The Water Gardens

Rolling the series of Game of Thrones in the Alcazar of Seville, they could not have chosen better scenario!

Hi, the exceptional documents there are in all parts of the planet, these documents are part of our culture and our way of understanding the life. That’s one of the reasons why I, the tireless Rodolfo, I am a fan of libraries, these allow us to establish centers of gathering of all the possible information, and if you have a pendrive, you can also enjoy this information anywhere.

I don't know if you've heard of “Game of Thrones”, or if you tried to assess where live the characters, but, surely, you've heard of the Real Alcazar of Seville. Of the new season (the fifth) I'll take the scene in which Ellaria Sand (Indira Varma) claims before the Prince of Dorne, Doran Martell (Alexander Siddig) revenge for the death of her beloved Oberyn Martell (Pedro Pascal), you will discover that I if I have "heard" of the series. In the background of the scene "The Water Gardens” and the beautiful ceramic Arabic... wonderful... even I stay with a very special and common material: the Plaster.

Real Alcazar of Seville

The building is the oldest Royal Palace in Europe, only this already deserves a visit, began to take shape in the 8th century and it's been occupied by innumerable hosts. With the passage of time (always wanted to write this sentence) each Governor was leaving (or tried) his personal imprint in the construction. The set is nothing more than a group of buildings of different styles: almohad, mudejar, gothic and renaissance, is a delight to the visitors and for the films, it allow scenes from different eras in the same place.

In the Alcazar is entered through the "door of the Lion" where you will enjoy an Almohad architecture, next door is the "Hall of Justice" built by Alfonso XI in 1340, which has a cover with mudejar armor that will provide you a good neck pain (it happened to me) . Next to the Hall of Justice is "the patio of the Plaster", this patio is one of the oldest parts of the Alcazar and corresponds to the Almohad Caliphate of Abu Yaqud Yusuf and Abu Yusuf al Manur, on it, porticoed arches with a rich decoration of the Almohad polychrome plasterwork, some parts in very poor condition (everything must be said), also, hit me very much the focuses on the top corners that you want me to say? I am a purist...

Another place of interest is the "Patio of the Monteria" from where you can see the façade of the "Palacio Mudejar Pedro I", whose surname is "Fair" or "Cruel" (if they were friends or enemies). Its fully ornamented facade presents a lintel door, windows with arches and mullions in form of colonnades and a large eave supported by muqarnas (ornaments composed of coupled and combined prisms whose end is conical) of golden colour. Inside the Palace there are two patios where I could life: "The Patio of the Maidens' with its lobed arches on double columns and the "Patio of the Dolls" with its beautiful decoration based on small faces in the arches, tiles and stuccoes.

Visit forced the "Gothic Palace" built by Alfonso X in 1254, as an anecdote I will tell you that an ancestor of my long lineage enjoyed in the "Gothic room", that it was called "Party Room" in the 16th century, during the Royal Wedding of King Carlos I. From this room you can go to the left, to the "Garden of the Chorron" next to the "Mercury Pond" which is presided over by a figure of the God Mercury. If you access the right door of the room you immerse in the chapel presided by an altarpiece of the Virgin of the Old. Finally emphasize the "Door of the Privilege" that separates into two parts "the gardens of the Alcázar" and on which Ellaria Sand observe (with hatred in his eyes) to the young Lannister strolling through the "Water Gardens" (Feel like to continue the series?).

Of course the historical set has a lot more to see and enjoy, but if I tell it all, perhaps you never go back. When you go don't forget the reverence it deserves a material very present in this construction.

The Plaster

The plaster is one of the oldest materials used in construction by its unique qualities. Its deposits was originated as marine deposits for millennia, the drying of the seas where they produced the phenomenon and its subsequent emergence led to his discovery by the humans. The plaster is obtained from a rock called Aljez, which is composed of dihydrate calcium sulphate (I don't like how it looks the chemical formula). Basically it calcined (applying high.

