THEATRE OF PRACTICES setting the scene, freeing performance
Town planning design workshop | 2017/18 | Professors: Grazia Concilio, Patrizia Scrugli, Talita Medina
Group 3 | Gian Luca Mazza Christina Christofidou Eirini Ilia
SURVEY
THE STRATEGIC TALE
THE NEW TALE
1 - 33
34 - 51
52 - 93
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SURVEY
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Where there was once strength, inertia and the stamina of space of the welfare state, now a fragile city remains; a place where the ruled actions of the modern space are completely crumbled and new urban practices are introduced. The public space is deregulated and practices erode and question the urban comfort concept. The new actions occupy the collective spaces and the individual returns to be homo ludens: the man’s action is at the centre of the public space without radicalism, but with the need of conquering available space. What is space though? Each living body is space. As it produces itself, it moves and produces the space around it. This connection reiterates the significance of people in the production of space, moreover public space, where the seamless unity between space, movement and people becomes apparent. A performance as such is produced, where the public space becomes the stage and the people take up the role of actors, directors and producers. Public space should be arranged and produced as to serve the needs of the users, as within it lies culture and history, thus participation of the people is essential for this narration. Grande Parco Forlanini becomes the biggest stage in the theatre called Milano. Through and out the complexity of social, cultural and political networks, unfolds the park. Grande Parco Forlanini takes centre stage and unravels a performance where physical space becomes the setting, in which cyclists, pedestrians, workers and dog walkers dance through. Due to its size, Parco Forlanini is not to be seen as merely a morphology of paths and barriers, but rather as the assembly of social interactions happening inside that space. It is however a disjointed area, without an infrastructural or physical support. It is mostly composed by outdoor spaces working as a background of a mixité of different practices. This urban survey aims to research and identify these practices in terms of the various actors involved and how they use the space, rather than the spaces themselves. This then brings insight the topic of the quality of space and how this affects the type of the practice and vice versa. The practices have been based from Athens Charter and include dwelling, working, moving and resting. In the case of the project, sport activities and gardening have been included. The reason that this way of surveying has been tackled is to question not how the space defines people, but how we relate to that space, how we use it and what relationships we build on. The strategy of the project is based on creating a sociocultural map deduced from the analyses, rather than focusing on the geographical one, thus by overlapping the analyses where new complexities become apparent. Conflicts, borders and meeting points are then expected to arise according to the actors’ use of space, leading to new epicentres or new focal areas. These epicentres are then to be considered as serving points that grant the needs of the users.
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Initially, the first impression map of all the practices on site had been created, which mainly focused on areas of working, producing, soil working, sport activities and living. As already mentioned, the practices were not strictly mapped through the buildings but through the use of the public space, which is the main setting of the stage; people do not dwell because they build, but they build because they dwell. Following frequent visits to the site, careful observations lead to new impressions; observations like the space underneath the highway bridge being used for living, or the casciNET incorporating not just working, but also living and gardening. These triggered further research. How does the quality of the space offer or produce such practices? The first analysis was around temporary living with the subcategories of shelter, informal settlements and guests. This was followed by clubbing, eating out, offices and working with soil. Next, intimacy, gathering and sport activities were analysed. These aspects become the main components of the project’s research through which, the qualities of each space are described, analysed and evaluated. Simultaneously with the quality of the spaces, psychogeorgraphy was being carried out; a term defined by Guy Debord, describring the effects of the geographical environment on emotions and behaviour. By observing these traces, a different map is produced- a map in which physical geography is taken over by social geography, overcoming morphological territories and creating new social ones. This portrays a stronger emphasis on how the psychological needs should be taken into account in respect to the physiological needs. Along with tracking people’s kinesis through space, their rhythm is mapped, in terms of when and in what numbers they visit or gather the different areas of the park, so a timeline of days and times was introduced. The combination and overlap of the results was expected to produce connections between the practices, forming in turn nuclei while either breaking or making borders. This social map would then become the drive for the design of the Grande Parco Forlanini. Parco Forlanini is a good example of this way of interpreting the public space, from which new actions and practices create a different and more complex system. The Grande Parco Forlanini’s system arises through a network of disconnected worlds and the survey of the various uses reveals this fragmented reality in which a variety of actors are involved yet with no apparent dialogue. This dialogue is then to be resolved as the openness that defines the area and should encourage the freedom of interactions rather than individualistic anarchy. Communication is key and so is free expression. Physical space should not define the sociocultural approach, but vice versa.
