Tapestry design for the faculties of Chemistry and Oenology. Rovira i Virgili University

The Faculty of Chemistry and Oenology, designed by the architects Ramón Artigues y Ramón Sanabria is located in the University complex of Sescelades in Tarragona (Catalonia).

Despite classify this equipment, as post-brutalist current trend, a concept coined by the theorist and critic Reyner Banham and promoted by many architects of the «Team X» throughout the twentieth century, it is a building of contemporary aesthetic linked to a functional criterion mainly composed of two materials, concrete formwork and large glass surfaces.

The characteristics of such projects recreate cold atmospheres, where form and architectural geometry are almost perfect in spatial terms, however, giving the building a degree of dehumanization that, added to the asynchrony of space often leads to connotations and social criticism adverse. The design of the main façade that gives rise to the entrance of the Faculties of Chemistry and Oenology seeks, in a collateral way, bring joy, enthusiasm and vitality between much concrete, as well as try to establish certain mechanism through a single intervention.

The proposal seeks the representation of the faculties through an analogous design; this result is obtained from a graphical dichotomy formed by symbols which advocate for the chemistry and oenology. Furthermore, it offers an additional content based on orientation, transparency and light, be it night or day. In other words, is not a simply harmony of vinyls, but represents the central role of the faculties and at the same time goes beyond aesthetic by giving away an added value.

Concluding, the pattern has been materialized by the company «Compossar» of Tarragona. This is a vinyl cutter with a similar coloration to the colors of the existing facade and promptly broken by the sanguine color, institutional tonality of the Rovira i Virgili University. The process has been applied from the inside because the risk of internal tension forces between the cut vinyl and glass are minimal. It was implemented in a period of fifteen days using the application technique quadrant.