Medieval Phoenix: a series of modern interventions in the ruins of a German medieval castle give it a new lease of life.Vlotho is a small north-west German town on the Weser, not far from Bielefeld. Its castle, associated with the semi-mythical medieval knight Greifenklau (gripping talon), has long been in ruins, with its massive curtain wall curtain wall Nonbearing wall of glass, metal, or masonry attached to a building's exterior structural frame. After World War II, low energy costs gave impetus to the concept of the tall building as a glass prism, an idea originally put forth by Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies well preserved and repaired, but not so very much more than that above shoulder level. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] LOMA lo´ma n. 1. (Zool.) A lobe; a membranous fringe or flap. won the competition for transforming the ruins into a more attractive place that would take advantage of the fortress's height above the town to offer splendid views of the whole valley. LOMA decided to limit their interventions carefully so as not to compromise the remains. Throughout, their intention has been to repair the old work with sympathy and gentleness, and to add to it with new pieces that are as robust and straightforward as the medieval masonry. Almost all interventions are fundamentally of steel, for the most part galvanized gal·va·nize tr.v. gal·va·nized, gal·va·niz·ing, gal·va·niz·es 1. To stimulate or shock with an electric current. 2. , tough and uncompromising as the ancient stones. Work has been restricted to a few key places. A new roof covers the ruins of the main building where weddings and festivities fes·tiv·i·ty n. pl. fes·tiv·i·ties 1. A joyous feast, holiday, or celebration; a festival. 2. The pleasure, joy, and gaiety of a festival or celebration. 3. will be focused (presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. largely in summer). The roof's trapezoidal plan follows that of the ruins, and they are given sense of historical space by using stainless-steel mesh to bound the volumes. In front, a terrace, honed out of smooth marble to contrast with rough medieval random rubble, provides a promenade and, as it were, an ante-room to mesh-defined spaces. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Another major intervention is the new galvanized steel access bridge over the fortress's moat. Above this is a new steel balcony or look-out that projects from the old wall to offer enhanced views of the valley. The whole composition is dominated by a telecommunications tower Telecommunications tower is the generic description of a tower built primarrly to hold telecommunications antennas. Telecommunications tower or Telecommunications Tower can also refer to:
The jury was much taken with the sympathetic way in which the additions and alterations have been made, and by the fact that there is no compromise: old is always clearly old, and new, new. It is an essay in episodes in time that is capable of many readings. PD [GRAPHIC OMITTED] |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion