Ricardo Bofil

STUDYING ARCHITECT/ DESIGNER MONOGRAPH RICARDO BOFILL

Architect's Background THE SON OF A VENETIAN MOTHER AND A CATALAN FATHER, RICARDO BOFILL WAS BORN ON DECEMBER 5, 1939, IN BARCELONA, SPAIN. EDUCATION HE STUDIED ARCHITECTURE AT THE ESCUELA TECNICA SUPERIOR DE ARQUITECTURA IN BARCELONA (1955 - 1956) AND AT THE ARCHITECTURE UNIVERSITY OF GENEVA, SWITZERLAND (1957 - 1960). CAREER IN 1960 HE FOUNDED THE TALLER DE ARQUITECTURA (ARCHITECTURE WORKSHOP), BASED IN BARCELONA. “Architecture is the victory of man over the irrational: the construction of a familiar, domestic, human space,”

BASILICA SANCTUARY OF MERITXELL Year : 1978

Background This building was rebuilding by simply returning the fallen stones to their original position and the strong influence of the local architecture and landscape cannot be ignored. They continue the historical path of Romanesque imagery in theory by applying modern building techniques and designs which based on the vision that the project have to go further than its program. The project relate plan, section and facade through a harmonic scheme based on the symbolic numerology and the relationship of basic measurement on the site. For the outside of the building there is a Romanesque continuation, it's a form belong to the black mountain. Apparently it's a part of the small village, capturing the architectural philosophy of other Andorran temples but still aware of its different scale.

The inspiration is come from original Romanesque sources through to the Albertian and Palladian neopythagorean use of square roots and circles. (Catalan Romanesque imaginary in large bell tower and attached cloister with ribbed vaults) There are 2 major elements of the project which are the viaduct bridge and the sanctuary, although other elements are on the line as symbolically important such as the concave amphitheater, the giant steps, the bridge over the road, the climbing towers, the vaulting arches, the esplanade, the convex theatre, the gushing fountain, the sculpted colonnade and the ride through the forest. For now the sanctuary is built with all its dependencies, manifesting a clear hint of projected continuation in the unfinished arches poised over the valley waiting to connect with the future bridge. A light brick-block structure is used for the bell tower with concrete binders and interior bracing covered in copper to give a solid effect. And there is a fountain located in the middle of the cloister which these characteristics recall techniques of Islamic art. They turn the crypt into a public hall and change the material from originally conceived in shuttered concrete into a lightweight curved trusses covered with plywood on both surfaces. All doors and windows facing is made from artificial white stone prefabricated in a factory. This material is used for the arches which are filled with frameless glazing.

Elevations

HOUARI BOUMEDIENNE AGRICULTURAL VILLAGE Year : 1980

Background Houari Boumedienne Agricultural Village was built to house agricultural workers in the semi-desert of Abadia in western Algeria at the request of the Algerian government for promoting agriculture in the area. The purpose is gained in the construction of housing developments and to be applied to the new center of population in this area. The composition of the urban was based on the combination of single- family dwellings that offered infinite possibilities, which had to be limited to keep the cost of the operation as low as possible. From Bofill's work, he recognized the power of public space as the platform on which communities are bound together, meeting place and the marketplace like the center for celebrations and festivities.

The proportion of built space to open public space being kept constant.

The geometrical forms of this building were drawn from Arabic and Mediterranean traditions, made for the first grouping of two or three dwellings laid out around the courtyard to compose a block. The grouping of several blocks provided a neighborhood, and several neighborhoods composed a town. A large central square from the picture, represent the marketplace, meeting place, setting for festivities and spectacles and vital axis articulating the town.

CASTELL KAFKA Year : 1968

Background In The Castle, an unfinished novel published after the death of its author Franz Kafka, a protagonist known only as K arrives in a village dominated, both visually and governmentally, by a nearby castle. K claims to have been appointed as a land surveyor by the rulers in the castle, but as chronicled in the story, his attempts to be recognized by this inaccessible authority are dashed against the obstinacy of the villagers and arrogant local officials. Although unwritten, the ending Kafka intended would see K finally receive a permit to stay only after exhaustion from his efforts has literally left him on his deathbed.

The motion of many cubic structures is not random, but the distribution is as follows: One digital analog is connected to two core loops, while the other defines the unit of spiral height. Everyone's result is the same. The synthesis of these two methods creates unique spatial conditions. All apartments have several cubes. Each component contains a spatial element or model as a common element within an important program or component. A Capricorn has a one bedroom bathroom, while its neighbors have a living room and a multifunctional dining area. In the apartment, the connection is at different heights, resulting in changes in the external space.

The Castle’s unusual formal strategy merited an equally unusual approach to the construction process. After a physical model of the design was produced, RBTA set to work on a new method of presentation, distilling the information as much as they could while still allowing builders to understand what they were expected to construct. Thanks to the standardization within the building’s base formulae, the firm was able to dispense with the stacks of drawings normally de rigeur in architectural practice and utilize only five: one main drawing and supplementary images clarifying the variations of the apartment modules. Any design decisions not specified in these few documents were clarified on site.

WALDEN 7 Year : 1975

Background Walden is an apartment building It was built in 1975. It is well known as a Vertical labyrinth in the city with 14 story cluster interior courtyard, for the rooftop, there are a swimming pool and courtyard. The one unit takes about 30 sq.m module. Material is concrete. The apartment building has a modular system or cubis design created the variety if faced ,present various dimension of solid and void of ventilation. The color of exterior and interior which are red brick and intense blue in resistively, two contrast color Crete more debt when take a look at exterior perspective and associated with sky and landscape color. These design made Walden outstanding among factory building in the Catalonia.

3 Concept Ideas Firstly, Ricardo would like to construct an apartment without the distraction of outside chaos. Secondly, the apartment should have a connection intervention community. Lastly, we would like to enhance the quality of living.

The apartment of one unit might has similar proportion. However, Ricardo Bofill could design it with more interesting and aesthetic. The unit was arrangement into a modular multiple group and design the shifting platform according to the vertical and horizontal grid line. The exterior of Walden might not has a complicated structure. whereas, The interior plan has many void which creating the gathering hallway in the community

Concept Theory of Ricardo Bofill

Cubic design and Geometry design Ricardo's design is based on possibilities of construction according to mathematics and science knowledge. Moreover, insert some theory of psychology in his design. Modular design His work will provide the arranging of the small modules to create the volume of the exterior and interior. He used the rule-based system to generate the position of all units in the building. Repetition From many works of him, there are represented the repeat geometrical shapes of a square, circle, and hexagon from plan to the building's design.

Cubic design and Geometry design Squares & Circles are related : Create shapes by combining lines of geometric shapes.

Unity of Geometry Geometry association Ricardo's design also provided the relationship of each part of the building by using the different shapes of the structure to create another point of view for the visitors. It shows the overlapping of a squares and circles in different layers. And when a circle combine with square it becomes an arch.

Unity of Geometry Variety Shape of Each Unit From the case study, some works of Ricardo are showed the different shapes of each unit that are combined in one building which represented an alternative to the block system to say it broke up the zoning system from an urban point of view. The variety of shapes also used to be the boundary of different functions in the building.

Symmetry in Balance From the design of Ricardo's work, there is a symmetrical in these building. And because of the shape and form of the geometric shapes, it has a symmetry of itself. Every elements of the building have the same weight in both left and right side which create a balance. So, it's a combination of a symmetry geometry shapes and balance of elements.