The urban void as an intimate dimension and slow biological rhythm against the condition of acceleration that pervades the metropoli. The project speculates on the concept of emptiness as permeating definition of the postmodern society and the prospect of its exploitation not for capitalistic or social-oriented purposes, but for an emotional- driven experimentation apt to define the role of the urban gap as a self-generative space made of environmental matter able to stimulate and respond to the emotional level of its users, preserving at the same time the proportional detachment of the urban void within the city and its functional absence.

The pulsative rhythm is data flow that generates space through local materials such as sand, bacteria and water. Bacteria fueled with urine collected from the users merge grains of sand together in shaping a formal catalogue that, emerging from the ground and the concrete ruins, evolves and responds within the users experiences. Water is pumped and spread in form of liquid or gas in order to affect the pulse coherence. The site is a constantly-mutating landscape made of dunes, oasis, enclosed sandstone shells and atmospheres.

Students

Luca Gamberini

Ryan Christoffer Chua

Atessa Zandi Mofrad

Tutors

Pablo Ros

Willy Muller

Hernan Diaz Alonso

Introduction

The project aims to create the first instance of human consciousness of the importance of our environment and being more specific, air conditions.

The proposal of the green area but not in the cliched sense but to consider to be the solution to the problems of the cities, but the green area as a natural machine which absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen from analysis of this problem and a proposal that not only pretends or tries to be a radical solution but an international model that attempts to address the problems of pollution and increases the importance of the existence of oxygen on our planet in direct relation with the self occurs and quality of human life.

G a s  Means …

We define the gas, not only as a visual element but is understood as a state and proposes green, active area and working as a machine that absorbs carbon dioxide and produce oxygen through photosynthesis, for us the gas is in this natural perspective machine.

Barcelona´s  G A S

 Barcelona, like almost cities has had a linear growth over time, from its beginnings in the fourth century  being Barcino until this day where we can see this common process occupying the gray above the green, The city eating the nature.

We propose an hypothesis based on the first “choking” that resulted in the Cerda´s plan  and we stand 100 years later.

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Results

The following graphs analyze the number of square meters per person in barcelona, finding a critical condition in some of the districts, barcelona has a mountain colserolla to be included in this measure would not be not even in the global average.

Through a system of sensors we set equally measure the amount of oxygenation and harmful particles (contaminacino) in the air.

Master Plan

The intervention area is between Vallbona, Sierra Marina Colserolla and by connecting these with Besos river.

Vallbona decided to choose as a starting point and still is connected to the vector of the river which is an element that is in a state isolated despite having the potential and qualities to be an influential element besides urbanely, in a space that contains a fluid culture, art, sports etc. .. our idea begins to propose a space / building that can connect these 2 elements (Vallbona, Besos River) and create a new circuit.

GOAL

The city of Barcelona is in this state of “choking” and Vallbona element contains the oxygenator, the GAS, the intention is to multiplcar this element oxygen creating a machine which in turn interacts with the city through real-time data and in this way sends emergency gas.

Form Finding

This machine finds its form and function in the most powerful machine of nature, the tree, the translation is interpreted in a structural system and the same systematic way.

How it work

Finding the way through this translation of the shaft system, our “machine” works as follows:

1 -. Territorially /
Creating vector through the river that is in a state of isolation, a final and continuity of this, finding this circuit and reason to continue the path towards a final revalued by these elements.

The machines placed Besos area on the map of barcelona, becomes a new magnet where the city grows to her and not concentrated in existenes elements we already know.

The adaptation to the topography responds to respect the environment in which not only puts above the environment.

2 -. Systematically /

Circulations
The main circulation is vertically placing all this new “program” in a different scale of the territory.

Production Oxygen / Carbon Dioxide Absorber
The production of oxygen is created through the reproduction of trees in content the same structure which becomes a living structure that takes the underground resources (h2o) to each mezzanine transporting and feeding the oxygen-producing elements (trees ).

Structure
The structure of the building is covered with bioceramic which through the titanium dioxide converts NOX gaseous state to solid state reacting with solar energy, with the rain which leads to the basement now being NITRATOS.

Between this structure a structured meso bioceramic material that would be the artificial CO2 sensor is proposed.

3 -. Results /

Program
Being a closed system an ecosystem which proposes a basad as cultural and sports activities to production inputs program is created.

Hyperbaric Cam
The intent of this new “ecosystem” is to create a “natural hyperbaric cam” where levels of oxygenation are at the highest point.

Real Time Stratergy

Through real-time data and a proposed “drones”, the machine receives information for the state of the city and attack critical points of contamination particles (we took the NOX and CO2) and oxygenating later.

