news60_en

ENGLISH EDITION

MAGAZINE 60

Copenhagen, Denmark

Concert House Danish RadioThe mysterious parallelepiped created by Jean Nouvel

Renault AuditoriumOne space, multiple possibilities

Rafael del Pino FoundationOpposite geometries attract

New Dexeus InstituteClear, smooth lines to foster health

Jean Nouvel has achieved a perfect balance between the acoustic configuration and the visual lay-out.

Copenhagen, Denmark

Concert House Danish Radio

A seat to go where the music takes you

An image of the spectacular façade of the DR Byen building. At night, the large blue box is lit up by projected lights that lend it a sense of mystery.

602

To sit down and forget you’re in a chair, to let yourself be carried away by the music, to feel – these are the ideas that drove the creation of the Byen chair, developed spe-cifically for Copenhagen’s sophisticated DR Byen concert hall. Jean Nouvel worked in collaboration with the Figueras Design Centre ‘to achieve a balance between an original chair design and the comfort of functional seating.’The Byen chair’s distinctive lines are inspired by a classic chair once used in royal boxes, but the latest technologies were applied to achieve acoustic excellence.

The goal of achieving immersive surround sound was just as important as the aesthe-tics of the space. The seating creates an interior landscape of autumn tones, reinfor-cing the original concept of a ‘living organism’ that was Jean Nouvel’s inspiration for the concert hall. The chairs are made of beech wood, with sheets that are randomly sec-tioned to expose multicoloured layers. The resulting effect mimics nature and makes each piece (backrest, arms and wooden side frames) distinct. ■

LINKSwww.figueras.com

http://www.dr.dk/p2html/koncerthus_3d/koncerten3d/index.htmhttp://www.dr.dk/Koncerthuset/inenglish/koncerthuset_1.htm

Technician Yasuhisa Toyota built a 1:10 scale model of the symphony hall and studied the acoustics of the space to achieve optimal results.

603

The DR Byen Copenhagen Concert House is one of the most ar-chitecturally spectacular concert halls to be created in recent years anywhere in the world. It is located on the outskirts of the city, and one of the main concerns of its designer, Jean Nouvel, was how to work in an environment that has not yet been defined in urban planning terms: ‘Our only choice was to respond using the positive force of uncertainty: mystery… It will be a volume that leaves you guessing about its interiority, a mysterious parallelepiped, changing according to the lights of the night and day.’

This approach led to the creation of a large blue box with façades made of a translucent metal mesh that offers a glimpse of the di-fferent uses to which the interior is put. At night, the box is lit up by lights projected from the interior. This gives the building an ex-traordinary vibrating look, as if it were a large organism, living and changing. Inside the cube – in an environment that’s completely distinct from the exterior in terms of its form – is a large 1800-seat concert hall clad in large panels that follow the form of the space, at the top and below, giving it the appearance of a large faceted rock. The concert hall is suspended in the upper part of the cube, while a 500-seat hall and two 200-seat venues are housed in the lower part. Other facilities are distributed around the interior, which includes a 2000-m² covered square that serves as a large com-mon space for interaction.

“Our only choice was to respond using the positive force of uncertainty: mystery… It will be a volume that leaves you guessing about its interiority, a mysterious parallelepiped, changing according to the lights of the night and day.”

Jean Nouvel

Jean Nouvel, architect.

Ateliers Jean Nouvelwww.jeannouvel.com

As for functional features, the chair is equipped with an automatic tip-up system that increases capacity by up to 15% and leaves more space between rows. It also incor-porates an optional writing tablet to broaden the range of possible uses.. ■

The new Dexeus University Institute emerged with the goal of becoming Barcelona’s top hospital thanks to its highly qualified professionals and a fresh new approach to architecture. Ramon Sanabria, a creator and architect who has extensive experience working with public buildings, says the challenge was to ‘address the obvious needs of any hospital facility while also focusing on the needs of users.’

The idea was to humanize the spaces, take advantage of natural light, and create serene environments which, rather than frightening patients, would make them feel calm and secure. This was one of the reasons Sanabria was drawn to the Tulip mo-del, developed by the team at the Figueras Design Centre. The chair offers generous dimensions, in terms of both the width of the backrest and depth, ensuring that users feel comfortable and at ease. The model’s lines are designed to be smooth and warm.

Barcelona, SPAIN

New Dexeus University Institute

The human side of functionality

“The challenge was to address the obvious needs of any hospital facility while also focusing on the needs of users.”

Ramon Sanabria, architect


www.dexeus.es

604

Puerto Madero is an area of Buenos Aires in full town planning expansion on the banks of the River Plate. It was originally a loading dock, but fell into disuse for many years, until 1989 when a town planning recovery proposal was initiated, and which has con-verted this area, bit by bit, into one of the city’s most exclusive neighbourhoods. It was the area chosen by the oil company YPF to establish its new corporate headquarters in Argentina, is a singular building in the city of Buenos Aires.

One of the peculiarities of this skyscraper, it is 160 metres tall, is the installation, at great height, of a winter garden. “Apart from being visually attractive, –specifies Pelli– the garden symbolises the company’s concern for the environment.”

