Studio Banana TV interviews Patxi Mangado, author of the Spanish Pavillion at the Zaragoza Expo 08 and a horse-riding centre in Pamplona.
Spanish Pavillion at the Zaragoza Expo 08
To reproduce the space of a forest or a grove of bamboos over a surface of water was the subconscious inspiration behind the project. On one hand, a building mechanism is created that is capable of generating incredible possibilities from the point of view of logical energy use and environmental commitment, a fundamental and emblematic issue for the future Spain Pavilion at the Zaragoza International Exhibition. But on the other, and this is very important, one of the most attractive spaces which we can be confronted with in terms of physical dimensions and lighting is transferred to the field of architecture. Changing spaces, full of hints and nuances, where concepts such as verticality and depth play a key role.
Can a natural event be reproduced artificially? In this case, the geometric strength of the metaphor plays in our favor, and the image suggested gives the proposal a symbolism that is necessary in a pavilion for an international exhibition, in this case the one representing Spain. The metaphorical reference, where the water is present through the landscape of reference, is strong and evident.
The criteria that guided and inspired the construction of the pavilion, in keeping with that indicated above, were in a certain way some of those that were already present in the project itself. Modest materials (terracotta, cork…) were resorted to in an attempt to convert the pavilion into the built formal expression of an appropriate relationship between means and ends, and the fact that this relationship was used as the basis, that can and should guide the goal of achieving the highest degree of significance and representativeness corresponding to the pavilion of the host country, Spain, were undoubtedly essential in the development of the whole process, and were continuously present from the early more conceptual and ideological stages to execution of the smallest details. The attempt to make construction of the pavilion independent from its immediate context, imposed by the exhibition itself, a context always ready to take economic advantage of the typical tight deadlines in these events, determined that the project and its details were designed according to a very dry, Meccano type of construction, composed of elements that could be constructed and transported from any location, thus ensuring this independence and a certain rapidity of construction.
(Extracted from the text of the description for the construction project)
High Performance Classical Dressage Equestrian Center in Ultzama
In the middle of one of the most humid valleys in northern Navarre. A valley of gentle but sturdy hills where the green grass and oak trees form a landscape of strong character, whose color changes with the seasons. A valley dotted with a system of small relatively close-knit settlements, laid out in an apparently random manner. With powerful buildings formed by large single and isolated volumes that seem to touch, but which actually fight each other to show their architectural boldness. A boldness that arises from the climatic conditions, but also from a production system, stockbreeding, which in the past obliged accommodating both people and animals together in the same house. A boldness is which the roof plays a prominent role as the element unifying the different contents. The boldness , in short, of the “Navarre country house”. In this context, it was proposed to build an equestrian center specialized in classical dressage and equipped with stables for some of the horses, among the strongest and most sophisticated forces ever created by nature.
The idea of clarity and the architectural boldness shown in the nearby settlements was always present in the design of the project. Beyond the materials or specific expressive configurations, it was this principle of a clearly defined volume as the means of establishing a relationship with the surroundings, which served as inspiration for the proposal. A clarity that pervades not only the exterior manifestation, but also the structural and constructive organization of the buildings. In addition to this, the project is inspired by another intensely architectural reflection. The mixture of scales, the way of playing with them and with their interactions, the need to combine large spaces for training or stables with other smaller domestic spaces, were the basis for the key decision that all uses, regardless of their size, are gathered and configured in those single and total volumes, which is consistent in turn with the idea of clarity and boldness referred to in the previous reflection. Thus, the houses that accommodate the persons who work and train in the complex do not differ from the almost farmlike volume defined to contain the training tracks or stables, but rather are integrated into these volumes, and no difference is made between them, as this would have meant a fragmentation that is not compatible with the natural and architectural landscape of the valley.
Materials play an important role in the project. Replacing the tense plastered white painted walls of the houses and cattle farms with aluminum colored sheet metal, combined with the oak wood used both in the window frames, interiors and vertical claddings and pavements, permits an interplay of great expressive value. In general, the use of materials is illustrated by the idea of offering a contemporary approach to the traditional solutions already present in the surroundings. In this regard, handling of the sections of oak wood obtained from controlled exploitation of the area’s own forests, a handling which, as in the case of the large pieces to span some level differences in the terrain, was limited to simple volumetric cuts, is fundamental for understanding the use of materials in the complex.
The organization is relatively simple. A large elongated volume contains the stables and the dwellings of keepers and workers. A single continuous roof is used, which slopes upwards to accommodate the greater height required for the latter use, while also forming at this point the main access to the complex. A large volume lying parallel and connected perpendicularly to the former contains the olympic training track as well as the owners’ dwelling and a living area and training room for jockeys and trainers. Thus, the living areas offer direct views to both the inner and outer tracks.
The landscaping project basically follows the guidelines of the valley’s lot divisions. Lines of oaks divide the lots, forming longitudinal meadows that roughly follow a line running perpendicular to the Ultzama river, where trout and otters can still be found, and which marks the boundary of the property. These meadows are now filled with horses.
Interview by Studio Banana TV. Translation by Harold Ortiz.
