Urban gear: the role of shape in the connection of the city

01 URBAN GEAR THE ROLE OF SHAPE IN THE CONNECTION OF THE CITY MBArch Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB. UPC Student: Juliana García Salas Thesis Advisor: Professor Lluis Ortega 2019-2020 02 03 Contents HISTORY, MEMORY AND PAST OF THE PRISON LA MODELO 2.1 History in relation to the present 2.2 Past and present in architecture 2.3 The past of La Modelo, an era of prosperity for Barcelona 2.4 Materiality and configuration 2.5 Present situation and heritage elements FROM CONTROL SHAPE TO CONNECTION NODE 1.1 The panopticon 1.2 The form 1.3 Transformation of panopticons in new functions 1.4 Reforming the control device from central to radial URBAN NODE: A PUBLIC SPACE FOR INCLUSION 3.1 Connection of nodes as integration of public space 3.2 The building and the context Built elements Green areas and parks Equipments 3.2 Analysis: guidelines to intervene THE GEAR: CATALYST AND ARTICULATOR CONCLUSIONS 4.1 The articulation with the city 4.2 Project proposal 4.3 Gradient order 4.4 The modules 4.5 In between spaces 4.6 Center: Convergence Space Fig 1 Panopticon La Modelo - Josep Maria de Llobet 04 05 The form in the architecture is of fundamental importance, it is not only the container of the spaces, but also the one that establishes a link between the exterior and the interior. The form generates a number of possible relationships and can be static and rigid as well as fluid and with movement. An example that has established a definition of form in architecture is the panopticon, in principle this was conceived as a control device where the prisoners self-regulated their behavior with the internationalization of obedience. In this sense, beyond the creation of a stereotype, the panopticon is configured as a characteristic architectural element. It constitutes a central zone that through its radial organization arranges the different modules and eventually ends up creating a building with a very atypical shape to most of the urban morphologies where it is established. An example of this is the prison La Modelo in Barcelona, which is a representation of the thought of an era, but its architecture has been frozen in the past. This building is one of the most important buildings, since in spite of being a tangible representation of the ideas of Bentham’s panopticon in Spain, it also has a relevant past. In this sense the building acquires a weight in history and has a big symbolic value in two senses: materiality and the memory of what happened there. In the first sense, the building is a representation of a period of strong development for the city as well as having heritage characteristics, such as the shape of the panopticon structure and the architectural and ornamental elements. The other sense of the importance of the past is the weight of recent historical memory, especially in the political reminiscence of the period of Franco’s dictatorship. It is then, when we can see the general panorama of La Modelo prison, a building with a heavy weight in the social memory, but that is completely out of its context. In this sense, the project has an intervention on an urban and project scale. In the first one, the building is configured as an urban gear, which allows the articulation with different points of its context, generating in this way a connection network. As for the scale of the project, the aim is to invert the organization of the panopticon and through a radial disposition exploit the new functions of each module towards the city. The shape of the building as such gives the possibility of generating different interventions, in its modules different functions can be created, the central point is the point of convergence and the intermediate spaces that are generated by the location of the modules are consolidated as areas of connection of the public space with the interior. Key words: form, panopticon, urban connection ,in between spaces. URBAN GEAR The role of shape in the connection of the city Fig 2 Urban gear - Author 06 07 FROM CONTROL SHAPE TO GRADIENT 08 09 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 It is organized radially a central point where the guard was “a universal and constant presence of governor of the establishment”4 and around it in cells were arranged the prisoners. By means of an architectural set, the prisoner could not visualize the guard and therefore his behavior was based on self-regulation. As Foucault says, “the most archaic element of the panopticon is the importance of the gaze.”5 Bentham’s and Foucault’s vision can be differentiated, in the sense that the former imagined the panopticon mainly as a prison, but the latter understood the design as a perfect symbol for modern surveillance societies. Foucault in an interview states that the panopticon creates a technology of power, where the powerful-subdued relationship is diluted through the concealment of the agent of power and the self-surveillance of the subject.6 “The panopticon is the diagram of mechanism of power reduced to its ideal form; its functioning abstracted from any obstacle, resistance or friction, must be represented as a pure architectural and optical system; it is in fact a figure of political technology that may and must be detached from any specific use”7 4 IBID., 75. 5 IBID., 131. 6 IBID., 131. 7 Foucault, Michel. 1977. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. New York: Random House. 205 1.1 THE PANOPTICON The panopticon was developed by Jeremy Bentham who was a fundamental figure in the English philosophical radicalism of the 19th century. “Bentham’s work prefigures the technical elements of government in a democratic society and is perfectly in line with his philosophical ideal definition”, it is based on “the main principles of the functioning of democratic society: social contract, general will, popular sovereignty, liberation, equality of Rousseau.”1 In order to understand the panopticon as a prison, its relevance will be explained in two dimensions: its general characteristics and its architectural development. With regard to the first, it is established as a fundamental basis that “Bentham has not simply imagined an architectural figure destined to solve a specific problem ... he has found a technology of specific power to solve the problems of surveillance.”2 The building moves from being a mere object to being a device that through its materiality creates a mode of political organization3. One of the most important aspects, and why it was conceived, is the relationship between the prisoner and the guard, since it breaks with the stereotype of prisons that had been developing (which was based on punishment) and creates a relationship of omnipresent contemplative power. 1 Bentham, Jeremy, Michel Foucault, and María Jesús Miranda López. 1989. El Panóptico. Madrid: Las Ediciones de la Piqueta. 130. 2 IBID., 11. 3 IBID., 11. Fig 3 The eye that sees everything (2017) - El litoral Fig 4 Surveillance State (2013) - Adam Simpson Fig 5 Plan of the panopticon (1843) - The works of Jeremy Bentham 10 11 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 a. Tower or central inspection b. Principle of the tower’s staircase c. Ring space between the tower and the main building d. Divisions or cells for prisoners e. Main staircase of the building f. Entry g. Gallery It is important to emphasize the ideas of Bentham’s panopticon, he proposed “a circular building, or rather, two buildings fitted into each other. The prisoners’ rooms would form the building of the circumferences with six floors.”12 In the same way, it was considered that “this house of penance could be called Panopticon to express in a single word its essential usefulness, which is the faculty of seeing with one’s eyes everything that is made of it.”13 Bentham in his text The Panopticon proposes some characteristic principles of the Panopticon, of which we want to highlight the following: Circular building or polygon Cells on the circumference for prisoners Immediate galleries around the inspector’s room for sub-inspectors and servants Lattices on the windows of the room and galleries so that the prisoners, not being able to see what is going on inside, are never sure that they are not being watched. Empty space between the cells and the inspection house from top to bottom, covered high by a window and deep by bottom so that all communication is prevented. 12 IBID., 36. 