La Casa Domínguez. Alejandro de la Sota: Construir - Habitar

La Tesis Doctoral nace con una intensa vocación pedagógica. La hipótesis de trabajo se establece en torno a una cuestión de interés personal, un tema sobre el que se vertebran, desde el comienzo del doctorado, los diferentes cursos y trabajos de investigación: LA CASA DOMÍNGUEZ como paradigma de la dialéctica en la obra de Alejandro de la Sota. La clasificación de la realidad en categorías antagónicas determina un orden conceptual polarizado, una red de filiaciones excluyentes sobre las que Sota construye su personal protocolo operativo: la arquitectura intelectual o popular, experimental o tradicional, universal o local, ligera o pesada, elevada o enterrada, etc. Se propone el abordaje de una cuestión latente en el conjunto de la obra ‘sotiana’, desde la disección y el análisis de una de sus obras más pequeñas: la casa Domínguez. Se trata de una organización sin precedentes, que eleva la estrategia dialéctica al paroxismo: la vivienda se separa en dos estratos independientes, la zona de día, elevada, y la zona de noche, enterrada; cada uno de los estratos establece su propio orden geométrico y constructivo, su propio lenguaje y carácter, su propia identidad e incluso su propio presupuesto. Las relaciones entre interior y exterior se especializan en función de la actividad o el reposo, estableciéndose una compleja red de relaciones, algunas evidentes y otras celosamente veladas, entre los diferentes niveles. La estancia destinada a las tareas activas se proyecta como un objeto de armazón ligero y piel fría; la precisa geometría del cubo delimita la estancia vigilante sobre el paisaje conquistado. La ladera habitada se destina al reposo y se configura como una topografía verde bajo la que se desarrollan los dormitorios en torno a patios, grietas y lucernarios, generando un paisaje propio: la construcción del objeto frente a la construcción del lugar La casa Domínguez constituye uno de los proyectos menos estudiados, y por lo tanto menos celebrados, de la obra de Don Alejandro. Las publicaciones sucesivas reproducen la documentación gráfica junto a la memoria (epopeya) que el propio Sota compone para la publicación del proyecto. Apenas un par de breves textos críticos de Miguel Ángel Baldellou y, recientemente de Moisés Puente, abordan la vivienda como tema monográfico. Sin embargo, la producción de proyecto y obra ocupó a De la Sota un periodo no inferior a diez años, con casi cien planos dibujados para dos versiones de proyecto, la primera de ellas, inédita. El empeño por determinar hasta el último detalle de la ‘pequeña’ obra, conduce a Sota a controlar incluso el mobiliario interior, como hiciera en otras obras ‘importantes’ como el Gobierno Civil de Tarragona, el colegio mayor César Carlos o el edificio de Correos y Telecomunicaciones de León. La complicidad del cliente, mantenida durante casi cuarenta años, habilita el despliegue de una importante colección de recursos y herramientas de proyecto. La elección de la casa Domínguez como tema central de la tesis persigue por lo tanto un triple objetivo: en primer lugar, el abordaje del proyecto como paradigma de la dialéctica ‘sotiana’, analizando la coherencia entre el discurso de carácter heroico y la obra finalmente construida; en segundo lugar, la investigación rigurosa, de corte científico, desde la disección y progresivo desmontaje del objeto arquitectónico; y por último, la reflexión sobre los temas y dispositivos de proyecto que codifican la identificación entre la acción de construir y el hecho de habitar, registrando los aciertos y valorando con actitud crítica aquellos elementos poco coherentes con el orden interno de la propuesta. This doctoral thesis is the fruit of a profound pedagogical vocation. The central hypothesis was inspired by a question of great personal interest, and this interest has, since the very beginning of the doctorate, been the driving force behind all subsequent lines of research and investigation. The “Casa Domínguez” represents a paradigm of the dialectics found in the work of Alejandro de la Sota. The perception of reality as antagonistic categories determines a polarized conceptual order, a network of mutually excluding associations upon which Sota builds his own personal operative protocol: intellectual or popular architecture, experimental or traditional, universal or local, heavy or light, above or below ground, etc. Through the analysis and dissection of the “Casa Domínguez”, one of Sota’s smallest projects, an attempt is made to approach the underlying question posed in “Sotian” work as a whole. This is about organization without precedent, raising the strategic dialectics to levels of paroxysm. The house is divided into two separate levels, the day-time level above ground, and the lower night-time level beneath the surface of the ground. Each level has its own geometrical and stuctural order, its own language and character, its own identity and even has its own construction budget. The interaction between the two areas is centered on the two functions of rest and activity, and this in turn establishes a complex relationship network between both, which is sometimes self-evident, but at other times jealously guarded. The living area designed for daily activity is presented as an object of light structure and delicate skin; the precise geometry of the cube delimiting the ever watchful living area’s domain over the land it has conquered. A green topography is created on the slope below which lies an area adapted for rest and relaxation. Two bedrooms, built around patios, skylights and light crevices, generate an entirely independent environment: the construction of an object as opposed to the creation of a landscape. The “Casa Domínguez” project has been subject to much less scrutiny and examination than Don Alejandro’s other works, and is consequently less well-known. A succession of journals have printed the blueprint document together with a poetic description (epopee), composed by Sota himself, to mark the project’s publication. There has, however, scarcely been more than two brief critical appraisals, those by Miguel Ángel Baldellou and more recently by Moisés Puente, that have regarded the project as a monographic work. The project and works nevertheless occupied no less than ten years of De La Sota’s life, with over a hundred draft drawings for two separate versions of the project, the first of which remains unpublished. The sheer determination to design this “small” work in the most meticulous detail, drove Sota to manage and select its interior furniture, as indeed he had previously done with more “important” works like the Tarragona Civil Government, César Carlos College, or the Post Office telecommunications building in León. Client collaboration, maintained over a period of almost forty years, has facilitated an impressive array of the project’s tools and resources. The choice of “Casa Domínguez” as the central subject matter of this thesis, was made in pursuance of a triple objective: firstly, to approach the project as a paradigm of the “Sotian” dialectic, the analysis of the discourse between the heroic character and the finished building; secondly, a rigorous scientific investigation, and progressive disassembling and dissecting of the architectonic object; and finally, a reflection on aspects of the project and its technology which codify the identification between the action of construction and the reality of living, thus marking its achievements, whilst at the same time subjecting incoherent elements of the proposal’s established order to a critical evaluation.