The main feature of the plaster is that it reacts quickly and violently with the water turning it into a rigid mass, of low hardness (2 on the Mohs scale, or easily scratched with a fingernail), of low weight (1,250 Kg/m³) and of white texture (can introduce darker colours if you have impurities); It is also an excellent temperature regulator as it absorbs water in atmospheres charged and expels water in dry atmospheres. All this makes it ideal as a coating material, to make different moulds, as a decorative element and gives unlimited functions that already knew in the 6th century BC in the ancient Jericho.

With all the best of the plaster is that I will be able to use without charge of consciousness in my next building for several reasons: it is 100 percent recyclable, it is able to improve the thermal and acoustic efficiency of walls, is found abundantly in nature (won't be exhausted), (almost) any operator can work with it, and, the better, faithfully adapts to any shape that it receive. I will put to the test this material, Word of Rodolfo. Bye bye.

I don´t want to go to Milan!

The UAE Pavilion simulates being in the desert with a demountable structure and showing an audiovisual of the country.

Hi, I had decided two years earlier, that I would not go to the Milan expo and that I would not enter in one of its pavilions for discuss, do business or personal matters. I does not think that the Expo is outdated, as I have heard (and readed) in some locations by some persons malicious. The History teaches us that any cultural and commercial exchange enriches the parties. Jaeger-LeCoultre count us, that in the first universal exhibition (1851) the Queen Victoria acquired a pendant watch with LeCoultre caliber, thus initiating a great was to this brand.

The reasons because I did not want to go to the Universal Exposition in Milan are very simple, first: I must not distract me from the mission that I have entrusted and which I am delivered in body and soul (of course), as you know, the discover materials and building systems to build a complex and perfect building on an island. The second is that I have a large social spectrum with who I interact worldwide gathered in one place... could not fulfill with all! The third, simpler still, is that I was about to visit an island in the Pacific (Vanua Levu) that appears to have the conditions to accomplish my task. But a call changed my plans.

The call was joint, on one side of the line my friends of the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and by the other my contacts of the F+P (Foster + Partners) the architecture of a named Norman Foster Studio, I have understood, one of the best in the world. Between the two managed that I consented (I resisted hard) in accompany at the opening of the Expo Milan 2015, more specifically on the UAE Pavilion, they gave me a compelling reason: "Dear Rodolfo: the island that you visit does not move, our Pavilion Yes", with an argument so strong, I could not deny me.

The topic of the exhibition of Milan could not be more Universal: "Feeding the planet, energy for life", the concern of the international community is clear, not in vain, there are 805 million people worldwide who do not have enough food to live (according to the WFP); but the most striking, in my opinion, is that there are 600 million people with obesity (according to OMS).

Detected the problem, the positive side is that we are closer to the solution, this is, in part, the idea for the event, to promote a debate worldwide about food and sustainability, with 145 the countries participating (represent 94% of the world's population), international organizations, civil society organizations and, of course, companies. All of them can teach from May 1 until October 31 their advances, promote exhibitions, competitions, dialogues, teaching traditions, discoveries, etc. The forecasts predict that by the different pavilions, will enter between 20 and 25 million people (You will see in November). The entrance costs 39 euros per adult, although there are discounts for groups.

'Our' UAE Pavilion occupies an area of 4,386 square meters, has 1,175 square meters exhibition area, the height of the building is 17 meters with 2-3 plants depending on the area. It has a capacity of 785 people per hour, which, to an average of 5 visits per day for six months, we can deduce that it is expected that at least 700,000 people in the Pavilion.

If you decide to go, you will enter by a way with wavy walls, 12 meters high, the way will accompany to an auditorium and from there to the rest of spaces. These walls recreate the desert landscapes of cities that make up the Emirates and the need to seek the shade to protect yourself from extreme temperatures; the designers had the utmost concern to recreate as faithfully as possible the thermal conditions of the place, without inconvenience for the visitors. The walls run through 140 meters of plot, represent the ridges and the texture of the sand dunes. This simulation is possible thanks to a very special material: the GRC (glass fiber reinforced concrete).

