24/04

2ND INTERMEDIATE CRITIC

the same "ok, go on"..... i feel lucky.
he was not that nice this time though (maybe because my explanation was shitty and the project had quite obvious unsolved questions that made me nervous... about the rest, i really think getting to a point where the structure was plausible has been a major achievement. now i think ill just stick to what i have and try to pull it together with much more strength. like, with a more "continuous" logic, actual answers to things and thought-of plans.

for now im working on the VERBAL EXPLANATION of the project because it was one of the biggest flaws in the critic (believe it or not). and it also helps to clarify ideas.

so:

the building is a shopping mall on top of the existing financial center of Madrid.

the area is one of the most economically active and well connected of the city: laying along a main arthery that crosses Madrid from north to south, it already features a huge department store, shopping street, gym, bingo, bar/clubs and more. it is connected by bus, train and metro, existing a big underground station from where to check in and take the metro line to the airport.

the shopping mall has a longitudinal development, connecting the roofs of different buildings in the area. the main programs are located on top of these roofs and they all get connected by a path/corridor that goes from one end to the other.

the shopping mall is targeted at businessmen, so the program is oriented in that direction and complement the programs existing underneath ("on earth"): office depot, media and technology store, catering services, wellness center, entertainment areas, bars and club.

there are entrances from each of the highest office buildings in the area. thay give access at different points of the path through a hallway that can be used for short term stay or access to the main programs.

people from the street can only enter the mall from the evening/night area, open outside office hours and on weekends. this area contains the club, bars, cinema facilities, wellness and catering.

there is another route parallel to the main path for service purposes. it has its own accesses from the street for distribution and features storage, kitchens, changing rooms, administration etc.

in total there are only 2 levels to walk across the mall, even though each volume can be up to 5 floors high.

the routes get connected in the volumes on top of the roofs. these volumes work as crossroads for all communications in a "distribution floor", at the level of the main path.
the layout of each volume gravitates around a central space and features connections as:
- distribution floor to main program floors by escalators
- distribution floor to service floor by ramp
- distribution floor to office hall floor by ramp
- all floors by lift

the skin of the building works as supporting structure and contains all spaces, either its filled in or not. it lays on pillars and some roofs, working as beams and bridges between buildings.

(i would like to) the pillars are entrances on their own, so they give access to the service floor or the main program depending on the area.

11/04

Email to the assistant from the CISV workshop at Lyon... no autocad, not much time to think either...


"Hi Andreas,

Just a hint of the thoughts Ive been having these days...

I wanted to come up with a coherent system that could articulate the spaces and facilitate the decision making process. That understood in the fluid way we had seen last time. For the moment the 3 path system in plan seems to work, but taking to the extreme the longitudinal way of working of the entire mall: that is, all the mechanisms, placements, transports, storage and everything necessary set in "the path". Like a mall_machine where everything works together with a logic but specifically a longitudinal machine. No center spaces (just centers created by intersection or "swallowing" of fluxes.

Then I thought about this thing of "the feeling inside and outside"; and what the mall has to offer that is unique to it and its main attractive.
The idea of the pipes, though it worked with the fluxes and everything; probably is not the best quality space to offer... so I am reconsidering the metaphor as a scheme of organization but not as a form.
And the main attractive was that obvious that didnt come to me at first... but it is the own essence of my shopping mall: being up in the sky!! it would probably be the only one in the world.. so i am trying to find ways to reinforce this idea, more than with appearance. As much exposed/open to outside program area as possible, for instance.

So this could be one parameter to place the program path, another that they have to be continuous, other that the accessess from buildings correspond with an intersection and are anchor points ( have programs like wc, small cafe, wifi area, etc that are not part of the main program areas..) and so on.

And then well, as an exterior appearance and possible structural solution I am exploring Roman aqueducts because, as well as being a clear metaphor of fluxes and a beautiful and interesting object to inhabitate (in different levels too), they got to solve topography problems (irregularities, gaps, rivers etc) with great flexibility and success.

