Monday, November 30, 2009

Uruguay's New Airport Terminal

Montevideo, Uruguay has a new airport terminal.  Carrasco International Airport's new terminal opens December 9, 2009.  Here's some photographs (click on them to see them larger) and a press release:

All photos © Daniela Macadden










RAFAEL VIÑOLY DESIGNS NEW CARRASCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY

NEW YORK, NY - Rafael Viñoly Architects has designed the new Carrasco International Airport in Montevideo, Uruguay. This is the firm’s first completed airport and its largest project in Viñoly’s home country. The new terminal will become fully operational on December 9, 2009.

The new terminal at Carrasco International Airport, which serves Uruguay’s capital city of Montevideo, was created to expand capacity and spur commercial growth and tourism in the surrounding region. The design of the building emphasizes its public zones and amenities, providing these areas with an abundance of open space and natural light. Arriving travelers, for example, pass through a fully glazed mezzanine level that helps orient them to the terminal space before they descend to immigration, the baggage claim, and customs. A public, landscaped terrace and a restaurant occupy the second floor, providing sweeping views of the runway and the main concourse.

Rafael Viñoly Architects’ design elevates the public zones, both on the fully accessible roadside departure hall and terrace and the secure runway-side concourses, and houses everything beneath a curved, 1,200-foot-long roof. The gentle curve and low profile of this monolithic roof help integrate the building into its site. The exterior’s flowing lines and undulating geometry resemble the natural landscape of Uruguay, making it not only an iconic architectural structure, but a symbolic one as well.
Inside the building, arrivals and departures are separated vertically: arrivals on the ground floor, and departures on the first floor, with vehicular access roads for passenger drop-off and pick-up servicing each level independently. An open atrium adjacent to the street entrance opens the ground floor to the monumental space of the main hall, visually and spatially linking the beginning and ending stages of a traveler’s journey. The roof provides a canopy over these access roads on the land-side of the building, and on the air- side it opens up to give wide views of the airfield and countryside beyond.

In keeping with a long tradition of grand transportation halls, the departures level is one large space. With glazing on all four sides and thin structural supports, the roof appears to float above the building. The departures level features the public concourse and the secure passenger concourse; each is separated by the security checkpoint and immigration control at the center of the plan. After completing check-in and security procedures, departing travelers have access to duty-free shopping and restaurants in the waiting areas. Four fixed, elevated pedestrian bridges with articulating corridors,
accommodating a total of eight passenger gates, connect the passenger concourse to narrow- and wide-body aircraft and provide access to the apron for smaller planes.

“In Uruguay, friends and family still come to greet you at the airport or see you off,” says Rafael Viñoly, “so this terminal provides great spaces for the people who aren’t traveling as well as those who are. The atrium, the main hall, the terrace, and the passenger concourse make this a dramatic and welcoming place for everyone.”

About Rafael Viñoly Architects

Founded in New York in 1983, Rafael Viñoly Architects now also has offices in London, Los Angeles and the United Arab Emirates. Internationally known for architectural projects around the globe, the firm has designed many landmark cultural and civic complexes as well as institutional buildings and master plans. Over the past quarter century, the practice has continually demonstrated its ability to reinvent institutional typologies and integrate the public realm into civic buildings.

The unusually diverse work the firm has completed includes award-winning courthouses, museums, performing arts centers, convention centers, athletic facilities, banks, hotels, laboratories, recreational venues, residential commissions, and commercial, industrial and educational facilities. Projects range in scale from lab casework to urban design and master planning. The firm has also completed several projects involving the restoration and expansion of large-scale buildings of significant historical and architectural value.

The firm’s staff of over 100 design professionals, including architects, structural engineers, interior designers, computer visualization specialists, model makers, artists, and fabricators, has the capacity, structure, and experience to assume complex projects of any scale.

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Pix: London 2012 Olympic Construction Update





The Olympic Delivery Authority, which is responsible for overseeing the construction of the venues for the 2012 summer Olympic Games in London has released a series of aerial photographs showing the progress so far.  


Click on a photo to see it full-size.  Read the full press release after the photographs.


All photos are © ODA.  Courtesy of London 2012.





New aerial images show Olympic Park progress as IOC Coordination Commission visits London 


23 November 2009

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has today released new aerial images of construction work on the Olympic Park showing the ‘big build’ firmly on track as the project enters its toughest year.


The images show the east London skyline being transformed by construction progress on the ‘big five’ venues – the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Olympic Village, Velodrome and International Broadcast Centre/Main Press Centre (IBC/MPC). The images have been released as the International Olympic Committee’s Coordination Commission visits the capital for a progress update on London’s plans for staging the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.


ODA Chairman John Armitt, said: 'With construction work on the Olympic Park approaching its peak, the "big five" venues are already becoming landmarks on the east London skyline and show how much progress has been made since the IOC Coordination Commission visited earlier this year.