13 IBID., 37. As for the architectural dimension, the panopticon is constituted as the union of different forms that evoke a centrality. “The principle was: on the periphery a circular building; in the center a tower; this appears to be crossed by large windows that open on the inner side of the circle. The peripheral building is divided into cells, each of which occupies the entire thickness of the building. These cells have two windows: one open towards the interior which corresponds to the windows of the tower; and another towards the exterior which lets light pass from one side of the cell to the other. By means of the counter-light effect it is possible to capture from the tower the silhouettes imprisoned in the cells of the periphery projected and cut out in the light.”8 Taking into account these characteristics and its implication that goes beyond materiality, the panopticon ceases to be a prison project and becomes the first example of functional architecture, which in addition to fulfilling a certain use and function has an implication in the society of the time.9 Chapel as a democratic space The focal point of the panopticon is the chapel because it is where the hierarchy and control is established, however besides having this connotation, it is conceived as the place of convergence and union, considering itself as an internal public space. “In the tower of the panopticon power and knowledge are united... guarded space but also space, of coexistence, of work, of instruction and of leisure and affections.”10 The central chapel was destined to set an example, on Sundays a transformation was made by opening the galleries for the public to enter and together with the prisoners, the masses of the priests were officiated.11 Here one can see how this space became a place for the articulation of different activities, a meeting place that dissolved its imposing character and allowed for democratization. 8 Bentham, Jeremy, Michel Foucault, and María Jesús Miranda López. 1989. El Panóptico. Madrid: Las Ediciones de la Piqueta. 130. 9 IBID., 134. 10 IBID., 134. 11 IBID., 41. Fig 6 Chapel of La Modelo - Estudi Històric Model Fig 7 Plan and section of the panopticon (1822) - Jeremy Bentham 12 13 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 1.2 THE FORM The form can be defined as the element that contains a space, meaning it is a built element. This is how during history it has been given special importance to this concept of the built, because it has been part of the evolution of humanity, allowing an endless number of relationships between built objects and man. For this reason it is important to understand this concept from the Greek perspective, “The ancient Greek concept techné, understood as the relational basis for the construction of objects, and medieval ideas of the mechanical arts, which considered built forms as utilitarian objects.”14 Taking into account the above, it is important to emphasize that the shape is the primary characteristic that resembles a volume and that it has different types. In this work we will consider specifically the architectural form, since it is the one that contains the space and allows to give shelter to people. “The architectural form is the point of contact between the mass and the space ... the architectural forms, the textures, the materials, the modulation of light and shadow, the color, everything is combined to infuse a quality or spirit that articulates the space. The quality of the architecture will be determined by the expertise that the designer displays in using and relating these elements both in the interior spaces and in those surrounding the buildings.”15 Consequently, it is important the mere fact of the form itself, such as its inner and outer space, relationship with its environment and the multiple possibilities it establishes with the person. During the development of history, function and form have had a close relationship, but it was not until the 19th century that Louis Sullivan established a fact that marked the definition of this relationship - form follows function - in which he understood function in terms of cultural and social role, where form was explicitly tied to the functions that a building developed within it. However, with the evolution of time this fact defined by Sullivan began to be questioned, and new perspectives were created. An example of this is defined by “modernism sought a new approach, a rational system for determining the relationship between whole and its parts, based on principles derived from the processes of mass production.”16 Within this questioning Farshid Moussavi in her text The Function of Form talks about the competences of the form in which she exposes: “But, if not function, what does form follows? The theorist of modernism and the revisionist who came after them shared three underlying assumptions: first, that society is defined by a unitary culture; second, that physical form must be preceded by a fundamental principle or cause, a cause which is driven by either objective or subjective concerns (the way forms are built and used, or the way are perceived); and third, that form either epitomizes or responds to a single, ideal meaning, identity or possibility.”17 In this sense, the idea of function must be dissociated as a fundamental fact to align the form, and this must not only talk about the fact of building but also about the sensory performance. 14 Moussavi, Farshid, and Lopez Daniel. 2009. The Function of Form. Barcelona: Actar. P 9 15 Bacon, Edmun N. 1974. Design of Cities. Edited by Penguin Books. 16 Moussavi, Farshid, and Lopez Daniel. 2009. The Function of Form. Barcelona: Actar. P 28 17 IBID., P 7. Fig 8 Perception of forms - The form function Farshid Moussavi 14 15 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 In relation to what was said before, the form should not be tied to a single fact, the form should respond to an articulation with the multiple elements that make up a space, both its relationship with the context, its functions, its interior, the materiality, the user and the diverse sensations that are to be generated in it, among others. In this sense, the architectural form cannot be something static in time, since it must evolve as its environment changes. The form must allow a dynamism, without losing its mother essence, it must allow an evolution and an articulation with its environment. This will allow the updating of the city, since it will no longer be possible to find buildings frozen in time and forgotten, but these can allow a new function or a change in their form. One of the most important aspects to highlight are the characteristics of the form, since it is based on shared norms, principles and traditions.18 In the text Note around the Doppler Effect and other Moods of Modernism, which exposes the idea of form, citing an example: “Like Foucault’s “unities form(ing) a number of autonomous, but not independent domains, governed by rules, but in a perpetual transformation.”19 Within this perspective it is relevant to highlight Mies’ vision “according to Mies, form was abstract, devoid of building problems that he was interested in. Mies believed that -it was not the task of architecture to invent form ... it was a question of truth-”20 He understood function in a diachronic way, that is, as an element that evolves over time. Another important aspect within the characteristics of the shape is the relationship between the shape and the environment. Since the form must respond to some requirements from the outside and therefore depends on it for its connection, therefore there must be a relationship between the two elements that separates the form, the interior and the exterior, “the form suggests the reference to the internal structure, to the external contour and to the principle that confers unity to the whole.”21 18 Somol, Robert, and Sarah Whiting. 2002. “Notes around the Doppler Effect and Other Moods of Modernism.” Perspecta 33 (2002) P 75 19 IBID., P 75 20 Moussavi, Farshid, and Lopez Daniel. 2009. The Function of Form. Barcelona: Actar. P 18 21 Ching, Francis D. K. 2002. Arquitectura Forma, Espacio y Orden. 13o editio. México: G. Gili. P 34. Fig 9 Seagram Building Mies Van der Rohe - 375parkavenue.com 16 17 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Within the multiple creations of the forms in architecture, one in particular will be emphasized, for the development of this work, and it is the form of the panopticon. The panopticon, beyond its very relevant meaning as a control device, is important since it establishes a variety of relationships both in its form and with its context. In the first place, if we dissociate the idea of the panopticon as a centralized element and see its potential as a catalyst, we can understand that thanks to its radial organization, the form allows us to create a relationship with the context in which it is immersed, since its modules would work as arms that are anchored to different parts of the context. These modules play a very important role, because by being separated they give the idea that in each one a different function could exist, this leads to a very relevant aspect within its disposition in the space, since they allow the creation of some intermediate spaces, which can be defined by an endless number of possibilities, since it is a space that by being delimited by the edges of the form, it is in a certain way contained, but that is in the outside, therefore its characteristic of relation between the outside and the interior is fundamental. Another important aspect within the possibilities generated by the shape of the panopticon is the idea of the center. As explained above in the function of the panopticon, the center was the space where control and order was generated, but which sometimes fulfilled other functions as a point of convergence and union. It is important to highlight this characteristic as a point of convergence, to define the center as the place where all the functions would converge, it would be the landmark from which the different uses would be exploited and a connection with its environment would be generated. Fig 10 Parts of the panopticon form - Author 30 