Mindelo, Cabo Verde: Cultural City _ URBAN OASIS

Sofia Kalogeromitrou Final Project I 2017-2018 Studio led by Miguel Amado Vítor Carvalho Araújo Instituto Superior Técnico Integrated Masters in Architecture

Mindelo_ Cultural City_ URBAN OASIS & Infrastructure Piazza

STRATEGY 2 .0

A _ BASIS: CULTURE AND OASIS _

B_ URBAN OASIS _

C_ PATH _

PROJECT

A_ THE FORMATION OF MODULE CLUSTERS

B_ CONSTRUCTION DETAILS

C_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA

THE TRIP

IN DEX

The theme of this project is Mindelo as a Cultural City.

Still Culture does not bloom only in monuments, in museums, in landmarks. For the people of Mindelo, their culture is like a Manifesto by which they live their everyday life.

This project is a research on how public space can work as an Urban Oasis, able to host the maximum of everyday life.

This oasis is a 360o cultural path, connecting neighborhoods while passing through central, commercial roads.

There are many empty plots and piazzas on both sides of the road, with the spatial capacity to host urban equipment for different purposes.

The uses that are added to the public space are related to commerce, sports and children. Also more “personal” uses are integrated replacing infrastructure gaps. So we have resting areas, urban agriculture, showering areas.

All these uses are based on one recognisable module: four vertical pipes that cover a 2x2x2 m area.

This module with the addition of different elements everytime (ex. fabric, water pipe, etc) can be transformed into a bed, a greenhouse, a shower, a jungle gym.

The aim of this strategy is to improve the quality of interaction of locals with public space but also with each other.

A test spot was chosen, in order for all the uses to be placed: The biggest rainwater basin was designed as the “Infrastructure Piazza” The first part of this project consisted of a meticulous study of the history of Mindelo and Cabo Verde in general, making clear that Culture floorishes in the most unexpected places. Locals have open hearts and minds to new things. So an intervention that incorporates less typical elements can be easily integrated in the daily life.

Moreover, Space Syntax has shown that the central streets are those near the seafront and the rest of the city’s network is not as functional in technical terms.

The second part of the project, the strategic plan, raised new questions, regarding vegetation, water availability and impact on topography, hoping that the in-situ conditions will provide with answers.

This booklet is a review of the process that took place during the semester, the strategic planning, the final result and of the impressions that left our trip to Cabo Verde.

Many thanks to my professors and classmates for the amazing opportunity that was to work in a project as this.

STRA TEGY 2.0

The culture of Africa is varied and manifold. It is a product of the diverse populations that today inhabit the continent of Africa and the African Diaspora. and it is expressed in its arts and crafts, folklore and religion, clothing, cuisine, music and languages.

African culture is the manifesto by which locals live their everyday life.

The aim of this project is to empower all those factors, that form this distinct and special lifestyle to reshape the

CULTURE BLOOMS IN EVERYDAY LIFE

public space.

Actually this is the pre-existing situation: Everyday life due to the hot climate and the poor conditions in housing is

A. THE CULTURE FACTOR

already a matter of public space.

The challenge is to give the space needed to all these informal habits.

An oasis is a very appealing

place, a surprise in infertile

and unexpected areas.

The notion of the urban oa-

sis is an overall approach

on the city, a 360o cultur-

al “marginal�, adding new

conditions in the everyday

life, opportunities for all and

works as unifying element

in the City, rather than add-

ing to the gap between the

lively, modern center and

the dwelling housing neigh-

View of Colomb-Behar, Algeria by A.Yakovlev

borhoods.

A. THE NOTION OF THE OASIS

For this project, the notion

The oasis has a very distinct

of oasis is interpreted into

typology.

architectural terms.

The exterior zone, the Path,

The exterior zone, consist-

is transformed into a land-

ing usually of vegetation,

mark. A unifying trail in the attracts wildlife as well as

New Uses

city, a neighborhood connector. It cycles a large

humans.

area, extending the potenExterior Zone - Social Attractor

Exterior Zone - Social Attractor Neighborhood Connector Landmark

Interior Zone - Destination Point

Interior Zone Extended Cultural Center

tial of the city center.

