Whilst sun-worshipping on la isla bonita (and for anyone going head for the golden sands of Playa de las Teresitas in the north)- i took in a little Kultur with mrsgremlinfc as we are want to do , inspired I have to say by Goneforeign's post about the brilliant Frank Gehry building he visited in LA. I'm not an architechture buff or owt like that but I know what i like and along with Mr. Goneforeign I LOVE Gehry's work. I would imagine the effect of seeing Gehry's work is akin to seeing the splendid "Calatrava Wave" as the Opera House is known. Apparently it was originally intended to be a simple concert hall, but its phenomenal design has meant it is becoming an architechtural hit and world landmark. The distinctive, overhanging "wave" curving out over the white concrete Auditorio de Tenerife is the latest creation of renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava.
The building will serve Santa Cruz, population 250,000, as an opera house and a venue for the Santa Cruz Symphony Orchestra, for chamber music groups, and for performances of dance, theater, and zarzuela (Spanish operetta). It is Calatrava's first performing arts building. Besides the dramatic wing or wave, another Calatrava "signature" element is a mosaic of trencadis, or broken white ceramics, which cover the structure's entire skin. The 194,000 square feet (18,000 square meters) of trencadis were brought in from Valencia, Spain.
The Auditorio de Tenerife is right next to the ocean and to its right is a huge open air pool (curreently disused) as well as sea-water pools and it is awesome to swim in the sea with this masterpiece as the backdrop. The other 2 pics are the view to Mt Teide from the OH and a detail of the mosaic-tiled surface of the OH.
29 comments:
There's so many current architects to appreciate but the two I find most pleasing are Gehry and Calatreva, they're both sculptures at heart and are both finding new ways with new and old materials. Google Calatreva's recent project in Valencia and his Milwaukee Art Museum, both very interesting structures. He also designs bridges and many of his structures look like bridges. I'd love to see some of his work.
There's so many current architects to appreciate but the two I find most pleasing are Gehry and Calatreva, they're both sculptures at heart and are both finding new ways with new and old materials. Google Calatreva's recent project in Valencia and his Milwaukee Art Museum, both very interesting structures. He also designs bridges and many of his structures look like bridges. I'd love to see some of his work.
Nice to see pics of Santa Cruz and the opera house. We were there in March - a stopover on our cruise - and enjoyed the visit, short as it was. The Canaries are gorgeous.
Nice to see pics of Santa Cruz and the opera house. We were there in March - a stopover on our cruise - and enjoyed the visit, short as it was. The Canaries are gorgeous.
@marconius7 - very true , gorgeous is the right word , especially if you can "avoid the hordes" and enjoy life the Spanish way. Do you have a favourite island?
@goneforeign - i have just looked at the Valencia work - it is spectacular! The guy not only has wonderful ideas but can get them made - I find his work totally inspiring (just like Gehry) and those moments we spent there were unforgettable.
Welcome back, Gremlin
Welcome back, Gremlin.
Thank you Mr. Shoey - it's nice to be back. How's it been?
A little quiet, but it's that time of year.
Why is everybody posting twice?
I said, 'why is everybody posting twice?'
Nice pics. There's a Gehry designed building, relatively near me - in Dundee, of all places. Mebbe I should go take some photos!
@gordonimmel - that was exactly my point on the Antoine Vega ppost - it was well bizarre...
Calatrava is a fine architect, for an engineer.. (ducks as Gordon lobs a slide rule in the direction of the Rhein). I particularly like his railway stations, the Oriente station in Lisbon, and the S-Bahn station at Stadelhofen in Zürich.
He uses anthropomorphic forms very confidently, and isn't afraid to adopt strong imagery either, as with the palm frond roof of the Oriente station.
Is a 'fine architect' like a 'fine artist' okay in their place up in a garret- but no bloody use in the real world?
