HWK 3: Libeskind in London

A continuación se presenta el texto y el cuestionario para realizar la tarea 3.

TEXT:
Libeskind in London
by Terri Whitehead

The new, modestly sized Graduate Centre for London Metropolitan University is the first permanent building in London by Daniel Libeskind. It's not a glamorous commission compared to his World Trade Center project in New York, nor does it have a particularly beautiful or meaningful site, as does his Jewish Museum in Berlin.
Libeskind accepted this commission — with an area of only 7,000 square feet (650 square meters) and a budget of only 3 million pounds — because, in his words, "every building is important" and "London needs good architecture."
Libeskind won the competition for the Graduate Centre despite his lack of experience in educational building. Perhaps this explains his unusual approach, and the result is, in my view, inspiring and architecturally engaging. In this small building, Libeskind rose to the challenge of creating a sanctuary for graduate students in the heart of North London.
The building is small but architecturally complex. Libeskind designed the pavilion as three intersecting volumes. One form rises toward the Underground station and the urban surroundings, another connects to the existing university building concourse, and the third nods to the city
These forms are clad in stainless steel panels that reflect and distort the dynamic street life. Dramatic, geometric incisions form great windows that bring light into the classrooms.

1.
This narrow strip of land in front of the university's Holloway Road campus is not the most likely location for Libeskind's London debut. He carefully considered the physical restrictions of the site and the vibrant urban setting to devise strategies for bringing in light, keeping out noise, and making the building welcoming while maintaining campus security.
The Graduate Centre is very different from the adjoining university building and reads as a completely separate pavilion. Yet the old and new buildings are connected by a long existing corridor that runs parallel to the street. The corridor has been painted bright red, creating a cheerful threshold to Libeskind's site.
The new building's separate entrance — linked to the street through a small exterior plaza — strengthens the sense of approach and entry. At the moment, people use this public space to simply look at and photograph the building. There is no other leisure space on Holloway Road, and it is too early to tell if this small area will continue to enjoy its semipublic status.
For months before its opening, as the landmark building took shape, its controversial, nonorthogonal plan and shiny stainless steel cladding panels delighted and outraged passers-by in seemingly equal numbers. The entry on a diagonal and the way that the building is set back off the street, unlike the other university buildings, forge a relationship unique to this area of Holloway Road.
But the bold move makes clear sense architecturally. After all, Libeskind was hired to create a street presence and a landmark for the school, not something that would "blend in" to the uninspired context.

2.
On entering the building, one passes through a small reception area, with a view to the grand staircase, to the two new lecture rooms. These rooms have exposed cast-in-place concrete walls and large windows bringing in natural light at the street level.
The repetition and rhythm of circular lighting and ventilation fittings arranged on the ceiling are subtle yet important integrated design elements. The patterns of these lights on the first floor are visible from the street through the giant windows.
Libeskind's initial inspiration for the building was the northern sky and the constellations, perhaps an overly poetic attempt to distract from the mundane architectural surroundings. But in the lighting, this concept is beautifully realized.
The staircase is grand and ceremonial but with minimal materials and finishes. Elevating the usually ordinary exercise of changing level to such a dramatic experience is something that Libeskind relishes. Instead of the standard, artificially lit, cramped flight of stairs that doubles back on itself, this staircase is one long flight, with huge quantities of light flooding in through a large window, allowing views to the outside.
Students are drawn up the staircase by the linear lighting pattern and the subtle angle of the staircase. The stairs are slightly twisted, which gives a unique character to the space and reflects the theme of changing perspectives.

3.
The building looks like it must have been very expensive to build, with such an eye-catching shape and nonstandard exterior cladding, combined with careful detailing and clean lines, but it was completed on time and on budget. It stands in stark contrast to the older, institutional university buildings. The new pavilion resembles an art gallery more than a school, with its white-painted interior surfaces and hand-crafted feeling.
While Libeskind's emphasis is sculpting space rather than materiality, there are marks of imperfections in the concrete, suggesting texture, reflecting light, and creating an environment of quiet contemplation. There is a strong sense of progression through the spaces with a varied section and elegant use of windows opening at various levels to allow daylight into the building.
The building envelope is concerned with framing views and bringing in the context. This is an optimistic approach, given the site, yet it works surprisingly well. There is a lookout over the street, and visitors are drawn immediately and in awe to the grand window over Holloway Road.
Standing in front of the enormous window makes the bustle of the road seem somehow dynamic and exciting as the high vantage point removes the viewer from the noise and allows a more passive viewing of the street. This double-height resting space is a calm place to sit, separated from the noise and chaotic pace through the doors leading into the existing building.
Previously, the crowded facilities at the university meant there were few unprogrammed spaces just to sit, reflect, gather, and socialize informally. This small area is a welcome addition to the school and a civilized and delightful space for graduate students.
In a recent interview, Libeskind reflected: "Because I was a student and a teacher, I knew that buildings should not be just factories for knowledge but have an interesting atmosphere and that students and teachers should have some fun."
Libeskind's overall design and interior spaces in the building have been determined by analysing the needs of the students and the required program and the balancing the needs of the community to create a dynamic and useful building.

