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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.
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.
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!
The Wachau is famous for its vineyard's, seen here set into hillside terraces at Weissenkirchen.
'Frescoed' spiral staircase within the towers of Melk abbey's Church.
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.
The town of Melk at the western extreme of the Wachau as seen from the abbey, which dominates the area from its rocky outcrop.
Durnstein - A baroque wedding cake.
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.
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.
View underneath an artist studio and pier, illustrating how it could engage and define the environment below it or the 'sixth elevation'.
View along the boardwalk/pier from Le Touquet town indicating the artist studio in exhibition formation.
View showing one of the artist studios in context along the beach with several of the smaller beach shelters in the foreground.
Detailed construction section of the artist studio and a typical axonometric detail.
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.
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.
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.
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.
View towards the beach along one the pedestrianised board walks that re-connect the centre of Le Touquet directly to the sea.
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.
