1. What were the challenges in developing the Whale Sculpture?
This project had two significant challenges as a designer and an entrepreneur: geometric and narrative complexity and transforming a digital model into actual work.
On the one hand, the project was born as a validation experiment where a collaborative design method was applied. Conversely, constructive elements try to overcome the architect as the only responsible and the artist as a typical guest with the standard and time-consuming back-and-forth processes. The developer Rafael Birmann and his technical and logistical team had direct participation in the adjustments of the idea.
The project could be anonymous or co-authored, almost polyphonic with a particular poetic license. On the other hand, the formal complexity of this sophisticated structure demanded that artemátyika – the company I lead and which gave a unique characteristic to the initial metaphor of the whale – use the most sophisticated methods of computational design and mathematical optimization.
However, the Building Information Modeling method was applied from the beginning for agile collaboration with engineering. It also allowed us to make rapid prototypes with digital manufacturing – techniques such as laser cutting, C.N.C. milling, or 3D printing that I mastered during various practices in Madrid and Barcelona in 2010.
2. Why was GlassecViracon glass chosen?
GlassecViracon’s glass was the perfect solution to open triangular and extremely variable positions in the structure’s cladding, even upside down! It was possible to allow natural light inside without losing protection from the intense solar radiation and a perfect fixation against the strong winds. It also influences the conditions, making it a unique, sophisticated, and most substantial and captivating sculpture. And additionally, at night, it generates a beautiful spectacle of artificial light.
3. What is it like to have this project on Artemátyika ‘s portfolio?
This project represents one of our company’s most iconic works of art in the last ten years from an artistic point of view. After participating as a designer and collaborator in equally unique works with different dimensions and open for public visits. – such as the 7 km long Madrid Río Park, designed by the team of architects Burgos & Garrido, The Dutch West 8 project, and The City of Culture of Galicia designed by Peter Eisenman and executed by architect and renowned professor Andrés Perea Ortega. We like to create narratives rather than just designing buildings or a public space; we develop metaphors to connect with the client’s intimate desires and transmit this dynamic character to future users.
4. Would you like to add other aspects about the Project or the products?
The project’s methodology was the beginning. I would say that artemátika was essential and gave unique characteristics to this monumental work since seven people were able to share their ideas in the project with small decisions and details in a coherent way.
The work dynamic was essential for the sculpture to be a landmark and highlights the B32 development in the financial landscape. And it is also vital to emphasize that the people involved with this project were:
Tom Balsley – renowned New York landscaper who came up with the idea of placing a sculpture in this corner of the square
Rafael Birmann – creator and developer of the B32 project -and Pedro Terra Lab are both authentic urban scenographers who chose the theme and myth of the whale as an urban and corporate symbol.
Renato Silva – coordinating architect of the B32 projects and BIM coordinator.
Michael Eidinger – an expert in aluminum frames.
Felício Vita – Production Engineer
Flávio d’Alambert – a talented structural engineer responsible for the calculation and design of the Museum of Tomorrow in Rio de Janeiro.
It was a unique and unforgettable opportunity to learn and grow together with this outstanding team that created a legacy for the most corporate city in Latin America.