Ibon Bascones
ARCHITECTURE PORTFOLIO
Ibon
Contents of portfolio
+ About me
+ PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
European Space Agency headquarters renovation
Competition for a sport complex in Nijmegen
+ ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE
Facility for people with cognitive difficulties
Funeral home for Oiarsoaldea
Urban intervention in a small town
The flying city: A utopian project
ACADEMIC FORMATION
Fascinated by the power of architecture to benefit society, specifically around social housing, accesibility and sustainability. Always eager to explore innovative ideas and approaches to design that help break down the existing barriers between people and build a more equal world.
ibonbl98@gmail.com
688 684 320
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ ibon-bascones-a01952152/
Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture with a special mention in creative innovation and research in the ETSASS, UPV
Master’s Degree in Architecture in the ETSASS, UPV
EXTRA FORMATION
Academic year in the USA (Junior year of High School)
Guide of the “OPEN HOUSE Bilbao” program
“TRANSVISIBLE” course during the San Sebastian Architecture Biennale, organized by CSD KUNSTHAL and ETSASS
ERASMUS exchange program in Austria (Kunstuniversität Linz) (classes in english and german)
“Transversal skills in the workplace” course
“Eraldatzen” course against gender-based violence
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Two months interning at dLZ Architects
Three months interning at GPD Architects through the “Transición al mundo Laboral” scholarship
Three months interning at htc architects through the “Transición al mundo Laboral” scholarship
One year working at NOAHH Architects as an architectural designer
Winner of the student contest to make a cinema during the 2021 San Sebastian Architecture Biennale 2D/3D AutoCAD
Participant in the idea contest “Arte Público”
LANGUAGES
Basque- Mother tongue (C1 title)
Spanish- Mother tongue
English- Native level (Cambridge Proficiency title) (C2)
Dutch- B1 level
German- B2 level
+ Professional work
My tasks during this project:
-Main designer of interior elements and spaces
-Model the project in Archicad
-Make 2D drawings
-Rendering and visualization
ESA Estec building interior renovation Noordwijk, The Netherlands
Patrick Fransen: Lead architect
Alvaro Laanen Baca: Project leader
Ibon Bascones: Designer
Frank Schulze: BIM expert
Sjouke Posthumus: Construction details
team:
NOAHH architects was approached to renovate the interior of this well-known building by iconic Dutch architect Aldo Van Eyck. Because of the monumental importance of the existing building, the design process involves a careful consideration about what parts to keep intact, what to update, and what to make from scratch.
+ Lounge area around ventilation shaft
DateofissueDatelastversion
31/10/202441/09/2024 23/07/2024
-Interior design of the entire lounge area
ProjectcodeESA08
-Make 2D drawings
Moermanskkade111|1013BC Amsterdam(NL)office@noahh.nl|+31(0)20 3090250 www.noahh.nl 22/11/2024
-Constructive detailing
-Rendering and visualization
-Communication with contractor (SWECO)
In the ground floor of the building, the client wanted to move one of the bathroom groups to ease the flow of the workers, leaving an undefined space that we were to develop. Since the building lacks many good quality spaces to relax during breaks, I proposed to turn it into a lounge area for the workers to unwind in. The resulting design aimed to incorporate futurisctic, sci-fi aesthetics along with the presence of plant life to generate a comfortable and earthy atmosphere.
+ Final design
Two different sized spotlights placed to simulate the night sky
Installations shaft fully integrated into the space continues onto the ceiling
Interactive screen
Removable panel for checking installation shaft
LED strip incorporated in plinth for indirect light
Planter integrated into the fixed furniture
Cushioned seating area
Blue terrazzo floor
+ Lounge area around ventilation shaft
DateofissueDatelastversion
+ Final design
+ Bathroom and lift group
31/10/202441/09/2024 23/07/2024
-Design different concepts for exterior cladding
ProjectcodeESA08
Moermanskkade111|1013BC Amsterdam(NL)office@noahh.nl|+31(0)20 3090250 www.noahh.nl 22/11/2024
-Design look of bathroom interior and communicate with tile manufacturer
-Model the existing and new bathroom and lift in Archicad
-Rendering and visualization
The existing bathroom and lift groups´ wooden cladding was aged and partially damaged, aside from the fact that some walls needed to be completely removed in order to comply with modern regulations around accessibility. This opened up a question: What should these renovated spaces look like?