Thats all for now. I am keeping on thinking and I will keep you posted on the evolution

Ainhoa"

05/04

i am completely stuck. dunno what to do.

last time i had critic i had defined quite clearly where the program was, in plan and section, and how the communications related to each other.

i dont know at what point i decided to start from scratch. i mean, not completely from scratch (obviously for 2 reasons:

1- "never throw a project away, make it evolve"

2- i would've been completely out of my mind)

i guess it was because of the problem of the area (yeah... couldnt let it go unnoticed as id have wanted) and the structure.

apparently i cant just lie on the buildings and trust their structure to work well for the additional weight.

so this has caused a revision of the geometry, and means the "parasite" is not going to parasite bone anymore, which essentially sucks. it is against the core of the thing.

anyway i figured i can reinforce the existing structure from the outside and go up from there. it would cling to the facade in order not to bend to one or the other side because of the weight. from these "legs" there can be an entirely separate structure, a platform that holds whatever is above.

it is kind of what oiza did with the bbva because of the train tunnel that was below.

thats a very good idea, in fact. i dont know how it works, i think it had to do with pre-tensed concrete.

so lets say a platform for the first level (9? 13?) and from there all the richness i want in the path. i dont know. somehow it feels fake.

then i have the problem of the bathrooms and supplies in general. common sense tells me there have to be "anchor points" with bathrooms and hangout-little cafe kind of commerce not very far from each office.

what is the criteria? where does the water come from?

i thought maybe they could be linked to main support cores... but since im just reinforcing the structure outside there are none. where then? where the existent cores break through? -that would be good if i knew which ones im going to keep and which i just go above...

i used to think letting all the cores show through and articulate the space was simplistic, and that i had to choose some to connect to the ground and some "blind" ones. ok. but as a geometric developer they helped me so much, so i think im keeping them. i will just not open them, let them be like huge opaque courtyards, or big pilars, whtever one sees...

i developed a path with the geometry of a highway. it was so beasutiful. structurally impossible though. i dont know whether to go to the critic with my stuff having not thought about structure and see what the critic says (hes supposed to be specialized in that). that would be easier. im so stuck right now with my pilars and my blablabla.

the highway was so aerodynamic. i lost this, but i guess the principle remains. that is: the flow of people defines where the program is and how its related to the path. it is a mall to be walked by.

it is probably a good idea to let the level rise and fall a little bit.... say a couple or three floors up or down. that way it is not so dramatic when it gets to a 9th or 6th floor. 9 floors of difference vs. 5-6 is quite considerable. 6 floors vs. 3 is quite much. i will try to work more on this (and end up with ramps, like 40% of the class!! yeha!)

i had this crazy idea today of making the path a tube and the program going from there tubes that superpose to the first. it would be powerful, in fact. i might consider it more seriously. plus, i would get the ultra-pure geometric approach theyre always asking for.

i have to work in transversal section first. i am lost!

then i can see how separated one and other parts are and fit it into the plan. the curves in plan nd section have to talk to each other.

first same size circles.

then difference program - path

then difference between programs

then difference between paths

ahhhhhhh...... wtf

worst timing ever. im going to lyon on wednesday and i cant have a critic, neither on thursday... its tomorrow or never - and i bet i dont have much to correct tomorrow.

(un) happy easter everyone

02/04

i got no strength left. its been a week (or two, i dont even remember) back and forth around the same, going crazy about the program, then the communications, then the heights... office timetible with its correspondent breaks (not many), sleep from 4am to 10 am. every single day. otherwise, class.

i will be concise and i dont give a fuck about explaining my previous stages (maybe another day.. theyre interesting)

CONCEPT
- parasiting: people (blood), cores (organs), structure (bones), area (skin). parasiting-complementing program. parasiting supplies -water, electricity.

HOW IT WORKS
- highway: constant flow of people, work, info. every building has an entrance to the highway. the walking/pass-by experience.

- levels: 17th floor program pathway, 13th floor service pathway

- nodes: media exchange terminals. catalyze all fluxes and manifest information.

- program: bars-lounge-disco, cinema-park, thermes, catering, tech supplies, mass production office items

PHYSICALIZATION
- structure (!!!): huge problem.
generally speaking itd be pathways inside huge trusses going all across on top of buildings, from one building to another etc. the space gets bigger (association with existing roof shape) when it arrives to nodes and program.
supposed to use a) existing communication cores b) roofs and eventually existing structural system.
possible solution = reinforce pilars and go down to make my own foundations + big truss to support my structure independently.


