The Olympic Field Hockey Centre consists of two arenas, a warm-up field and a building with changing rooms, a medical center and an administrative office. This building is connected to both arenas through a marquee that also links them to each other.
Site Plan
Diagram (Portuguese)
The main arena has 2.500 permanent and 5.300 temporary seats totaling 7.800 seats. The last seating rows are the ones that will be kept in the legacy project. These seats were boldly designed since they face the North sector entry of the Deodoro Complex. Meanwhile, the second arena does not have permanent stands and will have a temporary seating capacity for 4.100 people.
One of the main challenges of this project was to position the arena’s fields onto a very irregular site, few access points and a fairly slender pre-defined area. Each field is almost the size of a soccer field (91.4 meters long by 55 meters wide), and the warm-up field is half the size of the arenas (45,7m x 55m). The warm-up field is located between the arenas.
Courtesy of Divulgação Ministério do Esporte
The arenas also have to be in a correct position in relation to the sun (north-south) and also provide enough space for several temporary installations such as grandstands, food stands and access points to game operation areas.
Much precision was needed in order to execute these fields: beneath the synthetic grass surface are two layers of asphalt, a 35 mm thick upper layer, with a tolerance of more or less 3mm in 3 meters, a 35 mm lower layer with a tolerance of more or less 6mm every 3 meters and, also a shock pad layer, made of an impact absorbing rubber. All this to ensure that the 235 mm in circumference ball rolls smoothly on the field.
Floor Plan
The fields are made with a royal blue synthetic grass, standardization started at the London Olympics in 2012, in order to make the sport more attractive and also to offer a better contrast with the ball.
Both arenas and the warm-up field alike are uncovered but still must comply to very specific lighting requirements established by the new television transmission technology such as 4K and 3D. The lighting project produces over 2 thousand lux and has 40m high light poles.
Once a legacy, the main training areas for new athletes will be kept, including both areas, the warm-up field, part of the bleachers, the marquee, the changing rooms, storage rooms and offices for the Brazilian Hockey Confederation. The external floors will be partially demolished in order to offer more green areas.
Rio de Janeiro is a city of sights and sounds. As diverse as its people is the collection of impressive architecture found in Brazil’s second most populous city—from Eurocentric historical architecture to 20th century regionalist modern marvels, not to mention the city’s growing crop of contemporary cultural venues. The combination of mountainous terrain, lush rainforest, and the ocean inspires many to create lively and unique architecture.
In preparation for the 2016 Summer Olympics, the city has enlisted a crop of internationally renowned architects including Santiago Calatrava, whose work joins Rio’s existing masterpieces from architects such as Oscar Niemeyer. But apart from its “Capital A” Architecture, the city of Rio is home to thousands of residents living in the now-famous favelas—interesting subjects of inquiry for those interested in the concept of spontaneous urban growth. There’s a building for just about every architecture fan visiting Rio this year or anytime in the future.
Built in Calatrava’s signature style, the recently launched museum feels ethereal and features various cutting-edge experimental exhibitions; it is an icon of the modernization of Rio de Janeiro’s harbor.
Located in the city’s developing southwest zone, Portzamparc’s masterpiece is a large cultural complex. A miniature City of Arts, it serves as a venue to multiple performances and exhibits throughout the year, as well as the home of the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra.
Set to open later in 2016, the new headquarters of the Museum of Image and Sound aims to represent Rio de Janeiro’s Carioca culture through lively and stimulating exhibits. The building’s design aims to reproduce the experience of Copacabana’s famous boardwalk.
Also dubbed as the New Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro, the conically-shaped structure is Edgar Fonceca’s interpretation of Mayan architecture which he has combined with traditional Catholic architecture through the dominant presence of stained glass in the interior.
Ministry of Health and Education Building. ImageImage public domain via Wikimedia
Known alternatively as Palacio Gustavo Capanema, this office tower is one of Brazil’s most iconic representation of the International Style. The building’s design credits read like a who’s who of Brazilian Modernism, designed by Costa with help from a team of young architects which included Oscar Niemeyer alongside Affonso Eduardo Reidy, Carlos Leão, Jorge Moreira, and Ernani Vasconcellos. This team was assisted by none other than Le Corbusier, while the building’s impressive roof top gardens were designed by Roberto Burle Max.
Affonzo Reidy’s design is one of the most beautiful examples of Modernism’s sculptural potential. The museum is located within Rio’s largest public space: Flamengo Park.
In 1943, Lucio Costa transformed the site of Parque Eduardo Guinle by building 6 residential towers. This is a prime example of Modernist architecture’s utopian aspirations in Brazil.
Historic Architecture
The Royal Portugese Cabinet of Reading / Rafael da Silva e Castra
Appearing like a cathedral filled with books, the 19th century building houses books which began as a private collection by three Portuguese immigrants. The library now contains largest collection of Portuguese works outside of Portugal.
Rio de Janeiro Municipal Theater / Francisco de Oliveira Passos
The Theatro Municipal is one of the most important and beautiful theaters in Brazil. The Paris Opera look-a-like is located in Rio’s city center and houses ballet performances and classical music concerts.