31 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 2.1 HISTORY IN RELATION TO THE PRESENT The past is a time that sets things aside from the present, thus it is something “that has already happened, a time that places the action, process or state expressed by the verb at a point prior to the moment of speech.”37 It is a configuration of what the present was, since it has so much value and charge that it dictates the actions lived in the instant, so that the past and the present are one and the same. This leads directly to talking about history, which is a “narration and exposition of past events worthy of memory, whether public or private”38 , it is also a “set of events or political, social, economic, cultural, etc., facts of a people or a nation.”39 Therefore, the past is important since it is the place where we came from, it is our roots, our memory and the place where we were formed. In such a way that this space in time has great relevance and respect since it allows us to understand where we come from, we should look back with a nostalgic view towards our traditions and previous generations. However it is not possible to be a slave of what we were, because man will always be in constant evolution and has the duty to create and think ahead, “but that life needs the service of history is something that must be understood as clearly as the thesis that an excess of history harms the living.”40 In some way the past is a bond “a major imposition for decisions and actions taken in the present”41 that prevents us from moving forward and is something that contemporary man must question, cannot be subordinated to the past, however this will always be a constant and cannot be detached from it. Having determined the fact that it is not viable to live tied to the past, it is possible to think about creating, thinking about the future and dreaming, because the future is something uncertain that allows creativity, while the past is a solid element of big weight that ties and limits. Therefore, a balance must be found between forgetting and remembering, between the historical and the ahistorical42. 37 Nietzsche, Friedrich, and Germán Cano. 1874. Sobre La Utilidad y El Prejucio de La Historia Para La Vida (II Intempestiva). Edited by Germán Cano. Madrid: Ed. Gredos. P 23 38 ASALE, RAE. “Diccionario de La Lengua Española - Edición Tricentenario.” https://dle.rae.es/historia. 20/07/2020 39 IBID., 40 Nietzsche, Friedrich, and Germán Cano. 1874. Sobre La Utilidad y El Prejucio de La Historia Para La Vida (II Intempestiva). Edited by Germán Cano. Madrid: Ed. Gredos. P 52 41 IBID., 41. 42 IBID., 45. “It is true that we need history, but we need it in a different way ... This means that we need history for life and for action, although, in reality, not for its comfortable abandonment ... only to the extent that history serves life do we want to serve it” Nietzsche These considerations are taken into account by Nietzsche in his text On the advantage and disadvantage of history for life, where he establishes a trinity of relationships to deal with history (monumental, antiquarian and critical), one should not go to the extremes of each, since they are opposites that can either freeze the past, enlarge it or eradicate it. With this perspective in mind, elements of each should be taken and a scale of gradients created in their use, creating a balance and a middle point depending on the development of their context. In order to understand the above, each form of intervention will be explained in broad terms: - Brings past events that had significant relevance to the present - The major events in history must be modeled - The past deserves to be released to make way for the new - Oblivion makes action possible - Aspire for the past -Respects their traditions, the ancestral customs HISTORY MONUMENTAL CRITICAL ANTIQUARIAN Fig 25 Diagram of consideration on History based on Nietzsche ideasAuthor 32 33 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The scheme shows the theoretical proposal in the intervention of the past and the memory, in this way it is possible to see how it is intended to understand and respect the historical elements that give rise to the creation of an architectural object, but seeks through a modification to articulate it to the context in which it is found together with the urban and social dynamics of the present. This is linked to Nietzsche’s idea of the historical man: “... hence they only look back to, through the consideration of the previous processes up to the present moment, understand the present and learn to desire the future in a more intense way.”43 At the same time, it projects by taking the components that deserve to be preserved not starting from nothing, so it can “use the past as an instrument for life, transforming what happened into new history.”44 The fact of being tied to its context, either historical or present, allows us to have a justification of the actions to be taken and the ideas to be projected. In the same way, we must take into account that every action of the present becomes the past in an immediacy, the future is an undeniable becoming and we must always think about creating something that allows a constant evolution. “When a man who wants to create something big needs the past, he takes possession of it by means of monumental history; who, on the contrary, likes to preserve in the usual and venerable antiquity, takes care of the past as an antiquarian history; and only he who has a need of the present oppressing his breast and wants to throw all that burden out of himself at any price, has a need to criticize, that is, of a history that judges and condemns”45 Taking into account the idea of a link between times (past, present and future), it can be related to the idea of an object that is static and that through time is having different interventions and that with its marks, is leaving traces and indications of what it once was. In this sense, the object will always respond to the aesthetic characteristics of the period in which it was made, but these objects must be dynamic without changing their essence. An example of this is the cave of Altamira that in its interior exposes an artistic expression of the prehistory with some engravings of people who belonged to this time. However, the painting not only shows interventions in this period, evidence of later paintings has been found. This cave is an example of an object that transcends its time and is incorporated into new dynamics, since it generates other types of links that do not involve physical intervention. The fact that the cave is an object of research and a museum generates a link with the present, and because it is so representative and significant, it already forms part of the collective memory and will also become part of the future. 43 IBID., 49. 44 IBID., 46. 45 IBID., 59. Fig 26 Altamira Cave - National Geographic 34 35 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The objects are always related to the environment, they are directly related to the culture and the context in which they are immersed. Within this idea of relationship, the authors Astrid Erll and Ansgar Nünning in their text Cultural Memory Studies present their thesis on the idea of cultural memory. In it they define culture in terms of semiotic anthropology as the composition of three dimensions, which comprise the “social (people, social relations, institutions), material (artifacts and media), and mental aspects (culturally defined ways of thinking, mentalities).”46 Within this, a differentiation must be made equally “between two levels on which culture and memory intersect: the individual and the collective or, more precisely, the level of the cognitive on the one hand, and the levels of the social and the medial on the other.” 47 In connection with this, the author Jay Winter in his text Performing the past, talks about the importance of memory, history and identity, thus stating that “a nation is a set of stories blending together history and memory in chameleon-like ways. ... When performing the past, we never dip our toes in the same stream twice. Rituals and commemorations change their meaning even while appearing to retain an older grammar of remembrance.”48 If memory and reminders are changing, we need objects in our context that generate a questioning of what we once were, which is why architecture plays a fundamental role within this consideration. Memory is a fundamental part of a culture, since it is the one that keeps all those events that have taken place and therefore has a very relevant impact on the present. “For an individual, as well as for a nation, cultural memory is a complex and stratified entity strictly connected not only to the history and the experience of either the individual or the nation, but also to the way in which that very history and experience are read in time, individually and collectively.”49 This is how memories and memories can be perceived in a tangible way in the city, through its architecture. In relation to the above, the conception of the past will always be part of a city, like layers that are superimposed one on the other and that somehow all must coexist in the same context. 46 Erll, Astrid, and Nünning Ansgar. 2008. Cultural Memory Studies. An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. P 4 47 IBID., 5. 