Low-Profile Dual Circularly Polarized Antenna Array for Satellite Communications in the X Band

A planar antenna is introduced that works as a portable system for X-band satellite communications. This antenna is low-profile and modular with dimensions of 40 × 40 × 2.5 × cm. It is composed of a square array of 144 printed circuit elements that cover a wide bandwidth (14.7%) for transmission and reception along with dual and interchangeable circular polarization. A radiation efficiency above 50% is achieved by a low-loss stripline feeding network. This printed antenna has a 3 dB beamwidth of 5°, a maximum gain of 26 dBi and an axial ratio under 1.9 dB over the entire frequency band. The complete design of the antenna is shown, and the measurements are compared with simulations to reveal very good agreement.

Ion Beam Analysis of He-implanted fusion solid breedes

Introduction Lithium-based ceramics (silicates, titanates, ?) possess a series of advantages as alternative over liquid lithium and lithium-lead alloys for fusion breeders. They have a sufficient lithium atomic density (up to 540 kg*m-3), high temperature stability (up to 1300 K), and good chemical compatibility with structural materials. Nevertheless, few research is made on the diffusion behavior of He and H isotopes through polycrystalline structures of porous ceramics which is crucial in order to understand the mobility of gas coolants as well as, the release of tritium. Moreover, in the operating conditions of actual breeder blanket concepts, the extraction rate of the helium produced during lithium transmutation can be affected by the composition and the structure of the near surface region modifying the performance of BB materials