Once the private home of industrialist Enrique Lague, the site is now a public park with walking trails through subtropical forest. In 2015, the artists Penny Duo transformed the site by placing an inflatable orange tarp that covered the building’s entire pool area.
Before it was replaced by the New Cathedral of Rio in 1976, the Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Monte do Carmo was the seat of the Archdiocese of San Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro. It features stunning Rococo-style ornamentation.
The Santa Marta Favela is located in the Botafogo district of Rio de Janeiro and is home to some 8000 residents. In 2011, the Praça Cantão square of the favela underwent a colorful transformation through the Favela Painting Foundation of artist duo Haas and Hahn.
Teleferico do Complexo do Alemão / Jorge Mario Juaregui
This cable car ride is composed of 7 stations and is taken by everyday commuters as it connects to the city’s railway network; the 45 minute ride provides a view of Rio de Janeiro’s various residential areas.
The MAR is a large complex which contains not only a museum but also a school and leisurely cultural spaces. The 2013 construction of the museum required the unification and re-purposing of three pre-existing buildings: the Palacete Dom João, the police building and the old central bus station of Rio as one cohesive complex.
This station used to be an old parking area for trains known as “Rabicho da Tijuca” before it was renovated to become part of the metro’s Line 1 extension. JBMC Architects were also responsible for the Cidade Nova Metro Station and Footbridge.
Homeless World Cup Legacy Center. Image Courtesy of Architecture for Humanity
After the 2010 Homeless World Cup, the structure from this multi-team collaboration, which also included Nike and Bola par Frente, has been re-purposed as a community and cultural center using football and play as a tool for empowerment in the underprivileged neighborhood of Santa Cruz.
This contemporary chapel literally hangs off a cliff and is a reconceptualization of church architecture; the traditional gable form of religious Christian buildings has been inverted from sectional to plan view.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2016 Rio Olympics are being held in this stadium, which adds to the long list of prestigious sporting events that the Maracanã stadium has hosted since its construction in 1950. A beautiful new roof structure was designed by schlaich bergermann und partner in 2013.
The idea of working with repeated motifs of a barn gable is inspired by the American painters Charles Sheeler and Andrew Wyeth. Sculptural monoliths of barns are oriented according to the sloping landscapes giving interesting compositions where many volumes in various directions can be seen as a layered additive structure.
Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen
The house is located in an ensemble of vernacular saddle roofed barns gradually extended and added over the last 200 years. The new extension of the main house continues building on an unplanned system of diversely oriented volumes on a sloping meadow.
Plan
It contains a large open sleeping space overlooking a clearing in the forest, a bathroom as well as a connecting room used for storage of books from floor to ceiling. The lower level accessed from the outside contains a working space with bath and a utility room.
Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen
Each element of the new extension – the building itself, the connector, the deck and the ramp – is given an individual orientation following the existing logic of the old surrounding buildings. Every window is carefully positioned to frame a specific view of the landscape or the surrounding old barns. This way all buildings old and new are directed by the sloping landscape, views and sunlight.
Courtesy of Sigurd Larsen
The cedar wood facade is sealed in a local traditional manner by burning the wood until the surface turns black. The result is a lively texture that changes color during the day from a deep monochrome black to a silver grey reflecting the sunlight.
JR is an anonymous artist who owns the biggest art gallery in the world. His exhibits are available on the streets, free of charge catching the attention of people who are not typical museum visitors. His work is thought provoking and mixes art and act.
JR is known worldwide for projects such as Portrait of a Generation (2006), Women Are Heroes (2008), and Face 2 Face (2007). The latter is a piece which through portraits of people made with a wide angle lens, printed in large scale and pasted on city walls was able to generate a reaction from the public.
JR has recently been working on two high-impact pieces in Rio de Janeiro’s landscape.
The first is an installation on the Casa Amarela (a cultural institution founded by the artist himself nine years ago) where JR created a metal sculpture in the shape of a crescent moon. The second is a large image of Sudanese athlete Mohamed Younes Idirss, who specializes in high jump, jumping over a building.
The latter was performed using a new technique developed by JR in which a metal scaffold structure supports a printed fabric with the image in question. The technique had been tested previously in Rio de Janeiro showing a human figure in a position of “flight” with its arms open when viewed from the back.
In addition to these works, also in Rio de Janeiro is one of JR’s photographic booths from his Inside Out Project. This piece allows the public to take pictures of themselves in the same style and format as JR’s emblematic works.
This compact house was prefabricated in a factory near the Uruguayan capital, before being transported 200 kilometres by lorry to its destination – a picturesque olive grove surrounded by rolling hills (+ slideshow). (more…)
Getting new work is critical to an architecture firm’s success. Unfortunately, it is very difficult (if not impossible) to get new work with fees that are commensurate with the amount of time that the job would require, especially if you are in a small firm. To start, our clients don’t often value the services we provide, and we don’t help the situation by constantly lowering fees just to get the work. Sure, we can play the game of limiting the services provided, giving a long list of exclusions (with the hope of getting Additional Services later), and doing less drawing… we all do it. Not surprisingly, the product suffers, and this gives the client even more reason to devalue architectural services. Yes, we need the work, and we do what it takes—but to what end?
Is your office sending out proposals with low fees just to get the job? Tell us about it for our new book project, Architects, LOL.