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Grande Parco Forlanini Area: ca. 9 km2
m
5000
Agricultural area: 1 km2 Time for crossing west-east: 1,5 h 3000m
Time for crossing north-south: 35 mins
2900m
400
0m
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Central Park
Tempelhofer Feld
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THE FIRST IMPRESSION a chaos of practices
working
visiting
sport
agriculture
temporary living
working north
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THE FIRST IMPRESSION the phsycogeography of the space
walking
strolling
running
gardening
gathering
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RHYTHMS density of people during the year
fall / winter
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spring / summer
RHYTHMS density of people during the week working days
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weekend
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TEMPORARY LIVING temporary living
guests shelter informal settlement
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SHELTER using the public space for sheltering
OPEN
CLOSED
Walking PUBLIC towards the area: the perception PRIVATE of the space.
Enclosed and bordered space to live in.
Using the pillars for the allocation of each settlement.
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INFROMAL SETTLEMENT self-building and conquering the space
Mantaining privacy without isolation.
The typology of the informal settlement
Using the nature for obtaining privacy.
Choosing inacessible places for settling.
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GUESTS dwelling for a defined time period
welcoming centre
Mantaining privacy without isolation.
metro site workers
Connection with the construction sites
The natural and artificial surrounding. Connection with the main roads
Finding privacy through the nature Is the field part of the welcoming centre?
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CLUBBING clubbing a nightlife system without noise pollution
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CLUBS SYSTEMS nightlife without noise pollution
The clubs can play the music loud and be open until the morning lights: the dwelling areas are far from the nightlife system and the sound-absorbent property of the trees helps insulating the area
All of the clubs have very big outdoor areas very appreciated during summer but, at the same time, they are located close to the city centre.
clu
b
During the night there is not a night bus which brings to the area: the clubs are reachable only with car and the various parking lot of the areas are used mostly by the clubbers.
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EATING OUT eating out
diners
cascinas
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EATING OUT a system of different experiences
diners
The diners are all placed along the main roads with big parking areas: they are places to visit with the car just for a short break.
The diners are usually characterized by eye-catching signs to attract people driving or, as they are placed close to attractions, they are the gathering point for visitors.
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cascinas
The cascinas are placed in the middle of the fields far from the main roads: they are places which offer a bucolic experience in the middle of the city. They are not well connected with the public transport system.
The cascinas have a particular typology in which the buildings are placed around a centre: that central space is now a trigger for socializing. They offer in fact an experience: they are not only restaurants, but they are community of people or social sharing spaces.
OFFICE COMPLEX
a sprawled business district
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WORKING a sprawled business district
Via Rivoltana
Via Rivoltana
Via Rivoltana
strategic position
M4
A51
M4
M4 Viale Forlanini
M4 Viale Forlanini
Viale Forlanini
Via Corelli
M4
oscalo Idroscalo azione Idr Circonvall lo ca os azione Idr Circonvall
A51
Via Corelli
M4
azione Circonvall
A51
Via Corelli
consumption of soil
The office complexes are located in a strategic position: close to the Linate Airport, to the Motorway exits and along the main roads of the area. They will be connected with the public transport network in the future with the new metro line: will it solve the car abuse to reach the offices?
IBM headquarter 580.000 m2
South-west offices 120.000 m2
Mondadori headquarter 180.000 m2
These complexes found a suspended place where they could consume as more soil as they needed to build huge complexes around big parking lot.
bigness
These buildings affect the landscape with their monumentality: they are usually tall and modern buildings which show clearly the identity and power of the owen.
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Ligresti towers 63.000 m2
WORKING WITH SOIL working with soil conserving the tradition, conquering new space
agriculture gardening
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WORKING WITH SOIL conserving the tradition, conquering new soil
agriculture
gardening
The agricultural fields are not places for people: they are totally covered with plants, divided by water canals and full of insects.
In the gardens the agricultural production is more a chance for gathering, relaxing or chilling in a natural environment.
Agriculture is working and, as a matter of fact, the quality of the space is made for working not for people.