48 Winter, Jay. n.d. “Introduction. The Performance of the Past: Memory, History, Identity.” In Performing the Past, edited by Karin Tilmans, Frank Van Vree, and Jay Winter. Amsterdam University Press. P 17. 49 Erll, Astrid, and Nünning Ansgar. 2008. Cultural Memory Studies. An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. P 128 Experience will be demonstrated to matter not so much in terms of what happened in the past but in terms of how we build the past with the future in ways that make for the possibility of becoming different. In other words how we actualize alternative trajectories of living. Erll and Nünning Fig 27 Situation of the Prison La Modelo in a isolated context (1930) - Ajuntament de Barcelona Fig 28 Situation of La Modelo with respect to the city nowadaysAjuntament de Barcelona 36 37 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 This museum is a representation of the union of two times. The buildings to be preserved are grouped in three blocks: the ruins of the Santa Columba church in late Gothic style (1480) was destroyed by the bombing of the Second World War, the chapel of the Virgin of the Ruins (1950) and the chapel of the Sacrament (1956), as well as archaeological remains. 50It was then that Zumthor in his project “highlighted his intention to unite, incorporate and complement each of the existing fragments and pieces while responding to the new use. He did not seek to intensify the historical fractures or eliminate vestiges, but to integrate and protect the old structures.”51 The building is conceived as a space for reflection, where is created a large closed block (which keeps in its facade the walls of the old buildings). The building rises above the archaeological excavation and is aligned with the perimeter of the old church. A monumental interior space is then created for the user to explore and have an intimate approach to art, history and architecture. The use of materials, the light and the disposition of the brick, are key elements in the configuration of this project. “Enigmatic and timeless, the Columba Museum restores with its powerful and inevitable presence the wound of memory. Its crenellated profile and its ceramic filigree canvases seem inseparable from the place and its surroundings. This brick chest, with an air of living architecture, is for now the last page of Santa Columba’s palimpsest, and - as Zumthor likes to recall - it is not the new part of a whole, but one more piece of a new set.”52 50 Navarro Martinez, Virgina. 2010. “El Museo Kolumba: Elogio de La Pieza Ausente.” Proyecto, Progreso, Arquitectura 1. P 2. 51 IBID., P 3. 52 Antonio, José, and Alfaro Lera. 2013. “La Memoria Del Lugar: Kolumba Kunstmuseum” Zarch 1. P 7. 2.2 PAST AND PRESENT IN ARCHITECTURE Kolumba Museum - Germany Fig 29 Facade (2010) - Jose Fernando Vásquez Fig 30 Integration old and new (2010) - Jose Fernando Vásquez Fig 31 Klumba Museum section (1997) - Peter Zumthor Fig 32 Kolumbas Museum First Floor (1997) - Peter Zumthor 38 39 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 This building takes the most representative elements of the Roman constructions and creates a monumental space by reinterpreting the arches. “The high arcades with simple semicircular arches fuse historicity and contemporary design, creating a striking but delicate access to the ruins of one of the greatest cities of the Roman Empire.”53 The space is configured as a modern version of a basilica, with a central space where natural light plays a fundamental role. One of the most characteristic aspects is the use of materials such as brick, which generates a special connection with the ruins, and this is how the architect Rafael Moneo defines it “What moves me about this museum is that all the material really comes from the same site, the whole history of the city is contained in it, it is as if the museum could suddenly offer the synthetic vision of what these lands had been for 2000 years.”54 53 Langdon, David. n.d. “Clásicos de Arquitectura: Museo Nacional de Arte Romano.” Plataforma Arquitectura. Accessed July 18 2020, https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl/766772/clasicos-de-arquitectura-museo-nacionalde-arte-romano-rafael-moneo. 54 Moneo, Rafael. 2003. Elogio de La Luz, Rafael Moneo “Coraje y Convicción.” Produced by TVE. Roman Art Museum - Spain Fig 34 Perspective - James Gordon Fig 35 View of the archaeological basement - James Gordon Fig 33 View of the archaeological basement - Javier Frechilla Fig 36 Axonometry, Pencil on sketch paper - Moneo’s Archive 40 41 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 2.3 THE PAST OF LA MODELO, AN ERA OF PROSPERITY FOR BARCELONA The Barcelona of that time was a city seeking development and growth, at that time there was only one public prison: La Reina Amalia, a convent located in the El Raval neighbourhood which by 1865 was in chaotic condition and was considered “not only an obsolete facility but also a hindrance to Barcelona’s expansionist plans, once the walls containing its urban growth had been demolished.”55 The old prison was in such a terrible state and offered so few guarantees to the prisoners that it made it possible to think about the creation of a new prison for two fundamental reasons: “The first was due to an urban planning priority that reorganized and modernized the capital. The second was due to a current of opinion linked to the Christian Redemptorist movements, which were scandalized by the high rates of poverty and delinquency.”56 Therefore, the prison was to be conceived as a “preventive and penitentiary prison, correctional facility, municipal warehouse, temporary prisoners, homeless people and prisoners under arrest.”57 The prison of La Modelo began its process of development in 1886 under the premises of Bentham’s panopticon and its main objective was the idea of control and surveillance not in an imposed way, but through the idea of a central point “that sees everything” the prisoner punishes himself. 55 Fontova, Rosario. 2010. La Model de Barcelona, Històries de La Presó. Juny 2010. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Justicia. P 242 56 IBID., 238 57 IBID., 242 “Bentham has not simply imagined an architectural figure to solve a particular problem ... he has found a technology of specific power to overcome the problems of surveillance” 58 The project architects Josep Domènech i Estapà and Salvador Viñals formulated a building with a roundabout (control point) and six galleries that were distributed radially and all of them with their eyes focused on the central vigilance tower. However, in addition to this central building, there were other annexed buildings such as the administrative and workshop buildings that fulfilled very important functions in the development of the project. The prison was designed to be located in the northeastern end of the new Ensanche59 , which at that time were the suburbs of the city and was surrounded by crops and country areas, however its inauguration was not until June 9, 1904, 16 years after the creation of the building’s Construction Council60. Its architecture is a representation of conservative values that refer to a scientific and rational architecture inspired by the classical order, far from the ornamental architecture of Modernism, on the contrary, it has a style that imposes solidity. 58 Bentham, Jeremy, Michel Foucault, and María Jesús Miranda López. 1989. El Panóptico. Madrid: Las Ediciones de la Piqueta. P 11 59 Fontova, Rosario. 2010. La Model de Barcelona, Històries de La Presó. Juny 2010. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Justicia. P 236 60 IBID., 254 Fig 37 La Modelo administrative Building - Históries de La Presó Fig 38 Plan of the panopticon (chapel with steps), with its relationship to the different galleries (1886) - Domenech and Viñals 42 43 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The main architect of the prison was Josep Domènech i Estapà who designed several important buildings including the Palace of Justice (which was being built at the same time), where the hearings were held and La Modelo prison was the place where the prison punishments were served. