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MEMORIA URBANA – VALENCIA

juangaraizabal — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:49:33 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Archivo del Reino, from the Palacio del Real de Valencia, Spain, at its original place, and in the same size (22 meters high, 25 meters long, 9 meters wide).
The Palacio del Real has its origin in the eleventh century on a farm for pleasure or almunia, where the kings of the Taifa of Valencia they retired to rest.

Was located outside the city across the river Turia. It was built for the rest of King Abd al Aziz.

The palace was destroyed during the Spanish War of Independence, in one of the sites of Valencia in 1810 by the Spanish troops defending the city.

In this case, Juan Garaizabal, part of the foundation resting on the floor of the Royal Gardens.

Crossing the original plans by Manuel Cavallero (1802) with the current situation of the park, and numerous site visits, determine some areas of intervention.

Based on the graphic and written documentation, this conceptual artist try to build a present volume in this historical absence, raising an ethereal structure, based on metal sections that synthesize only the outlines of the element, that for over 400 years, was the owner of that space. Combines these interventions Garaizabal own language of line and the dimension of the profile, using a construction technique developed over his more recent projects.

The Palacio del Real embodies a unique period in the long history of Valencia.

The Archivo del Reino was located on the lower deck of a nave that was part of this vast complex of buildings, attached to it at both ends and forming part of the “Main Patio”. The vicissitudes of the planes in which it is based the installation, which were developed in 1802 by military engineer D. Manuel Cavallero and recently discovered in Paris in the family background of Marshal Suchet is absolutely fascinating and deserves a separate chapter. The same applies to excavations carried out around the palace.
Its demolition began on March 12, 1810. In 2010 took place the 200th anniversary.

At night, the installation “Memoria Urbana” of Valencia acquires a different brilliance. For night time, the installation is equipped with a sophisticated Light System. Based on 24V flexible tube led, it offers an extraordinary look, enriched with music coordinated by a computer. For the structure will be used white and blue light. For the furniture, orange.

The author, who visits Valencia for work continuously for years, seeks to reflect, with this intervention in the urban void, the recent revolution in this symbolic capital and its inhabitants.
Garaizabal find the ephemeral reconstruction of the Archivo del Reino a place for meeting and reflection. A place of cultural exchange and historical recovery.

Memoria urbana – Madrid

juangaraizabal — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:57:30 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Mercado de Olavide at its original place, and in the same size. This Municipal Market was located in the Spanish city of Madrid, in the square of the same name, in the neighborhood of Chamberí.

It was designed by the architect Francisco Javier Ferrero LLUSIA in 1934.
It was a polygonal building, consisting of a series of octagonal prisms that were staggering, finishing in a large central courtyard, which claimed last prism cross ventilation.

The author’s concern for the “new technologies” are evident in the use of pillars and beams of reinforced concrete to save the large spans.
Garaizabal has created and registered the master lines of a monumental iron/light structure, according to the technique and artistical language of the “Memorias Urbanas” global project. Garaizabal has selected a section of the market, the main Entry.

The piece of installation art has an estimated height of 12 meters, and will be a reflection of integrity, which is a characteristic that can be found in buildings as well as people, and just as seldom.
For night time, the installation is equipped with a sophisticated Light System. Based on 24V flexible tube led, it offers an extraordinary look, enriched with music coordinated by a computer.

All the “Memorias Urbanas” are efficient and 100% sustainable Art Events. The metal structure is easily assembled/disassembled to be placed in another definitive spot and the light works with a minimal energy consumption, being all 24V and completely safe. The installations are subject to all technical certificates and all the preparatory works (sketches, pictures, models, writings…) from the artist are shown in simultaneous exhibitions. The Memorias Urbanas project is registered in Berlin by Juan Garaizabal.
The destruction of the market by controlled demolition in 1974, was accompanied by a great controversy between those who believed that its market model was obsolete and the building badly damaged by the passage of time and those who were for its recovery. The Official College of Architects of Madrid was part of the latter.
It was also very controversial the short term that the city notified the merchants the decision to demolish the market and how almost overnight most of the merchants lost their livelihood and much of their rights.
Nowadays, an underground parking and a leafy square can be found at the same place where the market used to be.
Garaizabal believes that the ephemeral reconstruction of the market, on the square it always was, will return to its place not only a work of great architectural value, but also the memories of everyday experiences, for the local residents and for the merchants. Such everyday experiences that give flavor and color to a particular neighborhood.