Gardening is being part of a community. conquering new soil
resistance
Agriculture is a practice continuously threatened by the consumption of soil. It is a practice which survives against the times.
2001
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2007
2014
2017
Gardening is a practice aimed to conquer public soil in order to give it a new use: it is actually a fight for the right of the city, for the right of using freely the public space.
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2007
2014
2017
INTIMACY intimite staying alone in the public space
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INTIMACY staying alone in the public space 40m 50m 30m
20m
40m 40m and the surrounding the distance 50m 50m 40m 40m 40m 50m 50m 50m
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The shadows of the trees create the perfect calming environment.
40m 40m
60m 60m
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The empty canals are used as private kitchens. 20m
Intimacy is related to the distance between people and the surrounding. 60m
40m
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The presence of water stay alone an far from the others. 100m 100mhelps people to 100m 100m
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Mosquitos make impossible to find intimacy close to the cascina Sant’Ambrogio or Lambro river.
GATHERING gathering
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GATHERING being mutually visible, staying together
In the afternoon the bridge becomes a gathering point for the refugees who cannot stay anymore in the welcoming centre.
Children Birthday parties frequently take place next to the playground of the park.
Idroscalo is used as the beach of Milan.
50m
The Cascinas are used also for events or social dinner during the night.
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The park is used for barbecue parties during the weekend mostly organised by the peruvian community.
The pic-nics in the park are usually placed on a grassy open space.
SPORT ACTIVITIES sport activities
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EXCERCISING the public space becomes a sport field P
P
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Private sports centres are located close to the main roads and they are always provided of a parking area. Idroscalo can be booked for big competition.
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0km/hare 0km/h Public pitches usually 0km/h located0km/h in the park’s0km/h core while0km/h Idroscalo can be 0km/h imagined as a huge public swimming pool. 0km/h
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The dynamic practices like running and cycling prefer paths than grassy spaces 0km/h 0km/h which are more suitable for practices like dog walking0km/h and sitting. 18km/h
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Conquering the open space: an open grassy space without obstacles (eg. trees) can be used amongst others as a football pitch or for a yoga class.
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OVERLAP OF THE SURVEYED PRACTICES
input
output
location of every practise
epicentres
spontaneous
overlap
functional
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THE STRATEGIC TALE
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epicentres
dwellers
garden ers
w
work
ers
wor ker s
tors visi
STOĂ€
rs ito
PARK
vis
deners
AGORĂ€
homeless
mas
ro
rs
w
s er
dw
ners
garde
gardeners
ellers
orke
g centre omin g elc
sts ue
eners gard
work
visitors
ers
gardeners
worke rs
eners gard
work
NATATIO rs rke wo
gar
ODEON workers / visi tor s
Starting from the survey of the practices, we found the meeting point between them: the epicentres are the area where the new, old and contemporary practices could meet.
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The Theatre of Practices: a place where people freely conquer the space and freely turn it into multiple stages. As each stage or epicentre was analysed, Parco Forlanini appeared to be a mixture of spaces where the quality of each space is able to trigger practices. Going against the traditional use of a park, citizens reclaim and create places for themselves, both temporary and informal gatherings. What would happen if this unconventional way of rehabilitating the space is accepted and enhanced? In a place where the quality of space defines the practice and vice versa, the addition of flexible devices becomes a key element in designing. By introducing flexibility in Parco Forlanini, the existing ecology, practices and time had and have to be dealt with. Flexibility can be categorised into two phases ranging from adaptability to transformability. Adaptability revolves around functions that do not alter the existing architecture, offering the availability of change, whilst also allowing a start to end date flexibility. Transformability then suggests a stage in which the functions are either movable or responsive in their environment, yet not permanent. The project breaks these flexible interventions into several categories, where time is the mere drive. Parco Forlanini has been projected through the analyses as a place where people are the main actors and while