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the evolution of the city was affected in many ways, both in its urban and social growth and in its population increase. This brought with it the increase of people who were on the margins of established behaviours for society and who were considered to be in places that reformed their behaviour. This combined with the fact that the old prison did not provide the conditions to hold many people under its own conditions, led to the creation of the new prison. “The model represented an unquestionable advance, from the point of view of architectural conception and internal organization, and also in the dignification of the prisoners’ living conditions.”61 Within the organization of the Cerdà Plan (who was a member of the Construction Council of La Modelo) and taking into account the period of economic prosperity and development of the city, hospital and educational facilities were thought of in the fabric of housing blocks, but the prison was not considered to be a facility that was part of the city.62 In terms of location, two blocks of Eixample were set aside for its placement (northeast side of it) “The Model is located at one end of the mosaic of blocks, interrupted by buildings intended for public services, which was 61 IBID., 236 62 IBID., 248 designed by Ildefons Cerdà. The Eixample has 51 streets in the direction of the sea and the mountains, which are broken up by the buildings of the University, the Hospital Clínic, the Escorxador and La Modelo”63. At this time the area where the project was located was on the outskirts of the urban perimeter of the city, surrounded by crops and rural areas. This situation of little urban development was maintained for a while, where only small workshops and constructions were created until almost the 1960s.64 After this period the urban development was increasing and since 1975 the prison environment was totally urbanized, keeping the prison immersed in the dynamics of the city that with time generated a discontent in the relationship neighborhood - prison. Today, after the prison functions have stopped, the building arrives to the present time as a frozen element and its architecture shows the development of a flourishing time for the city and in its walls are retained memories of torture and repression. Likewise the building has become a barrier in the urban dynamics, since its imposing walls prevent an articulation that has made the building an atypical element today. The building must recall the past and the events that took place there, but it must be linked to what is happening today as well as thinking about a dynamism that can be adapted to an undeniable future. 63 IBID., 248 64 IBID., 248 Fig 39 Geriatric Building construction - Estudi Històrico-Arquitectònic i Valoració Patrimonial de l ’ Antiga Presó Model Fig 40 La Modelo prison - Históries de La Presó 44 45 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 1995 2017 COMMINTMENT TO CLOSE THE MODEL THE END By this time the development of the city had already evolved enough that the prison was immersed in the urban layout and was surrounded by buildings. The general metropolitan plan of 1976 proposed a free space as an urban park and another part for facilities. At the same time, there were multiple riots in the prison and on July 19, 1977, the rebellion of the Coordinadora de Presos Españoles was developed The “Plan especial de Protección del Patrimonio Arquitectónico” was drawn up, giving the model a level of protection C, establishing the basis for its protection. The following year these changes were approved and the parameters established in the General Metropolitan Plan were modified. The city council has committed itself to preserving some of the buildings and four of the six galleries of the panopticon, which will be put to public and civic use in a setting of green areas and sports facilities. A PROTECTED SPACE The development and creation of new facilities took place with more intensity in the plenary session of the Parliament of Catalonia, which proposed the creation of new prisons that would eliminate centres such as La Modelo. This was due to the fact that at the time of its proposal the building was located on the suburbs of the city, and over time it became part of the urban dynamics that prevented its proper development, since the neighbourhood did not want to have prisoners as neighbours. On 6 October the commission was created to study the transfer of prison facilities to the outskirts of the city. The Generalitat and the Barcelona City Council sign an agreement on 10 January to close the prison. On 8 June 2017, before its 113th anniversary, the prison will be definitively closed. Responding to the requirements of the neighborhood to have a quality public space and move the prison that was unrelated to the context in which it was located. 2000 Beginning of the construction of the prison in the northeast of the new Ensanche with the aim of replacing the Reina Amália public prison in the El Raval neighbourhood, which was intended to accommodate unwanted persons. This period in Barcelona shows a period of urban development that modernized the city. The project was carried out by Josep Domènech i Estapà and Salvador Viñals and was based on the principles of Bentham’s panopticon to create architecture as a way of political organisation and the exercise of control, which would allow the prisoners’ conditions to be dignified, under the principles of a democratic society. START OF WORK 1886 1939 THE MODEL OF REPRESSION It opens on June 9, 16 years after the creation of the Construction Council. The architects were based on the idea of a rational architecture of classical order that also had to reflect the idea of “the moral education of a prisoner” with a restrained appearance and straight lines, in juxtaposition with the era of modernism that reflected an ornamental architecture. The panopticon has a main central volume and 6 radial galleries at its ends, as well as annexed buildings with other functions. THE INAUGURATION THE GENERAL METROPOLITAN PLAN The Franco regime began and La Modelo became a place of reclusion for those who opposed it and became a symbol of antiFranco combat. But it was also a space for study where Marxist and anarchist discussions and ideas were promulgated. Because of this, in addition to the common prisoners there were writers, painters and thinkers who had expressed their opinions freely. During this period there were multiple tortures and attacks on the rights of the prisoners. 1904 1976 Information obtained from the official website https://lamodel.barcelona/es/ 46 47 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 1859 1920 1903 1947 Fig 41 Reform and Expansion Plan for Barcelona by Ildefons Cerdà - Universitat de Barcelona Fig 43 Development of Barcelona 1920 Fig 42 Linking Plan Fig 44 Development of Barcelona 1947 THE PRISON IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BARCELONA 48 49 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Annexed Building Logistic Buildings Workshop Building Panopticon Building Administrative Building Footpath Prison La Modelo Geriatric 2.4 MATERIALITY AND CONFIGURATION The distribution of the prison consisted of an administrative building, a preventive prison and the penitentiary, meaning that besides the central building of the panopticon there were annexed buildings that helped with the operation of the prison. The text La Model de Barcelona Històries de la presò discusses the austere and rigid architectural style with which the project was proposed and quotes the architects in the description of their Memory “We only indicate that in drawing up the alignments that make up the façade we have taken into account the seriousness that should affect a building of this kind and therefore, that the straight line should dominate the whole of it”, as well as reflecting the moral education of the detained 65. The building of the panopticon was made up of a central rotunda that radially distributed six modules each with an organization of two rows of cells and in turn distributed in 4 floors that are communicated by means of galleries. This arrangement and the alveolar system was proposed for the first time in Spain, inspired by the prisons of Lorraine and Brussels “the prisoner left the cell in its respective gallery and entering into the central rotunda was placed in the alveolar chapel composed of a succession of five groups of stands with individual drawers from which they listened to the teacher or the priest at times when common activities were permitted”66. The above-mentioned text describes the distribution of spaces in the prison: “In the entrance, on the ground floor, was the hall. On the right, the janitor’s pavilion. The other was dedicated to magistrates, judges and scribes. On the left, the guardhouse. The front wing was for stables and garage, in the left corner, more rooms for entrance operations, and kitchen and bakery in the right corner. The ground, second and third floors were used as housing for the employees and their families ... The entrance pavilion of the administration was to contain on the ground floor the rooms for the doorman and the guards, the registers, the pantry, the kitchen, the oven, the clothing store and the rooms for the judges, lawyers and prosecutors. The first floor was to house the rooms for the chaplains, doctor, director and administrator, and the other rooms for the second-class employees”67. One of the important aspects to emphasize is the use of simple materials we refer to a “combination of stucco imitating carved stone and exposed brick provided a slight, but sufficient, variety in the exterior color”68. The materials had not been conceived to stand out nor did they obey a desire to show an identity of their own; on the contrary, it is considered that they were chosen to blend in with the surrounding fields. One of the most significant materials is the stone that was extracted from the mountain of Montjuic and that shows a robust and simple style, another material that defined an important relevance is the forge that was incorporated in many of the ornamental elements of the construction and are a memory of a period of important constructive development of the city. 65 Fontova, Rosario. 2010. La Model de Barcelona, Històries de La Presó. Juny 2010. Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Justicia. P 243 66 IBID., 243. 