A neighborhood building with an important added value, thanks to the experiences that have taken place there, experiences of trade and work but also human relations and communication, this kind of building that creates identity.

Memoria urbana – Paris

juangaraizabal — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 01:35:39 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Palais des Tuileries, a royal palace in Paris which stood on the right bank of the River Seine until 1871, when it was destroyed by fire in the upheaval during the suppression of the Paris Commune. It closed off the western end of the Louvre courtyard, which has remained open since the destruction of the palace.

The palace was formed by a range of long, narrow buildings with high roofs that enclosed one major and two minor courtyards. The building was greatly enlarged in the 17th century, so that the southeast corner of the Tuileries joined the Louvre.

The name derives from the tile kilns or tuileries which had previously occupied the site.
The whole story of the palace, since it was planned by Catherine de´ Medici in 1564, and achieved by architect Philibert de l’Orme, until 1871, was full of history and grandeur: Henri IV, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI , Louis XVII, Napoleon Bonaparte…

The site is now the location of the Tuileries Garden (Jardin des Tuileries), designed by André Le Nôtre.
Garaizabal will recompose in the first stage La Tour Centrale, which was the Salon des Marechaux. This Salon occupied two floors of the Pavillon de l’Horloge above the entrance hall. Occupying the center of the palace, this room was particularly impressive. It had twelve windows, overlooking both the courtyard and the garden. Its domed gilded ceiling was supported by trophies of arms. When night came, the room lit by sconces and gigantic chandeliers. The noble galas of the Second Empire took place in this Salon.
Garaizabal has created and registered the master lines of a monumental iron/light structure, according to the technique and artistical language of the “Memorias Urbanas” global project. As all the previous Memorias Urbanas, the installation will allow the visitors to “live” the absence/presence of the Tour Centrale at its original place and size.

For night time, the installation is equipped with a sophisticated Light System. Based on 24V flexible tube led, it offers an extraordinary look, enriched with music coordinated by a computer. The Memorias Urbanas project is registered in Berlin by Juan Garaizabal.
On 23 May 1871, during the suppression of the Paris Commune, twelve men under the orders of a Communard, Dardelle, set the Tuileries on fire. The fire lasted forty-eight hours and entirely consumed the palace. The ruins of the Tuileries stood on the site for eleven years. The stone shell of the palace remained intact, and restoration was possible.

After much hesitation, the Third Republic decided not to restore the ruins of the Tuileries, which had become a symbol of the former royal and imperial regimes. On the other hand, the portions of the Louvre that had also been destroyed by fire were rebuilt in their original style.
In 1882, the French National Assembly voted for the demolition of the ruins, which were sold to a private entrepreneur for a ridiculous sum despite the protests of some members of French artistic and architectural circles, who opposed what they thought was a crime against French arts and history. The demolition was started in February 1883 and completed on 30 September 1883. Bits of stone and marble from the palace were sold by the private entrepreneur as souvenirs and even to build a castle in Corsica, near Ajaccio, the château de la Punta.
Since 2003, the Comité national pour la reconstruction des Tuileries has been proposing to rebuild the Tuileries Palace, is this a good idea? Garaizabal finds this debate very interesting; ephemeral reconstruction is the solution proposed by him.

Memoria urbana – London

juangaraizabal — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 12:35:03 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Nonsuch House on Old London Bridge, at its original place, and in the same size. The four-story Nonsuch House on London Bridge, completed in 1579, is the earliest documented prefabricated building. It was originally constructed in the Netherlands, taken apart and shipped to London in pieces in 1578, where it was reassembled. Each timber was marked so that it could be reconstructed correctly.

London Bridge, like many large medieval bridges, bore houses and shops along both sides of its length. London Bridge was a great attraction for London, and the Nonsuch House was a notable feature from the sixteenth century until it was torn down in the eighteenth century. Nonsuch House was partially attached to many of the other smaller wooden buildings adjacent on the bridge. The southern front was not connected to any other buildings and it was open for about fifty-six feet in front. The front was ornamented with many transom casement windows.

