the ‘cerro del obispo lookout point’, also referred to as the ‘pilgrim’s column’, by christ & gantenbein is now complete in cerro del obispo, mexico along the ruta del peregrino. one of the nine landmarks along the 117 kilometer journey from ameca to the shrine of the holy virgin of talpa in talpa de allende, this single tower of concrete rises above the craggy mountainscape. positioned upon the 2,000 meter high peak of cerro del obispo, the monolithic form takes on a bone-like shape. the undulating footprint is extruded into a 26.55 meter tall structure.
image © iwan baan (also main image) | all images courtesy of christ & gantenbein
visitors enter through a single small entrance to find daylight filtering downwards from the open roof. light enters the amoeba-shaped skylight and is diffused on the surface of the concrete walls, ultimately gathering on the floor. four protrusions which form the exterior’s shape become rounded contemplative corners.
a white monolithic tower rises above the wooded landscape
image © iwan baan
perched upon the 2,000 meter high peak of cerro del obispo
image © iwan baan
site plan
entire ruta del peregrino
image © mario vasquez
project info:
title: cerro del obispo lookout point
location: cerro del obispo
state: built
architects: christ & gantenbein
team: emanuel christ, christoph gantenbein, andrea sauter, jennifer schmachtenberg, kai timmermann
title of the whole project: pilgrim’s route
client: secretary of tourism of jalisco; secretary of tourism aurelio lopez rocha
program: pilgrim’s route masterplan
location: from ameca to talpa de allende, jalisco, mexico.
curatorial team: tatiana bilbao and derek dellekamp
masterplan and project coordination: tatiana bilbao, derek dellekamp and rozana montiel
research team: rozana montiel/periférica, adiranne montemayor, carlos zimbrón
invited architects: luis aldrete / luis aldrete | arquitectos (mexico), tatiana bilbao / tatiana bilbao s.c. (mexico),
derek dellekamp / dellekamp arquitectos (mexico), alejandro aravena / elemental (chile), emanuel christ and christoph gantenbein / christ & gantenbein (switzerland), tilo herlach, simon hartmann, simon frommenwiler / HHF architects (switzerland), rozana montiel / periférica (mexico), ai weiwei / fake design (china)
invited designers: godoylab (industrial), omar orlaineta (graphic), toa taller de operaciones ambi- entales (environmental)
ARCHITECTURE IN MEXICO (374)
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Jan 07, 2021CHRIST & GANTENBEIN (3)
OBSERVATORY ARCHITECTURE AND DESIGN (111)
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Nov 13, 2020RUTA DEL PEREGRINO (9)
Sep 23, 2012
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Mar 23, 2011
Jun 16, 2010
Mar 19, 2009PRODUCT LIBRARY
Jan 25, 2021
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This IS tangible, rcvs1. And beautiful, a bit mystical. It urges the eye upward. And once inside it draws the spirit out to fill the amorphous shape, a shape that could well be that of the spirit itself, and gives it escape toward the heavens. A fine place to spend one’s last moments. P.S. Note value judgment in ‘squalor’ — these are shops, not houses, and they sell trinkets, surely.
Ridiculous. I love the counterpoint that the surrounding squalor provides.
Leave it to religion to spend money and energy on something like this.
Only the church would see nothing wrong in this.
This is offensive.
Do something tangible for the people.
Is it a phallic vagina or a vaginal phallus? I can\’t decide. I\’ll ask my shrink.
I kinda like it! The interior is super introspective and the space created is pretty amazing!! The exterior does look a bit Braziliaish… as richard wrote. It does create an effective route marker, giving pilgrims a point of reference. I think it would have been more effective with a way to climb up, and actually have more interaction both with the structure and surrounding landscape, but that’s just my opinion. I actually like the diagrams and presentation even more than the form itself!!!
what on earth is it doing there? Looks like it should be in Brasilia. Put the politicians in there before an important vote! Good grief what is a pilgrim going to get out of sitting inside a concrete tube in that wooded landscape! Its bloody ridiculous. Why spoil natural landscapes when there is no need to impress the flora and fauna? Do you think a pilgrim is going to be impressed with this toilet? You have failed architecture class project 1st year.