tectonic traces

barcelona summer semester_512 options studio_summer 2013

studio critics: Adrian Luchini, Elena Canovas, and Anna Puigjaner

animation

The project began with intuitive, experiential tracings of a public square in the Ciutat Vella area in Barcelona. The site had been cleared in the early nineties in conjunction with the city's Olympic preparations with the intention of reducing density through new public spaces surrounded by modern housing. Despite near constant use by the neighborhood, the site retains an awkward adolescence, defined more by its patrons and activities than by its urban form. Using a stop-motion method of animation, I attempted to "ghost" in the surrounding existing conditions into the site, using the site's concrete boundaries as visible traces. Areas of accumulation suggested prime areas of occupation. The music, commissioned for the project, is by my good friend and composer Johan Carøe. 

 landscape collage

These traces initially brought to mind the bollards that line the narrow streets of the Ciutat Vella. Pedestrians freely occupy the entire street, which is often one level. When cars are present, they retreat to the area defined by the bollards. Simple posts form a porous boundary, protecting the pedestrians and adding a tectonic rhythm to the otherwise labyrinthian grid. 

study model

The initial traces became a tectonic element, first as vertical posts, organizing the site in plan while horizontal elements form structures for shade and enclosure. 

site plans 

The program includes flexible exhibition space, a small administrative office, public restrooms, and a 10 bed hostel. I tucked the "conditioned" program spaces, the hostel, restrooms and offices, on an abandoned corner lot where a building was recently condemned and demolished. The open exhibition or performance space occupies the largest area on the ground floor with a second mezzanine level. The connecting stair is a series of small platforms that seem to float within the light structure and can be occupied like a piece of urban furniture. Vertical, rotating screens protect the outdoor space from wind and rain and provide a surface for display or projection. They are also used as a sunscreen for the enclosed program as well as for privacy. 

 plans (click through) 

  sections (click through) 

assembly axons  (click through)

renderings (click through)