Photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre has sent us these photographs of a curved concrete library in San Sebastian with a narrow courtyard driven through its centre.

Completed in 2008 by Ander Marquet Ryan of Spanish architects JAMM, the Carlos Santamaría Centre is located on the campus of the University of the Basque Country.

Timber-panelled walls surround the secluded courtyard, which separates the two-storey building into two asymmetrical halves.

The library’s book collection is housed on two storeys of the larger half, while the smaller part contains separate study rooms and a lecture theatre.

The round concrete exterior walls converge into a point at the front entrance to give the building a teardrop-shaped plan. Students walk through this pointed entrance into a double-height colonnade, where L-shaped timber columns surround a glass wall and roof.

Photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre previously photographed the helter-skelter-like Centro Niemeyer by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, which you can see here.

Here's some information from the architect:

The Carlos Santamaría Centre, located in San Sebastian is an advanced data centre and library, linked to the Ibaeta University Campus and the result of a competition developed by the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).

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The building is conceived as a huge container, shaped from a spontaneous outline following the natural curve of the lot. The line is the wall containing the two blocks arranged in a north-south direction, and its vertex is at the place we consider the most important: the building’s main access, which opens up like a large mouth, pointing the vertex towards the sky.

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The division of the construction into two blocks also makes the creation of a private, inner garden possible, like an extension of the spaces that overlook it. It is a quiet, green area, accessible for strolling, reading and group meetings, always lighted from the south and north, an outdoor counterpoint to urban noise, inside the building.

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With regard to its construction, the principal façade of the building is a curved wall of 25cm made out of white self-compacting concrete. On the other hand, in the garden which divides the building the solution of the facades consists of IPE wood planks.

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Architect: Ander Marquet Ryan, JAAM sociedad de arquitectura s.l.p.
Quantity surveyor: Juncal Aldamizechevarría

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Collaborators: June Gómez Alonso, Emmanuele Pibiri, Naia Landa Méndez, Mario Domínguez Maestre
Structure: Minteguia y Bilbao

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Instalaciones: PGI (project), JG ingenieros (construction).
Developer: Universidad del País Vasco (UPV-EHU)

Construction company: Construcciones Moyua
Date of project: January 2008

End of construction: July 2011
Area: 24.000m²

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Photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre has sent us his photos of the Centro Niemeyer by Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, which opens tomorrow in Avilés, Spain.

An auditorium for 1000 spectators spills onto a public plaza, which also contains a viewing tower and three-storey dome-shaped museum.

A spiral staircase inside the museum leads to a mezzanine where light and sound installations will be on show for the inaugural exhibition, featuring work by film director Carlo Saura.

A separate building houses a cinema, rehearsal rooms, meeting areas and conference halls.

Photographs are by Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre/View.

The information below is from the Centro Cultural Internacional:

In 1989, the now one hundred year old Brazilian architect, Oscar Niemeyer, was awarded the Prince of Asturias of the Arts Award. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Awards in 2006, the Prince of Asturias Foundation (FPA) invited all the award winners to participate in the celebrations.

"I am an architect and, as such, what I do is design buildings and that is just what I am going to do; design a building." And so, on a blank piece of paper, Oscar Niemeyer began sketching curves, a skill in which he excels. With this, Niemeyer offered one of the best possible gifts ever.

Those first sketches, drawn with a thick black marker, formed the foundations of an ambitious cultural project which will be housed in what Niemeyer himself has called his most important project in Europe and his only project in Spain.

Programme

The Niemeyer Center is an open door to culture in all its shapes, forms, traditions and styles. Music, theatre, cinema, expositions, conferences and outdoor and educational news will be the main focus of a multidisciplinary cultural programme of which the only common denominator is excellence.

The Niemeyer Center was created to attract talent, knowledge and creativity. From this point of view, not only will it be a gateway to the best of the world's culture, but also a producer of contents. Since the celebration of the First World Forum of Cultural Centres in Avilés the Niemeyer Center has worked in connection with some of the most prestigious cultural centres throughout the world, such as the Carnegie Hall, the Old Vic Theatre and Cannes Film Festival, among others.

Facilities and Spaces The Niemeyer Center is the only piece of work created by Oscar Niemeyer to be built in Spain and, in his own words, it will be the most important of all his European designs.