- looks: massive/perceivable outside and open inside. boxes (program) linked by bridges. possibility of mirror glass or traslucent plastic ¿? - this way lighter structure.


the HUGEST problem, apart from that of the structure, is the area. i have like 5 times my area or more (54200).
ill work, then, on keeping the program to one floor and making the paths much thinner (not totally adjusted to the shape of the roof, then)
this would imply having two big snakes connected every once in a while vertically
im thinking having some height flexibility coz its gonna be so BORING if i do it all on one floor (even though its easier).


think of
big airports that develop horizontally and shortcuts
elevator system for the tallest skyscrapers and how it can be applied horizontally
shopping streets and their "sub shopping themes"
see plans of train stations - euralille
see plans of cinemas / auditoriums
see roman thermes (and eventually vals)
images of ovnis
where the f***k are bathrooms and cores usually in towers? together? in the middle?


and yeah, im so fucking tired, i wanna go to sleep and not work anymore and i STILL DONT KNOW IF A HAVE A BEAMER TOMORROW!!!!




fuck them.

16/09 (2)

like i promised, the top five quotes from our Beloved:

"Architects have these obscure so-called "ideas", that are not ideas, and they cover them in tasteful materials"

"You have a tactic. A tactic is not an strategy. (It is like you say well, in this war we are going to go to France with guns, then shoot and return home)"

"Your building has to be challenging!! It has to be difficult!!"

"The idea should be able to be formulated in a sentence"

"Any decision you take might be right or wrong, but it has to be a positive decision"



** ps. im finding an awful lot of freaky and really gross stuff about parasites. man i really wish id chosen simbiosis or something like that. it makes me feel like all the insects in the world are going to come put their worms inside me.

16/03

FIRST INTERMEDIATE CRITICS

what a fucking nightmare!! i stayed all wednesday trying to print (from 1.30 to 10) and after that i was soooo fucking tired i couldnt even think of my project anymore. i think i might be ready again
(plus my sister and her friend came on friday and ive been showing them around/taking them out (specially the latter obviously) so its been my kind of holiday... i should work somehow today and tomorrow to be able to leave to madrid on wednesday... its being a great break but a little tight for working)

the critic went pretty ok, but just as usual i think. i mean, not an incredible fascination but a sort of "continue working, everythings ok". in fact he told me i had to be bolder, more monstrous.
its funny how all teachers agree on tellling me im shy here. thing is, yes, im shy, coz everyone tells me my projects in madrid and unrealistic and bullshit (of course thats my friends who are mostly conservative on constructive/projecting strategies, not teachers... i actuallty think all of them can be convinced by logic and usually find it fun to find an extreme/utopic project which can eventually be built).

i had been working on one version of the building til tuesday which was basically 2 connected volumes, one with an office extension (storage, meeting rooms, gym, offices, standup cafe...), the other with the leisure activities (from eating court to disco). there would be connections to the buildings below with communication cores.

well, so i decided to make it more accurate just on the day of the hand in (yay me, im the smartest one) and it was obviously more interesting but thats why i didnt get to finish printing til 10.
so finally i took into consideration the relief on the roofs (there were like different levels in each). i guessed some of them were the lift engines so i took them as a topography to work with and articulate the spaces... and they became so much richer. the program and the paths were finally defined and i stablished a more accurate use of the 54200 m2.
i liked thinking it was like this serpent of walking paths walking from the morning to the night, from work to leisure. a procesional conception of the spaces that were situated across this way and the tension of the 2 poles that sort of merged into each other.
it is also a response to the lack of space and conceived as a piece for further development around and on it (like a puzzle piece).
(i have to admit most of it was conceived afterwards, in a sort of analysis of what id done)

so as for the critic, in the end the conclusion was i had to choose another smaller place to be able to develop the m2 i had to cover much more extensively, with different entrances in the same building, crossings, parasiting on/around/covering the buildings. a sort of snake that goes around crazily. not only on the roof. then i can start thinking about structure-taking advantage of the existing, the connections and access from the buildings, how the spaces left work etc. basically that i should make the puzzle, not just a piece.

that because this piece was also "too polite", "too friendly", not really a parasite which is supposed to be somehow bad...people dont have an opinion about my building because they dont even see it!! it has to be more present, make people love it or hate it. i have to be a NICE MONSTER lol. (and neighbours will eventually move out hahha, leaving place for the ones who love it so much)

the words were: it has to be a CULT building, like weird films and icons that are NOT POPULAR because they are weird, not really understood, and people are not interested anyway.
Somewhere where EVERYONE WANTS TO GO (there i answered "but some people would hate it" and thats when he said the stuff about the neighbors, but not really about other people. i guess its because it would be so uglily fascinating that itd have an inherent attractive for everyone)

about all this i like the idea of:
- connecting a lot of places = net
- using the topography of the roofs
- tension between poles that drives to walking experience
- CULT (going over popular taste... like "im here, if dont like me dont look")


next edition, great quotes from the critics!

