We have seen our ecobulevar in (windows’ version of google maps). This aerial photographs service is developing fast; it doesn’t yet cover the whole planet, but there are many photos of Spain in it already. You can look at the sites from North, South, East and West directions. If you click here you will see the ecobulevar from the West (just move with the arrows).
December 3, 2007
el ecobulevar en windows live local
Category : ⚐ ES + arquitectura + ecosistema urbano + internet
Hoy he descubierto que en (el google maps de windows) se puede ver el ecobulevar a vista de pájaro y ya acabado.
Este servicio de fotos aéreas es bastante completo. Todavía no está implantado para todo el planeta, pero sí parece que en España tienen bastantes imágenes. Permite además ver vistas de pájaro desde norte, sur, este y oeste. Por ejemplo, aquí se puede ver la vista del ecobulevar desde el oeste (sólo con girar con las flechas).
October 2, 2007
www.agenda21-local.net
Category : ⚐ EN + sustainability + urbanism
We have opened up our own media channel at www.agenda21-local.net. We are given the chance to communicate our innovative products for implementing the objectives of the local “agendas21”. We offer a range of high-quality services that can be used to improve the relationship between neighbours and the public space. We have started a new site inside our blog, next to the projects site, called products. In this space you will shortly find a list of specific services aimed for sustainable towns and cities. Some of the services, including rehabilitation of neighbourhoods, workshops for the future involving the participation of the neighbours or the eco-pack, will be carried out together with fundación CIREM foundation, an expert on this matter. We hope these services are what Spanish towns are looking for. We will watch out for your comments to improve our proposals throughout the process.
September 21, 2007
www.agenda21-local.net
Category : ⚐ ES + medioambiente + sostenibilidad
A partir del próximo martes abrimos un canal de comunicación propio en el portal www.agenda21-local.net. Se nos ofrece la posibilidad de comunicar nuestros productos innovadores en cuestiones de implementación de objetivos definidos en las agendas21 locales. Ofrecemos diferentes servicios de alta calidad con los cuales entendemos que podemos mejorar las relaciones entre los vecinos y el espacio publico. Hemos abierto en nuestro blog un nuevo espacio junto al de proyectos que lleva el nombre de productos. En este espacio encontraran próximamente una relación de servicios específicos destinados a los municipios sostenibles y a los que se quieran apuntar a los objetivos de mejora de la calidad de vida urbana. Ciertos servicios, que incluyen rehabilitación integral de barrios, talleres de futuro mediante participación ciudadana o el eco-pack se realizaran con la fundación CIREM, experta en esta materia. Esperamos que estas ofertas de servicios sean lo que están buscando los municipios españoles. Seremos atentos a vuestros comentarios para ir afinándolos a lo largo del proceso.
November 29, 2018
In a previous post, we shared the general approach for the Revitalization Plan of the historical center of Hermosillo. Pointing out how a strategic-tactical approach can contribute to transforming the city.
As we are focusing this month on hybrid buildings and urban catalysts, we want to take a closer look into one of the key sub-projects of the Plan Idea Hermosillo: the Banco de Ideas (Bank of Ideas).
Identifying an opportunity for activation
During the mapping process of the historical center, both in the on-site surveys and in the participatory meetings and workshops, one of the locations began to stand out as a key spot in the project’s approach: the Banco de Ropa (bank of clothes), a two-storey building used by a local NGO as a collection, storage and re-distribution point for second-hand clothes.
General view of the location of the Banco de Ideas and its surroundings, as seen from Cerro de la Campana.
View of the Banco de Ropa from the No Reelección Avenue, and current façade seen from Avda. Obregón.
Many of the ingredients needed to launch an urban activation project are present on the Banco de Ropa:
- It is strategically located in the center of the intervention area (see map). On the main street, near an important intersection and with direct views of the Cerro de la Campana. This location gives the project an excellent level of visibility and maximizes its potential impact on the urban center.
