I’m surprised on how often these two words pop-up when talking about architecture. We could say that, in the eyes of the uninitiated, our tangled profession is today recognized by exhibiting “iconic” buildings and implementing complex "skins” all through the world. I feel really sorry for our streets, cities and landscapes.

Marques de Riscal wineries, La Rioja. by Carlos Gerhard Pi-Suñer.

There are no limits and as a concrete example I refer to what we've done with Dubai but nearer and more familiar projects such as Marques de Riscal winery in Rioja and the Hotel W in Barcelona are good references.

With the respect that both, Frank Gehry and Ricardo Bofill deserve, I wonder what went through their architectural minds when conceiving these two projects.  Titanium geometries or "Guggenheim Museums" for any brief anywhere?  A landmark on the Catalan coast which infringes building codes when Barcelona is mostly a city knit to the human scale?

Siwtch Box, Basel by Carlos Gerhard Pi-Suñer.

Basel’s Signal Box and Dominus Winery in Napa Valley seem to have appeared on the architectural scene centuries ago... They are two projects that were conceived through a superlative understanding of the program, two solid architectural proposals enhanced by an innovative treatment of their envelopes, and two buildings that are now icons. Knowing Herzog & de Meuron I could bet they were not obsessed with it; they simply opted for a bold idea and got an amazing overall result.

All this is to talk about a project I have on the agenda; a project in which floor plans and sections were "resolved” before my arrival to the office. The client, as if it were a fashion show, has asked to see more than ten options for the façade:  view, compare, choose and buy...

The project’s objective?  An "iconic" building with a sexy "skin" to act as a trigger for urban development in a new and soulless district of old Saigon.

In this game where everything seems to be possible, I have the impression of having shifted from architecture to set design.

The debate is open ...

TO BE CONTINUED... NEXT WEEK MORE!! >  AMSTERDAM : DIARIO PARA UN DÍA CUALQUIERA.

DIRECTOR: JOSÉ JUAN BARBA. COORDINATION: INÉS LALUETA. ORGANIZATION: INÉS LALUETA, PEDRO NAVARRO. ENGLISH VERSION: KAREN SIMPSON. GUESTS FIRST SEASON: JOSÉ JUAN BARBA, MARINA DIEZ-CASCÓN, SERGIO DIEZ-CASCÓN SOLER, LARA FERNÁNDEZ GONZÁLEZ, CARLOS GERHARD PI-SUÑER, MONTSE PLA GARCÍA-CASTANY, XAVIER NICOLAU CUYÀS, FERNANDO RIAL PONCE, VERÓNICA ROSERO.

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Carlos Gerhard Pi-Suñer, architect. Born in Mexico in 1965. Graduate in  Architecture by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México in 1990. Master's degree in Science and Arts at Pratt Institute in New York. Area of specialization; Urban Regeneration. Between 1997 and 2001 collaborated with Legorreta Arquitectos and the HOK (Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum )Mexico City office.

From 2001 to 2008 works for  Herzog& de Meuron Architekten and in 2006 was promoted to associate of the firm as the result of his design and management contribution for the CaixaForum- Madrid project, first in Basel and then in Madrid. From 2009 to 2010 collaborated at ACXT-IDOM in Barcelona.

In January 2011 returned to Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum in the position of Design Director for South East Asia.  He is based in Singapore. 

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Published on: June 6, 2011
Cite: "Envelopes and icons. In Treatment [M]" METALOCUS. Accessed
<http://www.metalocus.es/en/news/envelopes-and-icons-treatment-m> ISSN 1139-6415
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