4.
The aesthetics of this pavilion may upset conservative observers, but the architecture of the pavilion is more than sloping walls and gashed windows. It goes beyond the surface, as Libeskind's work always does, revealing sophisticated architectural intention.
Within a week of the Graduate Centre's opening, London's architecture magazines raced to blast the building as a monstrosity hopelessly out of sync with its surroundings and ridiculing Libeskind's use of astronomical symbolism as a starting point for generating ideas in design.
However, the Graduate Centre is undeniably an inspiring space, both as an exterior urban landmark in an otherwise dismal site, and as a series of beautifully crafted, light, flexible, interior spaces. The attention to detail, framing of views, and consideration of procession and circulation are timeless.
Visiting the Graduate Centre, I am reminded of what Vitruvius stated nearly 2000 years ago. "The end is to build well. Well building hath three conditions: commodity, firmness, and delight." And here again Libeskind strikes the perfect balance, demonstrating he is a big fan of delight.
Terri Whitehead is an architectural journalist and works at Haverstock Associates in London England.

QUESTIONNAIRE

A. Skimming: selecciona las palabras que funcionen como verbos y “piensa” en:

a) su traducción en español: si están en presente, pasado o futuro
b) el sujeto o el que realiza la acción
c) la consecuencia de la acción

Ejemplo:
passes = pasa, está en presente, se reconoce por la terminación en “s”
¿quién pasa? = “one”, cualquiera, nosotros¿por dónde pasamos? = por una pequeña área de recepción


B. Note Taking: toma notas en español de la información más importante de cada párrafo y asigna a cada sección numerada del texto uno de los siguientes subtítulos.

1. Stepping Inside
2. But Will It Be Accepted?
3. Squeezing into the Site
4. A Sculpture in North London

C. Reading in Detail: con base en la información del texto, responde a las siguientes proposiciones de manera breve pero precisa. Utiliza TODA la información que el texto provea.

1. ¿A qué se debe el enfoque inusual de Libeskind hacia el proyecto?
2. ¿Cómo se solucionó la disyunción entre los edificios antiguos y nuevos?
3. ¿En qué aspectos de diseño se ve reflejada la inspiración de Libeskind en los cielos estrellados del norte de Europa?
4. ¿A qué espacios “no programados” se refiere el autor?
5. Explica el contraste en las apreciaciones que generó el edificio en Londres. ¿Quiénes estuvieron a favor, por qué; quiénes en contra?
6. Un autor comenta sobre el concepto de “zoomscape”, refiriéndose a que muchas veces experimentamos la arquitectura de forma indirecta, como vistas a través de fotografías, el cristal del automóvil cuando circulamos por la ciudad, etc. ¿Cómo se relaciona esta idea con el edificio que ha creado Libeskind?
7. Expresa tu opinión sobre edificios como éste, cuyo diseño contrasta altamente con su entorno, compara con alguna experiencia de un edifico que conozcas y aprecies o aborrezcas. Argumenta tu punto de vista.

D. Scanning: Ubica las siguientes palabras en el texto y asócialas con algunos de los siguientes conceptos:

first / or / as / but / because / despite / in front ot / by / more…than / unlike / more than / one / yet / another / toward

- ubicación física
- modo en que algo se realiza
- contraste
- comparación: una cosa es igual a otra
- causa- alternativa
- comparación: uno es más que otro

E. Vocabulary: lee los siguientes pies de foto y di en palabras o con dibujos cómo debería ser la imagen que cada una describe.

1: Large, "gashing" windows connect to the street visually while separating from it acoustically.
2: Longitudinal section.
3: Ground floor plan, Graduate Centre for London Metropolitan University.
4: Back elevation and section, Graduate Centre for London Metropolitan University.
5: Front elevation, along Holloway Road.6: Cross section, Graduate Centre for London