Arquitectura, leisure and culture (introduction)

INTRODUCTION

https://libeskind.com (Westside Shopping and Leisure Centre en Bern-Brunnen)

It would be no exaggeration to say that the dual nature of leisure and culture corresponds to the innate duality of all human beings, which impels them to oscillate between divide and worldly aspirations. On one hand, leisure can be as a way of getting in touch with the most physical aspects of our existence through play, amusement or sport. On the other hand, people`s cultural needs are related to desire for knowledge which seeks to approach the most abstract and spiritual part of their being.
The subject matter of this final volume of The Atrium Library of Contemporary Architecture is based on this dual aspiration of humanity. These two large areas are combined with the object of offering a clear, overall picture of the cultural and recreational panorama of the end of the century, for which reason we examine below some of the similarities and divergences existing between these two different but complementary areas.

http://www.timeoutshanghai.com (Shanghai Science and Technology Museum)

In contemporary society leisure is clearly represented by sport. However, two radically different attitudes towards this activity can be observed: that of the active participant on one hand, and of the spectator on the other. Catering for the former, large multi-use recreational centres combine entertainment with facilities for personal exercise. The Dome designed by Faulknerbrowns is the most representative example of this phenomenon. However, spectator sports have a much broader appeal, so that large pavilions and multi-use stadiums have become the modern temples of the public spectacle, their typological roots reaching back to the times of the Greco-Roman tradition. The collaboration between architecture and engineering and the broad scope of the infrastructural problems associated with a large public, traffic flow, parking, sight lines, etc. are the most usual concerns in this kind of project.

https://www.dezeen.com ( Stand de Warner)

Culture, the other side of the coin, continues to find its chief refuge within museums. Architectural trends are evolving in the direction of new designs and concepts for museums, especially with respect to de importance placed on the display of the exhibits, which is the focal point of any spatial composition in this field. However, some daring approaches, such as that of the always surprising Frank O. Gehry in the Vitra Museum, reflect the vitality that is evident in this creative field.
Together with the museums, this volume presents various other types of cultural spaces including libraries (the Joan Mirò by Gali, Quintana and Solanas) and universities (the Department of Natural Sciences in Salzburg by Wilhelm Holzbauer). One can find a connecting link Between these two large groups in projects like the Opera de la Bastille by Carlos Ott, which combines culture with musical entertainment.

Author: Francisco A. Cerver
Text: José Serra