- It presents an interesting combination of building and public space. Two of its facades, equipped with large sliding doors, face different streets, one of them with a small square in front. Right next to it, there is a vacant lot currently used as a parking lot. This combination of spaces creates the ideal situation to experiment with interior and exterior urban interventions.
- The size of the building—around 1,700 m2—and of the surrounding spaces are also ideal, keeping the intervention in an affordable range but allowing a significant level of impact to be achieved in its surroundings.
- The building is the only public property in the area, which enables some approaches that would not have been possible on a privately owned lot.
- Transferring the existing use—as a clothing ban—to another location was deemed feasible and even desirable.
- During the workshops and meetings, several local agents expressed their interest in taking part in the activation of the Banco de Ideas from the socio-cultural and business side. The building is seen as a possible hub for entrepreneurship, gastronomy, and technology, incorporating an educational component in its core.
- The building’s general construction quality is relatively low, but on the other hand offers great potential for reconversion, being able to function as a large container of activities.
All these factors give this location a great potential for transformation and positive impact on the environment. They enable the ability to activate spaces, attract people and become the first step towards the revitalization of the historical center.
This is why this location was chosen as the main intervention of the Plan Idea Hermosillo, being developed as the “Banco de Ideas” Pilot Project.
The Banco de Ideas as an urban catalyst
The name and identity of the Banco de Ideas establish a link between its current use as a clothing bank and future use as a cultural, social and economic incubator. It is a space of exploration, a place capable of kick-starting the social, cultural and economic activation of the area. Capable of functioning as a collaborative “kitchen” in which the city and the neighborhood can experience new activities and ways of organizing themselves, and launch initiatives that improve the quality of life.
This is the role of an urban catalyst: to be one of the first steps on the long process of revitalization of an area of the city. The aim is to create a public and open place that would become a new node of activity, achieving a high impact without consuming excessive economic resources.
Diversifying uses
One of the first considerations when conceiving a new urban space like this one is the incorporation of new uses and programmes that will guarantee its transformation into an attractor of activity.
Many of the proposals emerged during the participation process with different stakeholders. The activities also served to identify the people or groups that could be involved in the subsequent management of the space. The uses and programmes that were identified as relevant for the reconversion of the building included gastronomy, culture, and heritage, entrepreneurship, education, new technologies and sport.
Key themes and activities identified around the Banco de Ideas.
Maximize the relationship with the environment
The Banco de Ideas building is a visual reference for the entire area because of its solid volume and height. It can clearly be seen from the Cerro de la Campana. However, given the importance of its integration into the urban context, the intervention cannot be restricted to an isolated architectural project: it needs to engage with the surrounding environment.
In the adjacent outdoor spaces (the small square on Obregón Avenue and streets) interventions are proposed in order to improve usability, comfort, attractiveness and general quality of the space.
The Banco de Ideas and its surroundings as hubs for new uses.
The location of the building (right next to a public parking lot surrounded by a historic façade) allows for the creation of a unique combination of interior and exterior spaces. The parking lot is incorporated as a temporary expansion space in the moments of low usage, making it possible for the Banco de Ideas to also program outdoor activities.
The four large opposite entrances facilitate themovement of people, furniture and large objects, and provide physical and visual connection through the building.
The project
The concept of an urban catalyst is translated as a hybrid building (see more examples), capable of hosting a wide variety of uses. This building typology lies halfway between the closed and the open, the public and the private, the physical and the digital.
Axonometries showing elements to be demolished (red) and to be added (green) to the Banco de Ideas.
The project is based on the existing building, modifying it according to six key principles: the creation of multifunctional spaces, the connection of interior spaces with surrounding public spaces, the improvement of its climatic comfort by bioclimatic design, the integration of new facilities and technologies to prepare it for innovative uses, the creation of an open and inclusive management system, and the extension of opening hours to create an almost 24/7 facility.
Explanatory diagrams of the main concepts behind the proposal for the Banco de Ideas.
Inside the building, the intervention focuses on improvements that will allow new programmes and increase comfort: more natural lighting and ventilation, an adaptation of the space to new needs, improved accessibility, modernization of basic infrastructures, improvements in the perception of the space, etc.
