Fachadas sostenibles – Grupo Gámiz

Architecture and education, symbiosis in wood

Grupo Gámiz — Wed, 14 Jul 2021 09:54:58 +0000

In addition to encouraging its presence in furniture and toys, those responsible for education are sure that building in wood also contributes to the success of the most highly appreciated educational tendencies.

The main schools of thought on education of the 20th century are experiencing a revival in the 21st century. Pikler, Montessori, Reggio Emilia, Waldorf-Steiner, etc., with subtle differences in their starting points, they share many similarities in their main foundations and objectives: encouraging the free development of children helps create people with a greater ability to think and make decisions. More autonomous people, who will be much closer to being in charge of their own destiny.

In this sense, pedagogy is like architecture, a discipline that cannot be explained without the support of many others. Regarding the design within the pedagogical tendencies mentioned, wood stands out as the ideal material in the manufacture of furniture and toys. Taking a step further in the educational process -at least chronologically, in other words, beyond child development- architecture has accepted its part in the responsibility giving rise to different movements and theory, where the design of spaces is key to improving academic performance, according to factors such as movement, freedom, safety, comfort, capacity of stimulus or connection with nature.

Light, sustainability and good vibrations

In this regard, light becomes yet another design component. And to conquer natural light, architecture has the invaluable collaboration of a sustainable building material, that time and time again demonstrates its effectiveness in improving health, emotional well-being and creativity: wood.

Because, in addition to equipping educational spaces or being a structure for them, combining structural wood and glazing results in façades that are at the same time functional, sustainable and beautiful, and that are able to provide the natural light necessary for harmonious education. The following are 8 examples of school architecture with wood as the protagonist.

1. Gymnasium München Nord

“Gymnasium” is the German term associated with “high school” in English. This school in Munich, in addition to being a secondary school, functions as a high-performance centre for athletes.

This project is interesting, at the same time, as it initiates an architectural-pedagogical trend that has become a model in the geographic area in which it was built. It is the so-called “Munich Learning House” (Münchener Lernhaus), a concept developed by those responsible for education in the Bavarian capital. This Gymnasium (2015) has become the basis for the design of all schools built in Munich since then.

The goals of natural light are achieved thanks to curtain walling made with VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use.

Gymnasium München Nord | Arch: h4a Gessert + Randecker Generalplaner | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

2. Oak House School

In this school for high school studies in Barcelona ACCOYA® wooden slats were used to create a sustainable ventilated façade that would provide sustainability to the building as a whole and luminosity to the interior. This decision also helped provide natural ventilation and absorb the sound that reaches the classrooms from the exterior.

Oak House School | Arch: Trasbordo arquitectura y gerencia de construcción S.L. | Product: Ventilated façade – Accoya® tongue and groove units

The Oak House School project was acknowledged in the XXV Edition of the Cemex Building Award with two prizes: the International Award for Sustainable Building and the Third Prize in the International Award for Best Building. It also won the first Asoma 2021 prize for the best wood enclosure.

3. Agricultural centre, Salez

Constructive Alps 2020 prize, this agricultural training centre in the Swiss Alps is an ode to wood, absolute protagonist of the construction from start to finish.

Agricultural centre, Salez | Arch: Andy Senn Architektur GmbH | Product: VIGAM

The open galleries that surround the exterior are manufactured with VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use.

4. Eichendorff School

This interesting primary school in Stuttgart is a magnificent example of how architecture is developing new spaces that help the evolution of new teaching methods.

Natural luminosity is one of the values highlighted by the innovative teaching currents, and in this project it is achieved thanks to the wooden curtain walling made with VIGAM.

Eichendorff School, Stuttgart | Arch: Hausmann Architekten GmbH. | Product: VIGAM

5. Vocational training centre, Sulingen

The functional and at the same time elegant mixture of glass and wood in its façade, courtesy of wooden curtain walling made in oak glulam beam, achieves the perfect lighting in the interior of this vocational training centre in the town of Sulingen, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Vocational Training Centre, Sulingen | Arch: BKS Architekten GmbH | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

6. Obermenzing school

In the renovation project of this school in Munich, whose original construction dated back to 1912, the wooden curtain walling in oak glulam beam that surrounds the main building is outstanding.

Obermenzing School, Munich | Arch: Auer Weber Assoziierte GmbH | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

7. Makarenko School

In this primary school in Dresden, a large part of the light is distributed from a large staircase in the central hall. Its colourful and stimulating design includes a wall of oak glulam beams that awakens play between light and shade.

