Textures Congress centre ‘MAGMA’, Tenerife
The desert sands of southern Tenerife are the site of an unusual congress centre: MAGMA, the work of local architect Fernando Menis, comprises concrete cubes which appear to have been hewn from the island’s cliffs of lava, and a corrugated roof made of fibre cement panels. Light infiltrates the interior of the building through narrow gaps in the walls and roofs.
14 reflections natural surfaces
32
What do ostrich eggs, hazelnut shells and polar bear skins have to do with architecture. Actually not as little as one might assume, according to Dr. Udo Küppers, a scientist at the University of Bremen. His article looks at the bionics of natural surfaces and highlights some of nature’s “inventions” which could become models for architectural components – or have already been used as such, for example in transparent heat insulation systems.
VELUX Insight a dress for special occasions
48
By adding a shining gold-coloured facade made of copper shingles to their residential and commercial building at the edge of Graz’s old quarter, the young architectural bureau Innocad created an architectural landmark of national note. The building’s ‘Sunday best dress’ communicates with its environment on many different levels: It picks up the yellow colouring of the adjacent historic buildings and at the same time provides an interpretation of the logo used by the architectural bureau, which has moved its offices into the ground floor.
VELUX Panorama
Natural stone walls a metre thick juxtaposed alongside delicate exterior and interior constructions in steel and glass: the Czech architect Lucie Kavanova explored the theme of opposing extremes in her conversion of the Kotrč mill for residential use. Also: The Seehotel on the shores of Lake Neukloster, an ensemble of old and new buildings set against a rural backdrop, has been ‘rooted’ in its environment by architects Nalbach and Nalbach by dense ivy growth.
56
3