A central patio combines vertical communications, lighting and ventilation. Three open floors are created, with a flexible distribution aided by furniture and light walls.
Plant and section of the proposal.
A key action for the renovation of the building is the addition o a new façace, made with light structures and semi-opaque textiles over the existing façace. Its design allows, on one hand, to protect the structure and the main enclosure of the building from direct solar radiation, improving its climatic behavior. On the other hand, brings a renovated image to the building while maintaining part of its previous shape.
Image of the building and the surrounding spaces from the outside.
The key to a sustainable management
One of the main challenges is related to the reactivation and management model of the Banco de Ropa building. Improving its physical appearance or incorporating new programmes is not enough. The real challenge is to develop an ad-hoc management model that guarantees its economic feasibility and at the same time promotes its use as a public facility.
This is why it is necessary to have the support of different urban stakeholders (private entrepreneurs, civic associations, local institutions, foundations, NGO’s, volunteers, etc.) organized in an administrative and consultive committee, and a civic board that will operate the Banco de Ideas in its day to day functioning.
The public sector will provide the building on a concession basis and will provide resources for the initial materialization of the physical infrastructure. At the same time, it will facilitate its management and operation with the other public agencies involved.
Profiles identified for the co-management of the Banco de Ideas.
This management model is based on good practices from different parts of the world, such as Estación Indianilla (CDMX, Mexico), Cascina Cuccagna (Milan, Italy), Infante 1415 (Santiago, Chile), Chapitô (Lisbon, Portugal) or the Scuola Open Source (Bari, Italy).
The aim is making the Banco de Ideas a self-sufficient project that generates its own economy and activity.
If you want to know more about this project, we recommend you to check the Plan Idea Hermosillo, and the document with the proposal for the Banco de Ideas, which you can read below:
February 6, 2017
Last year we were contacted by Vanessa Miriam Carlow from the Institute for Sustainable Urbanism to make an interview for the book Ruralism: The Future of Villages and Small Towns in an Urbanizing World. This book is dedicated to the significance of rural spaces ‘as a starting point for transformation’. Different international experts were asked to reflect on rural spaces from an architectural, cultural, gender-oriented, ecological, and political perspective and ask how a (new) vision of the rural can be formulated. As the introduction states:
In an urbanizing world, the city is considered the ultimate model and the measure of all things. The attention of architects and planners has been almost entirely focused on the city for many years, while rural spaces are all too often associated with visions of economic decline, stagnation and resignation. However, rural spaces are transforming almost as radically as cities. Furthermore, rural spaces play a decisive role in the sustainable development of our living environment—inextricably interlinked with the city as a resource or reservoir. The formerly segregated countryside is now traversed by global and regional flows of people, goods, waste, energy, and information, linking it to urban systems and enabling them to function in the first place.
Today we are publishing the interview, answered by Belinda Tato. If you find it interesting, there is much more in the book! We recommend you to get a printed copy here. Here is the full transcript of the interview:
Q: Your office name, ecosistema urbano, brings with it a certain tension that somehow combines unexpected contrasts. How did you come to this name and what do you want to express with it?
A: It took us a while to choose a name or concept that communicated our interests and the complex reality of urban issues we face. We found the idea of ‘ecosystem’ an appealing one, its definition implies a group of interconnected elements formed by the interaction of a community with their environment. This relationship between the natural and the artificial aims for a balance between these two worlds, and reflects the issues we care about when designing architecture and practicing territorial and urban planning.
Q: In your presentation, you said that during your studies the planning approach mainly focused on infrastructure and the physical environment. How would you describe the situation today?
A: I believe there is a clear shift between the object-focused educational approach from the nineties towards a more polyhedral approach and understanding of cities and design that is happening today. There is a growing interest in considering processes and interactions and taking the social, cultural, or economic aspects into account leading to more comprehensive and ambitious proposals to transform reality.
Q: Which approach does your office have today? How would you describe the current role of the architect and planner?
