The Dark Line, Building of the year 2023
17/03/2024.
[New Taipei City] Taiwan
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
We are honoured to proclaim “The Dark Line” by Michèle Orliac, and Miquel Batlle with the collaboration of Chung-Hsun Wu as METALOCUS Building of the Year 2023, an action with which we highlight the best architecture of the moment, as well as its authors and teams involved, either participating, helping or collaborating in the most outstanding architectural creation.
What is the role of architecture on the landscape, in a world that is being devastated by climate change? How to act architecturally with the memory of a place? How to build on the remains of a ruin with a contradictory history? Should we only think about the present or also be models to inspire the future?
To understand these questions and the great value of this work, carried out by the team formed by the architecture studio of Michèle & Miquel in collaboration with the landscapers of Da Vision Design, over the next seven days we will publish a daily article thanks to the critical support of a panel made up of prominent figures from the world of architecture and culture, who cover, write and give opinions about the building, generating a support of credibility and an unprecedented reach.
What is the role of architecture on the landscape, in a world that is being devastated by climate change? How to act architecturally with the memory of a place? How to build on the remains of a ruin with a contradictory history? Should we only think about the present or also be models to inspire the future?
To understand these questions and the great value of this work, carried out by the team formed by the architecture studio of Michèle & Miquel in collaboration with the landscapers of Da Vision Design, over the next seven days we will publish a daily article thanks to the critical support of a panel made up of prominent figures from the world of architecture and culture, who cover, write and give opinions about the building, generating a support of credibility and an unprecedented reach.
METALOCUS Building of the year.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
Geometry. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
Geometry. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
Sections. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
The proclamation by METALOCUS after being the first in the world to publish the project "The Dark Line" values excellence in architecture at an international level thanks again to the contribution and recognition of the following authors:
Philippe Bonnin (FR),
Joan Roig (ESP),
Françoise Crémel (FR),
Ioanna Spannou (GR),
Éric Alonzo (FR),
Scott Hawken (AUS),
José Moreno y Raquel Altares (ESP),
José Juan Barba (ESP).
The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN. Photograph by LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
This year's proclamation is awarded to The Dark Line intervention, for demonstrating an extraordinary synthesis of qualities of innovation, talent, vision and commitment to the environment that becomes a solid and significant contribution of architecture to society and the environment. environment at a global level.
The selection follows the three fundamental criteria set out in the declaration of intent for the presentation of the METALOCUS 2023 Building of the Year. The Dark Line realizes, represents and contains the following:
One of the outstanding innovations of The Dark Line is its commitment to the natural and individuals, the overcoming of definitions from the last century, which led us to only sculptural visions from a Platonic vision, changing today and putting people in the centre of its realization. The Dark Line presents its "venustas" not as a game of volumes that contain space, but as a process of construction of places in which individuals interact with space and with other individuals, a delicate process of seams with the environment, hybridization with the environment.
"...going through a tunnel subject to possible landslides, installing a walkway on the ground, 'without touching it', building a complex structure on a vertical and unstable ground,... and all without cutting any trees."
Michele & Miquel.
Geometry. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
The Dark Line has been built on the remains of a contradictory memory, on the vestiges of an infrastructure built in difficult times, facilities that tried to control coal extraction processes, in a mountainous area between Taipei and Ylan, the section of the route between Mudan and Sandiaoling, on the Pacific coast, east of Taiwan. On the trail of an old route and abandoned and forgotten facilities, the “firmitas” of the Dark Line do not represent a new imposition on the territory. Its realization, based on the ancient remains of this path of machines, is quite the opposite or much more, it is hybridizing, establishing sutures with the past and the present, dialoguing with the landscape, with the territory without imposing.
The exceptional contribution of the Dark Line and its “utilitas” as a model lies not only in generating a chain of places, a journey, and a path in which the centre of creation is people but also in what is more interesting and innovative: the project builds place by recovering the Taiwanese landscape. The old roads and tunnels cease to be "non-places" by making visible the extraordinary beauty of the surrounding nature, playing with the presence or absence of light, the movement of mist, and vegetation, a game of extraordinary relationships that presents us with a universal model on how to intervene and inhabit our environment from a small-large island in the Pacific.
Geometry. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
"Industrial landscapes have an expiration date: the industry abandons the places with the same radicality with which they have been invested. Product of a precise technical-economic system, the infrastructures are emptied as soon as a more efficient system appears. Monumental physical traces remain, where flora and fauna, quick to detect faults, make their habitat.