09/03

as you see the instensity of the blog decreases as the intensity of the work increases.


PARASITARY SECOND CITY ON THE EXISTING CITY

world trade center
businessmen only

3 targets: vip, regular, functional
focus on pre-work, coffee break, lunch break, afterwork + weekend nights
cover the entire business/leisure time

program:
- warehouse for storing
- stand-up bars
- small grocery
- eat-to-go
- evening pubs
- restaurant (vip and regular)
- meeting rooms
- gym / spa
- cafés (vip and regular)
- nightclub
- weekend evening restaurant/lounge/club/terrace

eye on circulations!! (first idea: total apartheid ---> doesnt work)
eventual zoning
eye on accesses!!
connection with the existent!!
eye on structure!!
eye on light and surrounding buildings' conditions!

from utopic to realistic (how to sell the idea politically, financially...)

what are the implications?? what does it mean?
is it...
- an artwork?
- a completely separate world?
- a connection system?

accuracy: plans of all the buildings taken

find approach to the aim: physical (architectural) idea



now it has more or less the appearance of a huge mass jumping from one roof to another. it is kind of funny and colossal.
and the area i was intendig to use is really close to the 54200 i gotta make, so i have to be glad.

now its time to go from the diagramatic to some further development of the functions and connections. if only i had that "architectural idea" we've been talking about for SO long. (which in fact is nothing else than a consistent way of putting things together.
at least i have always had the image clear (not like aesthetic or anything, but the kind of volume and the scale)

** i might cut out from a volume.
i should consider
- other buildings' sunlight and air conditioning
- street light (not really that much because its just a little that goes over the street)
- program (in 3D!!)
- circulations inside floors + from floor to floor + from building to building
- eventually some kind of relationship with the small changes on every roof

03/03 (04/03)

reaaaally quickly:

yestarday and today ive been studying the area of south Canal with the demographic info i got from NYCgov.com (awesome idea, i thank the government and kindly ask them if they could post some CAD plans... if its not too much to ask for)

its been really productive. jesus! first of all i didnt think censuses could give you that much information.. now i can figure exactly the kind of people there is in every couple of streets, their interests, income, activities... and that obviously makes the choice of program way easier.

now i need to combine it with the reality of the buildings (shape, height and so) to see if i can make it happen.

so the study was basically identifying main residential, commercial and scholastic areas (apparently there is a university campus) and the access , parking facilities, main streets and of course public spaces.

it is quite easy in fact bc as i understood it there are basic divisions such as the financial area, the commercial Canal area, 3 residential areas: one rich (above the financial), one mid-high-class professionals (tribeca) and one mid-class workers (west of tribeca, the so-called "battery park city".
the streets are pretty clear too: theres broadway and west broadway as highlights, as well as a highway running from battery park up.

all of that having the vacant land in the lots as a reference.

finally ive arrived to some main spots where the accesses and "stay" areas can be placed.
the program is really quite defined in each:
grocery and basic goods for the west side, hang out and young-oriented entertainment/shops for the college and midschool students, cafes and rest/alternative shopping for the commercial side of Canal, wellness and luxury + everything-to-go for the rich and financial quarter and two centers for larger scale and area of influence events.

in other words:
1 - NEED
2 - HANG
3 - BUY
4 - LUXURY
5 - GO SPECIFICALLY

as well as that ive been looking at some pictures and thoughts very interesting to the idea of lightness and heaven. surprisingly i had a book on my shelf on Terragni's Danteum and the entire point was to explain the building in terms of hell-purgatory-heaven through the massive and light character of the construction.
some other references: Boullée's Bibliotheque for the clean, huge spaces with everything happening on the sides, construction with glass and plexi, utopian glass columns in frescoes, the futurist culture of density and skycrapers, Delirious NY, Mies (not only his early works but also the Exhibition Pavillion in Berlin or any other "mass floating on air" work), Sejima's Mediatheque and other ways of creating structure...

notes just in case (not developed ideas)
- organising functions in mezzanines with a continuous reference to a main space (Panopticon sorta)
- continuous connection to the sky and natural light
- would be nice to have good views for cafes and rest spaces
- go down to the street when possible offering services to attract people up.


and then again the classis question:
how am i going to make it continuous????