A: That is not an easy question to answer briefly! We recently made an effort to try to summarize our approach and the result is a kind of manifesto in ten points.
Urban. Social. Design. Three words that describe our dedication: the urban context, the social approach, and the design understood as an action, an interaction, and a tool for transformation. Understanding types of behaviour and processes at different levels is crucial.
Creativity is a network. In a globalized world, creativity is the capacity to connect things innovatively and thus we understand that the protagonist of the creative process is not just a team but an open and multi-layered design network.
Community first. Cities are created and maintained by people for people, and urban development only makes sense when the community cares about it. We work to empower the communities to drive the projects that affect them, so social relevance is guaranteed.
Going glocal. Just as cities have residents and visitors, and planning is made at different scales, every urban project is born in a constant movement between the direct experience and specificity of the local context, and the global, shared flow of information and knowledge.
Accepting –and managing– conflict. Participation, like conversation, means letting all the points of view be raised and listened to. Public debate only makes sense if all the stakeholders are involved. Every project affecting the city has to deal with both opposition and support, consensus and contradiction.
Assuming complexity. Encompassing the complexity of the urban environment requires simplifying it. Instead, we prefer to admit its vast character and understand our work as a thin layer –with limited and, at times, unpredictable effects– carefully inserted into that complexity.
Learning by doing. Our experience grows through practice. We know what we can do, and we challenge ourselves to do what we think we should be doing. We solve the unexpected issues as we move, and then we take our lesson from the process and the results.
Planning… and being flexible. Urban development is what happens in the city while others try to plan it. We think ahead, make our dispositions, but we are always ready for reality to change our plans… mostly for the better. Rigidity kills opportunity, participation and urban life.
Embracing transdisciplinarity: We assume that our role as professionals is evolving, disciplinary bonds are loosening, urban projects are complex, and circumstances are continuously changing. This requires open-minded professionals, flexible enough to adapt their roles and skills and to use unusual tools.
Technology as a social tool: Today’s technology enables us to better relate and interact with each other and with the surrounding environment. As the digital-physical divide narrows and the possibilities multiply, it becomes an increasingly significant element in urban social life.
Keeping it open: Open means transparent, accessible, inclusive, collaborative, modifiable, reproducible. Open means more people can be part of it and benefit from it. These are the attributes that define a project made for the common good.
Q: From your presentation, it emerged that the integration of the local conditions—as a climatic and social issue—represent an important focus of your work. How do you rate the relationship between global-local influence in relation to the architectural or urban design?
A: This is a very interesting question, and one we have asked ourselves several times. We have worked mostly abroad during the last years, and over and over we find the same situation where we have to balance the local and the global dimensions of design and planning. Local conditions are always the main terms of reference for our work. They give accuracy and pertinence to our proposals. They not only determine the boundaries we have to respect, the resources we have available, or the particularities we have to take into account, but also the potential for improvement that each particular place has. Local context is a source of invaluable site-specific knowledge, even if that knowledge is not always conscious or apparent, especially to locals. Opening a project to participation is a great way to make local values stand out and locals become self-aware… if you are able to ask the right questions and then read between the lines, of course. But relying solely on local conditions rarely provides the best solutions. You usually find situations that have become stagnant precisely by the lack of confrontation and external feedback. Then you need to confront the local ‘ways,’ often loaded with prejudices or relative narrowness, or with something else. And that is where global influence comes into play: the contrast, the opposition that clears concepts, breaks groupthink and gives a relative measure to local values. Global is the mirror that local can use to become self-conscious. We could speak of bringing knowledge from the global to the local, or even generating local knowledge by confronting it with the global. But it is also creativity that is being created or transferred. The ability to connect, articulate, and interpret different contexts is crucial whenever a new approach is needed and local conditions have proven insufficient to deliver it.
Q: You showed us some practical examples of your current work, which pursues sustainable approaches in terms of water recycling systems for the kindergarten in Madrid or climatic adaptations for the Expo pavilion in Shanghai. What opportunities do you see for the implementation of sustainable planning tools or strategies in larger, urban scale projects?
