Description of project by MQArchitecture
This project entitled a surgical demolition of an existing shed and the erection of a small ancillary building. The old structure housed the electrical and communications utilities of a large compound, and the new project had to preserve the location and function of all this equipment, therefore some walls and floor levels are set from the beginning.
The program required two different type of users, therefore we decided to split the building in two, allowing for a separate circulation for each group. The upper piece houses the electrical room and the team quarters, while the lower portion holds two individual restrooms for visitors.
The project sits in the middle of the forest therefore we chose charred wood to make it blend with the surrounding nature. On the other hand, the polycarbonate façade brings natural light and privacy to the interior. All floors are made of polished concrete for easy maintenance and a radiant slab keeps an optimal temperature during extreme winters.
A Little Great Pavilion
"Today, on a stroll in Midtown Manhattan with Miguel Quismondo, under an unusually radiant December sun, on 242 east 52nd Street, we discovered a wonderful, small building, between party walls. Only three floors with exposed brick and an exposed metal structure. A perfect example of control, beautiful, that could have very well been signed by Mies Van der Rohe himself.
When we googled it on Miguel’s phone, we discovered that it was from the prolific Philip Johnson. In truth, when Philip Johnson designed as a Master, he knew how to do it very well.
In the same way, when Miguel Quismondo designs like the Masters, he knows how to do it more than well. He has just finished a small pavilion in Garrison for the Olnick Spanu family, right after finishing the magnificent Magazzino, the arte povera museum for the same clients.
This small pavilion is all built in wood. The occasion, the function, the size and, especially the location, required it. In order to protect the double shifted structure, he decides to cover it with a simple sloped galvanized metal roof. Everything is simple but exquisite. It brings to my mind references of Sea Ranch, Charles Moore’s best work and even some of the architecture of Glenn Murcutt. Every detail in the erection of this pavilion is a prodigy of good construction, of a deep knowledge of how we should built in wood. But first, and above all, we must emphasize the adequacy of the idea and the beauty of the result.
A small great work of a true master."
By Alberto Campo Baeza
