Schuberts E Minor Mass.

My last mass performance with the Chorvereinigung St Augustine in the Universitatskirche. The choir is a mixture of professional, semi professional and amateur singers and produces a fantastic sound in a magnificent setting performing a Viennese Mass every Sunday morning and on high days.

Maria Taferl.

The interior of the basilica at Maria Taferl, completed in 1738 was designed initially by Georg Gerstenbrand, Imperial Viennese architect with subsequent additions by Carlo Lurago and Jakob Prandtauer in the late Austrian baroque style.

Maria Taferl.

On Saturday around 70 singers and musicians, me included, departed Vienna on a coach destined for Maria Taferl, a pilgrimage village and church west of Melk along the Danube Valley. The setting was fantastic, as was the wedding and church, the bride and groom both being members of the Austrian aristocracy, although the use of titles is formally banned in the republic. We sang Mozarts Coronation Mass, an Austrian favorite and best of all received a wage, an unusual concept in an Austrian Church choir!

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

The Wachau is famous for its vineyard's, seen here set into hillside terraces at Weissenkirchen.

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

'Frescoed' spiral staircase within the towers of Melk abbey's Church.

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

The central Hof at the benedictine abbey of Melk. Designed by Jakob Praudtauer and completed in 1736, it is one of the richest baroque abbeys in central Europe with an imposing monastery Kirche and a library containing 2,000 volumes form the 9th to 15th Centuries alone.

The monastery acquired its current baroque overcoat after the final defeat of the Turks in the late C17th which allowed the Hapburg's to remodel palaces, monasteries and churches that originally had to be fortified, hence Melk abbey's strategic setting.

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

The town of Melk at the western extreme of the Wachau as seen from the abbey, which dominates the area from its rocky outcrop.

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

Durnstein - A baroque wedding cake.

Wachau Valley - Boat trip.

Pictured above is Durnstein located along the Danube valley between Melk and Krems, one of the most beautiful stretches of river valley in Europe. The area is a UNESCO world heritage site and has been settled continuously for over 30,000 years.

Upon his return from the Third Crusade Richard Lion Heart was held prisoner in the castle which overlooks the town by Duke Leopold V of Babenburg, the predecessors to the Viennese Hapsburg's, from 1192 until his release in 1193 after the payment of a hefty ransom.

The town itself is a perfectly preserved medieval and baroque example and sits perfectly within its surrounding context.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Axonometric, aerial perspective of the tower. At over 50m tall this provides viewing platforms, a restaurant and cafe in the upper two enclosed levels as well as three diving boards into one of the outdoor pools proposed as part of the masterplan landscaping.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

View underneath an artist studio and pier, illustrating how it could engage and define the environment below it or the 'sixth elevation'.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

View along the boardwalk/pier from Le Touquet town indicating the artist studio in exhibition formation.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

View showing one of the artist studios in context along the beach with several of the smaller beach shelters in the foreground.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Detailed construction section of the artist studio and a typical axonometric detail.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Cross section north to south showing the relationship between the artist studio and its access pier
To the right a detailed section is shown, which considers the studios timber construction.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Long section east to west indicating the artist studio in its context, as well as how it engages with the beach below it with platforms pulled down out of the main structure to ground level. This device is repeated on the access pier shown behind, with seating units integrated into the structure. A shallow ramp from the pier provides access to the beach.

The axonometric to the right indicates how the different built elements of the artist studio slot together also providing an indication of the construction process with the support frame located first before the main body of the structure could then be craned into position on top.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Ground and first floor mezzanine floor plan of the proposed artist studio and exhibition space.

All service and living elements can be folded away into the central core which includes a north facing skylight and ventilation chimney. All necessary services for long term period of occupation are provided for and it is envisaged the space would be rented off the town council for a period of time.

A linking bridge from the boardwalk pier can be folded back into the artist studio structure to provide complete detachment.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

In addition to devising a masterplan that addresses the seafront of Le Touquet in its entirety, one of the proposed buildings and its associated boardwalk/pier has been taken and developed into a partially detailed design.

Shown here is the location plan of an artist studio and exhibition space, one of several located along the seafront.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

View towards the beach along one the pedestrianised board walks that re-connect the centre of Le Touquet directly to the sea.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

View along the seafront at Le Touquet, indicating the re-naturalised surface treatment and the boardwalks along with the 'groynes' which add a strong, man-made vertical element to the scheme and which light up at night. In addition several of the key structures including the viewing/diving tower, casino, tram stop and small shelters are visible in the mid distance.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Building types included in the masterplan ranging from XS (beach shelters) to L (Conference Centre). This group of buildings also includes an additional series of medium sized structures which have featured in more detail as part of the scheme and house changing facilities, cafes and artist studios.
All the proposed structures share a common design language that is distinctive and contextually derived; establishing a collective identity.

Entwerfen - Final review drawing set.

Final masterplan for the Sur La Plage review with Will Alsop, Thursday 24th June 2010.

Haydn's Nelsonmesse; Missa in Angustiis, Hob. XXII I.I

The orchestra of the Jesuitenkirche rehearsing for this mornings performance of Haydn's Nelsonmesse; Missa in Angustiis, Hob. XXII I.I, arguably one of Haydn's finest compositions.