A: Urban planning and urban design have a great impact on people’s lives, shaping the way we live, move, relate, consume, etc… In addition to this, its impact will be of a long term as it is less ephemeral than architecture. For these reasons, it is important to design integrating with nature, its cycles and processes, taking advantage of the environment and optimizing interventions.
Q: Let us take a closer look at the countryside: in the current city-centered discourse, rural spaces are often dismissed as declining or stagnating. However, rural spaces also play a critical role in sustainable development, as an inextricably linked counterpart, but also as a complement to the growing city, as extraction sites, natural reservoirs for food, fresh water and air, or as leisure spaces. Do we need to formulate a (new) vision of ‘ruralism’? What would be your definition of the future rural? What new concepts for the rural exist in Spain?
A: When talking about ecosystems, it is crucial to understand the interwoven connections between the urban and the rural, and how they relate and affect each other in a critical balance. Although the urban expansion has some environmental consequences, there are also some interesting phenomena happening. As today’s IT keeps us connected and allows us to work remotely, this neoruralism enables us to have a renewed vision of the territory and its possibilities, offering development opportunities in towns that have been abandoned for decades, for instance in Spain. This new trend is transforming these abandoned towns into new activity hubs, creating a new migration flux from cities. It will be possible to measure the socioeconomic impact of this activity in a few years.
Q: The once remote and quiet countryside is now traversed by global and regional flows of people, goods, waste, energy, and information, interrelating it with the larger urban system. Is a new set of criteria for understanding and appreciating the rural required? How would you measure what is rural and what is urban?
A: In a globalized world with an unprecedented ongoing process of urbanization, and under the impact of climate change and global warming, it is becoming more and more difficult to precisely define the limits between the rural and the urban as the urban footprint is somehow atomizing and gobbling the rural. Cities are the combination and result of the simultaneous interaction between nature and artificial technology, and their ecological footprint expansion forces the extraction of natural resources from even further sources, with obvious environmental consequences. At the local scale, it is necessary to point out the close relationship between the way a city relates to its environment, the way it manages its natural resources, and the quality of life it can provide to its inhabitants. This could be summarized as: the more sustainable a city/territory is, the better its inhabitants will live.
Q: What role do villages and smaller towns have in a world in which the majority live in cities? Could you comment on and describe a bit about the situation in Spain or the other countries you have been working in?
A: In cities, innovation and creativity concentrate and emerge naturally. The rural environment also requires people willing to create, to innovate, to connect, etc…. This creative ruralism could lead to the creation of eco-techno-rural environments, which would provide some of the features of the rural combined with specific services of the urban…the perfect setting for innovation to take place!
Q: Which role could the rural play at the frontlines of regional transformation and sustainability? What are the existing and potential connections between urban and rural spaces?
A: The rural could provide a complementary lifestyle for people fleeing from the city to re-connect or re-localize. At the same time, we would need to explore and expand technology’s possibilities, pushing its actual limits, and foreseeing potential new services that could enhance life in the rural by making it more diverse, fulfilling, and even… more global.
Q: And what role can urban design play in preparing rural life and space for the future? Is the rural an arena for ‘urban’ design at all?
A: I think the challenge would be to create the conditions for social life and interaction. We do have the conditions for that activity to happen digitally, but how can we foster social activity in low-density environments? Would it be necessary to create small urban nodes in the rural? These issues are interesting challenges we have to face conceptually and design-wise.
Are you interested in this topic? You can get the book here…
July 27, 2016
Este Viernes 29 de Julio en la escuela de postgrado Universidad Camilo José Cela se realizará una lectura pública y se presentarán los trabajos finales de la edición 2015-2016 del Máster en Arquitectura y Energía. La presentación de los trabajos se estructurará en tres bloques temáticos: Sustainable Urban Strategies, Cooperation and Emergency Architecture, y Self Sufficient Architecture. Belinda Tato ha sido responsable del módulo Networked Urbanism de dicho Máster y asistirá al evento para ver y compartir impresiones sobre los resultados de los trabajos. La sesión tendrá lugar en la nueva sede de la Escuela de Posgrado, en la calle Almagro, 5.
