RICARDO BOFILL
Ricardo Bofill is a Spanish Architect, who assembled a multidisciplinary group in order to confront the complexity of architectural practice; architects, engineers, planners, sociologists, writers, movie makers and philosophers, conformed what is known today as the Taller de Arquitectura.
In Bofill’s work, History has always been present, in all its forms. First of all, in the form of the continuing analysis and interpretation of the culture and architecture of the past, but also by means of the strenght given to new tendencies, to involvement in the social movements of the day and the creation of alternative responses to contemporary problems.
The professional progress of the Taller de Arquitectura, marked by the stimulus and the conception of life, the vital vision of Ricardo Bofill, has undergone a series of practical and theoretical changes closely linked to the political and social transformations of recent years.
An analysis of Bofill’s work as a whole reveals a tremendous degree of coherence and a continuity of thinking that are the product of a history and a language that are uniquely personal.
Because of the necessity to approach major projects, Bofill’s team conceived a methodology based on the geometric formation of elements in space, developed in a theoretical manner with the project The City in Space, and made it concrete with the construction of Walden 7.
An analysis of Bofill’s work as a whole reveals a tremendous degree of coherence and a continuity of thinking that are the product of a history and a language that are uniquely personal.
WALDEN 7
Ricardo Bofill wanted to create a landmark in contrast relashionship with the industrial area where Walden 7 was located. The colors from the post modern architecture are fundamental to evoke feelings and sensations inside and outside the buildings.
Walden 7 represents the realization of the research work done for other previous projects of the Taller de Arquitectura.
The project of The City in Space was eventually able to take shape on a suburban plot formerly occupied by a cement factory. Walden 7 embodies the concept of architectural magnitude as well as a new, enriching feature into the suburban environment which surrounds it.
It attempts to provide a solution to the problems of life in today’s cities where there is a lack of community, of collective activity, of public space placed at the disposition of the individual.
Exterior windows have a pelicular semicircular shape and their distribution is uneven in each facade while they maintain a certain symetry.
Walden 7 creates a distinguished space in contrast to the mediocrity of its surroundings, stimulating in this way an animation of community life in its interiors.
Walden 7 consists of 446 apartments, grouped around five courtyards, in top of which are two swimming pools.
With few exceptions, each apartment face both outside of the block and into one of the courtyard, at many levels, there is a complex system of bridges and balconies.
The exterior facade has the appearance of a huge fortification completely painted in red, which is opened to the exterior through large overtures like urban window.
The courtyards have a lively treatment because of the intense blue and yellow colored facade. The main courtyard, at the building’s entrance, is a recovery of the street and the plaza for the benefit of the inhabitants, which generates an interior world apart from the exterior chaos.
The dwellings, a combination of square 30 m2 modules, come in different sizes, ranging from the single-module studio to the four-module apartment, either on one floor or duplex.
Walden 7 represents the realization of the research work done for other previous projects of the Taller de Arquitectura.
The project of The City in Space was eventually able to take shape on a suburban plot formerly occupied by a cement factory. Walden 7 embodies the concept of architectural magnitude as well as a new, enriching feature into the suburban environment which surrounds it.
It attempts to provide a solution to the problems of life in today’s cities where there is a lack of community, of collective activity, of public space placed at the disposition of the individual.
Exterior windows have a pelicular semicircular shape and their distribution is uneven in each facade while they maintain a certain symetry.
Walden 7 creates a distinguished space in contrast to the mediocrity of its surroundings, stimulating in this way an animation of community life in its interiors.
Walden 7 consists of 446 apartments, grouped around five courtyards, in top of which are two swimming pools.
With few exceptions, each apartment face both outside of the block and into one of the courtyard, at many levels, there is a complex system of bridges and balconies.
The exterior facade has the appearance of a huge fortification completely painted in red, which is opened to the exterior through large overtures like urban window.
The courtyards have a lively treatment because of the intense blue and yellow colored facade. The main courtyard, at the building’s entrance, is a recovery of the street and the plaza for the benefit of the inhabitants, which generates an interior world apart from the exterior chaos.
The dwellings, a combination of square 30 m2 modules, come in different sizes, ranging from the single-module studio to the four-module apartment, either on one floor or duplex.