The interior zone is the des-

tination point but also it

is the starting post of this

natural structure. It usually

has a source of water. The

B. THE TYPOLOGY OF THE URBAN OASIS

exterior zone protects this

The interior zone is the new extended cultural center.

The path leads to new public spaces, with uses located to its both sides (interior and exterior), preventing it

but also works as a land-

mark to attract to it.

from becoming a boundary line and diversify areas.

Landmarks / Places of Culture and Education Football Fields Water Tanks

C THE PATH:

The uses start from the most obvious to typically private ones. Sports, schooling, commerce are the basic activities that could take place in public space, and are able to establish a strong connection with space due to already existing conditions (schools, football fields, markets, etc). Moreover, house-life habits go into public space, replacing an infrastructure gap in dwelling housing areas, turning routines into events of joy. From that approach derived the sleeping miradouros (places to rest and watch the city), the showering areas, the greenhouses.

People on the street where asked: “Would you nap in a piazza, would you shower in a square?”. With very few exceptions, they said happily yes!

Materiality and urban equipment are the unifying elements in this diverse strategic plan.

https://goo.gl/maps/AB7ecsdk2dC2

USES:

C. THE PATH: technical specs

4.2 km 55’

infrastructure piazza !

resting growing

growing

playing

resting

selling

selling resting

playing

C THE PATH: distributed uses

C. THE PATH: technical specs

C. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ON USES’ DESIGN

C. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH ON USES’ DESIGN

Ramp of Infrastructure Piazza and Expression Wall

Observation Tower

PROJECT

A. THE FORMATION OF MODULE CLUSTERS

Selling

Observing _ Resting

Showering

Interacting _ Resting

S E L L

B. DETAIL OF MODULE SCALE 1:50

R E S T

SHOWER

P L A Y

G R O W

B. CONSTRUCTION DETAIL OF MODULE SCALE 1:5 suspension system C. MODULE

/

The construction of the Module consists of a system of inter-passing elements that give the option of use change and of easier replacement of worn equipment.

The top of the metal cylinder can also host lights.

The modules are placed on ceramic mosaic floor, giving more color. At the same time this material has great heat capacity and can be used not only in horizontal but also in vertical surfaces.

Similarly to the already existing situation, a water-carrying truck could provide water from the Desalination Plant to the different intervention spots.

B. CONSTRUCTION DETAIL OF MODULE SCALE 1:10 wooden panel_ shower AND Technical Details

SELLING Men and especially women indepedently sell merchandise in the streets. The cost of owning a quiosk in the big markets was said to not easily affordable.

A self-organized and self-managed market, that could work in combination with the existing market on the opposite corner, creating a Selling Cluster and serving a bigger part of the community, both sellers and buyers.

SHOWERING This is a photo of a man bathing. He had soap with him. The housing infrastructures usually have weak plumbing fixtures. Water is scarce.

MEETING - INTERACTING Socializing is part of the everyday life. The narrow streets, the small squares and the lack of shadow does not allow the local’s interaction to get a more extent scale.

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA IN WATER RESERVOIR

PLAYING For the children of Mindelo, every corner of their city is a playground. The difference of the Infrastructure’s Piazza Playing Area is that it is a place not only for childen to play, but an area that is green, away from the cars and with a shaded area for them and their parents to watch.

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA IN WATER RESERVOIR

GROWING Greenery and trees are only a matter of private initiative. Only really resilient plants survive the hot temperatures and lack of water in Mindelo. The Garden Areas with the Module Greenhouses could raise awareness on how to grow, helping people become even more autonomous. Crops can be watered with the reserved water.

SPORTS Kids of all ages, love sports and especially football. Playing football does not require a typical rectangular area for the people of Mindelo: just a team and a ball.

In the photo we see kids playing football in a very limited space square with obstacles as planted parts, benches etc.

The distorted shape of the football field of the Infrastructure Piazza will draw the attention with its strange shape. It will make players rethink the tactics of their game.