FORM

” Lets think of buildings as trees and the cities as a Forest”

Special Thanks to Gonzalo De la Cámara and Maite Bravo 

How can we transform POLLUTION into a CELEBRATION? Welcome to Acoustic Ecology:

Our project reacts to the fact that throughout the years cities have been designed taking sound as a negative environmental factor. On the other hand we use sound as a parameter of design we experiment with different morphological urban patterns in Santa Coloma that are interactive to real time data.

Each component in our landscape has a specific function according to the zoning, using sound as an ABSORBER, DEFLECTOR, and RECORDER which react to sound and blends with landscape in between this post-industrial neighborhood. This representation gives an overall understanding of how the acoustic ecology hacks the industrial area with the different zones of intervention according through the zoning and sound mapping. As a result the landscape is piercing through the industrial area, at the same time that acts like a connector.

From now onwards we insist this invisible layer will also be a priority before designing a city.  Its effects are as not invisible as its nature itself, but everyday there will be new sounds  that will create new adaptive and interactive structures.

PART 1

“CONNECTIVITY”
Santa Coloma de Gramenet is a city in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the south-east side of the Litoral range, with the Puig Castellar (299 m) as its highest point; on the left bank of the Besòs River the municipalities of Sant Adrià de Besòs and Badalona separate it from the coast.

Santa Coloma has won a lot of awards with respect to sustainability and is quite successful as a city as 80 % of the residents walk within the city. There is an EVIDENT disconnection between both these sides and we started to investigate this issue.

“INDUSTRY”

Industries have always been a part which is designed along the outskirts of the city to avoid interaction with the city.

Due to the urban sprawl along the years in Barcelona the industries have been in the same location and the residential areas have been made around them.

In SANT ANDREU certain manufacturing industries have gone into a decline due to various economic factors including the development of replacement technology or the loss of competitive advantage. They were a heavy duty industry which have been converted along the years to suit the surroundings of the site but has not been able to fit in.

The environment of this industry is not habitable for the pedestrians or for the residential area around it

This became the starting point for a series of urban and spatial zones that occupy and transform the existing grid structure of the post-industrial neighbourhood and converting them into a new ECOLOGY shaped by street noise and other urban sounds.”

We want this soundscape to function responsibly for its surrounding neighbourhoods, as well as for the industries.

Contemporary situational movements such as the makers revolution, do-it-yourself projects and social media integration have re-invented the paradigm of social production, bringing into question the added value of the top-down intelligence of architects. This project enforces that the role of the architect is not becoming obsolete, but that it is changing in coherence with the shift towards this model of distributed intelligence.

[Re]phemeral refers to an architecture which is based in ephemerality and collective intelligence. The architecture of [re]phemorality exhibits the capacity to respond to live data recorded through temporary installation, thus defining a participatory urbanism whose functional manifestation is a reflection of the constantly changing dynamics of the future city.

Video from the final term presentations of RS-I: Emergent Territories / Radical Region on June 20th, 2014

Bon Pastor Case Study

The Bon Pastor neighborhood in Barcelona acts as a platform for discussing the future of socially, politically and geographically marginalized communities. Successive rapid urban transformations have created a disparity between what they require of their city and what the city requires of them. Uniqueness leads to alienation, and strong identity to conflict with governing bodies.

What emerges are the decaying ruins of street life, and patterns of low education and skill level, poor environmental consciousness, recreation and health. This condition is an exemplary case of social exclusion, and will never be remedied through the strictly top-down approaches of gentrification. When viewed holistically through the contrasting lenses of city officials and Bon Pastor residents, it is clear that this social exclusion is directly tied to the architectural and cultural history of the site, highlighting a fundamental question in contemporary architecture: how can future cities integrate the social consciousness and cultural identity of a place the into the processes which change and morph them? To answer this question, the project follows five conceptual lines through which to derive a new urban typology for social inclusion in architecture.

Impermanence

Temporailty reflects the developmental grey zone which engulfs the Bon Pastor district, and its unclear future. The continued displacement of the people introduces new conditions under which the shared values of the community can be utilized for inducing collaboration

Connectivity (new digital media)

The community values present in Bon Pastor are a result of environmental, political and social conditions which have developed over time. New forms of digital connectivity can harness the power of the collective into shared vision

Production

In this case, production is defined as quantified uniqueness, and increased social welfare through the means of universal participation. The option of combining individual strengths for community benefit can be explored through implementation of new urban strategies

Physicality

Attachment to the physical introduces the dichotomy of subjective and objective ownership. This condition directly relates to both public space usage and responsibility

Real-Time Feedback

This concept simply refers to the shortening of the time loop for information. This is a platform emerging in new urbanism, and can introduce possibilities for an integrated social architecture program

Urban Toolbox 

The new Urban Toolbox is a social architecture platform and typological  injection into the  fabric of the future city, also thought of as the ‘centre for emergent social behavior’. It’s intention is to be the receiver of real time data received through the installation of smart building components as ephemeral objects, structures and enclosures in the public space. Interaction with the Toolbox will be made possible through new digital interfaces such as mobile devices and public displays

The purpose of  Toolbox is to output a functional agenda through the proposition of temporary interventions in the public space. Catalog entries embody the conceptual pillars of this proposal, and are categorized into the following fields of implementation: (1) new cycles of production, (2) informal education, (3) recreation and sport, (4) social action, and (5) energy harvesting.

