Journal

The Costa Brava in Northeast Spain has a well-earned reputation for the rugged natural beauty of its coastline and wonderful small bays and inlets. The sea and the dramatic landscape that form the jagged coastline still give way to the ancient agrarian order as one heads inland but the seaside towns and stretches of land have suffered from the excesses of land speculation and an abundant number of towns survive by providing seasonal accommodation that has strangled the once picturesque fishing villages that now depend on this seasonal influx of tourists. These seasonal shifts produce over demand in the summer and desolate autumn and winters seasons – leaving many communities with well-lit roads and streets, but empty buildings. The natural cycle also affects the habitat and our experience of nature as the rush for development leads to more roads and buildings that affect the darkness that used to distinguish the coast and its more rustic hinterlands. Even twenty years ago one could still see the night sky without any effort on clear nights. This is now more difficult.

Work is continuing at pace in the refurbishment and consolidation of the structures of the three remaining buildings that form part of the historic ensemble of Matrosenstation. Emperor Wilhelm II´s former Imperial Sailing Station on the Heiligen See in Potsdam has required a phased intervention beginning with the Ventehalle (arrival hall) building which was inaugurated last September and is now progressing with the remaining support buildings and park.

The studio was invited to speak at a panel discussion about the role of light in architecture with Claude Engle IV with whom we have collaborated on various projects over the last two decades both during our time at Foster + Partners and afterwards on our own public and private projects in Europe and overseas. The focus of the discussion was to explain the innovative approach that Claude and his father Claude Engle III have contributed to key public projects in the realm of architectural lighting. The discussion ranged from the early design stage concepts and their testing and documentation as the designs develop – via mock-ups and virtual testing. These were particularly important for ground-breaking schemes such as the Reichstag (the new German parliament in Berlin), Stansted airport, the Portia Winery or the Bilbao Metro system where the architects worked with the designer. 

The studio was invited to presented its ground-breaking interactive all glass bus shelter at the Smart Cities World Expo in Barcelona by the regional government´s environment ministry and the Barcelona design museums innovation hub - MaterFAD. The display of the shelter included the presentation of the jury video of the competition winning scheme in Denmark as well as the scale model of the scheme that was under development with the Nordic Glazing Association. 

The team formed by the joint venture between Borgos Pieper, Nova Ingenieria and Grupotec have been selected winners of the competition to complete the first phase of construction of the park which will start site operations in early 2015.

Borgos Pieper have won the prestigious International Red Dot Concept Design Award 2014 from a field of 4,791 entrants from over 60 countries. The innovative design of the Glass Shelter, pushes the boundaries of glazing technologies as well as media content.