Makarenko School, Dresden | Arch: Raum und Bau GmbH | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

8. Agricultural specialisation centre, Arenenberg

The presence of the wood arose naturally in this project, as the purpose of this school in Arenenberg (Switzerland) is to train farmers, and wood is a material that is closely linked to this profession. The part that deserves special attention is the beautiful pillars made with VIGAM, a structural resource that was not then highly regarded by those responsible for the project and the result in this agriculture school led them to change their minds.

Agricultural Specialisation Centre, Arenenberg | Arch: Staufer & Hasler Architekten AG | Product: VIGAM: Oak glulam.

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Sustainable architects: Renzo Piano

Grupo Gámiz — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 06:00:06 +0000

For the architect from Genoa, sustainability is the only option. At Grupo Gámiz we have been lucky to collaborate in his project for MOdA, the renovated headquarters of the Paris bar association.

“Sustainability consists in building thinking about the future, not only taking into account the physical resistance of a building, but also thinking about its stylistic resistance, the uses of the future and the resistance of the planet itself and its energy resources.”

Could he say it any more clearly? This opinion, reflected in the book Renzo Piano, sustainable architectures (Ed. Gustavo Gili, 1998), marks the sustainable vision of Renzo Piano’s architecture and urban planning. The Italian, with a Pritzker prize in 1988, is not only one of the top architects of the last 50 years, but also a reference point for architects who strive to protect the world in which we live with their works without limiting the imagination and creativity.

Renzo Piano, Italian architect, Pritzker Prize-winner | Photo courtesy of Floornature

From high-tech architecture to the sustainable reflection

It would be an absurd task to try to deduce whether Renzo Piano has changed as the world has changed or, in contrast, if he has tried to change the world in parallel to his own personal evolution, transferred to his projects. While it is true that in its early days he forged an image of a high-tech architect, one of his most emblematic works marked the turning point in his work and in the general conception of world architecture.

The Pompidou Centre in Paris, a project in collaboration with his colleague Richard Rogers, was hailed in its day as the height of modernity, the future of architecture. Nevertheless, the enormous energy costs and the rapid ageing that building with large quantities of metals of all types entailed was soon noticed. This problem worsened with the oil crisis in 1973 and that forced architects to think about a more sustainable path for architecture.

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Sustainable materials, a key point in the projects of Renzo Piano

In this period Renzo Piano and other high-tech architects (including Rogers himself and Norman Foster) created the group READ after taking part in a convention on solar power in architecture and urban planning. The result was a 180-degree turn: none other than the emergence of the concept of sustainable architecture.

From then on, the projects of Renzo Piano have been marked by a sustainable vision in all important decisions. The choice of the materials is a key issue. For example, 95% of the construction materials of the skyscraper The Shard in London are recycled. The glass of the façade has a low iron content.

The Shard, London | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Photo courtsey of The Shard

The hallmark of the Astrup Fearnley Museum in the port of Oslo is a spectacular wooden structure, and the Auditorio Parco della Musica de Roma used travertine, pre-oxidised lead and handmade bricks.

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art. Oslo, Norway (2012) | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Photo courtesy vía realestatemarket

The Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre, in New Caledonia, is a spectacular example of creativity and sustainability, thanks to the avant-garde impact of ten pavilions constructed in wood with bamboo walls, integrated into a location by sea full of vegetation.

Jean Marie Tjibaou Cultural Centre | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Photo courtesy of asombrosaarquitectura

MOdA, the headquarters of the Paris bar association, was constructed using VIGAM

At GRUPO GÁMIZ we have been lucky to have had the pleasure and the honour that Renzo Piano chose our product VIGAM, the only glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use, to build the Maison de L’Ordre des Avocats, the headquarters of the Paris bar association.

Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Grupo Gámiz Product: Oak glulam – curtain wall | Photo courtesy of ©L.Zylberman/Graphix-Images

The Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats | Arq: Estudio de Renzo Piano | Producto Grupo Gámiz: Viga laminada de roble – Muro Cortina |Photo courtesy of Facebook Renzo Piano Building Workshop

The building is part of the City of Justice in the French capital, and this is where the studio of the Italian architect has used VIGAM to create beautiful wooden curtain walling for its façade. The aesthetic capacity of the oak, along with its structural certification, make aesthetic solutions such as this possible, that spur creative freedom and respect for the environment.

If you’d like more examples of applications of oak curtain walling, this article has other very interesting projects. More and more architects all over the world are discovering the aesthetic values of oak glulam, including renowned figures such as Renzo Piano and Herzog & de Meuron.

“One of the great beauties of architecture is that each time, it is like life starting all over again”.

At GRUPO GÁMIZ we think like Renzo Piano: there are always new ways —and in this case sustainable and eternal ways, such as quality wood— to confront creation and life.

