Two graduates of the University of Buenos Aires – Sebastian Ceria, Argentinean mathematician and founder of New York software company Axioma and Rafael Viñoly, world-famous Uruguayan architect – planned new green educational environments for science scholars. José L. Barañao, former Argentine Minister of Science and Technology, was also on site as another important presence for the realization of the project.
[tttgallery id=”744″]
The University of Buenos Aires (UBA) is the premier institution for public education in Argentina’s capital city, Buenos Aires. It was founded in 1821 and has become one of the largest and most prestigious higher education institutions in the world. The university comprises thirteen different faculties and 300,000 enrolled students. The School of Exact and Natural Sciences (FCEN or Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales) encompasses around 6,000 researchers and scholars and over 1,500 ongoing research projects.
Inter-university and faculty exchange programs have traditionally been fundamental for the development of FCEN and this strong catalyst for the internationalization of higher education and academic exchange has inspired exceptional students and graduates to pursue outstanding projects and careers. The Zero + Infinite project originated from a collaboration of two exceptional minds: Sebastian Ceria, Argentinean mathematician and founder of New York software company Axioma and Rafael Viñoly, world-famous Uruguayan architect. Both professionals earned their undergraduate degrees at the University of Buenos Aires. After many years in successful international careers, they had the chance to give something back to this institution and to education in general. Sebastian Ceria was the primary sponsor of the overall project, Rafael Viñoly donated the architectural design.
[tttgallery id=”745″ template=”content-slider”]
The local partner was the Minister of Science, Technology and Productive Innovation of Argentina and current Secretary José Lino Barañao, who in 2009 initiated the creation of the Latin-American Center of Interdisciplinary Education, or CELFI. This initiative was part of a program financed by the Development Bank of Latin America (2015), with one of the foremost items being the construction of a first-class building to accommodate the new CELFI classrooms and learning spaces, as well as those of the FCEN Institute of Calculus and graduate programs in Atmospheric Science.
As many old trees as possible
Zero + Infinite encompasses a total area of 17,200 square meters and is situated in the heart of the UBA campus, a 60-hectare piece of land that was claimed from the river in the early 1960s. Connected to an existing faculty building via a pedestrian path aligned with the main access and running along the full extent of its shortest side, Zero + Infinite presents a clear relationship with the traditional cluster of campus buildings while offering a fresh, imposing and landscape-reflecting image, contrasting the outdated group of buildings.
The context and the existing conditions of the site defined the project in several ways and were the primary influences on the building’s overall shape and low-slung massing: 1) the trees planted on the site, constituting the woodlands of the UBA campus, 2) the connection and relationship with the nearby pavilions of the FCEN and 3) the site’s location in close proximity to the glide slope of Aeroparque, a local airport for domestic flights.
Although mathematician Sebastian Ceria named the final project after the silhouettes of the courtyards, “zero” and “infinite”, the shapes and especially the exact location of the largest patio were merely determined by the need to maintain as many old trees as possible, bringing nature to the building and energizing the outdoor areas.
[tttgallery id=”746″ template=”content-slider”]
The local team, in charge of the Infrastructure Department of the National Secretary of Science and Technology, also included a botany specialist and an agronomist, who carried out an in-depth analysis of the soil and the condition of trees and large shrubs planted in the affected site. The experts determined the plants that would return after the construction process, the ones that could be transplanted to other locations on campus and the weakly or diseased plants that would not withstand any stress. The transplantation was 100% successful and allowed for the creation of new green areas on campus; moreover, the trees now standing in the “Infinite” courtyard, carefully treated during construction, provide the sense of life originally aspired by the project.
Mediating the relationship to the environment
A rich interaction of building and landscape is enabled by a nearly 8,800-square-meter green roof or by utilization of geothermal energy for the building’s cooling system, but primarily by a strong visual connectedness generated throughout the floor plates and with the surrounding natural areas. The see-through structure brings the natural elements of the surrounding landscape and the two green courtyards into the building, making treetops and lawn areas seem to extend from the outside to the indoor spaces and vice versa, almost blurring this usually clear differentiation. The glass façade, reflecting the trees and the sky, and the green roof, which, from the perspective of passing airplanes, restores the image of the natural riverfront landscape, mediate the relationship to the environment while simultaneously enhancing it.
