ARCHITECT’S FOCUS STEPHEN HOLL ARCHITECTS
With the Cité de l’Océan et du Surf, Steven Holl Architects rose to the challenge of creating the ‘Bilbao effect’ in Biarritz. Kath Hudson speaks to lead project architect, Rodolfo Dias
The outdoor plaza gives a sense of being in the middle of a wave (left), while the ‘under-the-sea’ space is light and voluminous (right)
What was your brief? The design competition requested a surf museum and con- cept which connected the site to the sea. They wanted the typical museum elements: exhibition area, lobby, shop, caf- eteria, administration, storage, but the brief also specified the site to have the ‘Bilbao effect’, to put Biarritz on the map for architecture. That was exciting to read and made us believe they were really ambitious about the project.
What is the museum content? The museum concept evolved during the process. The com- petition started as a surf museum, but at some point it became clear that surf is one activity in the vast ocean, so they changed it to ocean and surf. The ocean is an endless open field for education and learning.
What was the inspiration for the design? The design follows the concept of ‘under the sky’ and ‘under the sea’. The building is divided into two parts: a concave public plaza, which is the ‘under the sky’ element. The plaza peels up to allow people to go underneath, which represents ‘under the sea’. It’s a really simple concept. For the design, we just had to follow the curve. The curve also relates to the waves. When you are swimming in the sea, you are in this vast territory, but at the same time you have one wave in front of you and one at your back - this is how the plaza feels. The glass ‘rocks’ in the plaza are like the two rocks of Ilbaritz. We wanted something else to activate that
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plaza, so we played around with it and developed this rela- tionship with the two big rocks which are in the sea, right in front of the plaza.
When and why was the decision made to put part of the museum underground? This was part of the original concept. The site is mainly sur- rounded by countryside and houses, so a big building would have had an enormous impact on the neighbourhood. In addition to that, the site was sloped and we couldn’t really change that without incurring an enormous cost. Another plus was that we were able to eliminate the need for air conditioning in the open exhibition gallery by simply ventilating it overnight, using a smoke exhaust mechanism. We also concentrated the entry of light for the entire exhibition gallery at the north-facing entrance, which also creates an under the sea feeling. We were happy with the idea of just one source of light for this gigantic container.
Surfing made its first appear- ance in Europe in 1957 on the beaches of Biarritz, and the town quickly became the surf capital of Europe. Today, it remains a mecca for surfers from all over the world.
Read Leisure Management online
leisuremanagement.co.uk/digital
What materials were used? They had to be durable, because it’s a very hard site – close to the sea and very salty, so you really damage what- ever material you put there. Concrete was chosen because it doesn’t change colour or get affected by moss. Because we wanted it to be monolithic and modern it had to be white con- crete. Then the plaza had to be filled with a material which would go with the white concrete, and so we chose Portuguese white stone. We wanted the rocks to play with transparency, so glass was perfect. It’s basically inde- structible and behaves very well.
ISSUE 4 2011 © cybertrek 2011
PHOTOS: ©IWAN BAAN
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