The auditorium has a cylindrical shape and is in the centre of the plot, has a capacity for 150 people and shows a short film where the life of a Palm is related to the history of a family and the development of the UAE, with a style rap and an emirati girl, Sarah, who will accompany you until the end of the course and she teaching you how the lessons of past generations you will help to create a sustainable future (look and believe).

After the projections, the visitors follow a path through the large interactive screens with digital lectures that include a special exhibition that celebrates that Dubai will host the Expo 2020. At the end of the exhibition, the visitors reach a green oasis. The landscape to its around and the public areas is designed as a whole to evoke the land and the flora of the UAE. When finalize the Milan Expo, the building will be dismantled and transferred to Masdar City, on the outskirts of Abu Dhabi, where they will be rebuilt.

Panels of GRC

The GRC (Glass Fibre Reinforced Cement) is a reinforced concrete with fiber glass in all its mass, this gives qualities to the pieces that to human beings would like: high resistance to bending, tensile and impact, atmospheric agents and an extreme lightness (between 30 and 80 kilograms per square meter). The glass fiber content is between 4 and 5% of its total weight and gives it versatility, incombustibility and impermeability. Eye, this material does not exercise structural functions, are used as cladding and decoration.

The GRC is made by molding, so it can have any form and with any texture (sands of the desert, for example). They are also manufactured in white and grey, with the addition of certain pigments, can have a long variety of colors.

The GRC are marketed in three different shapes: covering an area of 6 m2 with 1 centimeter of thickness, these pieces such as maximum serve as decorative elements and have little weight (from 30 to 45 kg/m2). As panels with polystyrene foam core or other material, and facades of GRC of one centimeter in thickness, ideal for the thermal insulation. And, the most useful, as the panel Stud-frame, which are panels of the same material subject to a structure steel (stud-frame) that you can placed insulation inside, and various facilities, its weight is between 45 and 60 kg/m2.

After my visit to the Pavilion, I confess that I am closer to the desert and the GRC from what never had felt me, well, also of the luqaimat that I tasted there. Bye bye.

Whitney, Allen, Obama and the pavement of Pine

Founded by Whitney, used by Allen, inaugurated by Obama and you can enjoy the works of American art.

Hi, the vitality printed by the geniuses in his works isn't appreciated, in the majority of the cases, by their immediate environment. These geniuses end up imposing its will through a strange, or, as it is called today, a patron who discovers the hidden genius, gives him a chance to hatch, and of course, collecting the fruits. In my family, of ancient lineage, we are very used to detect this type of persons, which help you grow the humanity making a leap in quality.

Woody Allen is the genius par excellence, the friend of the wit, from the imagination and, at the same time, of the real. The greatest work he has done (no doubt) is the film "Manhattan," a success in 1979 and a pleasure for the senses. One of his famous scenes is when Isaac (Allen) meets with Mary (Diane Keaton), takes place in the Whitney Museum Art, located at 945 Madison Avenue, whose building was designed in 1966 by the architect Marcel Breuer, a construction that broke moulds in its time, with a solid volume and a reverse staggering, most typical of the architecture brutalist than of the architecture modernist.

The Museum was founded by the sculptor and, later, patron Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, from whom he inherited his popular surname. The idea was to promote American art and safeguard it for future generations. Over time, this museum has become one of the big four in New York, next to MoMa, the Metropolitan and the Guggenheim. But the success has made that the fantastic building is obsolete and, above all, small for the large number of works of art which possesses, which were only 700 when the museum began his journey by 1929 (it rained) and which currently reach 21,000.

I am not going to deny that I, Rodolfo, had something to do with the idea of a new Museum, my suggestions smart and altruistic were enough, part of my personality, as you know. Thus, the direction of the Museum, with Adam D. Weinberg at the head, commissioned the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the design of the new building. After a while looking for a convenient location for the new construction was chosen the number 99 of the Gansevoort Street, in New York, of course.

The building opened its doors may 1 and was inaugurated a day before, nothing more and nothing less than by the first American Lady (Michelle Obama), she inspired us tenderness remembering their own childhood, in which, places like a Museum seemed very far from she, Michelle encouraged that these spaces are open to the thousands of children in the country, really, I was enormously thrilled by his speech. They also spoke the Mayor of New York (Bill de Blasio), the director of the Museum (Adam D. Weinberg), the architect of the building (Renzo Piano) and the granddaughter of the founder (Flora Miller Biddle).

