Taste of old things

Let´s start a walk. We should take as a base the ways that different commented or near cities offer to us and, as a guide, the works of a Master architect from the place, who could take his ideas into buildings fortunately. There will be so, Arne Jacobsen in Denmark, Aldo Van Eyck in Netherlands and Adolf Loos in Austria.

Close to Copenhagen, going west, there´s a small village called Rodovre, where exists two buildings close one to each other, which are the Town Hall and the public Library. Both are buildings from Jacobsen. The great quality of the spaces, not are only found in the landscape and out spaces, even more in the awesome inside solutions, like the Town Hall foyer stair, or the wonderful lighting spaces, such as the patios in the library.

Perimeter wall of Rodovre Library. Photography © Javier Sancho Andrés.

Over a green field and surrounded by trees, we can appreciate the two volumes, after arriving to a central stoned pedestrian square. The acces to Town Hall is produced through a low roof, the only gap in the flat facade. As we get into, we can see the stair we spoke before. There are also another piece which conforms the building, situated behind the main one, and accesing to it through a glass galery.

Marquee of access to the Town Hall of Rodovre. Photography © Javier Sancho Andrés.

In front of it the Library, hidden behind a wall emphasizing her introverted attitude, lower that the Town Hall high... as we are inside, we can get lost reading close to a wonderful patio, which offers us the perfect light for it.

Cover of orphanage from the adjacent hill. Photography © Javier Sancho Andrés.

Taking us now to Amsterdam, one of the cities with most architecture experimentation, let´s pay attention to a teaching one. Close to the olimpic stadion, we find a wonderful space cut by square volumes which follow a grid and define the different classes and game places, where the children let their imagination fly. We speak about the Municipal Orphanage work of Aldo Van Eyck. The scale for the teaching and taking care of children is ideal. The transaction between out, medium and inside spaces is soft and guided by the different grades of light and the concrete corners, till we get in the green spaces. From a close hill, we can perceive the plan and the grid of small peaces which conform it.

Modules that compose the orphanage. Photography © Javier Sancho Andrés.

With a complete different character we find the third building, immense and challenging arises the facade of the “now” raifaisenbank, against the full decorated buildings in the Michaelerplatz. Adolf Loos show us so early, in those times, a different way of thinking in which the ornament was most of the times unnecesary. A simple and great intervention in the middle of a city and a time that didn´t understand such an architectural conception. The welcome entrance is headed by huge marble columns, follow in the same material by the plinth, which contrast with the nude facade, broken just for a grid of regular windows, in which neighbors hang pots with red geraniums... Curiously all the tourists look and take pictures in the way to the palace, just few ones look in the direction to Loos´building... Would be them architects? I have no idea, but of course, I think they appreciate the value of it.

IN TREATMENT - METALOCUS.

DIRECTOR: JOSÉ JUAN BARBA. COORDINATION: INÉS LALUETA. ORGANIZATION: INÉS LALUETA, PEDRO NAVARRO. GUESTS SECOND SEASON: JOSÉ JUAN BARBA, JAVIER SANCHO, FRANCISCO PELAEZ, MICHAEL MORADIELLOS, MELISSA SCHUMACHER, VERÓNICA ROSERO, AINHOA MARTÍN.