between the past and the present of the entering before entering.
Stairs; Large staircase and ledges. Stairs and ramps around the building provide multiple views of different areas.

Using Motion as a representative tool;
Extending the windows to the floor level - Dancers can move across the windows, which is seen from the interior and the exterior.

Spatial Planning_From Concept

Sketching out main architectural elements to build in Vectorworks for Interim Presentation;

Week 8_Concept Presentation

My concept is using site specific contemporary dance to make connections between the outside and the inside of the site, and creating an understanding of the past and the present for the audience to experience.


_Developed the idea of the dance being communal;
The performance will start at the National Theatre in Prague. This site is an important feature that has helped to preserve and develop the Czech language and a sense of the Czech national spirit and identity.
By following the dancers from this site to the location of the Prague Crossroads, the audience/spectators move within the environment with the dancers. This entices the audience to feel physically and emotionally invested in the piece, as well as being more aware of their role in the site and creating an understanding of the community, both the past and the present.

Sasha Waltz
Precdent for site- and architecture-specific interaction.


_Development in my brief;
This design will explore the relationship of the inside and outside, heightening the building and its surrounding environment, and allowing the community to form an experience with the past and present of the site.
By pushing the performance into the public realm, it invites passer-by to come across the performance piece and become audience members.

_Diagrammatic section of space planning;


Dividing the space into the three levels for dancers and audience to move through.
Intervention of large staircase.
Surrounding stairs to level 3.
[ENLARGING THE SPACE AND THE QUALITY OF EVENTS - view from multiple levels].
Using the windows for the dancers to move between which can be seen from the interior and the exterior.
Using glass and light to construct the roof into a beacon as a visible guide to draw the audience to and through the building.


_Feedback from interim;

Sasha Waltz_Gerhard Spangenberg

Sasha Waltz Dialoge 06_Radiale System


World premiere 14.09.2006 
Architecture and Music are fundamental to Sasha Waltz´ choreographic work. With the interdisciplinary »Dialogue«-projects especially she concerns herself with the experimental and improvisational examination of specific locations such as the Jewish Museum Berlin or the Palast der Republik. With »Dialoge 06 – Radiale Systeme« the refurbished former Pumping Station »Radialsystem V« on the banks of the river Spree will be the site for investigation. The interrelation of music and dance plays also a major part in this work. 22 dancers, 24 musicians from Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and musikFabrik, and 8 singers from the Vocalconsort Berlin participate in this production. Improvised old music, new music played on old instruments: the encounter of differing genres is the base paradigm for this new production/performance venue in Berlin. The audience member is invited to survey the building - from outside and viewed from the water - for himself in the course of the performance, and to explore the halls and studios.


http://www.sashawaltz.de/a03.php?w=&ID=34&t=1&spr=en

Radialsystem V_Gerhard Spangenberg

The concept of dialogue plays a key role at RADIALSYSTEM V: the combination of apparently opposed concepts leading to a result that exceeds the sum of its parts is reflected in the architecture of the building - its balanced synthesis of old and new elements, as well as the house's involvement in the interaction of culture and economy. It is also mirrored in the artistic programs of the house, where early music interacts with contemporary dance, classical concerts are combined with new media and visual arts meet with live performance. The basic thought of the concept of dialogue is: openness instead of restriction. The potential of this idea is mirrored in the establishment of RADIALSYSTEM V in the diverse cultural scene of Berlin: within just one year it is well known as a place for innovative art performances of high quality. This success is reflected in the heavy demand of the venues by institutions from politics, economy, science and media to host different events at RADIALSYSTEM V.

The conceptual direction of RADIALSYSTEM V is closely connected to the structure and aesthetics of the building. Particular importance is ascribed to the architecture: It allows the simultaneous use of the facilities by artistic productions, venue hire and gastronomic services.

The building follows the principle 'form follows function', revealing a clear and simple use of space. Using the empty rooms as a starting point, all areas can be used flexibly and can be transformed as needed. For example, the entire building can be quickly turned into a temporary exhibition space, a concert venue or a dance labyrinth, and then quickly be rearranged in order to make room for congresses, trade shows, symposia, media events and receptions.

Starting with the original structure, Gerhard Spangenberg, the architect who took up the reconstruction project in 2004, was confronted with the task of redesigning the building so that the original facade would remain visible. Not only did the two halls have to be modernized, but the war-torn west side also had to be completely redone. Gerhard Spangenberg developed a concept that combined the historical part with a modern addition. The financing of the project was made possible by the investment group TELAMON Vermögensverwaltungsgesellschaft. The west side of Radialsystem V was closed off with a glass extension and to the Spree side of the building a similarly transparent extension was placed over the former boiler room. Similar to the historical part of the building, this modern element was built with limited materials- concrete, steel, and glass- focusing on function and simple elegance. The new addition not only contrasts, completes, and complements the older part in its multifaceted, transparent and closed quality, it also triples the amount of available space for the entire building.

The building represents a successful symbiosis of old and new, and of tradition and modernity, its concept of dialogue serving as an architectural metaphor for the artistic concept of RADIALSYSTEM V.

http://www.radialsystem.de/rebrush/en/rs-radialsystem-v-einleitungstext.php

CQD – DANCING CITIES

An international network of festivals with a programme of contemporary dance shows in urban landscapes. Currently, the CQD network is composed of 32 European, Asiatic and South/Central American Members.

