The Modernist motif of the floating roof, whether cantilevered or supported on impossibly spindly legs, found its ideal functions in the factory and the market
Historiographic prejudice has tended to favour the architecture of production, but the heroic pioneers of iron and concrete also crowned vendors of fruit and veg with stunning spans. When Enric Miralles and Benedetta Tagliabue won the competition to redevelop Santa Caterina Market in Barcelona in 1997, this tradition was given a Postmodern flavour: their rainbow-tiled roof rests gently on the extant historic fabric rather than sweeping it away in favour of structural clarity. This idea is returned to by KOKO Architects in their recent redevelopment of a market in Talinn. Established after the break-up of the USSR, when the black market came out of the shadows all over the former bloc, the old warehouse buildings have now been given a new zigzag timber roof resting on iron trees. This structure is drawn out into the square to shelter temporary stalls.
This case study is part of Typology: Market hall. Read the full article here