There is an auditorium holding 220 people in the subterranean part. It has been equi-pped with the Figueras Company’s model Carmen, a highly elegant seat whose woo-den backrest with double curvature makes it extremely comfortable. ■

LINKSwww.figueras.comwww.pcparch.com

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Puerto Madero, YPF building by Cesar Pelli architect

A great skyscraper, sensitive to the views around it and the flora that contains

“All the towers reach naturally towards the sky; the headquarters building will also reach out horizontally, towards the river or the city, depending on where it is observed from.”

Cesar Pelli, architect

The chronicle of Cesar PelliFrom the beginning we collaborate with an acoustician and a theater planner. With them and with our clients we establish the basic volume and dimensions of the main room. Once this element is defined we really start our creative design: giving this space a visual character and designing the other public elements such as the foyer and creating the form and expression of the buil-ding exterior. Through this process we work very closely with our clients who, as I said, usually know much about what they need and wish for.

The seats have a very critical role to play in the design of a performance hall. This is why we try to select theater seats made by the most reputable and distinguished companies, such as Figueras. ■

César Pelli, architectTucumán, Argentina, 1926

The Argentinean architect Cesar Pelli stands out for his em-blematic work, such as the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lum-pur. At the same time, he was the creator of the Crystal Tower, one of the Cuatro Torres Business Areas in Madrid.

This is the element that the audience will see very closely and will be able to directly appreciate its craftsmanship, the quality of its materials and above all its comfort

605


www.rafaeldelahoz.comwww.fundacionrafaeldelpino.es

Madrid, SPAINRafael del Pino Foundation

Culture has no limits and neither does the auditorium of the Rafael del Pino Foundation

Inspired by the surrounding plant life, a treelike structure rises up, supporting and embracing the Rafael del Pino Foundation’s new building. Rather than replacing the garden with a building, the idea was to transform it into an inhabited garden. The result is an open, light-filled building equipped with state-of-the-art technology – a venue where culture and knowledge without limits can be fostered.

The new auditorium is located on the building’s ground floor. In addition to focusing on the form, a lot of attention was paid to functional aspects of the space, such as the acoustics and the comfort of the 250 audience members it can accommodate. Participants spend long hours sitting as they listen to interesting talks; their attention must not be distracted because they’re uncomfortable. In this case, the architect behind the project, Rafael de La-Hoz, chose the Flex 6036 model, a chair that fea-tures geometric lines and fits in with the concept of the building. Ergonomics are the key factor in the design, which strikes a perfect balance by delivering comfort while minimizing space requirements. ■

“A strict, functional Cartesian geometry is constructed on top of the random geometry of the garden.”

Rafael de La-Hoz, architectRafael de la Hoz’s most well-known projects include: Telefónica’s headquarters (known as District C), Las To-rres de Hércules (Cadiz), the Rafael del Pino Auditorium, Endesa’s headquarters, the headquarters of the Council of Spanish Chambers of Commerce, the enlargement of the Spanish Olympic Committee’s headquarters, and the Junta Municipal de Retiro.

606

Madrid, SPAINRenault Quartier Central Auditorium

An agenda full of possibilities

Exclusive presentations for journalists, launches for new models with cars on stage, meetings involving large groups of employees, concerts… The programme of events for a corporation like Renault is varied and boundless. Renault’s new auditorium there-fore had to provide a flexible capacity and allow the space to be arranged to fit each event. With these needs in mind, the project coordinator, Fabio Di Veroli of the architectural practice BOD Arquitectura e Ingeniería, opted to use the MUTA-MUT movable seating system, developed by Figueras. The idea behind the MUTAMUT system is to provide multi-functionality by storing rows of seats in a purpose-built space or under a stage.

Thanks to the use of retractable stalls and motorized telescopic risers, the Renault auditorium can serve as a conference hall that seats nearly 200 people, be quickly converted into an intimate auditorium with just six rows, or provide an open space for events that participants can enjoy more if they’re standing. ■


www.bod.es

The hall is extremely functional, offering full or partial capacity, or an open space free of seating

607

Automatic tip-up mechanism allows for greater capacity •

Easily linkable and stackable•

Optional writing tablet•

Versatility for multifunctional spaces•

Delta Plus

FIGUERASBARCELONA

Tel. +34 934 580 262Fax +34 932 076 [email protected]

FIGUERASMADRID

Tel. +34 914 112 508Fax +34 915 628 [email protected]

FIGUERASFRANCE (Paris)

Tel. (33) 1-43 42 26 26 Fax (33) 1-43 42 44 22 [email protected]

FIGUERASDEUTSCHLAND (Köln)

Tel. 49-221 430 2811Fax 49-221 430 2813 [email protected]

FIGUERASPORTUGAL (Lisboa)

Tel. 351-(21) 751 01 90Fax 351-(21) 759 87 [email protected]

FIGUERASSEATING USA (Miami)

Phone 1-786 331 9433Fax 1-786 331 [email protected]

FIGUERASSEATING ASIA (Singapore)

Phone +65 6514 4154Fax:+65 6258 [email protected]

HEADQUARTERS& FACTORY

08186 Lliçà d’AmuntBarcelona (Spain)Tel. +34 938 445 050 Fax +34 938 445 [email protected]

FIGUERAS UK(London)

Mobile (44) 797 08 10 [email protected]

Elegant and functional

news60_en

Documents