Essential interconnectivity
A double-height, glazed atrium flows between the building’s interior and exterior limits, which contains classrooms and support spaces on the main floor, and offices, conference rooms and labs on the first floor. Except for the classrooms on the main floor, distributed around the building’s exterior boundaries with wide open views, all learning spaces and offices are enclosed in glass to allow natural light into the center of the construction and to create a more transparent, collaborative environment of intellectual exchange. In this sense, the building extends on two floors only, to amplify this essential interconnectivity.
[tttgallery id=”747″ template=”content-slider”]
In terms of resource optimization, the façade’s structure is designed to perform multiple functions. By extending the aluminum fins perpendicular to the glass surface (which are shading it), solar gain and energy consumption are dramatically reduced, the structure is strengthened against wind loading, and classroom visibility from the outside can be controlled.
“A natural byproduct of building’s essence”
When asked about the new iconic image this building has become for the local scientific community and the traditional campus, Architect Rafael Viñoly claimed that, “Every building, every significant investment of capital, especially for a public university, must optimize. It’s the only responsible approach to construction in this day and age but, though it may have been less vivid in the past, it has always been a key responsibility of the architect. A building for research and education in the natural sciences, especially one being completed in 2019 under the menace of climate change, must be even more focused. If an iconic image emerges from all of this optimization and detailing, it is a natural byproduct of building’s essence.”
_
Location: City of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Designers: Rafael Viñoly Architects (New York, USA)
Local project management: National Secretary of Science and Technology of Argentina, Department of Infrastructure: Director Bruno Spairani/Local management, representing Rafael Viñoly Architects: Sebastian Goldberg
Client: FCEN: Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (UBA)
Date of completion: August 2019
Total area: 17,200 m2/Green roof: 8,760 m2
Photography: Daniela McAdden
Espaço Unisinos is a new campus in Porto Alegre. Its refreshingly modern architectural image and composition of open spaces has transformed the urban dynamics of the residential area where it was integrated. Commissioned by Unisinos (Universidade do Vale do Rio do Sinos), a traditional local university run by the Jesuits, the plan includes an educational building and a theater, as well as commercial and parking spaces.
[tttgallery id=”667″]
Originally, the project was the result of a close competition between five architectural offices in Porto Alegre, with the proposed site being the vacant space adjacent to a Jesuit school. After the team from AT Arquitetura won the competition, the university’s authorities changed the building site. Another larger site was selected, located right in front of the school and a kindergarten, which would eventually be renovated.
Aura of openness and balance
One of the main conditions for the new project was to preserve the open views from the school and to get the most out of the building ground, according to the permitted floor area ratio and heights. The result is an eight-story educational building located in one corner of the site, not visible from the school and secluded from the street, as well as a rather compact project extending along the rest of the site. An aura of openness and balance is achieved, with commercial spaces, walking areas, terraces, an access esplanade and a semi-buried courtyard.
[tttgallery id=”669″ template=”content-slider”]
Most of the retail stores and small cafés face a walkway that is half covered by a 7-meter-high pergola and borders a large wooden terrace overlooking some lush private gardens. The tree crowns form part of the terraces, providing a wonderfully natural environment for the numerous students and visitors. Along with the custom-designed outdoor furniture, it provides them with a space to meet and relax in the sun.
In order to avoid a retail-related image as the main facade, the project features an 80-meter-long and 11-meter-high screening green wall exhibiting a two-colored composition of native plants (Cuphea gracilis and Tradescantia). Behind it, another semi-roofed linear area offers spaces for sitting and relaxing.
Outdoor theater
The entire project adapts to the street’s change in elevation, creating different levels and stepped terraces. At street level, a large esplanade allows access to all of the spaces making up the educational-cultural compound. On one side, a semi-buried courtyard provides sunlight to the underground spaces, the library and students’ recreation area. However, the most interesting function of this open space is as an outdoor theater. Connected to the auditorium’s stage via a removable 14-meter-wide door, it offers an ideal setting for open-air performances.