02/03 (03/03)

i cannot possibly stop watching Monty Python's Flying Circus til 3 am

for future reference and fun in working nights:

dirty hungarian phrasebook - "my nipples explode in delight!!!!" LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IN9mP2_1A-c&feature=related

communist quiz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZ9myHhpS9s&feature=related

philosophy football
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79vdlEcWxvM&feature=related

and the ALL TIME CLASSICS:

spam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODshB09FQ8w

the larch (how to recognize trees from long distances)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRKVXG3DV-I




**yeah, and why not, the jesus christ sketches from family guy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIK3GXdkxL0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkIS3G64ug0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rP7wo1C8KDw


and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yoYYUxXz6c&feature=related !!!!!!



ah, so yeah, pretty much for today. i still cant find CAD plans of new york. im gonna have to make them myself. aggghhhhhh and tomorrow 7.30

01/03

so! i thought about it and its not exactly parasiting. parasiting is a word with too much negative connotation.

this place saves you from the hectic life of the streets. it gives you space to enjoy, air to move and breath in. thats what public space is supposed to do. it is a place of social interaction, or individual rest.
on the way, of course, it profits from your being there.

it cannot be oppresive to the streets, it cannot be massive.
it is a CLOUD.
it effortlessly lies on buidings.
it is light and luminous.
it is heaven.
there is no effort, no suffering, just enjoyment and peace.
the PARADISIAC PARASITE.

so the question is obviously: how do people spend their money in Paradise?
not an easy question. material goods? services? lifestyle?

i could think of some things we, mortals on earth, spend our money on:
-living: rent, food, clothes, education (1st worl mentality of course, essentially should be food... and yeah food)
- transportation: public (tickets), private (car, gas...)
- unecessary:
turism: plane, hotel, eventually souvenirs...
"choice" goods: brands, complements, music, books..... everything really
choice services: headresser, sport, wellness...
entertainment: cinema, eating out / going out (drinks, club), all kinds of games...

i think it's most likely that in heaven people would like to spend money on services. there are no material needs anymore. there is no matter, as a matter of fact (ho ho ho, im so witty making word tricks) following a principle of concentration of activity it should help to make them spend money on other things on the way.

* and then a reflection on the way: the architectural idea doesn't have to be related to the connotation of the program (i mean, it can't but it is not necessary to make a big bluntant metaphor). it is purely architectural, more of a response to the site, situation, size, typology, character.... -so context or structural/metaphysic reflection)

i still have a HUGE structural problem. i really don't know how to solve it. the piece is huge and the idea was to make it all connected. on existing buildings. over the streets. it is really crazy if you think about it (and even if you don't, just from hearing).
i figured it could (maybe, hopefully) work like a spider. there would be a body (the cloud) and these sort of legs arriving to the ground. that would be the way to get in, too.

two more problems coming up after this decision:
1- how far away from each other are these legs?
2- how the f*** is it going to be continuos if it just has the buildings to go over?
as for the first issue, i should detect the holes in the urban texture where i can go down and see if it works. there will not be empty lots (density was the entire point of it in the first place), but maybe some non-occupied room in lots. i know they have most probably used all the edificability permitted by NY law, but im a student. i can disregard law.
and about the second... i really don't know. depends on geometry and structural possibilities, i guess.

for the body is an extension of great length (we can be talking about an entire neighbourhood) it should be able to change program depending on the character of the population. that's why i'd like it to be on a crossroad of different ny "ghettos" (say, east village, tribeca or chinatown). i'll do as much as i can but i saw they are not that close as i'd imagined.

as for the target and program (all i came out with):
- families --> children's leisure, adult relief
- teenagers --> place to hang out + eat, movies, sports, some non-necessary products
- young adults --> music/events, cafés, bars/clubs, restaurants, sports
- adults --> businessmen: quick basics, quick rest, some non-necessary/expensive items
--> generally: cultural/sports events, eating out, chill and going out
- elder people --> wellness, rest, care, guided activities
- economically challenged (omg the american euphemisms) : basic goods, space to hang
- different etnies --> associated cultural needs lacking in the area, common activities

plus:
if there are no shops in the area, sell goods (basic and unnecessary)
if there is no public space, provide it
if there are no leisure spaces (eating out, activities), provide them

and the problem now is
HOW DOES THE TRANSITION BETWEEN ONE AND ANOTHER PROGRAM OCCUR?
at this point i thought it would be common sense (and more operative, too) to focus on main spots well characterized by their particular program. the idea then would be establishing a net of communication (with linkages according to a logic)
the action would be at a LOCAL level or a SPECIFIC level
the first would focus on neighbourhood-oriented goods and services
the latter woul have a bigger program, and would attract people from further away in the city. it would have to be bigger and specific in the attractive, in very accesible spots.