practices, behaviours, opportunities and qualities evolve, so should the aim of the trigger devices. These punctual interventions are time based, where the existing scenography is highlighted and alongside, users whether past or new, are persuaded into the performance. These intervenntions can be explained through the concept of Urban Acupuncture, which is a term used for explicit yet small interventions, which are strong enough to trigger the usage or the perception of the space, whether it is a short-term or a long-term action. Under Urban Acupuncture falls the research of Marco Casagrande, Third Generation City. Here, the Third Generation City is being referred to as a process of reconnecting to the urbanised collective conscious. As with the study of Parco Forlanini, in the Third Generation City weak signals are being recognised as the issues that are emerging rather than being ignored. These acupunctured weak signals should be seen as representatives from inside the space that are happening through self organised punctual interventions. Weaker does not mean a weaker land, but rather a place that is softer and readier for a larger change. Our theatre then transforms into a collection of changes intended to imagine new scenarios in the space: a tactical urbanism approach is the key. It aims to tackle low cost yet catalytic interventions aimed for gathering, hence triggering further actions. The examples of this approach are scattered all over the world: the Plages of Paris, a phenomenon that from 2002 onwards completely transformed the image of the riverfront, or the introduction of plazas and pedestrian malls in New York during Sadik-Kahn’s administration. A collection of low-cost and flexible interventions are the main topic of Esto no es un solar, a project which started in Zaragoza in 2009. The aim was to reuse all of the
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areas of the city where the function was suspended: they organized a network of changes which completely modified the city through new spaces for resting, gathering, gardening or playing. These interventions are evident of how one practice can evoke further impacts. In this new way of defining the public space and intervening on it, recycling and reusing the space is fundamental. Recycle means the materialistic recycling of what remains, that is to take the existing material and through adjustments alter what it was to what it can be. Rather than getting rid of it, recycling is introduced where the chance to take advantage of what has remained becomes the main action. Such an example may be seen in the Ecomostro Addomesticato by Studio Albori, a project shown during the Venice Biennale of 2008 directed by Aaron Betsky. In this project, Albori transforms the skeleton of an abandoned railway station, expressing the hypothetical construction of an aggregate of various uses ranging from social housing and workshops to rental stores. Recycling now becomes an opportunity for imaging new scenarios of the cities we live in. Showing this image of the city as a collection of insurgent space, imagining new scenarios for the residual spaces is necessary: more than often they are already conquered, but what if it was possible to enhance their quality and turn them into living spaces? These insurgent spaces define a new way of using the public space, as it occurred in Seattle where an association of bikers (Backcountry Bycicle Trails Club) transformed the space beneath a railway bridge into a bike park. This tiny and low cost intervention completely transformed the area from a drug infested encampment to a refuge for outdoor recreation. In this new definition of the public space, which is characterized by unconventional uses, the ordinary spaces within have the potential to be exploited and transformed into a more dynamic urban environment.
THE STRATEGY
stoà STRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS
agorà
odeon natatio
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THE SPATIAL INTERVENTIONS the various stages
stoà
agorà
odeon
natatio
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THE STRUCTURAL INTERVENTIONS conquering new space for the practices
bbq/pic-nic areas to reactivate the cascinas
repositioning of the river bank
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chain effect of the interventions
present
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future
the times of spatial interventions
stoĂ
...
agorĂ
...
odeon
natatio
...
...
present
blue line opening
future
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Inspirations and Thematics
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Urban acupuncture
Marco Casagrande, Taipei Organic Acupuncture research Third Generation City is the organic ruin of the industrial city. The community gardens of Taipei are fragments of the third generation urbanism when they exist together with the industrial surroundings. Local Knowledge is present in the city and this is where Ruin Academy focuses its research. Among the urban gardeners are the local knowledge professors of Taipei. Third Generation City is true when the city recognizes its local knowledge and allows itself to be part of nature.