[tttgallery id=”668″ template=”content-slider”]
The auditorium has a total indoor capacity of 470 seats. Appearing in the architectural composition as a separate volume, the theater has independent access and a green roof, which can be appreciated from the upper floors, adding to the area’s new urban image. This roof is completely planted with Boldo (Peumus boldus), an aromatic indigenous plant that grows abundantly in Porto Alegre.
The project required the inclusion of 1,000 parking spaces provided on two underground levels and two levels above the street, using the change in elevation for creation of the terraces. Across the street, an architectonically impressive footbridge spans the existing avenue. The footbridge provides a pedestrian connection for people arriving by bus and connects the university’s underground parking with the existing school.
_
Location: Porto Alegre, Brazil
Date of completion: 2018
Project size: 56,000 m2
Designers: AT Arquitetura
Project managers: Andre Detanico, Tarso Carneiro, Mauricio Ceolin
Landscape plan: Landscape Sul
Lighting plan: Cristina Maluf
Client: Universidade do Vale do Rio do Sinos / Associação Padre Antonio Vieira
Photography: Marcelo Donadussi
Walking around the new Vienna University of Economics and Business campus is not only like moving through a spatial composition but is also like visiting an architectural exhibition. What’s more, although no longer in evidence, the campus is on the site of the 1873 world exhibition. Now another kind of world architecture exhibition has shaped the space of the new “agora” for around 23,000 business students, a project developed by the Austrian federal real estate company.
[ttt-gallery-image]
Following the winning competition entry by BUSarchitektur for a masterplan in 2008, several buildings were defined by way of separate architectural competitions. The Teaching Center, the masterplan and the design of open spaces remained in the hands of BUSarchitektur, however. This gave the designers tight control over the spatial sequence of the “walk along park”, as they had named the open space. By carefully positioning the entrance points, almost all activities could be concentrated along a central axis. The spatial concept of the campus looks inwards, which is further stressed by a border of gingko trees. Both end points connect directly to underground stations. As a result of this layout, the link to Vienna’s largest park – the Prater – is purely visual. However, the view from the projecting building element of Zaha Hadid’s Learning Center is impressive.
[ttt-gallery-image][ttt-gallery-image]
BUSarchitektur and BOA büro für offensive aleatorik designed the open space in cooperation with landscape architects Hannes Batik and Stefan Schmidt as well as Philipp Schönfeld, who was responsible for the perennial planting design. The space is perceived as having a cinematic structure offering a linear sequence of images of the hugely diverse buildings. Along its length lie several functional islands within waved stripes of stone paving and perennials. These islands, named Lounge, Relax, Expo, Stage, Patio and Forum, accompany the expressive architecture designed by NO.MAD, CRABstudi, Estudio Carme Pinós, Zaha Hadid, BUSarchitektur and Atelier Hitoshi Abe.
[ttt-gallery-image]
The space is more a linear promenade than a park. The challenging task of designing open spaces next to architecturally expressive buildings has been handled well by choosing a limited palette of materials and using them in a formal layout. The central axis is clearly defined and the appearance of all paths leading to the back of the buildings is softened by using a resin bound surface. The islands differ in material in an attempt to make them stand out against the buildings around them. Some of the formal furniture along the path seems overdone, however, but this does not apply for the islands: Folded wooden elements that can be used in many different ways are assembled on the Forum.
[ttt-gallery-image]
The Patio, with its stairs and ramps, is accompanied by pleached plane trees and resembles a small grove in front of the corten steel facade of the dominating Teaching Center. The Stage vis-a-vis the Learning Center serves as a small counterpart at the widest part of the square. At the Expo the wooden elements reappear in a different form, to provide outdoor learning areas. The Relax space in front of the department building is an elevated terrace above a water basin, which is paved in natural stone. Finally, or immediately as one enters the campus from the west, the Lounge offers an undulating green sports surface (EPDM) which accommodates many different uses.
[ttt-gallery-image]
At this point the site seems to interact with the surrounding city and its people, as kids and youngsters skate and bike across the hilly area. And thus the new campus has become an island of urban activity right next to Vienna’s largest green oasis.
Images: BOAnet.at