Welcome back, gremlin, though I could have forgiven you for staying where you were - it looks fantastic.
saneshane, I thought 'fine artist' was like 'fine wine' - lovely to spend maybe a couple of hours with, but when drunk, no good to anyone.
I thought it looked familiar, but the picture I had was from Valencia:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ruQy-uP5RciBTKUExz3vYg?authkey=Gv1sRgCOP8l-r_ufWQlAE&feat=directlink
Hope your holiday was good and you're refreshed Gremlinfc.
is it your photo ejd?
May1366
hehe!
A fine architect is one who realises that you do need to have walls and columns somewhere and that the floors can't be paper thin and that hanging rooves off passing clouds is not really feasible.. (ducks as nilpferd lobs slide rule back at me).
All the architects I know are only any good when they're drunk..
ergonomic = WOBBLY
it all makes sense now.
..I tried throwing the slide rule, but the damn thing opened as I was swinging it and I've nipped myself quite painfully in the finger..
In my experience building site problems derive not so much from we architects wanting paper walls, as they do from structural engineers who design buildings fit for the gravitational fields of Jupiter and the HVAC engineers who are convinced that the floor slabs are made of cheese and that suspended ceiling and stud wall spaces are infinitely expandable on the interior, without a corresponding change of their exterior..
I actually DO have a paper wall!! Literally!
@ejaydee - thanks -yes had a lovely 2 weeks and plenty of time for mulling plenty of stuff over...read a superb beach book(I took 3 and managed to read them ALL!) while i was there which made me think of you and your tastes:"Don't Rhyme For The Sake of Riddlin'" -the "authorised" story of PE- great entertainment as a read and i managed to learn a few interesting things about the whole Hip-hop scene- very good and well worth a (beach) read.
@May1366- you're right, another week would have been great...it's always a drag getting on the plane home. Tell you all what i noticed in contrast to the last time i went to "Tete" in 2003 : NO footy shirts travelling! Absolutely NONE - and that has to be progress!
Shane: It's an amateur picture but I didn't take it, nor was I there. Ms EjD's work organises study trips every other year, she went to Bregenz and that spa in Valls, an other group was sent to Valencia, probably to have a look at that building, which looks a bit like a storm trooper's helmet.
Sounds interesting Gremlinfc, although I don't know nearly enough about PE as is the law. They were more my brother's band.
"Ejay, where's your brother?"
"He went round to his mate's house, mum. Not Terry Minator - the other one."
"I don't know what Chuck sees in that boy, I really don't. Mr and Mrs Flav spent a fortune on piano lessons for him, and he's let it all go to waste. And what terrible manners - I've a good mind to say to him, 'I'm Mrs D to you, not boyyyy.' Dreadful - and I'm fairly sure he's behind the disappearance of the clock from our mantelpiece."
"Probably, mum. By the way, what time is it?"
"Oh, don't you start, Ejay!"
My mother's attitude to my brother's choice of music was very close to that May, and my brother's name is Charles, would you believe it.
To whoever made the Darth Vader comparison, looking at that front view, that was my immediate thought. BUT, look at the profile and then try to figure out how they created that 'wave' thingy. It's impossible, it's too big to be precast and too complex to be built in situ. Unless it's a lightweight metal form with a perforated metal skin and a sprayed concrete skin. Those two points of contact must be supporting the entire weight though it looks as though it's floating.
@goneforeign - great point - here's the "official" description :
The overhanging wing was prefabricated in Seville and shipped to the island in 17 pieces, the largest weighing 60 tons (54,000 kilograms). They were similar to components more commonly used in bridges. The wing was lifted into place by a specially made crane from Valencia, which has a capacity of 2,400 tons (two million kilograms).
The wing was designed to be supported on only five points. Once in place, it was filled with white concrete made locally from a combination of river sand brought from the Spanish peninsula and the coarser Tenerife sand. In all, 2000 tons (1.8 million kilograms) of concrete went into the building.
Stunning.
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