The Connoisseurs say than the building resembles a boat from the West and a factory from the North, as if will mimic the environment that the "anchor" (do you understand?), I seems a notable presence with strength bordering also the brutality, without losing sight of the elegance of the materials (glass, steel and concrete of the façade). At the entrance a large cantilever welcomes you to enjoy of 2.590 square metres of public space, and the view of the Hudson River.

With 60.500 square meters built in 9 floors, the building has 15,200 meters of interior galleries, 3,960 meters of exhibition space at the outdoors and terraces with views to the High Line. The largest Gallery without columns in a Museum in the city of New York of 5.480 square meters, includes a lobby with free access, two floors of a permanent collection, Gallery and a special exhibit on the top floor. The building weighs around of 30,000 tons (excluding the works of art) and nearly cost the 422 million dollars (377 million euros). The construction company, Turner Construction has made available to the public a print 3D (its parametres), I rub the hands just thinking about it.

Renzo has respected the rules of the game, the Museum is not a building with striking facades or strident colors, it is a volumetric place that it merges with the environment without going unnoticed, in addition, it offers the possibility of enjoying several terraces in a staggered fashion (making a nod to Breuer?) and that leaves part of stair in outdoor turning it into an unexpected viewpoint. It has an education centre that provides classrooms with the latest technology, an outdoor Gallery, a theatre with 170 seats and overlooking the Hudson River, distributed in two floors, a laboratory and a library (the old Whitney did not have classrooms, theatre or study center). You can buy in a shop at the retail, to eat in its restaurant (ground floor) and enjoy of a cafeteria (top floor) which are directed by Danny Meyer.

But the best thing is the interior, where the rooms are used to the maximum and its lifts open their doors from the lobby to the right of the galleries, maintaining the privacy and the priority between the spectator and the work, in addition, the elevators have works by the painter and sculptor Richard Artschwager. In the roof (within of the room) the rails allows to play with an endless ways to combine the stay, subdividing it according to the needs of the sample. And, when you look down, you'll see a pavement recycled, pine wood brought from other factories, following the same speech that began outside, sublime.

The pine is a tree with more than 120 different species distributed in several continents, mainly in America, Asia and Europe (in Africa, there are very few). In the build are used as a structural element, as exterior cladding and interior and decorative elements. The burning does not produce toxic fumes, has excellent physical strength and, a more than remarkable, acoustic and thermal behavior. The great variety of species allows the use of different textures within the construction. Of course, is a recyclable material to one hundred percent (ask the Whitney).

We must keep in mind that the wood is an organic material and, therefore, it is attacked by insects, their protection is mandatory. When we are going to use the solid wood flooring, make sure that the carpentry is settled, that the thermal differences are not very radical (avoid winter and summer) and that the surface on which it is placed have adequate moisture, must prevent the wood receive excessive moisture or that can absorb aqua, this cause drying and cracking.

With all, a solid wood floor is always an excellent choice, with proper environmental management and energy efficiency tested, ah, and if it is pine, better! Bye bye.

The Translucent Concrete

The Pompidou Centre opened its second European headquarters in Malaga, with distinguished visitors and a material that will give much to talk.

Hi, the power of metamorphosis of some materials is given by their interaction with others of different fracture, combining the best qualities of each one of them. The Art knows much about this combination of synergies (union of parts different to achieve a better/greater effect), so has shown it for centuries, since the theatre was created by combining a prescribed script, some changing rooms, artists of various kinds and qualities and, of course, the public.

A month ago (specifically on March 28) opened the Pompidou Centre in Malaga, as you know, I was specifically invited, and you would has read in the international media. Of course, they also had the courtesy of inviting the President of the Government (Mariano Rajoy), the Minister of culture French (Fleur Perellín), the Baroness Thyssen and Malaga's Antonio Banderas, among other figures and authorities. There I found a material with incredible possibilities and which, of course, I've put on my white list: translucent concrete.