67 IBID., 242. 68 IBID., 243. DISTRIBUTION OF THE PRISON Fig 45 Construction and typology - Pla Director per La Model de Barcelona 62 63 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Starting from the idea of this project to articulate parks or historical points, it is taken as a reference to understand the importance of articulating the landmarks that are distributed in the city, since being isolated they can become disconnected on a macro scale. In this sense, the city’s landmarks should be articulated in different ways in order to provide citizens with an extension of the main functions and to create a network of interconnection. As can be seen in the diagrams of representation, there are some points which, due to different characteristics, have a major impact, but they are still important when it comes to configuring the city. This network that articulates the different nodes must provide a direction towards these and that in its path will generate some particular spatial characteristics that give it a character. The Emerald Necklace was an urban and landscape plan developed in Boston by Olmsted, its main objective was to improve the conditions of the relationship between the city and nature and that they were an example of a positive result that was being lived in the city at that time. Prior to this plan, it had developed some parks and important points of the city that were being dispersed. “The primary purpose of the Park is to provide the best practicable means of healthful recreation for the inhabitants of the city, of all classes. It should present an aspect of spaciousness and tranquility with variety and intricacy of arrangement, thereby affording the most agreeable contrast to the confinement, bustle, and monotonous street-divison of the city”70 From the development that the city the connection between the Back Fens and Jamaica Park was a fundamental point. Another important aspect in addition to the development of these central points was the network of future park links called “parkways” which fulfilled the characteristics of linear parks and landscaped roads.71 The idea of the Emerald Metropolis: “The park plan was bounded by the rock hills - the forest reservations laid out along the ring of hills that surround Boston about ten miles from the State House. The radial spokes of the park system were the three rivers - the Mystic, the Charles, and the Neponset … Parks and parkways were proposed along the rivers” 72 70 Donnell, Patricia O. 1987. “A Process for Parks.” Landscape Architecture Magazine 77 (4): P 57. 71 Austrich, Ricardo. 2003. “Frederick Law Olmsted y El ‘Emerald Necklace’ de Boston.” Urbano 6 (8): P 95 72 Haglund, Karl. n.d. “Emerald Metropolis.” Arnoldia 53 (4): P 5 3.1 CONNECTION OF NODES AS INTEGRATION OF PUBLIC SPACE The Emerald Necklace - United States Fig Nodes network connection - AuthorFig 67 Emerlad Parks 19 Century - Alex Maclean Fig 68 Diagram of the public spaces of the Boston Metropolitan District in 1899 - Olmsted Brothers Fig 69 Linear Connection of Parks - Author 64 65 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 This is one of the most emblematic public buildings in the Eixample, as it breaks with the urban morphology by being arranged in the shape of a cross, reproducing the geometry of Cerdá’s layout. It also achieves the overlapping of the different layers of the city’s history by integrating the remains of the bastion of Sant Antoni into the project, generating respect for the memory and bringing the city closer to these historical events. A large public space is created by exploiting the activities of the market and integrating them with the city. “The recovered triangular courtyards, in addition to facilitating visibility and access to the building, and new supports for complementary activities, create four new public spaces for the city. They are also ideal areas for hosting small-format activities - such as storytelling and other shows -”73 73 Arquitectura, Ravetllat. 2018. “Rehabilitación Del Mercat de Sant Antoni, Barcelona El Renacimiento de La Arquitectura.” Promateriales, 2018.P 17 Mercat Sant Antoni - España Fig 72 Original proposal inclosed shape - Author Fig 73 Explotation of market activities to the city - Author Fig Renovation proposal, shape integrated to public space - Author Fig Integration of Sant Antoni Bastion into the project - Author Fig 71 Mercar San Antoni exterior - Adrià Goula Fig 70 Mercar San Antoni public space - Adrià Goula 66 67 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 3.2 THE BUILDING AND THE CONTEXT Within the urban layout of the city, in the immediate context of the prison, it is possible to see the built density and the few free spaces that this part of the city has of quality public space, space that serves for exchange, integration and social cohesion. In this sense, the shape of the panopticon breaks with the urban morphology and the conservative block of Cerdá and proposes a different type of free space. However, since it is a characteristic of the prison to be walled, it loses all possibility of articulation with the city. In the context in which the prison is immersed, there are certain green points at different scales of impact that are very important for the city. Within the urban scale we can find the Parc de L’Espanya Industrial, Parc de Jan Miró, the Rambla de Josep Terradelles, Av Roma. In an intermediate scale multiple parks and in a closer scale the Jardins de Málaga, Jardins de Safo, Jardins de Montserrat, Escola Industrial and Plaza de Paissos Cantalans. In this way you can see how all these green points are disjointed and require a network connection. Fig 74 Built elements in the context - Author Fig 75 Green areas and parks - Author 68 69 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Among the facilities and possibilities offered by the city to generate spaces that allow social integration, educational, sports and cultural facilities stand out. These can be found within these: Institutes, University of Barcelona, Ramon Llull University, Poliesportiu Municipal de L’Espanya Industrial, Escola Universitaria, Escola Industrial, Hospital Clinic. These nodes are located in different parts of the city and the possibility of achieving their connection, would allow to extend their activities to the city. 3.3 ANALYSIS: GUIDELINES TO INTERVENE There are three main areas of connection that are especially important in this area of Barcelona: education, culture and greenery. This is how these nodes are disarticulated with the potential to create a large urban connection network. This element that connects these points is the shape of the panopticon of the La Modelo prison, which seeks to be an urban catalyst by articulating the three axes of connection and allowing the city to have a great network of articulation. Fig 76 Equipments - Author Fig 77 Analysis guidelines to intervene - Author Park Joan Mirò Jardins de Safo Av Josep Tarradelles Plaza de Caba Jardins de Joan Altisent Jardins de Joaquim Ruyra Jardins de Gaietà Renom Poliesportiu Municipal de l’Espanya Industrial Hospital Clinic Escola Industrial Universitat de Barcelona Institut Emperadir Carles 70 71 THE GEAR: CATALYST AND ARTICULATOR 72 73 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 One of the main characteristics of Barcelona in terms of the development of its public space is the creation of Ramblas or linear public spaces that have the capacity to be landmark connectors, in addition to generating quality public space for the population. This is why the project’s main objective is to be an urban connector, due to the shape of the building its modules can be considered as arms that extend the functions towards its context, generating an articulation not only of the building with the city, but of the city itself. In this way, the project aims to be a piece within the gear that forms the complete system of the city, within which multiple networks should be created to generate a whole system. The project not only responds to an urban scale, within the neighborhood scale, and thanks to the opening of the interior space of the prison, it is possible to generate connectivity with the neighborhood and create spaces that allow the population to generate social dynamics. The project creates a large public space on the first floor, which articulates the panopticon building with the other two surrounding buildings and their context. In this way, it responds to the needs of the neighborhood and creates spaces that range from public and open to more dense and private spaces on the other floors. One of the most important characteristics is that the building maintains those elements that make it part of the heritage. But the most important thing is that the characteristic shape of the panopticon is preserved. This shape generates multiple possibilities for intervention, both in its radial form (to achieve urban connectivity), development of different functions in each one of its modules, intermediate spaces as points of convergence of nearby functions and finally the center as a meeting area for functions. In this way the organization of the functions and its architecture is generated in a radial way, where the center is the point of convergence and as the building evolves more specific functions are created (corresponding to the main function of that module). The concepts of radiality and gradation are fundamental in the conception of this project, which seeks to bring the building to the present and through a dynamic proposal, articulate itself with its context. 