The CQD – DANCING CITIES network was created by the Associació Marató de l’Espectacle in 1997 in Barcelona, Spain. The organization, conscious of the shortage and connection between dance and public, in 1992 created the first site specific dance festival in the city of Barcelona; Dansa al Parc, a festival with one clear intention: to present dance in a seductive space, like the architect Antoni Gaudi’s Parc Guell. 

The association has coordinated the network since its creation and has succeeded to create an international circuit integrates by independent festivals, with a common objective: the promotion of dance in urban landscapes. 

Sasha Waltz_David Chipperfield Architects

Sasha Waltz Dialoge 09 – Neues Museum
New Museum in Berlin.


From March 18 – 29, the Sasha Waltz dance company will perform in the still-empty rooms of Berlin’s New Museum. The event will mark the artistic inauguration of the building following its reconstruction by British architect David Chipperfield. Museum Island is the emblematic symbol of Berlin’s reunited museum landscape. The «Dialoge 09» project is the latest museum presentation by the contemporary dance company, ten years after their now legendary performance at the 1999 opening of the Jewish Museum.


http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4107773,00.html


The makers didn't go to great lengths to be innovative for the sake of being innovative. Instead they just made a beautiful film with beautiful dance and beautiful music set in a beautiful space. You can see the attention to detail in everything: the movements, the costumes, the hair and make-up and the lighting.
The piece was created on the occasion of the reopening of the Neues Museum in Berlin. The dance explores the rooms and the architecture of the museum before the collection moved in. Some sections were filmed during a performance with an audience present. If you had been there during the performance you would probably not have been able to see every section.


http://www.ivarhagendoorn.com/blog/dance/sasha-waltz-dialoge-09-neues-museum

David Chipperfield Architects_Neues Museum


Built between 1841 and 1859 by the architect Friedrich August Stüler, extensive bombing of Berlin during the Second World War left the building in ruins, with entire sections missing completely and others severely damaged. Few attempts at repair were made after the war, and the structure was left exposed to the elements. In 1997, David Chipperfield Architects - with conservation specialist Julian Harrap - won the international competition for the rebuilding of the Neues Museum in Berlin.
On March 5th, after more than ten years of intensive work, the completion of the rebuilt Neues Museum on Berlin's Museum Island will be celebrated in an official ceremony.


http://www.e-architect.co.uk/berlin/neues_museum.htm

Sasha Waltz_Zaha Hadid

Sasha Waltz _Continu


World Premiere
20th of June, 2010
Sasha Waltz has consolidated her two major projects for museums to create the full-length choreography »Continu«. In 2009 the choreographer devised the artistic inaugurations for David Chipperfield's Neue Museum Berlin and Zaha Hadid’s MAXXI in Rome. »Continu« exhibits attention between choreographic and pictorial elements, coalescing a essential characteristics of Sasha Waltz’s work in a new way.


http://www.sashawaltz.de/a03.php?w=&ID=8&t=1&spr=en

Zaha Hadid_MAXXI Museum

It took 10 years and 150 million euros to build, but Rome’s MAXXI (Museo nazionale delle Arti del XXI secolo – National Museum of 21st Century Art), designed by Zaha Hadid, has finally been opened for the public.
Here we are weaving a dense texture of interior and exterior spaces. It’s an intriguing mixture of permanent, temporary and commercial galleries, irrigating a large urban field with linear display surfaces. It could be a library; there are so many buildings that are not standing next to, but are intertwined and superimposed over one another.
The MAXXI relates to the urban context in which it is inserted by re-proposing the horizontal development of the former military barracks, in opposition to the taller residential buildings that surround the site. The geometric structure of the project is aligned along the two grids that regulate the urban structure of this part of the city.
The reinterpretation of these two geometric structures within the proposal generates the surprising geometric complexity of the campus. Sinuous lines harmonise the overall scheme and facilitate flows across the site, mediating between the two urban axes.
The pedestrian path that crosses the campus follows the soft lines of the museum, slipping under its cantilevered volumes. The interior of the building presents visitors with a glimpse of numerous views and openings that cross the structure: on the one hand protecting its contents between its solid walls, on the other inviting visitors to enter through its large glazed surfaces on the ground floor.
The main idea behind the project is directly related to the objective of creating a building for the presentation of the visual arts. The site is “furrowed” by exhibition spaces, the walls that cross its spaces, their intersections defining interior and exterior space. This system works on three levels, the second of which is the most complex and richest, with it various bridges that connect the building and the galleries. Visitors are invited to dive into a dense, continuous space instead of confronting the compact volume of an isolated building.


Designed as a campus of arts and culture, the multi-disciplinary and multi-functional MAXXI is also a new urban space open to the entire city. The MAXXI’s 27,000 m2 contain – in addition to the two museums – an auditorium, a library and media library, a bookshop, a cafeteria, temporary exhibition spaces, various open spaces for live events, commercial activities, workshops and spaces of study and recreation.


Outside, a pedestrian path follows the shape of the building, slipping under its cantilevered volumes and restoring an urban connection interrupted for almost a century by the former military structure.


http://www.minimalismi.com/2009/11/maxxi-museum-by-zaha-hadid/