Como ya os avanzábamos, la temática desarrollada para el próximo curso tiene que ver con las situaciones extremas y la capacidad de generar respuestas desde el diseño. Más información: Designing for the extreme.
A continuación compartimos una entrevista realizada a Belinda Tato el pasado mes de junio para el blog de Stepienybarno, hablando sobre su experiencia docente en el Máster en Arquitectura y Energía. La versión original de la entrevista se publicó aquí.
SYB: Cuéntanos un poco cuando empiezas en MAE como profesora
BT: Comienzo a colaborar con el Máster en el verano del 2015. Luis Feduchi, Director de la Escuela de Arquitectura UCJC, me invita a formar parte del cuerpo docente en el área de Urbanismo y Ciudad, una de las temáticas transversales en los grados de Arquitectura y Paisaje, posgrados y cursos de especialización.
SYB:¿Cuáles son, en tu opinión, los valores principales del máster?
BT: El Máster aporta una formación complementaria para aquellos que quieren ahondar más sobre el tema de sostenibilidad urbana y eficiencia energética en el campo de la arquitectura. Hablar de arquitectura es hablar de contexto, clima, materialidad, técnicas constructivas y recursos; es decir, cómo gestionar los recursos para diseñar entornos que respondan eficientemente al contexto. El compromiso medioambiental es algo implícito en la propia arquitectura, puesto que un edificio más allá de su construcción, tiene una vida útil muy prolongada. Su eficiencia energética, rendimiento y mantenimiento a lo largo de su vida, viene en gran medida determinado por el diseño inicial.
Creo que el valor que tiene el Máster es que se trabaja desde la escala territorial y urbana llegando a la escala arquitectónica y al diseño de detalle. El MAE requiere una dedicación intensa, y, sin embargo, precisamente por su estructura flexible y horario executive puede compatibilizarse perfectamente con la actividad profesional.
SYB: Como profesora, ¿en qué área te has integrado?
BT: Estoy al cargo del Área de Urbanismo y Ciudad. La escala urbana es esencial si queremos hablar de sostenibilidad. La planificación de una ciudad, es donde se toman las grandes decisiones que tienen un mayor impacto en las dinámicas urbanas y la calidad de vida de los ciudadanos. Se corresponde con la primera parte del Máster, el Módulo 1 más conceptual donde se trabaja a escala de ciudad, estudiando indicadores de sostenibilidad urbana, modelos urbanos, etc…
SYB: Muy relacionado con el trabajo que desarrolláis en Ecosistema Urbano…
BT: Sí, claro, me interesa la ciudad y los problemas que afrontamos como profesionales, y el reto que supone resolverlos. Entender la ciudad, no sólo desde el punto de vista infraestructural, sino también el social y cómo ambos interactúan y están interrelacionados. Una ciudad más justa socialmente es más sostenible y viceversa. Lo físico y lo social se afectan mutuamente, y es interesante entender esas interrelaciones.
En Ecosistema urbano, hemos trabajado a lo largo de los últimos años en países con climas y culturas muy distintas: España, Noruega, China, Ecuador, Paraguay, Holanda, Italia, Rusia, etc…proyectando espacios públicos que crean microclimas urbanos, lagunas de macrófitas que purifican aguas residuales para su reutilización, edificios de alta eficiencia energética o juegos infantiles que generan energía…Esta visión global es la que se quiere dar al Máster, preparando profesionales para trabajar en ámbitos muy distintos.
Encarnación Más, Plan de Desarrollo Sustentable y Plan de Ordenamiento Urbano y Territorial de Encarnación, Paraguay. http://encarnacionmas.com/
SYB: Reconforta encontrar hoy equipos de arquitectura con tanto trabajo en países tan dispares, seguramente la orientación del urbanismo en la mayoría de escuelas españolas se sigue tratando de un modo jurídico y legal un poco (si nos lo permites) demasiado local, ¿no crees?