4.1 THE ARTICULATION WITH THE CITY Fig 78 Urban proposal - Author 74 75 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 4.1 PROJECT PROPOSAL Fig 79 Urban proposal (Project Scale) - Author 0 10050 250 76 77 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 One of the most important aspects of the project is the idea of connectivity, fulfilling its objective of being an urban gear. Therefore, the ground floor which is the one that has immediate relation with the public space is of major importance, that is why some holes were created that allow such articulation, besides the fact of expanding the space and creating free zones where the users can appropriate the spaces. The diagram shows the possible pedestrian connectivity within the project, where the movement is multidirectional and articulates with the different nodes, in addition to its immediate context. The project is designed to have a free first floor, where the spaces are dynamic and adapt to the requirements of the people, as well as allowing a meeting between them. As for the proposed functions, the objective was to link the axes of urban connectivity with the project, that is why each module responds to its axis, that is: education, culture, green. This gives the possibility to have different uses in the same project and that thanks to the form, they are delimited in each module. Despite being distant, as the uses are closer to the center, they have characteristics of being mixed. In this sense, the center is considered as the point of convergence of the functions, going from the most mixed and common to the specific in each module, radially. The delimitation of the uses in the modules gives the possibility of being able to articulate them with the outside, in this sense the space between the modules (understood as intermediate space) is configured as the union between the two corresponding functions. Fig 80 Urban Connectivity - Author Fig 81 Function in the modules - Author EDUCATION GREEN CULTURE 78 79 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Fig 82 Base Plan Project (Neighbourhood Scale) - Author 0 25 50 100 80 81 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Fig 83 Section A - Author Fig 84 Section B - Author B B’ AA’ 94 95 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Fig 97 Formal intervention education Module 6 - Author Fig 101 Formal intervention education Module 3 - Author Fig 99 Formal intervention green Module 1 - Author Fig 98 Formal intervention green Module 4 - Author Fig 100 Formal intervention culture Module 2 - Author Fig 102 Formal intervention culture Module 5 - Author 96 97 Fig 103 Interior Project View - Author 98 99 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Fig 104 Distribution Scheme, Sonsbeekpaviljoen - Aldo Van Eyck 4.5 IN BETWEEN SPACES “... A place of transition between the building site and the outside space, natural or urban, the expansion of one over the other, the more or less subtle gradation between the public and the private, the collected and the expansive and the light.”75 The space is delimited by a materiality, by generating it the internal space is created and automatically the relation with the context that surrounds it, in this sense the space that is generated between the constructed thing and the external space is considered like an intermediate space.“Every building creates two spaces at the same time: interior and exterior space.”76 In relation to the above, three fundamental elements can be understood: the whole, the parts and the connection, this is how Richard Lo explains it “space can be seen as the overall image, space is the “Whole”: which is a result of the relationship between inside and outside. Inside and outside supply the “parts”, while openings make the “connections” the “whole”, is an appreciation of the duality of their complementary characters.”77 Taking into account the previous he stablishes a formula Whole = Part + Connection + Part. The exterior space has a direct relationship with the building since it can be an extension of the uses and activities of the interior, where the building becomes an exterior or the other way around. We must break with the pattern of defining a public space and a private one, because by generating a gradation between this connection a whole is created, that beyond creating a building, achieves to create a quality public space. Therefore, the skin that contains the internal space must have specific characteristics being permeable, allowing the bond. An example of this is the Sonsbeekpaviljoen made by Aldo Van Eyck for the V International Sculpture Exhibition, where one of the main objectives was to create an ephemeral structure that would house various sculptures. Among the characteristics of this pavilion, one of the most important is the creation of the intermediate spaces “its continuity will be interrupted to make room for a series of apse-shaped protuberances, as well as four doorway openings”78 where spaces are created in accordance with the use and which break with the idea of transit, creating spaces of permanence, this composition that seems to be simple, is more than anything multiple, generating new connections, references and visual relations. This is how its creator explains it: “I decided that the new pavilion should have something of the closeness, density and complexity of the urban, that it should in fact be like a city, in the sense that people and artefacts inevitably meet, converge and clash there.”79 The relationship between the city and the building is established in these intermediate spaces, being their articulator, they must have a smaller scale character when relating to the building and a larger scale when relating to the city. Therefore, he must understand the environment in which he is immersed, its history and dynamics in order to appropriate them and generate a project that is articulated with his environment and allows it to have a unique character. “The relation between inside and outside, which is the first aspect of objective space, shows that spaces have various levels of extension and surrounding.”80 75 Arrese, Àlvaro. n.d. Manual de Proyecto Antirrecetario Básico. 76 Zevi, Bruno. 1993. Architecture AS Space. Edited by Da Capo Press. 77 Lo, Richard. 1986. Between Two Worlds: The Window and the Relationship of inside to Outside. Edited by Victoria University of Wellington. 78 Sonntag, Franca Alexandra, and Ricardo Montoro Coso. 2019. “Ephemeral Narrative Structures. Resonances and Echoes of the Sonsbeek Pavilion by Aldo van Eyck in the Hanover Pavilion by Peter Zumthor.” Zarch, no. 13: 120–35. P 7 79 IBID., P 7 80 Norberg - Schulz, Christian. 1980. Genius Loci: Towards a Phenomenology of Architectue. Edited by Rizzoli. 100 101 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 In terms of the characteristics of form of these spaces, they depend on the disposition and orientation of the elements by which they are contained, in this sense in addition to the linkage in terms of uses, there is a linkage in terms of form. The above can be seen in Ching’s explanation of the spaces linked by a common one: “Two spaces which are separated by a certain distance can be linked or related to each other with the help of a third space, which acts as an intermediary. The relationship that unites the first two derives from the characteristics of the third, to which they are linked by a common nexus ... The form of the intermediate space is a function of the forms and orientations of the spaces to be linked or related”.83 83 Ching, Francis D. K. 2002. Arquitectura Forma, Espacio y Orden. 13o editio. México: G. Gili. “By understanding the nature of inside and outside space, and how the connection being the in-between affects their relationship, we are able to appreciate how a building satisfies the innate human need for shelter. This need is what leads us to the space which is known as the inside, the outside is what causes the need for this space, and it is the connection – the in-between, which allows one to establish a relationship between the two. It is through the implementation of a boundary and a connection that ultimately has the ability to turn a space into a place.”81 The intermediate spaces can have the capacity to be the result of the functions of the interior, however they must also be spaces that people appropriate by acquiring different characters depending on their use. The city must have places that are dynamic, that are not chained to the present, but that always allow an evolution towards the new uses that the city always brings with its variations. An example of this is the Children’s center for psychiatric rehabilitation proposed by Sou Fujimoto, where different volumes are created with multiple functionalities that according to their location allow the creation of intermediate spaces “it is a space with no specific function, children can play in it like the primitive man who interprets landscape freely and lives in it at his ease … Being separated and being connected are compatible. It may be said that there is no center here and, conversely, that there are countless centers. They are ‘relative centers’ that always interact and change according to the will of those who are there or the condition of the light. For the children, the living room, a single room or an alcove might be the center. The occasional center is found in the fluctuation of space.”82 81 Lo, Richard. 