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A symbol of transparency manufactured in wood

Grupo Gámiz — Thu, 09 Jul 2020 05:30:40 +0000

MOdA, the new headquarters of the Paris bar association, designed by Renzo Piano, incorporates wooden curtain walling made with VIGAM, the oak glulam beam by Grupo Gámiz.

The Italian Renzo Piano (Pritzker prize 1998) is one of the most well-known architects in the world. He is also one of the most tireless voices on the need to engage in design and construction with respect for the environment. His defence of sustainable architecture can be read in numerous interviews and statements and, of course, it can be seen in his work.

Renzo Piano’s close relationship with Paris began in the 1970s, when he created the Pompidou Centre alongside Richard Rogers. The French capital is home to one of the branches of his RPBW studio, which was responsible for creating the new Palace of Justice, located in district 17 of the city.

Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats: façade with wooden curtain walling

One of the main buildings in this complex is MOdA, the headquarters of the Paris bar association, where wooden curtain walling can be seen. This sustainable solution for lightweight façades is an option that is used ever more frequently by architects thanks to the beauty of the wood and its structural abilities.

The wooden curtain walling at MOdA was built with VIGAM, the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use, designed, manufactured and distributed by GRUPO GÁMIZ.

The Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats | Arq: Estudio de Renzo Piano | Producto Grupo Gámiz: Viga laminada de roble – Muro Cortina | Foto vía ©L.Zylberman/Graphix-Images

Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Grupo Gámiz Product: Oak glulam – curtain wall | Photo courtesy of ©L.Zylberman/Graphix-Images

Transparency, exchange and functionality

Curtain walling is this ideal choice to transmit one of the symbolic ideas that sustain this project by Renzo Piano: the transparency of the institutions responsible for upholding justice. From the outside, everyone can see the comings and goings of the people who work there.

Maison de l’Ordre des Avocats | Arch: Renzo Piano studio | Grupo Gámiz Product: Oak glulam – curtain wall | Photo courtesy of ©L.Zylberman/Graphix-Images

In addition, the building and its adjacent squares have been designed to serve the other activities typical of the Court of Justice and, likewise, form part of the public life of the neighbourhood.

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Can curtain walling be made entirely of wood?

Grupo Gámiz — Tue, 05 May 2020 06:56:12 +0000

We just need quality wood products certified for structural use. The result: façades with greater beauty and sustainability.

Architecture began in the Neolithic period, when human beings were sedentary and started to adapt the spaces in which they were going to live. Like the prehistoric bone that Stanley Kubrick launched into the air and that came back transformed into a spaceship, between that moment and now, about 12,000 years have flown by.

Architecture has come into the XXI century as always: evolving, asking questions, seeking answers. It seems clear that the next milestone will be construction that respects the environment and protects the planet where future generations will live. In this new era of sustainable architecture, the materials used are key. And wood seems destined to be the essential building material.

Enovos, Luxembourg | Arch: Jim Clemes | Product: Oak glulam – curtain wall

Wooden curtain walling. The lightweight façade revolution is beautiful

The construction systems for façades have also evolved throughout history. As soon as human beings had mastered making glass, they included it in their buildings to protect from the climate and enjoy natural light. It was usually secured using wood.

The XX century connected glass with materials such as steel, aluminium and concrete, and thanks to the skyscrapers of York and Chicago curtain walling became a classic of architecture and popular imagination.

Home Insurance Building in Chicago | Arch: By William Le Baron Jenney | Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Today, when the threat of climate change is more real than ever, architecture, as wise as nature, is returning to the past and opting for what is natural, for wood, to reinvent itself once more and make sustainable curtain walling possible.

Quality and strength thanks to the only oak glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use

In addition to being an ecological and sustainable material, the VIGAM range by GRUPO GÁMIZ consists of the only glulam beam in the world with the CE marking for structural use.

This means that architects can include them in their projects to build one hundred percent wooden curtain walling. The result is a beautiful, natural and warm, welcoming and fully sustainable interior, a long way from barely ecological conventional materials such as aluminium and steel.

Cambridge UK | Arch: Herzog & de Meuron | Product: Application of curtain wall – Oak glulam

A sustainable, effective and creative alternative

Its virtues of thermal and acoustic insulation are, for example, further advantages of opting for quality certified wood in architectural projects that seek energy efficiency.

Wood has always been with us. And it always will be if we complete the circle of sustainability and the circular economy. The good news is that, if the wood products used are objectively good, architects can continue to give free rein to their imagination without renouncing strength, resistance, design or creativity, while fulfilling their responsibility of reducing the environmental impact while they work.

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