The Pompidou Centre in Malaga

The citizens of this region of Spain are in luck, especially those who are united by the love of culture, clear. It's the first headquarters of Pompidou that open outside from France, and could not have chosen another option better than the Earth of another great artist: Pablo Picasso (you thought in Antonio Banderas eh?), there you can enjoy works of Frida Kahlo, Alberto Giacometti, Francis Bacon and Picasso himself and others, I counted 80 but you do not trust me, I was very distracted with the concurrence.

Walking between "celebrities" and "authorities", and between talk and comment, your always loyal Rodolfo, was analyzing the construction of the new Museum. "The cube" is the recipient where the provisional headquarters of the Pompidou will be established for five years, extendable for another five if the parties so decide. This unique building is located in the port of Malaga and since its conception had cultural vocation, the building was completed in 2013 and adapted in 2014 and has become an icon of the opening of the Malaga dock to the city.

The simple shape of a transparent cube, built with steel and glass, announces us what will be our passage through the facilities, a simple enjoyment where paramount are the works of art exhibited, for the inauguration Daniel Buren was commissioned for the recreation of the Cube... simply fantastic (do not miss the photos). The 6,800 square meters, distributed in two floors, contain the permanent showroom (distributed by Brigitte Leal, Director of the Museum of modern art in Paris) and an auditorium in plant less one and a room for temporary exhibitions, a space workshop, stores, welcome to the desired audience, the cafeteria and the administrative offices on the ground zero.

The main problem of this type of construction (in the basement) is the light, obviously, the lack of sunlight exponentially increases spending on electricity consumption, but, on the other hand, excessive heat also increases spending in refrigeration, in addition, an excess of light is also detrimental to the reproduction of the colours of the exposed pictures. The solution is, for me, and without neglecting the works of art, the best of the Museum: panel’s i- light ®. A success it place as a coating of inner courtyards, just below the cube.

This panels are pre-cast concrete that allow the passage of the light, are composed of cement (obvious) and special resins (in our case white) that reveal the images behind the panel without changing the colour. Using this material it’s sieved the light, gets a uniform surround and, most importantly, gets a reduction of temperature transmission. These panels were devised by the company FYM Italcementi for the Italian Pavilion at the universal exhibition in Expo Shanghai 2010.

To coat the surface of almost 254 square meters of the courtyards were used 96 pieces, a half of 175 kg and the other half of 250 (thanks to the cranes!) and nine special parts for the corners and the union with the glass. Although this material had already been used never been done with this surface and with a height of 284 and 203 centimetres by 120 of width. The total cost of the parts was around the 100,000 euros and the placement of the structure support and mounting parts (which were performed in five and four days respectively) cost only 40,500 euros.

Litracon

The translucent concrete

An anecdote with some sympathy occurred when, a few meters from the Lord Banderas, I was trying to discern that fragrance of their own harvest he used... attempt foiled in advance, of course, because it was me who used the "Diavolo". But let's look at the ours, there are other companies that perform elements with translucent concrete, if we saw that Itacelmenti makes them with resins, Litracon used optical fibers (15%), mixed with cement, allowing the light to pass through these. Markets its product in pieces parallelepipeds (brick).

Lucem

The Austrian Lucem has gone a little further than Litracon and has joined the translucent concrete with wood and methacrylate, thus forming a material with acoustic properties. They have a technical department and help you in choosing the product and their formats, even if you wish, they advise on the installation. They offer varied formats and are very well suited to your needs, both inside and outside of your building.

Luccon

Finally the Luccon company also offers concrete translucent in different formats according to the needs of the customer, although this concrete has excellent mechanical properties, it is clear that its light transmission feature makes it aesthetically very appealing. Luccon highlights this quality through the incorporation of direct lighting for their decorative elements, the predominant colors are black, grey and white.

The translucent concrete cannot miss in the next building that you build, remember that the knowledge obligate, and, thanks to me, you know this material. Bye bye.

The Invisible Building

A building that merges with its environment? That's nothing! It continues until the end of the article and you will see the past and the future.