In order to answer this questions, I was tasked with testing different design possibilities. Some of them worked in new materials such as felt or glass, and many of them integrated lighting or in one case glass vitrines to display pieces of equipment throughout the history of EsA. However, in the end the cladding consisted of locally sourced wooden lamelles with varying width, with some circular cutouts to hint at the planetary theme.
DateofissueDatelastversion
+ Central meeting room
ProjectcodeESA08
-Design different concepts for meeting room ceiling
-Model meeting room ceiling
-Rendering and visualization
31/10/202441/09/2024 23/07/2024
For the central meeting room on the ground floor, the ceiling needed to integrate lighting, ventilation and heating for an enclosed glass space in the center of one of the seven towers, thus with no access to the facade. In addition, the space also needed to have big screens to be able to show presentations in it.
My task was to juggle these disparate elements and work them into a design that aesthetically communicates the cutting edge technology and international scope of EsA. + Final design
+ Ceiling refurbishment
ProjectcodeESA08
-Create and design the “cutouts” in the ceiling
DateofissueDatelastversion Scale
31/10/202441/09/2024 23/07/2024
PhaseMS2-WP6.11:100 Moermanskkade111|1013BC Amsterdam(NL)office@noahh.nl|+31(0)20 3090250 www.noahh.nl 22/11/2024
-Model the existing and new ceiling in Archicad -Design lighting scheme for the project -Rendering and visuatlization
The existing ceiling with its tilted, geometric wooden panels was one of the most iconic parts of the original design, and as such, we felt like we had to maintain as much of it as we could in our refurbishment. However, many parts of it had endured significant damage throughout the years, aside from the fact that the lighting and ventilation of the building was outdated and inadequate.
Thus, the decision was made to keep the original ceiling for all the public spaces, whereas the offices required the use of climate islands that would provide air flow and lighting. In addition, a new lighting scheme would also be designed to modernize the look and feel of the building.
+ P1
+ P2
+ P3
For the two central communication towers, the wooden ceiling panels were full of perforations from the existing lamps and other previous repairs, which made it difficult to re-use. Thus, the decision was made to design inserts that cut into the wooden ceiling, following the shape language of the climate islands installed in the offices. These elements contributed greatly to modernize the look of the existing building, while preserving its characteristic asthetic vision.
ke inpassing exterieur: De grens sportactiviteiten pocketpark. Dit gezondheid door
Competition for a sport complex in Nijmegen Nijmegen, The Netherlands het boslandschap”
door mensen recreatie, in werken. Door het een betere en nieuwe
het aan de fitness, een de sporthal.
Stedenbouwkundig ontwerp - Drie-dimensionaal groen icoon in het bos
Op de kruising van de Nieuwe Dukenburgseweg en de straks verhoogde Neerbosscheweg verrijst binnenkort een nieuw groen landmark.
Dit driedimensionale gebouwensemble is ontworpen in harmonie met de omgeving, geïnspireerd door het omliggende bos.
Tegelijkertijd is de nieuwe stedenbouwkundige visie uit het kaderdocument Sportcentrum Winkelsteeg volledig verweven in
team:
Patrick Fransen: Lead architect
Als aanvulling op de bestaande toren ‘52 Degrees’ op het NTC en het nieuwe gebouwaccent aan de zuidzijde van de Stationsvallei, krijgt het woongebouw een eigen, unieke verschijningsvorm: een toren met verspringende groene terrassen, gestapeld als sawa’s, wat zorgt voor een opvallend en levendig silhouet.
Alvaro Laanen Baca: Project leader
Kay Bos: Designer
Ibon Bascones: Designer
Ensemble van de gebouwen rondom een pocketpark met volwassen bomen
Het nieuwe sportgebouw en de woontoren zijn ontworpen als twee aparte volumes, waardoor grote delen van het bestaande bos behouden kunnen blijven. De groene ruimte tussen de gebouwen vormt het hart van de openbare ruimte en geeft invulling aan het in het kaderdocument beschreven pocketpark. De entrees van het sportgebouw, de woontoren en de parkeergarage voor voetgangers en fietsers zijn allemaal aan dit pocketpark gelegen.