It is now a hybrid environment in which traditional distinctions between nature and culture are blurred. We decided, from the beginning of the project, to keep the tunnel in all its historical thickness, as it is, without restoring it, and to show the transformation of the place since its abandonment, including the rocky and sandy soils accumulated by typhoons, the flow of water from infiltration, the lush vegetation that covers the monumental facades, and the trees that are found along the entire route.»
Michèle & Miquel.
The Dark Line is especially relevant, not only for its Firmitas, utilitas and venustas, but for its attitude, for how it approaches its implementation and its empathetic and kind capacity for the place, for the literal constructing of a porous, permeable proposal, which is attentive to those who use it and with the nature that surrounds it.
Sections. The Dark Line by Michèle & Miquel and dA VISION DESIGN.
After the premiere publication in May 2023 in METALOCUS of "The Dark Line", the project was collecting recognition from different countries, among which it is worth highlighting:
AFEX Award 2023 (FR), BEAU XVI Award (ESP), Landezine International Landscape Award 2023 (SVN), Arquin fad 2023 (ESP), IFLA ASIA PAC Excellence Award 2023 (SGP), Architettura LOVERS il Premio 2023 (ITA), INT. design Grand Prix du Design paysage & territoires 2023, (CAN), WLA Merit Award Winner 2023 (AUS), Taiwan Environment Lighting 2023, Building of the Year METALOCUS 2023 (ESP).
More information
Authors
Michèle & Miquel. Lead architects.- Michèle Orliac, Miquel Batlle.
Landscape architect.- Da Vision Design. Chung-Hsun Wu.
Landscape architect.- Da Vision Design. Chung-Hsun Wu.
Location
Taiwan, Sandiaoling - Ruifang District, New Taipei City. Republic of China.
Photography
LU Yu-Jui, Michèle & Miquel.
Architects Michèle and Miquel
Michèle & Miquel is an architecture urbanism and landscape atelier, based in Barcelona, Spain and Toulouse, Francia. It was founded in 1996 by Michèle Orliac and Miquel Batlle.
The team take part in the development of public spaces, urban facilities, strategic points, urban peculiar situations…etc. The philosophy of their work lies in the relationship between the city, architecture and nature, urban planning and landscape architecture and the articulation of different scales: from territorial scale to detail.
Throughout the professional life of the study, many projects have been developed in different topics such as Public spaces and urban facilities (Hortus wineries in Valflaunes, Wallon Marcadau refuge in the National Park of Pyrenees, or the canopies in Vieux Boucau); Director plan of public spaces (Director plan beach in VIEUX BOUCAU in the Atlantic Ocean).
Many projects have been recognized in national and international awards including:
By The Dark Line: AFEX Award 2023 (FR), BEAU XVI Award (ESP), Landezine International Landscape Award 2023, Arquin fad 2023 (ESP), IFLA ASIA PAC Excellence Award 2023, Architettura LOVERS il Premio 2023 (ITA), INT. design Grand Prix du Design paysage & territoires 2023, (CAN), WLA Merit Award Winner 2023, Taiwan Environment Lighting 2023, Building of the Year METALOCUS 2023 (ESP).
The team take part in the development of public spaces, urban facilities, strategic points, urban peculiar situations…etc. The philosophy of their work lies in the relationship between the city, architecture and nature, urban planning and landscape architecture and the articulation of different scales: from territorial scale to detail.
Throughout the professional life of the study, many projects have been developed in different topics such as Public spaces and urban facilities (Hortus wineries in Valflaunes, Wallon Marcadau refuge in the National Park of Pyrenees, or the canopies in Vieux Boucau); Director plan of public spaces (Director plan beach in VIEUX BOUCAU in the Atlantic Ocean).
Many projects have been recognized in national and international awards including:
By The Dark Line: AFEX Award 2023 (FR), BEAU XVI Award (ESP), Landezine International Landscape Award 2023, Arquin fad 2023 (ESP), IFLA ASIA PAC Excellence Award 2023, Architettura LOVERS il Premio 2023 (ITA), INT. design Grand Prix du Design paysage & territoires 2023, (CAN), WLA Merit Award Winner 2023, Taiwan Environment Lighting 2023, Building of the Year METALOCUS 2023 (ESP).
Award, The 7th Taiwan Landscape 2019.
First prize in the FAD 2017 award. International category with the project Le Jardin NIEL in TOULOUSE, France.
