URBA N FOYER , GODA VERIK AITE
after 9/11, the building has become more closed of. From my personal experience and conversations with residents of Den Haag I came to the conclusion that nowadays the embassy and its surroundings do not trigger their interest anymore. Some of them even feel uncomfortable while passing the building surrounded by five layers of fences, iron grille, cameras sticking out everywhere and security guards walking around. Since the collection of the Dutch graphic artist M.C. Escher is going to move to the US embassy building, the new function asks for a new manifesto of architecture. This approach could provoke a new attraction for both the residents and tourists and replace the image of the embassy building as a not accessible monument. Dutch architect and researcher Hans Teerds formulates in his article ’Public Realm, Public Space’ my thoughts as follows: “<...> continuity is closely related to public life. The long lifespan of the urban structure creates room for (collective) memories, so that the city can be the interaction between the individual and the universal’’ (4). My design aim within this Studio is to create a continuity of the public domain into the American embassy building that will be transformed into a museum-hotel. In the length of that I am going to focus on the new function of the building as an inviting and open space and how it can activate the city and contribute to the public realm in the near surroundings. Public Domain as an Experience The terminology ‘’Bilbao effect’’ is widely used to describe the revival of cities by adding a single world-class architecture project as a catalyst to the existing surroundings. From my personal point of view, these kind of projects are usually not very contextual but just provoking a specific emotion. Like the just mentioned Centre Pompidou, a building that pops out as an implosion, where the public space is sucked out until it becomes a vacuum, and then implodes (radically defined by French philosopher Jean Baudrillard and cited by the Dutch sociologist Arnold Reijndorp) (5). The architecture speaks for itself – the building is wrapped by huge pipes and escalators which create a sense of a never ending movement and vertical circulation of people. Till the recent times escalators used to be accessible for non-paying public which provided complete openness of the building to the city and its’ citizens. Being a visitor allows you not only to observe the artworks but also slightly experience the feeling of being PAG.0 15
part of the Parisian society. The museum building and the square in front are inseparable. Paul von Naredi – Rainer describes it as a real foyer of the museum entering the main hall gives a sense of ‘’something happening here’’. (6): The idyllic image of a lazy Parisian afternoon next to Centre Pompidou emerges in my mind firstly while remembering Paris. Children running around and nannies trying to catch them, old couples drinking coffee and gossiping in the restaurants nearby, bunches of teenagers and lovers laying on plaza stones, groups of tourists trying to listen to their guides, street performers, lonely flâneurs stopping for a moment, pigeons walking around and water-spraying sculptures by Jean Tinguely and Niki de Saint-Phalle – all these images merges together into one perfect idea about public domain. As stated by Reijndorp: “public domain is not so much a place as an experience and cultural exchange” (7). Public Loop as a Tool for Interaction The recent decision by Centre Pompidou to tax the access to the escalators immediately decreased the interaction between museum visitors and the public (it also contradicts the primary idea of the architects). The last group just entering the building for the experience of going up and enjoy the stunning view. The ability to access the rooftop had meanwhile become a very popular attraction for both tourists and city residents. The idea of a public loop accessible for 24 hours without payment in my view intrigues and broadens a role of a museum in the city. Taipei Performing Arts Center in Taiwan, a project by OMA, which is under construction at the moment, is another interesting example of experimental architecture where the public and private layers of a cultural building intertwine. As it is stated on OMA’s website: “The Public Loop is a trajectory through the theatre infrastructure and spaces of production”. (8) Although the Loop is hidden, at the same time it is expressed as a piece of choreography in architecture that becomes a stage for a public performance. The site of the new Performing Arts Center, located next to the night market, induced the idea of engagement with the city residents by lifting the first floor and make the ground floor accessible for the market people. In this case a new building organically brings new cultural life to its surroundings. Additionally, the accessibility to the normally hidden theatre-making process and backstage