** note to myself: i gotta do some kind of diagram showing 1st: available spaces and 2nd spots of defined program and their level of intervention. for that i have to get informed about the population, kind of families/residence, commercial activity and all. and i have to LOCATE THE ACCESSES!!!

coming back to the idea of light and transparency and the structural problem, some brainstorming:
BUILDING AS THE SACRED LIGHT OF THE CITY (Bruno Taut, Mies and expressionists)
clarity
cleaness
transparency
openess
luminosity
lightness
THE SKY OVER MANHATTAN
making the artifact light (visually and structurally) it is immediately placed on a lower level of architectural hierarchy (and that's why it is a parasite)

structure:
the "legs" work structurally and are the main base points for the entire body, which flyes over and takes some anchor points on the buildings (¿?)
structure should also show transparency and lightness (see Mies -Barcelona, Berlin-, moderns, Ando/Sejima/Ito, Phillip Johnson's Glasshouse...)

"new yorkers lack time and public space" --> provide a place of pleasure and compatible with work


** so now i have an architectural idea (which could contain whatever program inside). i have to work now on the SPACIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROGRAM
(but first goes all this thing of making plans and detecting spots in order to know WHAT program)

(well i guess i could also develop it in abstract and then apply the observations to the real situation)


NEXT STOP: cartography of new york!

27/02

CRITICS DAY!!

parasiting is the word. i am parasiting a highly populated/dense city. i chose new york, but i am really not that sure anymore. it is my excuse to answer a more generic question, i think: how to respond to lack of space (specially public space) or an intention to densify cities.

i chose new york because 1000m2 lots are very manageable. and because i know it quite well. the thing is a size like mine (54200 m2) could easily occupy an entire neighbourhood in a two-floor basis. the program could change according to the needs and ways of life. but i need really diverse characters more or less next to each other. and there is already a lot of existing commerce.

a first thought was connecting residential and office buildings through a network of commercial space and general leisure. that really doesn't exist in new york. i could imagine that on some other city with a more diversified distribution of office space. in new york (as in other many cities - and i can thing of AZCA in madrid, too) there is a financial district that is very compact. businessmen-targeted commerce would really work. and it does work because it exists already!
working on ground zero was so tempting. i mean, it is a completely empty space lacking activity, and surrounded by frenetic workers going round and about, hungry and thirsty and wanting to relax after work or buy groceries because they dont have time to buy it anywhere else. there used to be a huge commercial activity, as i have seen in some studies. it is also amazingly connected (there is a train station, 2 metro stations, a huge parking lot nearby and it is even close to the docks!) the problem is i would need a much bigger size to be able to do it well. the place has such a connotational energy that it is very tricky to work in it, and there is a need for a really big emblematic structure to make america recover from 9/11.
and, of course, that would mean building from scratch, not parasiting at all.
* i went over the idea of parasiting the buildings around to take advantage of the activity i mentioned, but i would really have to make it office-oriented and i dont really see the potential.

so. being quite generic and picturing a sort of sprawl-like mall on the existent city, i thought it might work on the eastern south canal area (theres tribeca - obviously "triangle below canal" and the meatpacking district over there, some area below little italy that i really dont know much and the financial district). somethig i know is that, whereas soho is fully packed with shops and nice cafes and everything, there seems to be a hole on this area (and then as we go down the commercial activity arises again in the financial district). anyway, i need to get more information about this because i thought about it like 5 minutes before presenting the project - yes, throwing away all the thinking ive been previously talking about.

