The Colegio Huelquen Montessori is a school in Montessori, the main building of which was designed and constructed by Alejandro Aravena. I can’t find too many sources online about the school, past the school website run through Google Translate, my details of the school are iffy to say the least. As best as I can tell, it’s actually a school for children and adolescents. As for the building itself, it is quintessentially modern, with a combination of floating staircases, polygonal facings on the facades, and wide windows that give the building a very airy, open look. The materials for the exterior of the building appear to be concrete for structural components, faced with wooden paneling for aesthetic purposes. Personally, I wish more schools looked like this, not only just because I like the way it looks, but because the school avoids looking oppressive and closed off, as many schools in my experience tend to look. It’s surrounded by nature, and it is built to accentuate this, which I’d argue makes it more pleasant to go there.

The third building, and one of Andreu’s most famous, is the Charles De Gaulle Airport terminal 1.  The modernist terminal was opened in 1974, and has since been a major photography spot in Paris. It was one of Andreu’s first major works, and he went on to design many more airports. Andreu was in charge of other terminal designs in the airport, but unfortunately Terminal 2E partially collapsed in 2002, resulting in 4 deaths. The escalators are the glass tubes in the pictures above, and deliver passengers from upper level arrival gates to the lower level exit in style. I really like the circular design of the terminal, and it seems like a very open, abstract piece of architecture.

The Siamese Towers are likely the most famous work of Alejandro Aravena, a Chilean architect who is the executive director of the Elemental S.A. firm and recipient of the Pritsker Architecture Prize in 2016, an award given to living architects for demonstrating “a combination of those qualities of talent, vision, and commitment, which has produced consistent and significant contributions to humanity and the built environment through the art of architecture.” The Siamese Towers are actually one structure, with the top split into two parts that lean away from each other, while sharing the same lower part, akin to Siamese twins. The Towers were built by Aravena and his team for the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in Santiago (Aravena’s alma mater); more specifically, these towers were to hold the Center for Technological Innovation. Because of this, the university wanted the building to more or less scream innovation. The university specified that the building be built with a façade full of glass, to meet this need. Aravena and his team built the tower(s) in its unique shape to further enhance the high-tech look of it. The towers also have a double skin of glass, with a layer of air in between for thermal insulation. As the building is supposed to be used as a technology center, most of the interior rooms actually don’t face the exterior glass walls, in order to keep them dark.

Pastor Van Ars Church was very modern for its time and is to this day. It is rare to come across a building like this especially when it was completed in 1969. Aldo Van Eyck was influenced by structuralism and included a very spacious and  innovative gothic feel. Its outside is constructed from solely gray concrete blocks  and the church doesn’t have a tower at all.

For my 3rd blog of Christian Portzamparc, I decided to cover his design of the Dior retail store in South Korea. The store was finished in 2015 and is located in Seoul, South Korea. The store is very unique from all the other surrounding stores, and in general is a very unique design. It’s curvature and sail-like layers gives it a very modern and futuristic vibe. Since it is a store for luxury items, a modern feel sort of matches what the business does and sells. The store also includes a gallery and cafe that overlooks the surrounding area.

Phil Freelon also developed the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco, California back in 2005. This museum occupies three floors of the St. Regis Hotel. Inside are numerous exhibits that seeks to tell the story of the African descendants both in the United States and around the world. This museum is designed to engage folks not just inside but also at the street level. Its façade holds a mosaic of photographs that encapsulate the story of the African Diaspora.  

Phil Freelon developed the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, which is located near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Inside are numerous features, including classrooms, galleries, an auditorium, a cafe, and stores. The building is meant to represent a duality between joy and pain, and the architect sought to embrace this duality and express the spirit of the history of the African American people.

Phil Freelon developed the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, which opened its doors in Atlanta Georgia on June 23, 2014. This museum is dedicated to honoring both the Civil Rights movement in the United States and Human Rights movements around the world. Throughout the building there are a number of interactive exhibits and activities. A key feature the building is an overlook full of natural daylight at the top of the central stair case. 

Theo Bosch collaborated with Aldo Van Eyck to design the Het Pentagon. It won a competition organized by the municipality. It was completed in 1983 and was named the Het Pentagon for its Pentagonal shape. The Het Pentagon was a living space for many Amsterdam residents. The facades are very irregular in shape and have many different colors on every side of the building.

The second design by Andreu I enjoyed was the National Grand Theatre of China in Bejing. Andreu was commissioned in 2001 and completed the so called “Giant Egg” in 2007. Andreu designed many cultural buildings in China, and the Grand Theatre is an immensely popular destination. I really liked the oval shape of the theatre, and the broad expanse of windows on the side make it appear alive. The lights also reflect beautifully on the water surrounding the theatre, giving it a magical ambience.