De verschillende bewegingen van voetgangers en fietsers door het park maken het tot een levendige en aantrekkelijke verblijfsplek. Het open karakter van de gevels op de begane grond van zowel het woongebouw als het sportgebouw versterkt deze dynamiek, terwijl de reeds aanwezige volwassen bomen direct zorgen voor een sfeervolle atmosfeer.
My tasks during this project:
-Design interior elements and spaces
-Model the project in Archicad
-Distribute floorplan of living tower
-Rendering and visualization
Nieuwe situatie: iconisch ensemble in boslandschap.
The competition for the new master plan and Multifunctional Sports Centre Winkelsteeg with residential tower and parking facility required an innovative and, above all, integrated approach in order to be able to offer as much added value and quality as possible. The building complex was designed to provide the users an appealing and multifunctional ensemble that also serves as an iconic landmark for this part of the city.
A compact building with a strong identity with high functionality, which is achieved by stacking and by designing the Sport-living-parking as an ensemble.
SPORTHALL
The volume that comprises the main sport hall is located right on top of the 50m swimming pool, ensuring that the building is comfortable and easy to find your way in.
Scheme by: Paola Rapana
THE TOWER
The tower is designed with a terraced structure that mirrors the structure of the sports building.
Thus, it consists of smaller volumes stacked on top of each other, each separated by recessed floors with generous terraces and green roof gardens.
The new sports building and the residential tower were designed as two separate volumes, allowing large parts of the existing forest to be preserved. The green space between the buildings forms the heart of the public space and gives substance to the pocket park between the buildings. The footpaths are distinguished from the cycle path by their materials, which creates a pleasant separation between the different traffic flows and contributes to the spatial experience.
The sculptural staircase is more than just a logistical route through the building; This element is also an important part of the experience of the building. The staircase contains various seating elements and vegetation on the stairs that make the visitor experience the building as a stroll through the forest. Due to the carefully designed intentionality of the staircase, the visitor is challenged and made curious to discover all the different places and sports halls.
The target group pool and the paddling pool were spaces that I particularly focused on during my time working on this project. They are designed as one cohesive, ‘articulated’ space, in which obscure corners are deliberately avoided. This design ensures that the supervising staff have a full view of both pools from a centrally located lifeguard station, which significantly increases safety. The target group pool is not only functional, but also a source of fun and entertainment, with a strong emphasis on experience and interaction.
Facility for people with cognitive difficulties
Mungia, Spain
I firmly believe that architecture can be used to improve the living conditions of people, and especially groups of people that have been neglected in the past. Therefore, I focused my end-of-career project on learning about the specific needs of people with cognitive difficulties and designing a multi-purpose building that caters to those needs in a unified building that also gives back to the community surrounding it. For the location I chose my hometown of Mungia, since I noticed a lack of mental health care infrastructure in this area.
The building is located in a vacant lot in the outskirts of Mungia, delimiting the boundary between the town and the surrounding rural area. To the north, the bike lane runs along the riverbank, creating a friendly, green atmosphere. However, this location has a lot of potential that is not being exploited currently.
After analyzing the site, it was decided that for my building to integrate itself into the community and give back to the town, it would only take up half of the site, and the rest of the space would become a public park. Thus, the curved fence around the building becomes a soft barrier and a point of contact between the users and the citizens of Mungia.
One of the main ideas that I reflected upon during the design process was that of the fence, since historically people with mental disabilities have been separated from the public. By integrating the fence with the building and turning it into a shaded walkway, it is re-contextualized into a permeable, flexible element of the building.
As mentioned, the building integrates a residential area for users that need full-time care, and a day center for users who only use the facilities for a limited time every day. The tension between these two functions, as well as the special attention paid to the access points for each use, combined to give this building its characteristic shape.
Communicationnucleus
Communicationnucleus
Dining hall
nucleus
center
Because of the very particular needs of its users, special attention was given to accesibility and comfort inside and outside of the building, particularly in the rooms. Elements of furniture and doors would be especially designed to fit with the requirements of the user base.
