Architectural photographer Roland Halbe has sent us his photos of three health centres in Madrid by Spanish architects Estudio Entresitio, all with identical floor plans but executed in different materials.
Above and top: Usera. Photographs are copyright Roland Halbe
Above: Usera. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: Usera. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: San Blas. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: San Blas. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: San Blas. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: San Blas. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Do you remember that Bill Murray’s movie from the nineties called “groundhog day”? In the film, each day was the same day and from 7am it started all over again, one time after another.
Above: Villaverde. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: Villaverde. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: Villaverde. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
Above: Villaverde. Photograph is copyright Roland Halbe
The glass panels do not define patios, but hollows in the horizontal façade of the exterior shell of the building, creating a vertical relationship that allows an isotropic interior space to be generated. The transparency and mirroring qualities of the glass creates multiple visions by reflected symmetry.
The corridor vanishes, it ceases to exist as the traditional linear connecting structure, because the alternating arrangement of the empty spaces and public areas allows a weak relationship to exist between the “x” and “y” coordinates of space.
San Blas’s centre has been the first one to be built.
The idea of heaviness is reinforced by the rough texture formed by the horizontal wood planks of the concrete formwork. Put into contrast, the reflective qualities of the vertical walls of blue tile laid in a fish scale pattern help to create a spacious and luminous interior, almost as if the sky were brought inside the building.
Usera’s centre follows, completing the work chances that materials such as concrete, glass and tiles had to offer in search of identity. But something along the way went wrong with the construction company and a change of company was needed.
A golden metal skin is the moving forward strategy needed to accomplish a positive direction in the construction process and also the reason for changing ceramic tiles colour to white. In the end, it is possible to read interior space as a more horizontal and abstract one in comparison to San Blas.
The third of the row, Villaverde’s centre, is the result of wining another competition in which luck played a big role. The site was smaller and had a stronger urban character but the floor plan we had fitted just perfectly and the client decided to make us winners again.
Some old ideas from the original project appeared again; what if we tried to build the same spatial scheme with a lighter construction system narrowing the distance between opposites. It was possible to soften the scar between exterior and interior by using a tectonic structure covered with panels, opaque but polished, translucent or transparent. New materials needed new rules and the result is more atmospheric. The hole process has been a challenging investigation between use, sensation and geometry; it is now your turn to make an opinion.
Project: Three municipal healthcare centres in Madrid
Client: Madrid Salud. Madrid’s City Council
Place: Madrid, Spain – San Blas, Usera and Villaverde are three different neighbourhoods, East and South of Madrid
Dates: 1st competition April 2005, 2nd competition April 2007, Completion San Blas September 2007, Usera December 2009, Villaverde June 2010, Architects estudio.entresitio, María Hurtado de Mendoza, César Jiménez de Tejada, José María Hurtado de Mendoza
Team: Jorge Martínez, Laura Frutos, Vincent Rodriguez, Fabrice Quemeneur, Filipe Minderico, Clara Rodríguez, Marco Plazzogna, Miguel Crespo, Alvar Ruiz.
Consultants: Geasyt, SA, María José Camporro