Like Piranesi, Michael Gandy or John Soane made time ago we purpose a skyscraper interested in the aesthetic of the ruins specifically with the Medieval Castles of Spain. We have designed a completely new building with the particularity that it is show as an antiquity. Despite the time goes on it will be seen as an admirable thing.
“Here the saying that all that is human “is taken form earth and to earth shall return”
Simmel, Georg, 1958. Two essays: The handlem and the ruin. Hudson Review. Pag 380-381
We propose a new way of work with a humanistic view that uses the new technology to makes every building unique and with a reduced price. You will never find two skyscrapers equals. It doesn’t follow any legislation taken from the city hall such as fire regulations, minimal surface, acoustic conditioning … In that case all the structure is made with stone which is taken from the mountain but every case will have his own ones. It depends of the area and the technical use in that region.
“The ruin of a building, however, means that where the work of art is dying, other forces and forms, those of nature, have grown; and that out of what of art still lives in the ruin and what nature already lives in it, there has emerged a new whole, a characteristic unity. (…) In other words, it is the fascination of the ruin that there the work of man appears to us entirely as a product of nature. The same forces which give a mountain its shape through weathering, erosion, faulting, growth of vegetation, here do their work on old walls”.
Simmel, Georg, 1958. Two essays: The handlem and the ruin. Hudson Review. Pag 380-381
Nowadays we live in a world that promotes huge skyscrapers with an important improvements in the point of view of the technology promoted by big companies or investments. However we must not forget the humanistic view that should have the architect. If you visit it you will not find any furniture or woodwork because there are the essentials to make it a pilgrimage cultural where it can be placed a concert, an exhibition or something related with the culture.
“Oldest is not only valued for what it is but also as a sign of continuity between generations and as a connection with the past.”
Jenks, Charles. 1981. The Language of Post-Modern Architecture. Gustavo Gili. Barcelona. Pag 61
That skyscraper has 60 floors that in total measure 380 m of height and 72000m² of surface but the most important thing is that from the opening day it has a history. A past that every citizen imagine in his own head.
Project done with Raúl Oliva to present in the Evolo Skyscraper Competition. 2014 edition.
Amadeu Ventayol 