Australia - repairSince we have been making buildings and cities in Australia it has mostly been to separate us from our position as human beings in the natural environment. The Australian Pavilion therefore looks at the pattern of Site Repair. Finland - mind buildingIndonesia – The poetics of emptiness
Nordic Pavilion - Reuse, reduce, recycle, rebeautyPortuguese Pavilion - Public Without RhetoricInvites us to reflect on the role of architecture in contemporary societies and allows us to understand the intention of the architect within the context of the larger work that is the city. Public construction works are inserted in their setting, take ground and establish themselves as an integral part of place. The passage of time provides new forms of spatiality and renewed relationship possibilities with the community that inhabits them. Irish Pavilion - Free MarketFree Market’ celebrates small town market places. When it comes to improving the quality of market squares in Irish towns Rosie Webb states, “it is worthwhile looking to the past to provide direction for how we might accommodate change for the future.”
Towns were often physically constructed around market places, which, historically were the economic and social hubs, however many have seen their function diminished. ‘Free Market’ highlights three interconnected ways to provoke change: changes in policy, in behaviour and in how design happens. “Rather than asking how do we fix towns, we ask what can we learn from towns?” It is convenient to want a market where all the different foods and household goods you need can be bought under the one roof. But when the market has a single management, it lacks variety and dehumanises the experience of the marketplace. The only way to bring variety and human contact back is to create a market with individual shop owners selling different goods, from tiny stalls, under a common roof. Within the structure different shops should have the ability to create their own environment, according to taste and needs. (Alexander 1977) Irish PavilionVenice Biennale The morphology and form of the Irish market town
Redesigned public spaces in Clonakilty provide vital lessons in collaborative place-makingGiulia Vallone - Squares dominated by parking, empty buildings and anti-social behaviour called for an objective that focused on providing new ‘living rooms’ for civic and social events. The development of a bottom-up public participation approach to public spaces allowed for place making, promotion of visual awareness, quality design, sense of ownership, civic stewardship and economic development. Giulia Vallone states that “safety, accessibility and place-making were crucial points to further establish pedestrian priority”. This invites people to stop and use the street. This idea of ‘vitality, vibrancy and viability impacts the overall socio-economic, environmental and cultural growth and development, and quality of life for citizens and visitors. RIAI Town Toolkit: Making places for peoplePhilip Jackson - Provides tools and methodologies for people to assess the quality of their towns and help make decisions that would improve them. They explore six themes that aim to benefit our physical health and well-being, our economic health, and creating a sustainable relationship with our environment. - Health and happiness - Accessibility and movement - Variety and Viability - Urban Structure, Form and Character (Genius Loci – A sense of a place) - Living Sustainably - Governance, Management and Stewardship Back to the future for town squaresRosie Webb is concerned of vehicular movement and parking taking precedence over all historical functions of town squares, limiting community interaction.
“Good urban architecture distinguishes itself from merely building as a human social art. It is a force for repairing the fabric of human community and the natural world. As a social art, urban design must reflect the values and needs of society.” Building sites must be considered as living eco-systems. Therefore, buildings must always be built on land in the worst condition, leaving the areas that are the most beautiful, precious and healthy as they are. Site repair deals with the problem of how to minimise damage. The most talented builders are not only able to use the built form to avoid damage, but also to improve the natural landscape. (Alexander 1977) Repair, Australian PavilionVennice Bieannle 2018 'Repair' aims “to stimulate discussion of core architectural values” and to validate the “relevance of architecture on this dynamic planet.” There is an interest in “going beyond the visual” to dwell upon the relationships architecture can make, frame and reveal between ourselves, where we live, how we live, and with nature. Since we have been making buildings and cities in Australia it has mostly been to separate us from our position as human beings in the natural environment.
Set up a playground for children in each neighbourhood. Not highly finished but with raw materials and objects such as barrels, rope, boxes etc. where children can create their own playgrounds. Alexander (1977) Interactive architectureZadar, Croatia Raw playgrounds are effective in stimulating children's imagination and creativity however in public spaces there is a lot of yellow tape preventing such play. In the 21st century, as technology develops and the processes of design and architecture change, there has opened a new interactive playground which is responsive to its users and environment. These new urban playgrounds are not only for children either, but they become meeting places, connecting us back to the natural and built environment in which we live. Sea Organ Sun Salutation
Each community needs its own physical town hall which forms the nucleus of its political activity. It should be located near the busiest intersection in the community and be a place where people can gather. Sarajevo city hallSarajevo, Bosnia The building was first opened in 1896 and was converted into a national library in 1949. It was destroyed by shelling during the siege of the city in 1992 destroying almost 2 million books. The most noteworthy thing about Sarajevo is it resilience.
After the worlds longest siege from 1992-1995 the survivors have a great sense of hope for the future and also a sick humour they acclaimed got them through the war. "The collective miseries keep you sane" our tour guide says, as she laughs about eating stale war food, full of worms. As she talks about the burning of their books she says "it is what it is, no reason to cry about it. We will write new ones", proves the optimism and resilience of the Bosnian people. The renovation took 18 years and finally opened as a City Hall in 2014. The City Hall is now a symbol of the victory over Fascism, and declared a national monument. Cars can overwhelm pedestrians in the city as "the car is king, and people are made to feel small". Raised walks should be placed on one side of the road and as wide as possible. (Alexander 1997) SarajevoBosnia
Visualise the whole building, or building complex as a system of roofs. Make lesser roofs cascade off large roofs, which is congruent with the hierarchy of social spaces underneath. "What is it that makes the cascading character of these buildings so sound and so appropriate?" Sveti StefanMontenegro Sveti Stefan was built on the island in 1441, fortified by walls. Originally, it was an example of cascading roofs following the hierarchy of social space as the church of St. Stephen, after which the island was named, is located on the highest point of the island. The settlement slowly lost importance towards the end of the 19th century when the inhabitants began to emigrate and in 1955 the island was converted into the world’s most unusual town-hotel.
Although, the streets, walls, roofs and facades have retained their former appearance, the interiors no longer coincide. The cascading roofs of the same materials is aesthetic, however it was dependant on the resources at the time of construction. Therefore, now a privatised island, this pattern is seemingly redundant. So how can use the pattern of Cascading Roofs in today's architecture if we are no longer restricted to a social hierarchy? |
Archives
July 2018
Categories
All
|