Tutors:

Willy Muller
Hernan Diaz Alonso
Maite Bravo

International Jury Board:

Manuel Gausa - IAAC Dean
Areti Markopoulou - MAA Director – IAAC
Reiner Zettl - University of Applied Arts Vienna
Neil Leach - University of Southern California
Mario Corea - Mario Corea Arquitectura
Peter Trummer - University of Innsbruck
Maria Sisternas - Ajuntament de Barcelona
Glòria Viladrich - Ajuntament de Sant Adrià de Besòs
Juli Mauri - Ajuntament de Montcada i Reixac
Miquel Roig - Ajuntament de Santa Coloma de Gramenet
Antonio Alcarcón - Gerent Consorci del Besòs
Joaquim Calfí - Consorci del Besòs
Jordi Mas Herrero - Regidor de Territori de Santa Coloma de Gramenet

 

How important are inputs from other fields, such as biology, to architecture? And how can we apply “organs” from these fields in order to discover or reinterpretate the way in which architecture operates?

It’s all about particles, flows, intensities, gradients as well as shape, function and aesthetics that can be extracted and applied to an architectural project. However, it is indispensable to apply a technical layer, where all the material imported from other fields adapts in order to deal with the usual architectural and urbanistic purposes, like dwelling, public space, offices and all the functions that a city generates.

The main point of the “Body without organs”, by Gilles Deleuze, refers to the fact that everything that can be understood as an “organ”, can be used or reconceived for another purpose. It’s all about particles, flows, intensities, gradients… and architecture is one of the fields where all these concepts could be developed: how can we apply “organs” from other fields in order to discover or reinterpretate the way in which architecture operates?

 Beside this philosophical aspect, the relation between architecture and biology could be something pretty fruitful, as long as the translation between shape, function and aesthetics can be established. The study of the muscles has been capital in terms of shape exploring  and its application in the middle of the city represents a total renovation of the old urbanistic soul.

The case study of interest of this project is how to create a dense city in a situation of infrastructural nodes, producing waste of space, called junkspaces. This kind of situation is analyzed in terms of vehicular and pedestrian movement, program and activity.

The  final design of the project is developed according to the form and the spasms of the muscles which were  previously analyzed. The connection grows in stages, with a lot of different episodes happening, from filaments representing the stretched muscles to an intense moment of contraction of the mass, as well as of the program taking place inside.