The data received is the quantified outputs of social welfare and community time-banked gain such as increased community involvement and informal gatherings, increased level of education and hire-ability, decreased poverty levels, environmental awareness and overall community health, knowledge and participation in simple construction, increased overall community safety levels and self-esteem in youth, women, and the elderly.

Material  

[Re]phemeral proposes that a smart urban materiality acts as the connective tissue in a new urbanism.

Hair of the City

Metaphorically, [Re]phemeral is inspired by hair as an evolutionary by-product. Hair is produced through the passing of dead cells within the body as they are replaced by new ones. Similarly, catalog outputs from the toolbox are derived through the collection of data acquired through the participation of the users.

Physically, hair is a composite material which represents the two complementary physical properties of rigidity and flexibility, as well as high conductivity and combine-ability. Through the proposing of two hypothetical components under the concept of ‘hair’ we can provide materialized forms for the catalog.

When the connection is made between the ephemeral object and the iterative production of social gain and improved welfare, a new urbanism is born. A new collective memory emerges, one which is tied simultaneously tied to both the identity of an individual, and to the collective.

Interventions

It is a concept emerged as an interrogation to the current urban mobility nexus with a critical forethought of upcoming conveyance models. This objective is inspired from our site ‘’Nus de la Trinitat’’ , Barcelona, which is a layered overlap of ring roads. Though, it connects at intercity level, it declines the space quality in terms dwelling environment and economy of land to name a few. We propose a system that liberates urbanism from the cycle of rapid growth of infrastructure as a function of increasing program. The unit of mobility, Car, is no-more adhered to road networks but is an autonomous aerial vehicle. It has sensor enabled, data interactive body driven by binary and solar power. Activation of the skycars would revolutionize the city. There shall be technology shift at building, traffic and user level.

-the buildings shall mutate to allow and accommodate the skycar.

-the traffic management shall be real time.

-the user can ring a car for its service at its doorstep.

This comprehensive system shall metamorphose the gridlock of Cerda to a random codedness. Also, the built spaces shall be redefined as the skycar shall become an integral body of the whole volumetric structure. The volume shall diminish with the absence of activity and user. The focus is to reformulate the whole city by mutating a unit. The mutation of car into skycar deploys more green spaces and better habitation.

proximity from site:

zoning :

Area: Road networks and Infrastructure in Barcelona

Site Analysis

Visions of Future

Comparison : Driver operated VS Driver-less Vs Airborne

City Transformation with change in mobility unit

Welcome to skycar city

Future unit of mobility and its characteristics 

Study of Aerial routes – Motion Vectors

Classification of Flying and speed zones

Motion vector based form Development strategy : connecting important nodes around sites

 CLICK ON IMAGE BELOW TO SEE THE VIDEO

Plan and zoning

Sectional Zoning

 Section

Housing Units

Workspace units

Docking Stations

City level transformation with the implementation of skycar city

 To rewrite the atmosphere between the residents and the river

Having gone through a long history along with the revolution of Barcelona, the Besós River has been improved to utilise the quality of the atmosphere it brings especially to the flanking regions. In Sant Adrià de Besòs, it provides a platform for various activities for the nearby residents, resulting on a good community bonding. However, this positive atmosphere is only being utilised at the north side of the river. On the contrary, the south side remains inactive. Apart from a farther location of the residents from the river, the only path which leads them to the river is poorly planned and facilitated. It creates an unwelcoming and undesirable atmosphere along the way, declining the relationship between the residents and the river.

Intention

As an intention to rewrite the atmosphere between the residents and the river, a proposal was made to expand the atmosphere of the riverfront to the residents by establishing a farming ground.

What do we mean by the Atmosphere of the riverfront? We have broken it down into 4 categories. Namely – Self sustainable ecosystem, Vegetation/ Landscape , Pedestrian Activities and tranquility.

Proposal

The proposed structure consists of individual modules which facilitate the farming activities with the atmospheric elements of the riverfront. These individual components form a surface that reacts to the needs of the farming activities, performing as an atmosphere generator with a versatile structure adapting to different conditions.