Juan Garaizabal has already done a significant portion of the research/creative process. Comparing the map of the city in times of the Old London Bridge, with the present layout, studying the available documentation about the building and the surroundings, and completed with some visits of the area, Garaizabal has created and registered the master lines of a monumental iron/light structure, according to the technique and artistical language of the “Memorias Urbanas” global project. The piece of installation art has an estimated high of 30 meters and will stand on a floating raft 30 meters downstream from the New London Bridge, exactly where the Old London Bridge was.
As all the previous Memorias Urbanas, the installation will allow the visitors to “live” the absence/presence of this “Nonsuch” piece of London History.

For night time, the installation is equipped with a sophisticated Light System. Based on 24V flexible tube led, it offers an extraordinary look, enriched with music coordinated by a computer.
All the “Memorias Urbanas” are efficient and 100% sustainable Art Events. The metal structure is easily assembled/disassembled to be placed in another definitive spot and the light works with a minimal energy consumption, being all 24V and completely safe. The installations are subject to all technical certificates and all the preparatory works (sketches, pictures, models, writings…) from the artist are shown in simultaneous exhibitions. The Memorias Urbanas project is registered in Berlin by Juan Garaizabal.

Memoria urbana – Lisboa

juangaraizabal — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 11:29:20 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Palace da Ribeira at its original place, and in the same size. The foundations of this building, that was Lisbon’s Royal Palace for over 200 years are still under the ground of the impressive Praça do Comércio of Lisbon. It was completely destroyed the “All Saints’ Day” 1755 during the Great Lisbon Earthquake. The quake and tsunami event was widely discussed and dwelt upon by European Enlightment philosophers and inspired major developments in theodicy and in the philosophy of the sublime.

Juan Garaizabal has already done a significant portion of the research/creative process. Comparing the map of the city before the earthquake with the present layout… …, studying the available documentation about the building and the surroundings … …and completed with some visits of the area, Garaizabal has created and registered the master lines of a monumental iron/light structure, according to the technique and artistical language of the “Memorias Urbanas” global project. The piece of installation art has an estimated high of 30 meters.
As all the previous Memorias Urbanas, the installation will allow the visitors to “live” the absence/presence of the main mannerist style Tower of the Paço da Ribeira, where the famous Royal Library was installed.

Memoria urbana – Berlin

juangaraizabal — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 17:57:17 +0000

This project consists on the temporary recreation of the Bohemian Bethlehem Church at its original place, and in the same size. The lost Bömische-Bethlehemskirche was a unique building in the middle of Berlin, representing one of the most beautiful chapters of the relations between Germany and Bohemia. Thanks to the generosity of King Frederick William I, Czech refugees who left their homeland for religious reasons were admitted to whole the Friedrichstadt of Berlin. The whole story of the church, since it’s construction in 1733-1735 until today, even though it is absent, is full of values and grandeur. It was the centre of the Czech community’s life in Berlin until 1943, when it was badly damaged by bombing. Subsequently, in 1963, it was demolished and the site incorporated into the facilities of Checkpoint Charlie. With the fall of the Wall, the American promoter who developed the plot was sensitive to the demands of the Czech community and negotiated with the city to vacate the original location of the church.

In January 2008, starting with the mosaic showing the ground plan on the former church that can be found in the pavement of the Bethlehemskirchplatz in Berlin, Garaizabal began to look fro signs of the lost Bohemian Church, and collected numerous documents found in Berlin and the Czech Republic. Apart from a large series of vintage photographs and original plans, the author became fascinated by the discovery of so-called “Lebensläufe”. They consist of short autobiographies that the first settlers who came to Berlin from Bohemia wrote before they died to be read at their funerals. Extraordinary stories of ordinary people.

Garaizabal has created and registered the master lines of a monumental iron/light structure, according to the technique and artistical language of the “Memorias Urbanas” global project. The piece of installation art has an estimated height of 30 meters (equivalent to a 10-storey building), and will be a reflection of integrity, which is a characteristic that can be found in buildings as well as people, and just as seldom.
As all the previous Memorias Urbanas, the installation will allow the visitors to “live” the absence/presence of the Church at its original place and size. It was preceded by the presentation of its model, together with 10 other accompanying preparatory artworks, in Prague, the capital city of Bohemia, the region from which the refugees came. I was at the DOX Centre for Contemporary Art from Jan27 to Apr18 2011.

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