'The external structure of the Olympic Stadium has been finished and the completion of the Aquatics Centre roof gives us an exciting glimpse of what will become the "gateway to the Games" and the Olympic Park’s most iconic venue. Work is also racing ahead in the north of the Park with the first residential plot of the Village structurally complete, the huge frame of the IBC/MPC in place and the striking architecture of the Velodrome taking shape.


'The Olympic Park "big build" is firmly on track but we are not complacent and these new images show the sheer scale of the project and the challenges ahead as we enter our toughest year in the project.'


Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: 'In a little under 1,000 days time, the eyes of the world will fall upon this part of east London. The area is being transformed, creating new communities, new housing, and state- of-the-art sporting facilities.


'It is abundantly clear from these photographs that this piece of regeneration is well under way. Over the next year or so, we look forward to seeing the ODA continuing its excellent work so far and seeing the Olympic Park come to life – both for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 but also for generations to come.'


Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: 'The Olympic Park has really started to take shape since the IOC Co-ordination Commission’s last visit with several of the key elements of the build now complete and venues like the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics Centre making a real impact on the London skyline.


'I am confident that we have the measures in place to make sure that this good progress continues, as we head into the most intensive and challenging phase of construction.'


The images released today show how much the Olympic Park has changed since the IOC Coordination Commission visited London in April this year. A new fly-through video of the Olympic Park, narrated by Jonathan Edwards, was also released on the London 2012 website today. The video and latest aerial shots, taken earlier this month, show:


The Olympic Stadium’s external structure completed with work starting on the lifting of the cable-net roof All five new bridges around the Stadium island lifted into place and the first trees planted The wave-shaped Aquatics Centre steel roof structure weighing more than 3,000 tonnes lifted and lowered into place, along with the completion of the concrete dive pool and work well underway on the two 50m competition and training pools The huge steel frame of International Broadcast Centre (IBC) completed and the Main Press Centre (MPC) coming out of the ground The steelwork forming the distinct double-curved structure of the Velodrome approaching the halfway point The first residential block in the Olympic Village structurally complete and work well underway on all other residential plots The foundations of the Handball Arena nearing completion The Energy Centre taking shape and the Primary Substation building finished – the first building on the Park to be completedWork well underway on 21 of more than 30 new bridges to be built in the Park.

TweetEcho: November 9-November 24, 2009


For those of you who don't subscribe to our Twitter feed, here are the items we tweeted in the last week or so:


  1. NYT: Atlantic Yards Project in Brooklyn Clears Final Major Hurdle http://ow.ly/FqFO
  2. Mosques, Chinese goods, Arabic classes rebuild Silk Road | France 24 http://ow.ly/Fq9Y
  3. Why one of the world's top architects quit as an advisor to London's mayor: http://ow.ly/Fq3w
  4. Want to see the latest futuristic architecture from Japan? Check our Tokyo Architecture photo pool: http://ow.ly/CbOK
  5. Almost 200 photos in the Atlanta Architecture photo pool:http://ow.ly/CbuF You are welcome to add yours, too!
  6. Four new free computer desktop wallpapers of Vancouver have been added to the site: http://ow.ly/EnfP
  7. Added 70 stunning new photographs of Vancouver to the Global Architecture pool on Flickr: http://ow.ly/EmFb
  8. Check out the hundreds of pictures in our New York Architecture photo pool: http://ow.ly/CbsX
  9. Architects in praise of suburbia? http://ow.ly/EH3g
  10. Architects in praise of suburbia? http://ow.ly/EH30
  11. NYT: Miami Ponders Whether the Good Outweighs the Badhttp://ow.ly/Ex8q
  12. http://www.glasssteelandsto... http://bit.ly/4SgkeG
  13. Just noticed that Google Maps updated it aerial photos of Vancouver this week. Much better. The old ones were 4 years our of date.
  14. On this date in 1875: Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago opened to the public: http://ow.ly/Cuzb
  15. There's more than 300 new pictures of the Los Angeles area in our Southland photo pool: http://ow.ly/CbrA
  16. Plans to build an island in the shape of the word "Chicago" in Lake Michigan: http://ow.ly/E27E
  17. Video and pictures: What it's like on the wrong side of the glass at the John Hancock Center: http://ow.ly/Dx37
  18. So far 99 people have posted pictures in our Houston Architecture photo pool. See their work: http://ow.ly/Cbjg
  19. Testers are needed for our new iPhone web app. Please e-mail your location to editor@glasssteelandstone.com
  20. George W. Bush Presidential Center design unveiledhttp://ow.ly/DwiO
  21. Freedom Tower (1 World Trade Center) construction has reached the fourth floor: http://ow.ly/DpSD
  22. Join 50 others and add your pics to the Chicago Architecture photo pool: http://ow.ly/Cbih
  23. Added The Concord : 1328 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci6v
  24. Added The Commodore Building : 868 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci67
  25. Added Commerce Place : 400 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci5j
  26. There's almost 1700 photos in our Asian Architecture photo pool! Join the fun: http://ow.ly/CbhH
  27. Added Coast Coal Harbour Hotel : 1180 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci4P
  28. Added Centre for Performing Arts : 777 Homer Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/ChZR
  29. Added The Coal Harbour Residences : 1200 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci4G
  30. Added Coal Harbour Chevron : Floating in Coal Harbour, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci33
  31. Added The Classico : 1328 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci2W
  32. Added The Clancy Building : 816 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci2B
  33. Added Cielo : 1205 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci2g
  34. Added Christ Church Cathedral : 690 Burrard Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci0E
  35. Added The Century Tower : 789 Drake Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci03
  36. Added Centerm Container Terminal : Centennial Road, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/ChZa
  37. Added CBC Regional Broadcast Centre Vancouver : 700 Hamilton Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/ChYv
  38. There's more than 500 photos in our Middle East Architecture photo pool: http://ow.ly/CbfG
  39. Added Cathedral Place : 925 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/ChXE
  40. A photo gallery of the grand opening of the new Apple Store in New York: http://ow.ly/CwIg
  41. Added Citygate 1 : 1188 Quebec Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci2o
  42. Added Dunsmuir International Village : 500 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci8G
  43. Added The Dominion Building : 207 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci8B
  44. Added Days Inn Hotel Downtown Vancouver : 921 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci8a
  45. Added Crown Trust Building : 475 Howe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci80
  46. Added Crestmark II : 1228 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci7O
  47. Added Crestmark I : 1288 Marinaside Crescent, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci7G
  48. Added Coral Court : 907 Beach Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci7i
  49. Added Coopers Lookout : 33 Smithe Mews, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/Ci7f
  50. Coopers and Lybrand Building : 1111 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia :: Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/Ci6Y
  51. Doug Williams has added a bunch of great new pictures to the Global Architecture photo pool on Flickr: http://ow.ly/Cb8B
  52. The kittens rescued from the Goldman Sachs construction site have new homes: http://ow.ly/BZSu
  53. http://bit.ly/2sDODu http://bit.ly/1WdU3m
  54. Added Cascina : 590 Nicola Street, Vancouver, British Columbia to Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/BKIj
  55. Added http://www.glasssteelandsto... http://bit.ly/2mJfoc
  56. Added Carmana Plaza : 1128 Alberni Street, Vancouver, British Columbia to Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/BKHH
  57. New: http://www.glasssteelandsto... http://bit.ly/4CXirU
  58. Added Main Vancouver Post Office : 349 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia to Glass Steel and Stonehttp://ow.ly/BCG2
  59. Added Canaccord Tower : 609 Granville Street, Vancouver, British Columbia to Glass Steel and Stone http://ow.ly/BCFo
  60. Added: Cambie Street Bridge : Cambie Street spanning False Creek, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada http://ow.ly/By1j
  61. http://bit.ly/4bleAP http://bit.ly/2KwxZD
  62. Added 347 photos to the Pacific Northwest Architecture pool on Flickr: http://ow.ly/B6Ej
  63. Four new free desktop wallpapers of Vancouver, BC have been added to GSS: http://ow.ly/B3PM
  64. 60 new photos of Vancouver's skyscrapers have been added to the Artefaqs stock photography collection:...http://bit.ly/2aWXZa
  65. 60 new photos of Vancouver's skyscrapers have been added to the Artefaqs stock photo archive: http://www.artefaqs.com
  66. New York ranks #1 in the 2009 Global Power Cities index:http://ow.ly/AZSR
  67. http://bit.ly/3LIsN1 http://bit.ly/44j2nh
  68. Taipei Performing Arts Center promises to become world-class architecture - Taiwan News Online http://ow.ly/AZH8
  69. Tom Barry: ‘The UAE is coming out of recession as we speak’ - Building http://ow.ly/AZAQ
  70. Relic of Old Dubai Left Behind by Pace of Changehttp://ow.ly/AZAa
  71. Gazprom's Okhta Centre skyscraper in St Petersburg causes disputes - Telegraph http://ow.ly/AZvB
  72. Taipei 101 is seeking to become world's tallest green skyscraper - Taiwan News Online http://ow.ly/AZsZ
  73. Just added 71 new Vancouver, British Columbia photographs to the Global Architecture photo pool on Flickr:http://j.mp/3O95Li
  74. Latest progress report on the Freedom Tower and World Trade Center reconstruction in New York: http://ow.ly/AMAy