-----> so he did understand the essence of it, i think. it is not a sole building, not a tower. the idea of parasite implies that it is something smaller than the existent (i dont think he meant literally smaller, but in a sort of hierarchy of usage). and he also warned me that i have to be aware of the fact that i cannot build on the street, under the buildings or through the buildings.

all that said, i think there are some issues to deal with:

- the real size and SCALE of the project and how it could look like for a pedestrian.
- what are the active hours and where? WHY is it attrative, to WHOM?
- precise INFORMATION. metre squares, population, examples of similar existent buildings (in size and/or function)
- what is the height of the buildings? what is their shape?
- how does it deal with the streets?
- how do people get there?
- what kind of commerce is there? material goods, services, entertainment, wellness... how does it materialize in spaces? IS IT EVEN MATERIAL? HOW DO PEOPLE BUY?
- make the program RADICAL
- how many people are there at the same time? what times of the day?

and more importantly to purify the idea:
DOES IT PARASITE...
JUST THE BUILDINGS (THE FUNCTION IN THEM) ???
JUST THE STREETS/METRO (USING THE BUILDINGS AS SUPPORT) ???

IS IT A NETWORK OF CONNECTIONS?

HOW DO PEOPLE MOVE INSIDE? HOW DO THEY GET TO/FROM DIFFERENT POINTS?

HOW IS THE PLACE ENJOYABLE?

WHAT IS THE TARGET AND HOW DOES IT CHANGE FROM ONE AREA TO ANOTHER?

I REALLY NEED TO GET RID OF THIS IMAGE I HAVE OF IT FLYING ALL OVER. IT STOPS ME FROM GOING FURTHER.


*** and now, some other interesting issues that came up in the critic (i transcribe literally my notes)

. scale
. how many people AT THE SAME TIME?
. what do they do?
. where do they come from?
. maximize destination (character)
. be specific
. give public space
. see population! and what kind
. 2 pieces of city not connected --> the linkage
. (he can be convinced!!) specific: compare size, demography
implication
. "brand" of my idea!
. examples, search references
. TARGET --> information + specify
. HEIGHT and SHAPE of buildings
. MEASURE streets and buildings
. something that has been proved to function
. references to reality (law, existent m2 + buildings)
. large size --> not to make it too abstract, have PHYSICAL connection
. ways of relating
. EXISTENT COMMERCE
. metro (but assume they come walking)
. RADICALIZE PROGRAM
. middle class goes shopping
. HOPE. SOCIO-POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS. INVENT A RESPONSE TO EXISTENT SHOPPING MALLS. INVENT A NEW COMMERCE TYPOLOGY (new way of buying). not just something that works financially
. services are a kind of commerce! what other forms? how do they materialize?
. generic project in existent places --> generally doent work. if we abstract the conditions it does (prototyping)
. program = what we sell, target
site = interesting, provide conditions to develop
IDEA.... is something else -----> ARCHITECTURAL IDEA (and good architecture please...)
. POTENTIAL of place and idea
. not good mixing functions. only if it gives sense to the shopping
. you can hold on to the ESSENCE (connection, creating new city, parasiting...)
. make timetable + areas!
. PLAYFULNESS
. maybe it JUST parasites the buildings. maybe it JUST parasites the street and doesnt have to do with the building (they are the support)
. is it a system of 2nd public space wherever there's place? is it focused on the buildings? is it a 2nd net of quick connections?
. interesting how people get in and move around
way of enjoying the place
way of buying / is it material?





** note: key words for the atelier: "i can imagine it", "be honest to yourself", "a vision", "temple"

25/02

i've been working on the idea of a self-sufficient mall by revisiting fourier and owen.
it is sort of a cinical twist of ideals (how a socialist utopian community can be absorbed by the logic of capitalism) but if things are connected in a proper way they should be able to increase the wellness of the city or natural environment and their inhabitants -i guess and hope.
it is a political/moral decision: if you can't change history, at least use it to improve the future. so, since poor-spread use of land and consumism have got to be somehow linked together (a decontextualized object, the mall kills the city and social interaction instead of improving them)

well, owen and fourier sure knew what they were doing.
synthetised in a very basic topological diagram according to 5 parametres or areas - anchor/destination catchment (including both entertainment and shopping), public space, residence, work, indirect catchment - and their connections - access from outside and inside mobility - phalansteries and this kind of communities have a sort of ultra-functional layout.

still a little decontextualized for me, though. i feel i need a stronger site definition or at least one that is not so introverted that doesn't create a connection with the city. i want a new urban center.
* see florida street and malaysia/anywhere street mall

after working with the plan and connections for a long time, i tried using the plan as an elevation to see how it could work... and voilà! here we had a not land wasting, vertical mall. now i see how mansilla and tuñon arrived to their insultingly fun, round-buiscuit skycraper.
so a self-sufficient, mixed-use building might work, too.


