Academically Minded
I know that it might seem that I’ve been on vacation ever since I got here, and even when I am talking about school-things it still sounds like vacation, but I just want to summarise some of the things I’ve been researching and working on while over here.
Barcelona Urban Form – some random observations
Barcelona is famous for its high density, mixed use development and heavily used public spaces. I’m living in the old gothic quarter of the city which is characterised by winding, narrow streets, high density development, and tourism. The other, more prevalent urban form in Barcelona is the Eixample, which are those big blocks on the grid you can see if you look at a map. If I were to draw a very, very rough parallel, I’d say that the old city is to the Eixample as the Beltline in Calgary is to the suburbs. It feels calmer and more domestic out there, but that’s just me. Apparently, home ownership in Barcelona is really high, and people generally only live in one place instead of “upgrading” or “downgrading”. I’ve also found that the underground subway system here is pretty easy to use and I’m almost sure that the families around us don’t own a car. You’ve just gotta walk everywhere, especially in the gothic quarter where many roads are blocked off to all but service vehicles.
I could go on and on describing Barcelona, but I want to stop here because I don’t want to form too many conclusions until my time here is finished.
22@ - Urban Revitalisation
The neighbourhood of Poble Nou in Barcelona is a former industrial sector that is now being revitalised and turned into a centre for high-tech companies to locate their business. The sector mainly follows the Eixample grid and even though the land use zoning has been ‘industrial’ there is still residential housing and small commercial located there. The area is really large (about 200ha) and the city has adopted a strategy that involves public-private partnerships to get what it wants. It has drawn up 6 specific revitalisation areas that are designed in detail. These 6 areas are supposed to be the engines of change for the rest of the area. In order to encourage the type of mixed use development that Barcelona is famous for, the city has implemented an FAR** bonusing system if certain uses are incorporated into any new buildings. These desired uses are things such as commercial space, or affordable housing. So if a computer programming firm wants to build a building, they can build more storeys and make a bigger building if they also incorporate housing and commercial at the same time. Other interesting infrastructure improvements (triple i!) on this site are a pneumatic refuse collection system that stores the garbage or recycling under the street and out of the sun as it waits for pick up (instead of bins in a back alley). They also installed new bike lanes on some of the streets that are separated from the traffic by low rubber mountable blocks that create a physical barrier that can be crossed in case of an accident. I like this idea.
**Floor Area Ratio: the ratio between the total floorplan area of the building to the area of the building site.
And finally, my studio group project:
Re-Surfacing: The design of a public space incorporating underground infrastructure for the Mercat de la Boqueria at Plaça de la Gardunya.
We’re currently only conducting the context analysis right now, but it is an interesting site. It is located within the Old City in a neighbourhood called El Raval. The Mercat is one of the ‘must see’s’ for tourists coming to Barcelona. You can find pretty much anything from fruit to fish heads to mushrooms to edible insects there and it is always bustling. Our site is located right next to the market and serves as a parking lot, unloading bay, portable refrigeration, and garbage facility.
We only have 6 more weeks to come up with a final design… and present it in a competition-style format that crosses linguistic boundaries. Should be fun!!
Barcelona Urban Form – some random observations
Barcelona is famous for its high density, mixed use development and heavily used public spaces. I’m living in the old gothic quarter of the city which is characterised by winding, narrow streets, high density development, and tourism. The other, more prevalent urban form in Barcelona is the Eixample, which are those big blocks on the grid you can see if you look at a map. If I were to draw a very, very rough parallel, I’d say that the old city is to the Eixample as the Beltline in Calgary is to the suburbs. It feels calmer and more domestic out there, but that’s just me. Apparently, home ownership in Barcelona is really high, and people generally only live in one place instead of “upgrading” or “downgrading”. I’ve also found that the underground subway system here is pretty easy to use and I’m almost sure that the families around us don’t own a car. You’ve just gotta walk everywhere, especially in the gothic quarter where many roads are blocked off to all but service vehicles.
I could go on and on describing Barcelona, but I want to stop here because I don’t want to form too many conclusions until my time here is finished.
22@ - Urban Revitalisation
The neighbourhood of Poble Nou in Barcelona is a former industrial sector that is now being revitalised and turned into a centre for high-tech companies to locate their business. The sector mainly follows the Eixample grid and even though the land use zoning has been ‘industrial’ there is still residential housing and small commercial located there. The area is really large (about 200ha) and the city has adopted a strategy that involves public-private partnerships to get what it wants. It has drawn up 6 specific revitalisation areas that are designed in detail. These 6 areas are supposed to be the engines of change for the rest of the area. In order to encourage the type of mixed use development that Barcelona is famous for, the city has implemented an FAR** bonusing system if certain uses are incorporated into any new buildings. These desired uses are things such as commercial space, or affordable housing. So if a computer programming firm wants to build a building, they can build more storeys and make a bigger building if they also incorporate housing and commercial at the same time. Other interesting infrastructure improvements (triple i!) on this site are a pneumatic refuse collection system that stores the garbage or recycling under the street and out of the sun as it waits for pick up (instead of bins in a back alley). They also installed new bike lanes on some of the streets that are separated from the traffic by low rubber mountable blocks that create a physical barrier that can be crossed in case of an accident. I like this idea.
**Floor Area Ratio: the ratio between the total floorplan area of the building to the area of the building site.
And finally, my studio group project:
Re-Surfacing: The design of a public space incorporating underground infrastructure for the Mercat de la Boqueria at Plaça de la Gardunya.
We’re currently only conducting the context analysis right now, but it is an interesting site. It is located within the Old City in a neighbourhood called El Raval. The Mercat is one of the ‘must see’s’ for tourists coming to Barcelona. You can find pretty much anything from fruit to fish heads to mushrooms to edible insects there and it is always bustling. Our site is located right next to the market and serves as a parking lot, unloading bay, portable refrigeration, and garbage facility.
We only have 6 more weeks to come up with a final design… and present it in a competition-style format that crosses linguistic boundaries. Should be fun!!
posted by Francesca @ 11:26 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home