lodge, macchu pichu, peru
Flight and the loss of mass.
The condor carved from stone – the half-built stone wings soaring in the direction of Machu Picchu – is an abstraction of flight as well as the victory of the sculpture-building over the immense weight of the granite. The presence of the condor is itself the movement of freedom to within the walls of the city. It stands among the Andean peaks as a manefestation of the sense of flight. The presence of the massive rocks is essential for the demonstration of flight. This duality (the simultaneous presence of mass and its loss) is the motivation for our plan.
Our aim is that the acomodation building (lodge) should appear from a distance as a shadow gliding over the cliff face. An immitation of a shadow projectable onto the original cliff face – that is darker in tone than the surrounding area, its shape referring to its formation. The shadow (of a cloud or of a condor) – its immaterial nature becoming material as it is projected onto the cliff face. The structure of the contour (the projection of a floating object) and the points of the surface (the green points of the patinaed bronze mesh and the black points of the building in the shade behind the net combine to create a dark green tone) are assembled by the definition.
Function
On reaching the top of the cliff, a path-bridge leads to the accommodation building. The building “floating” several meters in front of the cliff is stiffened and secured to the hill by a covered, but open, approach system (4 bridges). At the same time, this ensures horizontal access.
The four levels are made from stretched blocks in steps following the strata of the rock. The communal functions (administration office, salon, dining room) are on the entrance level with the service functions (kitchen, employee room, laundry, nurse’s room, storage) on the level below. The two upper levels house the bedrooms and the bathrooms (10 double rooms, common bathrooms and toilets) with a panoramic terrace on the roof.
The façade of the lodge becomes an abstarction of the undualtiing exposed rock surface with the introduction of a patinaed bronze poligon-mesh. The poligon – with the compaction of triangles – creates an extremely close immitation of the real terrain with the body of the lodge and its horizontal coordination is predetermined by the strata of rock face. Increasing the size of the mesh in places will allow the rooms a full view of Machu Picchu.
Structure
The cylindrical support pillars to the building have to be secured in holes drilled in the granite. The holes will need to be drilled deeper than the calculated length of the pillars by an increment determined by the depth of the fissures occurring naturally in the rock. It is practical to mark the position of the holes to be drilled with the help of laser beams shone from the opposite hillside. Rock climbers will lower the feet of the drill with hand equipment and secure them with anchors of the required length. The exact marking of the direction of the holes is extremely important. This is followed by core-drilling with a diamond headed drill. The smooth surfaced holes will be filled with concrete or an appropriate synthetic adhesive into which the cylinders will be pushed. This will quickly result in a perfect connection between the cylinders and the surroundings and the pillars will work as anchors throughout. There is a possibility to expand the width of the cylinders at the end which will increase the strength of the anchor and this means that we also need to make provision to widen the end of the cylinders. The pillars can be constructed as soon as the holes have been drilled. Temporary metal battens and equipment required for construction will then be easily attachable to the individual rows of supporting pillars. The order of drilling the holes and construction requires orchestrating in order to markedly decrease the time required for building-construction. Then the steel framework of the building can be constructed. Work will be finally completed with the use of construction technology comprising pre-built units and fittings. The walls of the rooms on the side of Machu Picchu and the cliff face will be a frameless, insulated glass structure. Shade will be provided to the main façade partly by the bronze polygon mesh and partly by motorized metal blinds hidden between the plates of insulting glass. The polygon-mesh will prevent the glass surfaces from glinting and also stop birds from flying into them. The back wall of the rooms and the dividing wall of the communal areas will also be constructed with the above technology. The solid parts will be clad with bronze sheeting.
peter kis, zsolt alexa, ivett tarr 2003
The condor carved from stone – the half-built stone wings soaring in the direction of Machu Picchu – is an abstraction of flight as well as the victory of the sculpture-building over the immense weight of the granite. The presence of the condor is itself the movement of freedom to within the walls of the city. It stands among the Andean peaks as a manefestation of the sense of flight. The presence of the massive rocks is essential for the demonstration of flight. This duality (the simultaneous presence of mass and its loss) is the motivation for our plan.
Our aim is that the acomodation building (lodge) should appear from a distance as a shadow gliding over the cliff face. An immitation of a shadow projectable onto the original cliff face – that is darker in tone than the surrounding area, its shape referring to its formation. The shadow (of a cloud or of a condor) – its immaterial nature becoming material as it is projected onto the cliff face. The structure of the contour (the projection of a floating object) and the points of the surface (the green points of the patinaed bronze mesh and the black points of the building in the shade behind the net combine to create a dark green tone) are assembled by the definition.
Function
On reaching the top of the cliff, a path-bridge leads to the accommodation building. The building “floating” several meters in front of the cliff is stiffened and secured to the hill by a covered, but open, approach system (4 bridges). At the same time, this ensures horizontal access.
The four levels are made from stretched blocks in steps following the strata of the rock. The communal functions (administration office, salon, dining room) are on the entrance level with the service functions (kitchen, employee room, laundry, nurse’s room, storage) on the level below. The two upper levels house the bedrooms and the bathrooms (10 double rooms, common bathrooms and toilets) with a panoramic terrace on the roof.
The façade of the lodge becomes an abstarction of the undualtiing exposed rock surface with the introduction of a patinaed bronze poligon-mesh. The poligon – with the compaction of triangles – creates an extremely close immitation of the real terrain with the body of the lodge and its horizontal coordination is predetermined by the strata of rock face. Increasing the size of the mesh in places will allow the rooms a full view of Machu Picchu.
Structure
The cylindrical support pillars to the building have to be secured in holes drilled in the granite. The holes will need to be drilled deeper than the calculated length of the pillars by an increment determined by the depth of the fissures occurring naturally in the rock. It is practical to mark the position of the holes to be drilled with the help of laser beams shone from the opposite hillside. Rock climbers will lower the feet of the drill with hand equipment and secure them with anchors of the required length. The exact marking of the direction of the holes is extremely important. This is followed by core-drilling with a diamond headed drill. The smooth surfaced holes will be filled with concrete or an appropriate synthetic adhesive into which the cylinders will be pushed. This will quickly result in a perfect connection between the cylinders and the surroundings and the pillars will work as anchors throughout. There is a possibility to expand the width of the cylinders at the end which will increase the strength of the anchor and this means that we also need to make provision to widen the end of the cylinders. The pillars can be constructed as soon as the holes have been drilled. Temporary metal battens and equipment required for construction will then be easily attachable to the individual rows of supporting pillars. The order of drilling the holes and construction requires orchestrating in order to markedly decrease the time required for building-construction. Then the steel framework of the building can be constructed. Work will be finally completed with the use of construction technology comprising pre-built units and fittings. The walls of the rooms on the side of Machu Picchu and the cliff face will be a frameless, insulated glass structure. Shade will be provided to the main façade partly by the bronze polygon mesh and partly by motorized metal blinds hidden between the plates of insulting glass. The polygon-mesh will prevent the glass surfaces from glinting and also stop birds from flying into them. The back wall of the rooms and the dividing wall of the communal areas will also be constructed with the above technology. The solid parts will be clad with bronze sheeting.
peter kis, zsolt alexa, ivett tarr 2003