on the other hand, i'd been working before (for the past few days) on a parasite mall. i should ask myself why i keep being so attracted to the idea of parasiting... but anyway. this would be some kind of declaration pro-high-density-awfully-against-sprawl urban planning. there's not going to be land enough in the future.
parasiting functions is so appealing to me, too. i picture the mall on a highly populated city (so it'd have a very urban character) so that suddenly a new level of communications is created. residential buildings are suddenly linked to work and entertainment places. an entire world of new public space is created. new streets float over the old.

not to be too futurist but lets take a look at some utopias of endless-height cities..... (disregard the flying cars)

summing it up:
you can do everything. your life needs are covered.
creating city. connecting parts of a city. connecting people.
no room? no problem
win-win

(in other words: i am trying to put all the interests i had together: high density, self-sufficiency and mixed use, creation of public spaces and advantaging from the fluxes among all these.)


site? well...... it's funny but i don't know and that's precisely what i am asked to choose first.

20/02

oh-kay.... back again, my dearest friends

this time introducing the very challenging job of
1) surviving to atelier Olgiati with no mental and/or physical damage at the end of the semester and
2) designing a shopping mall

so lets get started.
as much as i had thought about the subject - the endless series of photos of commerce and shopping sites for my dad could finally be of some use- it was actually not mucho of an innovation, apparently. the first day of class (that is, yesterday) we got a lecture by this guy, sociologist I guess, who basically put together all i'd thought, added more accurate and certainly more incisive observations and explained them in a.... very scientific way, as to say.
meaning i felt relieved in a way because i wasn't that wrong but at the same time i had nothing new to offer after that.

the outline for the atelier goes as follows:
there's the typology: shopping mall. that cannot be changed, being the entire theme of the course.
then each one chooses a size (scale) to work with. S = 1000 - 10000 m2, M= 10000 - 100000 m2, L > 100000 m2.
from then on, one can develop a program, a specific site, and overall the main strong idea

* it reminded me of the exercises with E+C on 30m2, 3000m2, 30000 m2 (i miss them... my wonderful Sex Cabin, ah!... never talked about it here and neither did i for the Public Parasite Prototype, but they were really fun to design. i literally was too busy with the job itself. sometime i will, though)
and well, of course i thought about koolhaas but thats obvious.

anyway, i was tempted about Large scale (it'd be so challenging and extreme and fun in the end) but i doubted if i'd really be able to deal with it.... so i finally chose M. there was a lotery to get the exact number of m2 we had to build -the S/M people- (...wow i just reallized how hardcore it sounds lol... ), and i liked that sort of dadaist way to choose. i got 54200 m2. great. now i just have to really figure out how much it implies in terms of developing the program i want.


last but not least, 5 points not to miss when designing a mall:
1-Site
2-Identity, recognizability
3-Program (type)
4-Mall itself (didnt really get this one but i guess its about the athmosphere and the services/entertainment/kind of commerce it offers)
5- Efficiency. Circulations. the Mall-Machine.






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just some thoughts at home (sort of brainstorming) about what i feel is interesting:

parallel universes: you can do everything. your life needs are covered. the Holy Mall.
EAT+WORK+SHOP+ENTERTAIN ...(+LIVE??) ----- ISOLATED, SELF-SUFFICIENT, INTROVERTED
campus, monastery, religious communities, utopian socialist phalansteries, hippy settlements, isolated villages, mixed-use buildings, campsites or special school/training sites

public spaces: creating city. connecting parts of a city. connecting people (nokia..lol)
URBAN SCALE + PUBLIC/OUTDOOR LIFE (AGAINST INTROVERTED CONDOS) + INDIRECT CATCHMENT
inside a park, mixed-use complex/suburb (RESIDENTIAL+ENTERTAINMENT+SHOP), prollongation of city center, relationship between 2 existing isolated city centers (gravitational)

parasiting existing structures: no room? no problem
SPECIFIC TARGET + EVENTUAL FURTHER USE + DIRECT CATCHMENT + PARKING NEED COVERED
high-density cities, offices, roofs, over streets, "UFOs", linkage between buildings, attachment to buildings, access from the street, opposite image of density plan, reproducing and developing street fluxes, vertical develpment

parisiting flux of people: win-win
INDIRECT CATCHMENT FROM ANOTHER USE + CONTRIBUTION BY INCREASING ATTRACTIVE (SERVICES)
stations, airports, by-the-road stopping places, gas stations, sites with other anchor shops, urban crossing

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more investigation tomorrow.