Continental Perspective 3, Spain

Well, I firmly believe that, as a professor, one has the duty, the obligation to show and explain his work. Not, of course, as a model to imitate, but rather as an opportunity to reflect upon that work. So, I will try to explain some of the considerations that were crucial in the development of each project. It is my hope that these reflections may be of interest to you, and due to my optimistic nature, that you may even enjoy it. Today I am going to present some projects, from a specific point of view: that of MATERIALITY. This is why I decided to title this presentation ARCHITEXTURE: that is, architecture from the point of view of texture, the quality of its material. Our architecture wants to pay attention to materials; we like to use very physical materials. We try to explore the expressive possibilities of different materials. That allows us, on the one hand, to try to master different techniques, and exploit their potential. On the other hand, it also avoids the dangers of style. Style is the death of an architect. When he starts repeating formulas, avoiding experimentation, copying himself, he dies of boredom, of intellectual boredom. Nevertheless, I don’t believe that the material itself determines anything. Architecture is an exercise of the freedom of an architect. Almost nothing is a given. Of course, there is the law of gravity and economic restraints, and even the overwhelming building code. But the most determinant factor is always the freedom of the architect, derived from his mastery of knowledge and culture, and his decision to innovate and to take risks

Dual circular polarized steering antenna for satellite communications in X band

In this work, a dual circular polarized steering antenna for satellite communications in X band is presented. The antenna consists of printed elements grouped in an array. This terminal works in a frequency band from 7.25 GHz up to 8.4 GHz (15% of bandwidth), where both bands, reception (RX) and transmission (TX) are included simultaneously and Left Handed Circular Polarization (LHCP) and Right Handed Circular Polarization (RHCP) are interchangeable. The antenna is compact, narrow bandwidth and reaches a gain of 16 dBi. It has the capability to steer in elevation to 45±, 75±, 105± and 135± electronically with a Butler matrix and 360± in azimuth with a motorized junction.

Ignition conditions for inertial confinement fusion targets with a nuclear spin-polarized DT fuel

The nuclear fusion cross-section is modified when the spins of the interacting nuclei are polarized. In the case of deuterium?tritium it has been theoretically predicted that the nuclear fusion cross-section could be increased by a factor d = 1.5 if all the nuclei were polarized. In inertial confinement fusion this would result in a modification of the required ignition conditions. Using numerical simulations it is found that the required hot-spot temperature and areal density can both be reduced by about 15% for a fully polarized nuclear fuel. Moreover, numerical simulations of a directly driven capsule show that the required laser power and energy to achieve a high gain scale as d-0.6 and d-0.4 respectively, while the maximum achievable energy gain scales as d0.9.

Networks of Polarized Evolutionary Processors as Problem Solvers.

In this paper, we propose a solution to an NP-complete problem, namely the "3-colorability problem", based on a network of polarized processors. Our solution is uniform and time efficient.

Fully 3-wave model to study the hard transition to chaotic dynamics in alfven wave-fronts

The derivative nonlinear Schrödinger (DNLS) equation, describing propagation of circularly polarized Alfven waves of finite amplitude in a cold plasma, is truncated to explore the coherent, weakly nonlinear coupling of three waves near resonance, one wave being linearly unstable and the other waves damped. No matter how small the growth rate of the unstable wave, the four-dimensional flow for the three wave amplitudes and a relative phase, with both resistive damping and linear Landau damping, exhibits chaotic relaxation oscillations that are absent for zero growth-rate. This hard transition in phase-space behavior occurs for left-hand (LH) polarized waves, paralleling the known fact that only LH time-harmonic solutions of the DNLS equation are modulationally unstable. The parameter domain developing chaos is much broader than the corresponding domain in a reduced 3-wave model that assumes equal dampings of the daughter waves