This opaque cube rises 15 meters high above one of the most heavily trafficked highways in Guatemala City. The neutral exterior is studded with cars which act a kind of roadside icon, putting a smile on the faces of drivers as they quickly pass or eternally idle in a traffic jam.
Housing a 40 table bistro for Saul E. Mendez, this eye-catching sculptural box is meant to act as a way to address the shared space of buildings and public realm concerning interests and priorities. In this spirit, this project provokes user or even the casual viewer to rethink their relation to the nature of the built environment.
Courtesy of Taller KEN – Photography: Marcelo Gutierrez
By contrast, the interior is layered with textures and colors, serving as a kind of oasis. Functioning as a kind of greenhouse, the central space is illuminated by sawtooth skylights, complimented by passive cooling. Rainwater from the roof is collected in giant blue tanks and used to maintain the tropical planting.
Courtesy of Taller KEN – Photography: Marcelo Gutierrez
The sustainable approach to the interior is forward thinking about both technical elements, but also about blending the constructed environment with the natural. The use of natural planting throughout the project, which includes palm trees of five meters and Musgo (or Spanish Moss) draped lights, is complimented by the cool tone of the vertical exposed structural and plumbing elements. This produces a kind of heightened sense of nature- nature curated like a garden- the space is straightforward and efficient like an industrial warehouse or factory but also made imperfect by the incorporation of furniture and other design elements. Project Info Architects:Taller KEN Location:Guatemala City, Guatemala Lead Architects: Gregory Melitonov, Ines Guzman Gross Built Area: 450 sqm / 4,844 sqf Year: 2016 Type:Restaurant Photography: Marcelo Gutierrez
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The site was not selected by chance. It is an island in the middle of the Seine–the center of the region–the beating heart of the Vallée de la Culture in Hauts- de-Seine. With La Seine Musicale, Seguin Island has become its beacon.
Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects – Photography: Boegly + Grazia photographers
Beyond the metaphor, it is also a reality. Firstly, the name: La Seine Musicale. It links music, an art that touches our souls and brings them together at each concert, to the river that shapes our region, and carries us well beyond it. The name calls to mind both its local foundation and its international outreach. The name speaks to us all. There is also the architecture, recognizable and remarkable, created by Shigeru Ban and Jean de Gastines, who have admirably full the wish of the Department and its partners to offer a place that is both ambitious and welcoming.
Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects – Photography: Boegly + Grazia photographers
Last but not least, it is a cultural facility that is opening its doors: a place for live performance, emotions, and leisure, which also provides space to talented artists in residence (Laurence Equilbey and Insula Orchestra, Gaël Darchen and La Maîtrise des Hauts-de-Seine, Philippe Jaroussky and his Académie Musicale).
Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects – Photography: Boegly + Grazia photographers
A place for life, where the extraordinary meets the every day: the auditorium, the modular main hall, the garden, the unen- closed boutiques, and the numerous venues for musicians including spaces for ensembles in residence, rehearsal studios and the like.
Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects – Photography: Boegly + Grazia photographers
La Seine Musicale is equally the object of a partnership contract that has united the Department des Hauts-de-Seine andTempo-Île Seguin since 2013. Music, song, applause, pregnant pauses, children’s laughter… La Seine Musicale is ready to receive its audiences and to resonate with a thousand sounds.
Courtesy of Shigeru Ban Architects – Photography: Boegly + Grazia photographers
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