A video showing the 3D  simulation of the movement of the structure responding to different parameters. Also a prototype moving sing touch OSC and arduino. The prototype enables us to demonstrate the idea of a structure being resposive to real time data an how the users can bring about changes in the structure according to their needs.

The master plan shows the structure growing from the riverfront to the residents, improving the atmosphere along its way.

“…It is vestiges like these which take us back to the times of an unbridled industrialism that did not question its rights, whether legal or aesthetic, to colonize urban centers. Economic rationalization and a new sensibility have closed down many factories, or shifted them to the city outskirts and estates. The factories of Besos are so striking because, seen from one of Vallbona’s hilly viewpoints, they share the typology.“Sometimes culture comes welded together, encased in concrete and filled with heavy machinery. Over time, these places become part of our city and part of our lives. Barcelona without its industry would be another city.

It is vestiges like these which take us back to the times of an unbridled industrialism that did not question its rights, whether legal or aesthetic, to colonize urban centers. Economic rationalization and a new sensibility have closed down many factories, or shifted them to the city outskirts and estates. The factories of Besos are so striking because, seen from one of Vallbona’s hilly viewpoints, they share the typology.

Vallbona is a garden city situated on the edge of Barcelona along the Besos. Its charming location makes it a special case to look at. It has a residential zone that is a quiet place to live in the valley along the hills and the river. On the peripheries we see developed industrial zone, with all its machines and infrastructure. Along with the green belts that are omnipresent and dominant, agricultural lands around the river makes ‘Vallbona’ not only the ‘good valley’, but a very special one as well.

THE GARDEN CITY

Planned, self contained communities surrounded by green belts. These communities are proportionate areas of residence, industry and agriculture. It would be self-sufficient, and when it reaches its full capacity another garden city would develop nearby.

Road structure mainly composed of boulevards, avenues and railroads. Greenbelts are composed of a central garden and exterior greenbelt. Buildings structure is divided into areas. Public buildings in the center, Housing in the middle, and industrial in the peripheries.

VALLBONA

The residential area in Vallbona constitutes a very efficient urban fabric that is also the core of the town. The greenbelts are the hill in the center of the industrial zone, the hills overlooking the whole area in the peripheries, and the Besos river. Industrial zones are divided to the outskirts of the city and secluded with infrastructure.

BESOS

An essential ‘greenbelt’ of the site, that the town is not profiting from. How to make it accessible and valuable.

RESIDENTIAL

One of the most important goal for the residential area is to enhance the urban connections (from the urban corridors) to the Besos as a public space and greenbelt to the residents. Also, creating the Vallbona Central Garden which is the hill as a public space and greenbelt. For a nice and efficient mobility in the city, a ‘corniche avenue’ is an essential promenade along the river and the valley.

GREEN BELTS

Buffer between towns, or town and countryside. They can be used to link town and cities, help us with climate change problems, ecological network providing breathing places for people and for nature long into the future. Also, they help us with food production, here come the very important role of urban agriculture in 2014.

INDUSRIAL

Is one of the main characteristics of the river Besos. It holds many types of industrial zones. It could be surrounded by railway, roads or waterway. Its factories constitute the industrial typology.

The area of intervention is in a crucial point, that no other city has, in the middle of a valley between two mountains, that represent the upper boundary of BCN. The other limits are the two rivers and the Mediterranean sea. Not very often happen than in a point of the city (two if I include the “symmetric” situation in Llobregat side), for natural reasons, occur so many events in terms of traffic.

Taking advantage and the responsibility of acting in a point that indirectly influence the whole city, my project intends to create a huge door-gate of the city.

A place dig in very depth, as a hell for cars, where these will be stopped, collected, and reuse in a more functional way that is not the transport. This giant thing comes to be the main brain of BCN, the cars (that in the next future will have a computer inside, so able to elaborate data) will be the oxygen for this super-machine through the power of coordinated computational calculus; in fact, the sum of the capacity of every single car will be multiplied by the number of cars. If oxygen gives activity to the brain, this brain acts (indirectly) with arms; the arms, so, is the GAS ( green active space), the real effect of this machine in the rest of the urbanized area (the main arm is the highway itself that will be a big park).

The Gas is a degree upper than simple green we use to know. In the meanwhile, to allow this, the transport will be totally changed from private to public; newlines of subway first of all, much more in numbers and much more frequent; the railroad will be drifted inside it, as well as bus, taxis and car sharing stations as the only wheel transports.

In term of architecture, the dig is done under a hill next to Montcada mountain; the hill will be replaced by a naturartificial park that is the roof of the structure and it has the same topography of the hill, but in a fragmented shape to underline the breakage. The immense empty space beneath it is fill by enormous pillars tree shaped; a shape that has various meanings and that is the generalized image of the entire project (pars pro toto; as a single, main element can represent the entire idea of a project).