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Tactical Urbanism
Paris-Plages, from 2002
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Low Cost interventions
Esto no es un solar, Zaragoza, from 2009 Is it possible to live without a place? Is it possible dwelling where there are no places? [...] dwelling is possible only in a city but it is not possible to live in the city if it is not willing for dwelling and it does not offer its places. The place is where we take a break: it is resting, it is like the silence in a score. There is no music without silence. Massimo Cacciari, La cittĂ
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re-use
Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club, I-5 colonnade, Seattle, 2007
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Recycle
Studio Albori, Ecomostro addomesticato, Biennale di Venezia, 2008
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THE NEW TALE
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PROLOGUE The Theatre of Practices [Music fades in, audience claps] The curtain rises, the lights dim, the audience is gestured to join the stage and Parco Forlanini is revealed, ready for the performance. A play in which everyone is the actor and everyone is the audience, but also a play in which various interactions, notions and engagements unfold. In other words, it is as if a designed game with a script has been given out and each person is encouraged to interpret as he wishes. Following the initial analysis on the quality of space and the sociocultural approach towards the existing park, in combination with the context of the case studies, Parco Forlanini has been designed. With Urban Acupuncture and Flexibility as the two essential guides, the epicentres have evolved. The stage setting spaces are the Agora at via Cavriana, which is where the metro-site works are, the Odeon alongside via Enrico Forlanini, the Stoa adjacent to via Corelli and the Natatio in Idroscalo. Each intervention has respected the quality of the space as it exists and as it was analysed before moving forward, thus there are elements that have remained untouched. To acknowledge such a value in general is important, and to do so under a design task is an asset. To shed a bit more light on how acupuncture has been applied, it would be clear to say that the interventions are in terms of impact strong enough to trigger a variety of different usage of each space. Not only does triggering act for further practices, but also for future chain effects. As flexibility and time are the mere elements, permanent does not exist. The design of the epicentres could potentially keep creating new scenarios for the future to come. With the implementation of simple rules under the form of an abacus, the actors are welcome to explore both the space, but also their own train of thought, as it is that, that will determine how the space will be used.
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ABACUS OF DEVICES
>
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>
SHADOW
>
LIGHT
ACTION
light devices
Hanging lights solar energy collector distance: 5 m
Service box h: 40 cm distance: 3,5 m water, light and energy suppllier
Hanging lights solar energy collector distance: 5 m
Short light solar energy collector h: 1 m distance: 5 m
Low lights h: 10 cm Solar energy collector directions highlighter
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natural devices
Woodland continous shadow medium and high trees
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Trees in a row continous shadow medium trees distance: 5 m
Spotted trees spotted shadow medium trees distance: 14 m
Bushes
Natural topography
falling control
various sizes
artificial devices
Artificial topography concrete various size
Line metal h 100 cm
Swimming pool floating element plastic materials and nest
Swimming pool floating element plastic materials and nest
Recharging stations solar energy collector D. 5 m
Holes holes for scaffolding pipes incremental nature
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agorĂ
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ACT 1 The Agora Setting: Sunday early morning, a hot day [Families arriving for the market, children running through, others walking in the gardens] The Agora becomes the opening act of the performance as it is located close to the entrance of the park, between the railway, the industrial and the agricultural site. The main aim of the space is to take advantage of what is, that is the metro-site paved slab, whilst enhance what isn’t, for instance the empty green space around. It has been mentioned earlier that certain qualities have been acknowledged and respected, thus the fact the slab offers certain opportunities became part of the design. To zoom out though, the design has been based on three visual axes: the agricultural lands at the top, the cascina and the gasometer in the middle and the industrial site at the bottom, all starting from the same point, which is the future metro entrance to the park. This approach divides the area in three parts, where each would be designed according to the axis that it represents. To empower these visual interconnections, the agricultural and the industrial axes are reversed, as to emphasise the depth that Parco Forlanini reveals beyond what is designed. Following the industrial axis and a faint grid, the slab has been transformed into a place of interaction ranging from sitting spaces of rechargeable stations, to textiled coverings supported by scaffoldings. What was offered was a paved slab, with opportunities to pierce, attach and service. The chance to use electricity has given light to use various rechargeable stations, allowing people sits, while also the chance to charge their portable devices. An organised arrangement of pierced holes in the slab also offer the opportunity for scaffolding tubes to be inserted, potentially offering sheltered areas of various heights and sizes or even exhibition spaces. Rows of trees then intertwine with rows of lights, making sure that the shade that is being offered during the day is being reflected by the lights at nightime. The middle axis focuses on the cascina and the gasometer, embellished by two parallel rows of trees and lights, strengthening the view. The agricultural axis is then filled with urban gardening, which in turn encourages the concept of municipality and involvement not only for the site, but also for the park as a potential collaboration with the cascina may develop. The grid of urban garden also breaks, offering people sitting spaces either for relaxing or contemplating.