BT: Vivimos en un mundo global, por lo que es necesario exponer a los alumnos a otras realidades. Creo que, un profesional debe estar familiarizado con los grandes fenómenos urbanos del planeta que tienen lugar en América Latina, Oriente Medio o Asia. No podría entender abordar esta asignatura sólo desde una mirada local.
SYB: En el caso concreto del MAE ¿qué asignaturas impartes y que metodología sigues?
BT: Estoy a cargo de dos asignaturas, una de carácter más introductorio, que incluye una serie de conferencias de ponentes invitados y sesiones críticas sobre el desarrollo de los trabajos de los alumnos. Y una segunda, “Urbanismo y Taller de diseño urbano”, en la que, por un lado, estudiamos referencias y casos de estudio internacionales, y, por otro, desarrollamos propuestas para nuestro ámbito de estudio. Los alumnos identifican el tema en el que se quieren centrar para desarrollar su propuesta trabajando en equipos multidisciplinares, ya que no todos nuestros alumnos son arquitectos.
SYB: Los trabajos de estos equipos de alumnos deben ser muy interesantes, ¿se pueden consultar?
BT: Sí, hay un interés en compartir los resultados de las investigaciones y expandir el debate urbano más allá de la Escuela, y de la Universidad. En el Máster, los alumnos tienen la capacidad de identificar el tema en el que quieren centrar su investigación y aportar ese valor al equipo en el que desarrollan el trabajo de diseño urbano en nuestro taller. Esto les permite enfocar sus intereses más allá del máster, que se convierte en un interesante periodo bisagra que les capacita y ayuda a definir su desarrollo profesional.
Son proyectos ambiciosos, visionarios,… y, sobretodo, responden tanto a inquietudes personales como al esfuerzo colectivo del grupo.
En breve compartiremos algunos de los resultados en nuestro blog, ecosistemaurbano.org
Local In – plataforma de participación ciudadana desarrollada por ecosistema urbano. Aquí en la versión Cuenca RED. Proyecto para la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador
SYB: En la entrevista anterior, Miguel Ángel nos contaba que cada año proponéis un tema vertebrador del máster y sobre el que giran todas las asignaturas del MAE. ¿Podrías desvelar el tema de la próxima Edición?
BT: El Máster tiene como eje estructural la energía; sin embargo, cada curso académico tiene una temática específica que lo dota de contenido de manera transversal para todas las asignaturas.
Este año el tema es Designing for the extreme. Se trata de reflexionar y buscar soluciones que aborden desde el diseño las situaciones urbanas extremas que se dan en el planeta en términos climáticos, migratorios, sociales, ambientales, energéticos, económicos, etc… Gestionar esa complejidad y entender el papel que desempeña el diseño (territorial, urbano, arquitectónico, objetual…) es de indudable valor y aporta un aprendizaje, que nos lleva a explorar los ‘límites’ y el potencial transformador que tiene nuestra profesión. En Designing for the extreme, trabajaremos desde tres ámbitos fundamentales: social, tecnológico y, por supuesto, medioambiental.
Plataformas flotantes de activación social y de mejora de la calidad medioambiental – Revitalización del embalse de Voronezh, Russia
SYB: Este enfoque abre la puerta a muchos perfiles, no sólo arquitectos o ingenieros, ¿es así?
BT: Efectivamente, este año el Máster abre la puerta a perfiles diversos y tiene que ver con el carácter interdisciplinar de la UCJC en su conjunto. Hablar de ciudad, sostenibilidad, eficiencia, no es, en absoluto, un tema exclusivo de arquitectos. Es interesante y necesario fomentar el carácter interdisciplinar de nuestra profesión, sobretodo trabajando en temas urbanos. Esperamos contar con geógrafos, paisajistas, sociólogos, ingenieros ambientales, economistas…cuanto más diverso sea el alumnado, más rico y complejo será el curso del propio MAE.