Aside from the more obvious aspects of catering to the needs of its users, the building also offers a wide range of activities such as a vegetable garden, therapy spaces, rooms for physical activity and a green patio for walking and playing. All these spaces are designed to be as comfortable and friendly as possible.
Funeral home/ Crematorium for Oiarsoaldea
Lezo, Spain
For my end-of-masters-degree project, we were tasked with creating a funeral home and crematorium in the small town of Lezo, meant to provide its services to the whole area of Oiarsoaldea that this town sits inside of. My main drive throughout it was to step away from the way in which burial architecture is usually framed (dark, heavy, cold) and instead propose a kinder, softer view of death that allows for the grieving person to feel comforted and accompanied through the process by the architecture itself.
Each of the distinct spaces in a building with such a monumental emotional significance has to evoke a certain atmosphere to adjust to the users state of mind. Thus, the spaces have all been carefully arranged to allow for the required amount of light, views, etc.
The site that this building is located in contains a very steep slope To pay homage to this distinct feature of the terrain, the building itself has a sloped roof that echoes the incline of the ground beneath it. This roof made of aluminum and painted white is the main feature of the building, and it informs its general volume and look from the outside.
The building looks out onto two different landscapes: The river and small forest to one side, and the town of Lezo on the other. The wake rooms, family rooms and the balcony that accompanies them look down onto the town, while the more symbolic spaces, such as the ceremony room, look towards nature to evoke a tranquil, serene feeling.
On the inside, the building takes on a completely new image. The white aluminum of the outside filters the sunlight, refracting it into the soft, rich wood that covers the inside. This material, besides being the one chosen for the structure due to its stability, is also associated with warmth and gentleness, embuing the spaces with these characteristics.
“Public Art” Competition Urban intervention in the Town Square Tineo, Spain
The aim of this competition was to bring life to the small town of Tineo by revitalizing the town square, which had fallen into disuse. In order to achieve this goal, the participants were required to design a structure to cover part of the square to allow for its use in adverse meteorogical conditions, as well as come up with a way to organize the street furniture to allow for a plethora of spatial configurations such as a market, a concert, a playground... etc.
The town square is divided in two by a change in elevation, below which the towns tourism information spot has been built. This offers an opportunity for the covering structure to be located on top of it, providing views of the houses below as well as the mountainous landscape that surrounds the town.
When diagnosing the problems that led to the emptiness of this space, many factors can be pointed out. For one, the square is bisected by a road, which makes it unsafe for children especially since they risk being run over by cars if they play in the square. Other problems include the rigid urban furniture, the lack of vegetation and the state of disrepair of the facades looking out over the square.
The main structure is made of wood, harkening back to the history of the region and evoking the “horreos” that have been used here for generations. It leans against one of the facades that, as mentioned, is deteriorated and gives the square a bad look; to remedy this, it has been turned into a green facade that compliments the main structure.
When it comes to the street furniture, the main goal was flexibility. A town square is a space in which many different events and situations can take place, so why not reflect that with the furniture? It is made with modules of wood with different lengths that can be combined with each other to form a myriad of different configurations depending on the occasion.
The flying cities of Aeolia A utopian project
Earth
During my study year abroad in KunstUniversität Linz in Austria, we conducted an exercise in imaginative thinking in which the goal was to imagine a future utopia where humanity lives in a city in the clouds, following the footsteps of dreamers such as Constant Neuwenhuis, Georgii Krutikov or Buckminster Fuller. Once the initial research process was over, the teachers encouraged me to turn my project into a comic to show the development of my idea through illustration. The result is “The flying cities of Aeolia”, a project that combines architecture and storytelling to imagine an optimistic, speculative vision of the future.
During the research process, I encountered the concept of tensegrity, which consists of solid elements joined by flexible threads that hold them up through tension. Following this idea, I came across Tomas Saraceno, an artist that designs environments made from net-like structures upon which the visitants can walk. This idea inspired the look of the city of the future.
This project envisions a future in which humanity has taken to the skies in order to minimize the damage made to the planet by pollution and over-consumtion. The structure reflects the kind of society that humans have built in the future, that is, light, flexible, constantly changing and adapting to the needs of the people.
