New LiFE for concrete bunker.Anyone arriving in St Nazaire after dark might wonder what is causing the alien glow on the roof of a monumental structure on the western side of the port. It is the geodesic dome geodesic dome (jē'ədĕs`ĭk, –dē`sĭk), structure that roughly approximates a hemisphere. Popular in recent years as economical, easily erected buildings, geodesic domes are geometrically determined from a model and may salvaged from Berlin's Tempelhof Airport and reassembled to create a 'think tank' for artists confronted with the problem of performing or exhibiting in the huge space of Alveole 14, the city's new international centre for contemporary art and music. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Italian architect Giulia Andi and Finn Geipel from Germany, practising as LIN, won the competition to transform one of 14 chambers inside the huge former submarine base A base providing logistic support for submarines. . Having escaped serious damage during the Second World War, the building was given a vital role in the regeneration of St Nazaire as it literally formed an obstacle between the port and the city centre. In the first phase, four 'cells' were opened up to house an ocean liner ocean liner Large merchant ship that visits designated ports on a regular schedule, carrying whatever cargo and passengers are available on the date of sailing. The first liners were operated in the North Atlantic, notably by Samuel Cunard of Britain, beginning in 1840. museum in the centre of the bunker bunk, bunker large storage bin. bunk forage forage, usually ensilage stored in a large storage bunk and made available to cattle or other livestock along a face of the storage. , and a ramp was built giving public access to the roof, and views over the harbour. The new centre consists of two main elements: LiFE is a massive hall of 1450sqm uninterrupted floor space, with a 16m wide folding screen In furniture, a folding screen is a piece of furniture which consists of at least two frames connected by hinges. These frames are covered with paper, cloth, wood or other materials. Screens are used to provide shelter, partition off a space, and as decoration. door at the harbour end. The original submarine basin has been conserved below a new concrete floor laid on steel girders. At the opposite end, across the internal 'street', is VIP, a three-storey steel construction that can accommodate 600 people for music and theatre events. In contrast to the raw finish of the LiFE hall, this box within a box is clad in light acoustic panels, and contains a stage, balcony and bar as well as several recording studios and an archive. A lift and open steel staircase connect both venues to the rooftop geodome. Along the public street, LIN have installed an overhead 'light carpet' connecting Alveole 14 to the rest of the bunker. Suspended on a one-metre square grid, 380 bulbs glow at the end of 6.5m long stalks, swaying sway v. swayed, sway·ing, sways v.intr. 1. To swing back and forth or to and fro. See Synonyms at swing. 2. gently in the wind. Everywhere, the architects' intervention is minimal and in keeping with the slightly decadent dec·a·dent adj. 1. Being in a state of decline or decay. 2. Marked by or providing unrestrained gratification; self-indulgent. 3. often Decadent Of or relating to literary Decadence. n. atmosphere of this concrete monster. |
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