The concert hall building was inaugurated last weekend with a concert by the famous violinist Joshua Bell, attended by representatives of the world of architecture, including the architect Bjarke Ingels as a special guest.
The project designed by Rojkind Architects has been developed and built over the last four years. The project is a massive set of exposed concrete volumes, built on the shore of the beach of Boca Del Rio, Veracruz, a massiveness that reminds us of architectures such as those of Fernando Menis, those of Chileans Barclay & Crousse, Spanish LLPS Architects or especially interesting as those of Raili and Reima Pietilä.

The architectural program includes a concert hall of classical, traditional and popular music for 966 spectators, which also has the capacity to present theater and dance shows, as well as film screenings. The site also has a rehearsal room, which allows the presentation to the public of chamber concerts, small theater, film and contemporary dance performances, with a capacity for 150 spectators.

 

Description of project by Rojkind Arquitectos

During recent years there has been a clear enrichment of the musical and cultural life of Boca del Río, Veracruz. In 2014, the Boca del Rio Philharmonic Orchestra was formed, and through its performances it has attracted diverse musical expressions, local and foreign musicians, making it the heart of the cultural life of the city.

The philharmonic orchestra is unique not only in Mexico, but worldwide. Through three lines of action, consisting of a yearly season of Orchestral Concerts, as well as monthly Chamber Music performances, and finally, an after-school social development program for low-income children named “Orquestando Armonia”, which focuses on choral and orchestral education fostering values and a sense of excellence for the children and the community. The dynamics and activities of the orchestra have had a successful social and cultural development, and have demonstrated the need to create a new social enclosure to serve as the new home for the orchestra and its programs.

Foro Boca fits within a master plan that seeks to revitalize an urban area that is currently deteriorated. It is located in the estuary of the river, location that not only gives name to the locality, but also has a rich history and culinary tradition. The piece of land is located beside the breakwater dividing the river and the sea, the end of the Coastal Avenue Vicente Fox, and its point of convergence with Avenue Zamora, where all the local restaurants are lined.

The Foro Boca’s location is intended to articulate the dynamics of the central part of the city with the coastal avenue, and has the goal of functioning as an urban detonator capable of inciting modernity in the area. The forum itself is a tool that has permitted the reconstruction and renovation of the infrastructure and urban image of this part of the city. The building appropriates the timeless expression of the concretes cubes formed by ripraps in the breakwater, assimilating them as its origin and re-interpreting them in a building made of apparent concrete, forming various areas of volume that contain the concert hall.

In its interior, the concert hall unfolds the technical knowledge of foreign and local
specialists in acoustics, isoptics and theatrical mechanics. It possesses the equipment to become the most sophisticated concert hall in the country.

The architectural program considers a concert hall for classical, traditional and popular music for an audience of 966, also having the possibility of presenting shows involving dance and theater, as well as cinema. Additionally, the forum will have a rehearsal hall that can also serve for camera concerts, floor theater plays, cinema and contemporary dance presentations. The hall can hold 150 spectators.

The Back of the House area of the forum responds primarily to the needs of the philharmonic orchestra. It will feature rehearsal halls for percussionists, pianists and solo performers, and a recording studio. It has general changing rooms, private changing rooms for directors, guest performers and the philharmonic’s director. These areas were conceived to combine the daily routines of the orchestra with the needs of the other activities, such as a theater performance.

The building will also hold an office area and a musical library. In all these facilities, the forum will be able to offer workshops, courses and various festivals. The public area of the building features a threestory height vestibule combining the floors and voids creating the access to the halls. The final floor fits a terrace overlooking the river and the sea. The building also has a cafeteria and a restaurant. Within the platforms of the vestibule, spaces are formed where solo concerts, camera concerts, dance performance and contemporary theater plays can be held.

The Foro Boca generates a public space on its exterior that permits the extension of the access plaza throughout the breakwater area, creating points of entertainment, or ludic spaces that complement the public life of the hall. There will also be an audio and visual projection system to be screened on the interior façade of the building, with the intention of consolidating a social enclosure that builds on the public sphere of the area.

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Architects
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Rojkind arquitectos.- Michel Rojkind
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Design Team
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Agustín Pereyra (Project Manager), Arturo Ortíz, Adrián Aguilar, Sandra Carvajal, Fernanda Casar, Salvador Cortéz, Diego Díaz Lezama, Paulina Elizalde, Rubén García, Daniel Gaytán, Paulina Goycoolea, Jorge González R.,
Alfredo Hernández, Laura Hernández, Pablo Herrera, Julieta Inclán, Carsten Lemme Andrea León, Félix Mendoza, Gerardo Salinas, Julio Serralde, Alfonso Paz, Cynthia Ponce, Víctor Velázquez, Ditter Vergara, Beatriz Zavala.
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Collaborators
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Structural Engineer.- EMRSA: Enrique Martínez, Sergio Pérez, Martín S. López, Elsa Serrano, Miguel Ángel Allende, José Mejía, Kevin Cruz, José Martínez Vargas. ACOUSTIC CONSULTANTS.- Akustics: Octavio Barragán, Cristian Ezcurdia, Hugo Garduño, Auerbach Pollock, Friedlander, Len Auerbach, Kevin MacPhearson, Tom Neville. Seamonk: Lincoln Aguirre, Itzel Alba, Cristian Ezcurdia, Jorge Romero. Mep ENGINEER / SPECIALTIES.- Gralte S.C.: Jorge Romero, Daniel Velázquez, Ismael Hernández, Mario Navarro, Germán Muñóz.
Lighting consultant.- Artec3: Maurici Ginés, Jose Cardona, Ana Ayala, Carmen Valle, Itzae Cardeña. Rendering.- PRTSARCH: Rojkind Arquitectos
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Builder Company
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Ingenieria y Desarrollo Arquitectónico S.A. de C.V. (Ing. Ricardo del Rio Santiesteban)
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Dates
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Design date.- 2014. Construction date.- 2017
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Built Area
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5410 m²
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Michel Rojkind was born on December 18, 1969, in Mexico City, Mexico. When he was 18, in 1987, he joined Aleks Syntek’s band “La Gente Normal”, as its drummer, with whom he continued playing untill 1999, when the band broke apart, after 12 years and 4 albums.

While playing with “La Gente Normal”, Michel studied architecture and urban planning at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and, after working on his own for several years, he teamed up with Isaac Broid and Miquel Adria to establish the architectural firm “Adria+Broid+Rojkind” (1998-2002). With the idea of exploring new challenges that address contemporary society, to design compelling experiences that go beyond mere functionality, and to connect at a deeper level with the intricacies of each project, he established, in 2002, an independent firm (rojkind arquitectos), recognized by Architectural Record in 2005 as “one of the best ten Design Vanguard firms”.

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