Written for the Esterhazy family the mass acquired its alternative name after Nelsons decisive defeat over Napolean in the Battle of the Nile in 1798; its original name was 'Missa in Angustiis' or 'Mass for Troubled Times' in English. Nelsons visit to the Esterhazy palace in 1800 with his mistress Lady Harrison confirmed the association and thus the name has prevailed.

Altes Universitat.

The great hall or 'Aula' of the Old Jesuit University. Beethoven premiered works here, whilst Schubert attended the Jesuit school which used to occupy the building across the square; where I currently rehearse with the Jesuitenkirche Choir.

Kunst Forum.

The Art Deco/Jugendstil entrance to the Kunst (Art) Forum.

The Spar Casse Bank.

An example of the traditional, historicist style that was prevalent in Vienna during the C19th.
This example, the flagship branch of the Spar Casse Bank, now Erste Bank. was built in 1839 by Luigi Pichl and features a flat nine axle pediment with a flat triangular classicist gable.

Vienesse Windows.

This lot are sporting eyebrows, a traditional feature that Adolf Loos did without in his multipurpose block opposite the Hofburg; greatly upsetting the conservative sensibilities of the Emperor in the process.

Architecture and art.

Architecture cannot be entirely classified as art as much as it cannot be solely classed as a technological science. We choose whether to engage with art and technology and as result it is something we can disregard. However when considerations of art or technology predominate within an architectural design society cannot disengage from them because buildings form the an integral part in the practical framework of society and therefore cannot be ignored in the same way we might ignore Tracy Emin's latest avante garde artistic offering.

Therefore it can be argued with some conviction that building, certainly those preoccupied with the concept of human habitation, should, in the first instance, be primarily concerned with providing the most comfortable and practicable accommodation possible for the human body: a position elucidated by the pragmatic philosopher Foucault during the 20th Century and more recently by the pragmatist Richard Shusterman. 01

01. M Shusterman: ‘Somaesthetics and the care of the self – The case of Foucault.’ – Published 2000, the Monist Vol 83 No 4 Pages 530-551.

Entwerfen.

A further perspective of the artist studio and exhibition space indicating how it integrates and engages with its surrounding environment both above and below the structure.

Entwerfen.

An artist studio and exhibition space again; this time viewed as one would approach from the town along a boardwalk that becomes a pier as it crosses a bank of sans-dunes and extends out over the beach.

Entwerfen.

The artist studio and exhibition described in the post below is illustrated above in context.

A common design language is used, clearly man-made and geometric, which in a the re-naturalised setting provides an identity and contrast.

Importantly the piers and associated buildings, although elevated above the beach to avoid impact on the natural environment, extrude down to provide seating and shelter places underneath.

Entwerfen.

In addition to an overall masterplan concept and conceiving a group of structures upto a conceptual level, I have also focused on one of the piers and its associated buildings in order to produce one of the structure in more detail. In this regard illustrated above is a location plan at 1:250 which shows an artist studio/ exhibition space in its surrounding context and how it connects back to the town and allows easy access to the beach. This building type was selected due to its managable size and also because it demands more consideration in terms of structure than say one of the beach shelters or tram stops.

The smaller beach shelters and are also illustrated clustered into groups. Both the artist studio, which can be inhabited for short periods, and the smaller shelters are owned by the town and rented in order to generate income; rather like traditional beach huts.

Entwerfen.

An updated, and hopefully final, masterplan version for Sur le plage, Le Touquet. The key in the top corner indicates the functions allocated to each of the structures, which are plugged into the walkway and pier routes that are extruded from the town centre; crossing a re-naturalised landscape in the process.

Due to time constraints and some mentally challenging architectural papers, I only have suffiencient to detail the smaller structures, however the more realistically rendered areas indicate where I shall be, hopefully and time permitting, producing general perspective views showing the majority of the structures and the landscape ideas in situ.

Will Alsop.

Studio with Will Alsop RA, OBE.

Musikverin.

The Musikverin, Vienna, specially designed residence of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; the third best orchestra in the world. Gaining access to their concerts is usually a rather long winded affair, as all tickets are sold through a pre-registration system that has to first be applied for in writing. A place on the system is held for life and as there are a limited number of registration places most Viennese families pass on the right to preregister for tickets.
However five of us managed to purchase tickets for a 'one off concert' sponsored by Austria Bank which was held last Friday; needless to say the performance was excellent and the setting spectacular. The programme included works by Elgar and Prokofiev.

Mozart apartments.

Mozart rented the first floor suite of rooms in the gray building at the end of this street, when composing some of his most renowned work.

Entwerfen.

The third of three sheets illustrating the different types of structure included in the overall scheme and their function(s). Illustrated here is the viewing tower concept which conveys the same animated design language as the smaller structures within the masterplan as well as using the same materiality; this should give a sense of continuality and identity to the seafront.

Entwerfen.

The second of three sheets illustrating the different types of structure included in the overall scheme and their function(s). Shown here is one of the tram stations and overall concept of the medium sized structure shown indicated the masterplan, which is adapted to accommodate a range of public functions such as shower, changing facilities, cafes and kiosks as well as semi-public artist studios and exhibition spaces. The plans in the middle of the image indicate how the core of the building can be modified to accommodate different facilities within the same the same building shell.