Selected in the international Mies van der Rohe 2017 award with the project Winery in Montpellier, France.
First prize in the FAD 2011 award, landscape and city category, with de project Aigües Park in Figueres, Spain.
First prize in the Trophées de l’aménagement Urbain award three times: at Pams Port Street in Vendres, France; at the ARLES SUR TECH square, France; and at the fairground in Treffort, France.
Selected in the international Mies van der Rohe 2017 award with the project Winery in Montpellier, France.
First prize in the FAD 2011 award, landscape and city category, with de project Aigües Park in Figueres, Spain.
First prize in the Trophées de l’aménagement Urbain award three times: at Pams Port Street in Vendres, France; at the ARLES SUR TECH square, France; and at the fairground in Treffort, France.
Chung-Hsun Wu. dA VISION DESIGN
dA VISION DESIGN is an architecture studio founded by Chung-Hsun Wu that offers comprehensive consulting services in urban design and landscape architecture. The team combines experiences in landscape architecture, architecture, urban design and urban planning. Passion for space, environment and people resonates within the team, influencing their work, values and professional approaches. With a reserve of optimism and professional skills, they skillfully tailor their services to precisely meet client needs.
The core value of dA VISION DESIGN is to systematically apply site analysis, sensitively coordinate spatial and functional elements, and then seamlessly integrate them with construction knowledge to formulate holistic design alternatives. Their unwavering commitment includes providing meticulous attention and engaging in innovative problem solving, infusing each project with unique aspects and motivations.
The core value of dA VISION DESIGN is to systematically apply site analysis, sensitively coordinate spatial and functional elements, and then seamlessly integrate them with construction knowledge to formulate holistic design alternatives. Their unwavering commitment includes providing meticulous attention and engaging in innovative problem solving, infusing each project with unique aspects and motivations.
JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
José Juan Barba (1964) architect from ETSA Madrid in 1991. Special Mention in the National Finishing University Education Awards 1991. PhD in Architecture ETSAM, 2004. He founded his professional practice in Madrid in 1992 (www.josejuanbarba.com). He is an architecture critic and editor-in-chief of METALOCUS magazine since 1999, and he was advising different NGOs until 1997. He has been a lecturer (in Design, Theory and Criticism, and Urban planning) and guest lecturer at different national and international universities (Roma TRE, Polytechnic Milan, ETSA Madrid, ETSA Barcelona, UNAM Mexico, Univ. Iberoamericana Mexico, University of Thessaly Volos, FA de Montevideo, Washington, Medellin, IE School, U.Alicante, Univ. Europea Madrid, UCJC Madrid, ESARQ-U.I.C. Barcelona,...).
Maître de Conférences IUG-UPMF Grenoble 2013-14. Full assistant Professor, since 2003 up to now at the University of Alcalá School of Architecture, Madrid, Spain. And Jury in competitions as Quaderns editorial magazine (2011), Mies van der Rohe Awards, (2010-2022), Europan13 (2015). He has been invited to participate in the Biennale di Venezia 2016 as part "Spaces of Exception / Spazi d'Eccezione".
He has published several books, the last in 2016, "#positions" and in 2015 "Inventions: New York vs. Rem Koolhaas, Bernard Tschumi, Piranesi " and collaborations on "Spaces of Exception / Spazi d'Eccezione", "La Mansana de la discordia" (2015), "Arquitectura Contemporánea de Japón: Nuevos territorios" (2015)...
Awards.-
- Award. RENOVATION OF SEGURA RIVER ENVIRONMENT, Murcia, Sapin, 2010.
- First Prize, RENOVATION GRAN VÍA, “Delirious Gran Vía”, Madrid, Spain, 2010.
- First Prize, “PANAYIOTI MIXELI Award”. SADAS-PEA, for the Spreading of Knowledge of Architecture Athens, 2005.
- First Prize, “SANTIAGO AMÓN Award," for the Spreading of Knowledge of Architecture. 2000.
- Award, “PIERRE VAGO Award." ICAC -International committee of Art Critics. London, 2005.
- First Prize, C.O.A.M. Madrid, 2000. Shortlisted, World Architecture Festival. Centro de Investigación e Interpretación de los Ríos. Tera, Esla y Orbigo, Barcelona, 2008.
- First Prize. FAD AWARD 07 Ephemeral Interventions. “M.C.ESCHER”. Arquin-Fad. Barcelona, Sapin 2007.