Hi, the invisibility has always been an obsession in the humanity, it is a feature that has a lot to do with two issues of the psyche of the individual: his desire to go unnoticed and their interest in doing the impossible. You can imagine that I, Rodolfo, illustrious son of an ancient dynasty, do not understand of invisibility, and, in fact, I do not like (sincerity above all) so I am sceptic with this article (mine), clear that my reasons I have, and if not, time to time.

In my life as close that I had of the term was when I read "The Invisible Man" from Herbert George Wells, (H.G. Wells for the history), and I must say that I liked the book, clear that nothing to do with another of his famous hits: "The machine of the time"... brilliant! Now, we can understand (not without effort) that anyone who wants to stop being referred to, but why make a building which you cannot enjoy visually? (I warned you: I am sceptical).

The Cira Centre

The Cira Centre is strategically located in the Philadelphia's 30th Street station, and was a commercial success, because it was the first skyscraper of offices that was built in the city in more than one decade, because before being used already had hired 90 per cent of its surface with large companies and, no less important , because it adds two elements vital to this type of buildings: an excellent communication (you know, just above a station) and a visual impact of first (does not go unnoticed). The project manager could not be other than the venerable César Pelli, which has been reference of the architecture for several decades (see the Petronas towers).

The building counted with the collaboration of other architecture firm: Bower Lewis Thrower Architecs, which, in addition, projected the parking, the pedestrian bridge and the mezzanine of the SEPTA (Pennsylvania Southeast transport authority). But sure that you rub your hands waiting for the numbers, here are: the building reaches 133 meters in height that are distributed in 29 plants with 68,000 square meters of surface. Its cost was 116 million dollars (107 million euros), has 14 elevators of high speed, two forklifts and the possibility of obtaining a 360 degree view (fantastic). The particularity that makes different to this construction of others of similar fracture is, of course, which is designed to evaporate with the external environment. So it is covered with a silvery glass curtain wall.

The work is chiselled with different angles so that you'll never see two same facades. The optical effect will not let indifferent, this is achieved due to the use of (obvious) reflective glass, the use of supports of steel with only 7.5 inches of width and an illumination strategy. This strategy was coordinated with the Cline Bettridge Bernstein Lighting Design company using a system of 1,800 Leds (always leds) to illuminate the facade, hidden in shadow boxes, as a wallpaper behind the wall, where it are not visible from the outside and can create infinite compositions of colour and movement.

It also has an annex parking of nine floors below of ground with access to the dressing room of the building. The construction company told (Turner Construction) having a system of air gap of 100%, which is a very good news, the buildings with an envelope without openings require a foreign supply of clean and healthy air. The curtain wall is lined by high performance glass, which guarantees the solar protection, which reduces the need for cooling (a necessary savings).

Future of “the invisible building”

Here the narrative of the building "hard to see", now I'm going to talk briefly about the future, what is to come. And is that in South Korea have already begun to build a "new invisible building", using the more advanced techniques such as adding cameras displayed the environment in time real to distribute it in the reflective facade of the building. The designer is the team of the international GDS Architecture, with based in Pasadena. The building will have a whopping 450 meters of height (more or less) and will have the title of the sixth tower tallest in the world. Of course it will have the fully glazed surface, will be called "Tower Infinity" and will be the nightmare of the more specialized glass cleaner. The project also contemplates the realization of several buildings (surrounding the first) completely glazed, from the sky you will see a group of polyhedral crystals pulled in Korea (without words).

Light

But the light does not come from the glass, or the sky, the light comes from Cambridge. On July 28, 2014 was published in the journal "Nature Communications" a scientific advancement of the Cambridge-Scientifics. Achieving the invisibility by creating Metamaterials with nanotechnology (of course). Using the light of the laser as a catalyst, they are implemented linked nanoparticles so they can refract light or (better) to disguise an object as if it were another. Personally this last possibility seems exciting: would you like your building to change of aspect to your own liking? Yes!

As you can see, I don't like the invisibility but I refuse not to the future. Bye bye.