1986. Between Two Worlds: The Window and the Relationship of inside to Outside. Edited by Victoria University of Wellington. 82 Fujimoto, Sou. n.d. “Children’s Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Hokkaido.” El Croquis. P 38 Fig 105 Distribution Scheme, Children’s center for psychiatric rehabilitation - Sou Fujimoto Fig 106 Building ground floor plan, Children’s center for psychiatric rehabilitation - Sou Fujimoto Fig 108 Diagram perspective of spaces linked by a joint one - Francis Ching Fig 107 Diagram plan of space linked by a joint one - Francis Ching Fig 109 Diagram form of the intermediate space - Francis Ching 102 103 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Timayui kindergarten is composed of flower-shaped modules, each with three arms (which contain the program) and a central courtyard. The idea is to create three interrelated centralities that allow for the creation of situations and experiences between children, teachers and people in the community. These modules can be interconnected in different ways creating a chain system, which configures not only the inter-connector space (yard) but also external connection spaces. The interior spaces have functions at the scale of the project, where different uses are proposed such as: assembly, art corner, shadow and light corner, reading, writing, construction, among others. One of the main characteristics of the project is the indetermination, proposing a modular system that opens the possibility of reproducing itself according to the needs of the community, multiplying the uses that were originally planned. The proposed distribution of the modules creates spaces that are not functionally defined, allowing the community to appropriate them according to their needs.84 84 Arquitectura, Plataforma. n.d. “Escuela Preescolar Para La Primera Infancia / Giancarlo Mazzanti.” Accessed July 29, 2020. https://www.plataformaarquitectura.cl/cl/02-135109/escuela-preescolar-para-la-primera-infanciagiancarlo-mazzanti. The three-pointed star, as this building is known, is made up of a group of buildings with different functions. The main building due to its form creates some intermediate spaces that according to its location fulfill a different function, for example in the main entrance a square is created that responds to an urban scale, which generates an access of major monumentality. Other functions are proposed in the other two spaces that have smaller scale functions. Other buildings are located within the complex, so it is important to highlight the spatial and urban relationship that is created between the whole complex, relating different spaces, with different uses responding to the needs of each immediate use. UNESCO Building - France Timayui Kindergarten - Colombia Fig 112 Base Plan UNESCO Building Fig 110 Form UNESCO Building Fig 113 Intermediate Spaces - Giancarlo Mazzanti Fig 111 UNESCO Building Perspective - Francis Ching Fig 114 Base Plan - Giancarlo Mazzanti 104 105 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 Fig 116 In between space education and green - Author Fig 117 In between space cultural and green - Author Fig 118 In between space cultural and educational - Author Taking into account the characteristics of the intermediate spaces both in their theoretical part and in their application in architecture, it is important to highlight the intermediate spaces in the project. The shape of the panopticon due to the distribution of its modules in a radial way, creates some intermediate spaces that give the possibility of generating different areas, in each one of the interstitial spaces. These spaces are in the first place the combination of the two functions of the modules that conform it, this means, an intermediate space can be the combination between the green axis and the educational one, in this way each space takes a unique characteristic, which is translated as much in its design as in its use. Among the functions proposed in the project for these intermediate spaces are outdoor exhibition spaces, areas appropriate for the generation of knowledge, and living areas. One of the main characteristics is to generate favorable conditions to stimulate social dynamics. These spaces in the project have the capacity to function as spaces that are not entirely public, since as they are contained they have different spatial characteristics. In this sense, the relationship generated between the interior and exterior of the building through the intermediate spaces is very important, but also the connection of these spaces with the city and the public space. As for its radial design, one of the objectives was to blur the edge of these intermediate spaces and link it to the public space gradually. IN BETWEEN SPACES IN THE PROJECT Fig 115 Modules functions in the in between spaces - Author 106 107 Fig 119 Project view: The modules and the relation with the in between spaces - Author 108 109 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 4.6 CENTER CONVERGENCE SPACE Within the configuration of the panopticon, as explained in the first chapter, the center is the most important point within its configuration, since this is where the control tower was located and where self-punishment was generated, since everything was based and focused on this point. However, it was an authoritarian place and did not allow interaction between people except on Sundays, when prisoners were taken out and masses were held, allowing other people to enter. Bearing this in mind, one of the main objectives in the development of this space is to be able to highlight that historical moment where the chapel served as a point of convergence and to be able to transfer it today as the point of union. The center went from being the focal point in a central distribution to a focal point in a radial one, in this sense the center is the densest point in terms of social interactions, that is why it is configured as space where the union of the three functions takes place. Within its spatial development, this space was thought of as a square, a wide space with an element of water in the middle that interrupts the circulation from one module to the other and allows the generation of different flows. The water element goes from being a simple ornament to becoming an element that, through the reflective property of water, allows the multiple heritage elements that make up this central point to be reflected. Fig 120 Center proposal, perspective - Author 110 111 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 CONCLUSIONS The project aims to break with the idea of the panopticon and its use as a prison, it seeks to bring the building back to the current context and link it to the social dynamics that correspond to it. In this sense, the form plays a fundamental role, since it has the capacity to generate multiple variations in each of its parts, to create the center as a point of convergence and some intermediate spaces that can articulate, this without breaking with the essence of what the building once was, since this is a fundamental part of the collective memory. The city must be created on layers, each one showing the past, linking with the present, and being prepared to adapt to the future. The development of this thesis, not only is configured as the creation of a mere architectural project, it also has a work in theory analysis and case studies that not only help to support the projected ideas but also gave the opportunity to expand the panorama and have new ideas. Nowadays the way of doing architecture has been based on finding aesthetically pleasing forms that could be placed like sculptures anywhere, this has generated a disarticulation of architecture with its context. In this way, the research developed in this thesis is of considerable value because it opens up a way of creating architecture, it is a method that seeks to be based on real foundations, not only in a general way, but in every detail of the project. For me as a student it was very valuable to find this method of design, since it opens the mind to a number of gradations that architecture has and allows you to have a panorama that takes you out of the comfort you know and exposes you to a wide world. 112 113 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 The Contemporary Project MBArch ETSAB UPC Urban Gear The role of shape in the connection of the city Juliana García Salas 2019-2020 BIBLIOGRAPHY Erll, Astrid, and Nünning Ansgar. 2008. Cultural Memory Studies. An International and Interdisciplinary Handbook. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Moussavi, Farshid, and Lopez Daniel. 2009. The Function of Form. Barcelona: Actar. Chul Han, Byung. 2012. La Sociedad Del Cansancio. First edit. Argentina: Herder. Bacon, Edmun N. 1974. Design of Cities. Edited by Penguin Books. Blanchot, Maurice. 1992. L’espace Littérarie. Paris: Librairie Gallimard. 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