Driven by the same healthy ambition, the Niemeyer Center aims to become an international reference point in the production of cultural content; a space associated with excellence dedicated to education and culture. In order to accomplish this, the cultural complex will consist of five areas which are both separate yet complementary to each other:

• An auditorium with capacity for 1,000 spectators.
• An almost 4,000 square meter open-plan exhibition site.
• Viewing point over the estuary and the city.
• Multi-use building that will house a cinema, rehearsal areas and meeting and conference halls.
• An open square, where entertainment and cultural activities will be programmed on a continuous basis, which will form a point of union between the Center and the city.

See also:

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International Fair of Tripoli by Oscar Niemeyer	More photographs by Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre	More about Spain

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Shangai Expo 2010: architectural photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre sends us this portfolio of photos of the Thomas Heatherwick-designed UK Pavilion at Shanghai Expo 2010, which opened yesterday.

See a short movie of the UK Pavilion here.

More info and photos of the pavilion in our earlier stories here and here.

More Dezeen stories about this project:

Photos of Thomas Heatherwick's UK Pavilion (March 2010)
Images of updated design for pavilion (June 2009)
Thomas Heatherwick wins UK Pavilion design competition (September 2007)

All photographs are copyright Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre/View and are used with permission.

More photos from Shanghai Expo 2010 by Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre:

Swiss Pavilion
German Pavilion
Spanish Pavilion

See all our stories about Shanghai Expo 2010 in our special category.

For more pavilions see our top ten pavilions story, published in June 2009.

See also:

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Movie about the UK Pavilion	More about this pavilion	All our stories about Shanghai Expo 2010

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photographed by Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre appeared first on Dezeen.

Shangai Expo 2010: architectural photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre has sent us some photographs of the completed Swiss Pavilion at the Shanghai Expo 2010, designed by Buchner Bründler Architects and Element.

The Pavilion features a curtain of woven aluminium, which stores energy from the sun and uses it to light the façade up at night.

A roof garden at the top of the pavilion can be accessed via chair lift, with the journey from the ground to the roof taking 10 minutes.

See a couple of photographs of the interior in our earlier story.

All photographs are copyright Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre/View and are used with permission.

More stories on the Shanghai Expo 2010 here.

The following information is from the Expo organisers:

Pavilion Features

A combination of technological insight and beautiful dream - Swiss Pavilion best shows the characteristics of modern Switzerland, including the pursuit of excellence, innovation and high-quality life, as well as concepts of future facing, forward looking and sustainable development.

Pavilion Display

The most distinguished feature of the Swiss Pavilion is the chair lift ride. The journey takes about 10 minutes. The chair lift will take people up and out to the roof garden from the inside pavilion. The chairs are sheltered to ensure operation under the raining weather.

Highlight 1: Interactive And Intelligent Facade

The interactive, intelligent facade enveloping the pavilion is a curtain of woven aluminium elements under which visitors pass to access the urban area on the ground floor of the building. LED lights comprised of an energy source, a storage unit and a consuming unit are incorporated into the facade. The energy produced is made visible in the form of flashes that are triggered by the pavilion surroundings, such as the sun or flashes made by visitor cameras. Thanks to the storage of energy in each individual cell, the facade is also active at night, when the cells will trigger each other.

Highlight 2: Use Of Chinese Philosophy

The design concept is visible in a mix of many contradictory elements, the Chinese Philosophy of "Yin" and "Yang" is well reflected in the entire building, to achieve an ingenious combination of high-tech and nature.

Highlight 3: Riding A Cable Car

Riding a cable car, visitors can get to the roof for a sightseeing of the classic Swiss scenery. The chair lift will lift visitors from the ground floor where the exhibition focuses on Swiss urban civilization, to the roof where a tranquil space close to nature and far away from the crowd is provided. During the journey, 50 binocular stations set up along the ramp will provide visitors with three-dimensional glimpses of innovative and sustainable Swiss success stories.

Highlight 4: IMAX Film "The Alps"

At the top end of the ramp of the exhibition area, visitors can see a 10-meter-high projection screen in the atrium. The IMAX film "The Alps," showcasing magnificent Swiss mountain scenery, will be projected.