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lights
continous shadow
spotted shadow
resting
building
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odeon
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ACT 2 The Odeon Setting: Sunset, the lights turned on, the theatre about to begin [People sitting on the hills, teenagers playing the guitar, others lying, walking] The Odeon becomes the actual theatrical stage of Parco Forlanini, located just behind one of the busiest streets of the area, with a view towards the agricultural fields. The aim of this area is to create a possible theatre space by embracing the woodland and the existing nature and to empower it. Therefore besides lighting, nature has been used for the design. Topography is the key word for the Odeon, as organic-shaped artificial hills have been designed to fill the space, enabling views, sitting spaces and buffer zones. Their shapes originated from mimicking the woodland surrounding the site. Along with their shape, their arrangement has ensured different centralities within the same space all with the ability of hosting events, while their ground to top heights alternate between each one ranging from one to six meters, with respect to each centrality ensuring no views are being blocked. The hills have been coated with natural grass and bushes. Low floor lights have also been implemented around the hills and the existing woodland in order to highlight their substantial size and to emphasize the dramatic density of the trees around. A possible future effect would be the trigger of the square across via Enrico Forlanini, right opposite the Odeon. With this future goal in mind, the entrance to the Odeon has been placed as such as to enable physical intervention, connecting the two spaces together.
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3+1 stages
continous shadow
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security
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stoĂ
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ACT 3 The Stoà Setting: Midday, the light pierces through the pillars [Skaters moving through the ramps, children jumping and playing, couples walking through the pillars] The Stoa is being revealed, which is the space right beneath the highway bridge, besides via Corelli. The aim for this space is to give it value as a place where people can gather, play, talk, skate and walk. According to the quality of space, a shelter over the actors’ heads and pillars can be enough to trigger a practice ranging from weak to strong. The Stoa is compiled by a set of elements used either separately or combined with each other all offering a choice of use, whether it is for the skate users or of the mothers and children. These overlapping conditions have also offered a set of rules to the users, allowing them to take advantage of the space, without controlling their actions. Hanging solar lights have also been added, hung from one side of the bridge to the other. Their use, besides offering night-time availability to the space, are also to visually cut through the grid of the pillars as the elements do, as a way to extenuate the fixed arrangement. The ground has been left natural with soil and grass while at certain locations the soil was paved and altered in order to offer space to skaters or others who would use the hard, dented surface for other purposes.
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new topography
sprawled actions
connections
lights
existing shadows
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natatio
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ACT 4 The Natatio Setting: A summer afternoon, the sun is set high, ice cream tracks echoe [People gathering on the pier, others testing the water, children playing and splashing] The Natatio deals with the largest epicentre, that is Idroscalo. Again, the main quality here to be valued is the fact that the Idroscalo already works as a water scenery, offering opportunities for water sports and beach activities. The aim of the Natatio is to embrace the water and further highlight a side that is not widely used due to the morphology. A way to bring the site to the spotlight was to highlight the path from/to the future metro stop with the use of trees and lights, elements already used and applied in all the rest of the epicentres. Then the private access leading to the street alongside that side of Idroscalo was to be moved further back, as a way to allow an easier access of public cars. The pier then, running alongside the intervened Idroscalo side becomes the third addition, allowing actors to cross to the other side, while also offer them space to walk, sunbathe or play. The Natatio is finally realised through the final intervention- the ‘swimming pool’. Using a net to create a rectangular border, the water is being highlighted and proposed for a variety of uses as it is also adjacent to the pier.
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B A
A
B
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50
100 m
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continous shadow
lights
conquering the water
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EPILOGUE The eternal performance [Music fades in, audience claps] The curtain falls, the lights become brighter and the audience is still gestured to join the stage for the performance. Spaces like parks exist to encourage free interactions and expressions whether these are politically or socially based, thus to help maintain an approach like this and to encourage it would aid people to realise the many possibilities that a park can offer to the city. Grande Parco Forlanini was and is defined by the variety and range of practices occurring and developing through it. To grasp and to reflect on what is already there with the aim of accentuating and improving such qualities, becomes the mere drive of the project. Through urban acupuncture and flexibility, chain effects shall be exposed, resulting in more practices; practices that can create an alternative image of the park, practices that allow time to pass, users to change, and the interventions to adapt.
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