SYB: Además del MAE, sabemos que durante parte del año también impartes clase de manera regular en Harvard GSD, ¿existe alguna relación entre ambos programas?
BT: Soy profesora invitada en Harvard GSD desde el año 2010, habiendo desarrollado el curso de Networked Urbanism en el departamento de Urban Design de dicha escuela. El planteamiento de este curso es el mismo: identificar un problema u oportunidad en la ciudad y desarrollar soluciones innovadoras. Este planteamiento genera proyectos de muy diferente naturaleza: algunas propuestas de intervención física, y otras más tecnológicas o sobre sistemas de gestión.
En la UCJC, el curso de especialización Networked Urbanism, consta de dos asignaturas del Máster de Arquitectura y Energía, la participación en un taller internacional y el desarrollo de un proyecto final. Este año se centra en Bahrein, donde estamos desarrollando un proyecto de investigación sobre propuestas de acondicionamiento climático en el espacio público en este clima extremo; y las consecuencias sociales de esta transformación.
Proyecto de rehabilitación de la Escuela Febres Cordero y creación de un nuevo espacio público Cuenca RED – Proyecto de reactivación del espacio público del Centro Histórico de Cuenca, Ecuador.
SYB: En el fondo es una titulación paralela al otro curso de especialización integrado en MAE, Affordable Habitat dirigido por Anupama Kundoo…Cursos de Especialista que se pueden obtener además del MAE y al mismo tiempo, ¿no?
BT: Efectivamente, así es… Además, parte del curso de Anupama Kundoo se puede visitar estos días en la Bienal de Venecia, donde alumnos de la UCJC han participado en el montaje de los prototipos en colaboración con otras universidades de ámbito internacional.
SYB: Tuvimos la suerte de charlar con Anupama hace algún tiempo y nos contó a grandes rasgos cómo funcionaba este curso, pronto nos dará más detalles de su activa participación en MAE y su participación en la Bienal de Venecia…
BT: Anupama es una mujer increíble, una profesional muy comprometida y una gran profesora: creativa, generosa, está llena de energía que contagia…Como verás……soy una gran admiradora 🙂 !!
SYB: Supongo que nos veremos pronto en la presentación de la VII Edición del MAE en Madrid.
BT: Por supuesto. Además, presentaremos el tema del curso y el taller que estamos organizando, Designing for the extreme, que tendrá lugar el próximo otoño. Todo esto finalizando con una copa de vino en la nueva sede, en la calle Almagro 5, Madrid.
SYB: Interesantísimo, sin duda allí nos veremos.
Allí os esperamos !
La casa en el árbol, Plaza Mary Corilé – Cuenca RED – Proyecto de reactivación del espacio público del Centro Histórico de Cuenca, Ecuador.
¡Nos vemos este Viernes 29 de Julio en la Calle Almargo 5, Madrid!
November 17, 2015
CUENCA RED | comenzando el proceso de socialización
Category : ⚐ ES + arquitectura red + ciudad + comunicación + creatividad + Cuenca Red + ecosistema urbano + educación + espacio público + eventos + participación + proyectos + urbanismo + video + work in progress
Como adelantamos en la presentación del proyecto “CUENCA RED: Red de Espacios Dinámicos” en la ciudad de Cuenca, Ecuador, el pasado mes de Octubre dio inicio el proceso de socialización con el objetivo de establecer un diálogo creativo con la ciudadanía que ayude a definir las estrategias para el “Plan de Recuperación y Mejoramiento del espacio público en el Centro Histórico”.
November 12, 2015
CUENCA RED | red de espacios dinámicos
Category : ⚐ ES + arquitectura + arquitectura red + ciudad + comunicación + Cuenca Red + ecosistema urbano + espacio público + eventos + internet + urbanismo + work in progress
El pasado mes de agosto dimos comienzo los trabajos del proyecto Cuenca RED dentro del “Plan de Recuperación y Mejoramiento del Espacio Público en el Centro Histórico de Cuenca, Ecuador”.