Theme: Rural and Urban Interaction
Highlights: Curtain of Woven Aluminium Elements
National Pavilion Day: August 12
Pavilion Area: around 4,000 square meters
Location: Within Zone C of the Expo site

See also:

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French Pavilion by Jacques Ferrier Architectures	German Pavilion by Schmidhuber + Kaindl	More stories on Shanghai Expo 2010

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by Buchner Bründler Architects appeared first on Dezeen.

Shanghai Expo 2010: architectural photographer Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre has sent us another update from Shanghai Expo 2010; this time the German Pavilion designed by architects Schmidhuber + Kaindl.

The pavilion is called "balancity" and represents "a city in balance between renewal and preservation, innovation and tradition, urbanity and nature, society and its individuals, work and recreation, and finally, between globalisation and national identity".

All photographs are copyright Iñigo Bujedo Aguirre/View and are used with permission.

Shanghai Expo 2010 opens on 1 May; see all our stories about the Expo here. Here's some text from the architects' website:

At the german pavilion in Shanghai, the Federal Republic of Germany is presenting itself as a multifaceted nation rich in ideas. As an innovative, forward-looking country that also places great value on the preservation of its roots and heritage. Diversity and balance, rather than 'sameness', are vital to tomorrow's cities.

The interplay between the diversity and contrasts of German cities enables a very special quality of life and vitality to emerge. This is why we believe it is essential to preserve this diversity without forgoing innovation and technology.

The Federal Republic of Germany is intent on conveying this very personal German perspective credibly and memorably. Germany's contribution to the EXPO 2010 'Better City, Better Life' theme is called: balancity a city in balance between renewal and preservation, innovation and tradition, urbanity and nature, society and its individuals, work and recreation, and finally, between globalisation and national identity. This central idea can be directly experienced by visitors everywhere in the German pavilion. Balancity a marriage of the terms 'balance' and 'city' is Germany's interpretation of the 'Better City, Better Life' Expo theme.

balancity

The thinking behind balancity is clearly reflected in the pavilion architecture. A city symbolises the balance between diversity and density, and is composed of many different historical layers, spaces, functions and environments. In many cities, the industrial evolution from a production to a service orientation has led to large industrial spaces being transformed into attractive parks and residential environments.

Nature and natural landscapes re slowly but surely finding their way into the city. In contemporary European urban planning, the historically defined antipodes of city and country are now dovetailing towards a single cohesive organism. The resulting consciousness and commitment to sustainable, energy-efficient living concepts are leading to a definite integration of nature into urban spaces and architectural concepts. The architecture of the German pavilion is very much like a dynamic, urban organism, an accessible three-dimensional sculpture, mirroring the diversity of life in the city and the country in Germany.

The German pavilion as a sculpture

Four large exhibition structures stand as symbols for the interplay between carrying and being carried, between leaning on and supporting. Each individual structure, on its own, is in a somewhat precarious state of balance. It is only in interaction with the other structures that a stable balance is found. This is the concept behind balancity from an architectural perspective.

The four structures together create a large roof over the pavilion landscape, offering visitors shade and protecting them from rain. An exciting interplay of interior and exterior space, of buildings and nature, of urban and rural landscapes. The journey through the exhibition structures is set up like a promenade.

The visitors move along pathways, at times on moving walkways, as they are led through the various urban spaces. Double storeys merge with single storeys, and the slops and turns in the different spaces moderate the visitor flow.

At the end of the path, the visitor reaches a twelve-metre high, vertical amphitheatre-like room the Energy Source. Following he show in the Energy Source, the visitor is gradually led downwards in a spiral consisting of three staircases, where he finally reaches the pavilion's event area.

Information

Project: EXPO 2010 Shanghai Deutscher Pabilion "balancity"
Overall responsibility: German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, Bonn
Organisation and Operation: Koelnmesse International GmbH, Cologne
Design, planning and realisation: Consortium German Pavilion Shanghai
Architecture: Schmidhuber + Kaindl GmbH, Munich
Exhibition: Milla and Partner GmbH, Stuttgart
Construction: NUSSLI (Germany), Roth

Local architect: he playze, Shanghai
Project management: BS Engineering Consulting Shanghai Co., Ltd.
Design/Construction Service: Shanghai Xiandai Architectural Design (Group) Co., Ltd.

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