During the rain season the immerced field will be filled with water. It can be used as a pool.This water will be tranfered and filtered for the rest of the uses of the Infrastructure Piazza (Showering, Irrigation of the mini-gardens,etc).

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA AXONOMETRIC

The Infrastructure Piazza is shaped by external forces and micro-conditions: the uses around it, the roads that end up on the surrounding street.

Its the biggest urban void in Mindelo. The large triangles create a landscape in opposition with the existing one, that has a more organic structure.

In the Piazza entrances there are mini-gardems with resilient greenery. The rest of the triangles are either platforms or tensile structures with fabrics, similar as the Module, to provide shadow. The platforms are in the street level so they can be used in the flood periods too.

Rammed earth with its natural quality, subtle colors and low cost is forming durable, but with the ability to bloom, paths. The rest of the areas are covered with large ceramic mosaic tiles.

Even thought this urban void is hosting several uses it still serves as a rainwater basin. The lowest row of the ceramic tiles is perforated in order to retain the water, to filter it and reuse it.

The observatory works as a landmark that regains the (visual) connection to the sea. Ramps of 7% inclination lead to the floors. By the observatory tower people can also watch events and also hang their clothes, as part of putting the everyday life in the urban space.

The analysis of the Infrastucture Piazza is very strategic: It could be the first step, complimenting the overall intervention. It could be used as a test, as it integrates all the different module uses. This way it would be revealed which uses are most needed, which combinations are more compatible. The spatious paths can be used according to unedintified yet needs.

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA BLOW-UP AXONOMETRIC

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA OVERALL PLAN SCALE 1:500

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA PLAN DETAILS SCALE 1:200

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA OVERALL SECTION SCALE 1:500

C. CASE STUDY_ INFRASTRUCTURE PIAZZA SECTION DETAILS SCALE 1:200

W

e were told that when explaining a project we should use the third singular; the project has a life and a behavior of its own, apart from the creator, the designer. Still, Mindelo has a way of appropriating its visitors and very soon our projects became very personal affairs. We really were under Cabo Verde’s sway. Music was truly everywhere, there was a homely sentiment when walking around, Morabeza finally made sense. Military parades with Celine Dion soundtracks made us rethink of social standards. The unspoken feeling in the atmosphere was one: “Take as much Mindelo in as possible”.

Experiencing the city was not only a matter of bodily wandering. Randomly smiling to people on the street would the least get you a smile back. Body language could overcome any communication barrier, creating instant connection with the locals. Everybody wanted to share their view on Mindelo, on Cabo Verde, on life. People were eager to help, to give insight on your project. We live in the time of “Architecture for Architecture”. Simple people, talking in terms of how everyday life should be lived, according to their culture, their habits, the hot climate, was a constant reminder of who we are designing for.

This handmade built chaos that was the urban tissue, was serving as a non-stop generator of conditions of meeting and interacting. The city was constantly expanding inside and outside according to the needs of the people, with the minimum programming. Mindelo has enough miradouros to give you a clear view of what the city is outside of maps and illustrations. It was difficult not to stop to these spots, with the breathtaking views, the fresh air, the powerful supervision of tiny looking people in their urban maze. I thought I would miss Lisbon more. But chaos is so appealing.

Santo Antão Island was also a unique experience. The variety of images made the eyes hurt. Moon landscapes, little settlements with waving people, Sahara sand dust clouds over hills, rocky fishermen villages,volcanoes and green canyons, gigantic mountains, the music fair in Porto Novo outside of all the Morna’s clichés. The shocking feeling of travelling on the ocean by boat.

In Cabo Verde I made memories that I will always recall very fondly for the rest of my life. Walking around in Ribeira Bote, the neighborhood of musicians and revolutions with biscuit ice-cream in a tiny plastic bag. Little girls stoping us at the street to touch our hair. People asking for a picture of them, to capture their love for someone or to just give us a piece of themselves to remember.

I could claim that the best time of the day was between 6 pm and 8 pm, where the humidity that had been trapped in the paranoid topography was painted in beautiful pastel colors. For this time of the day, I cannot think of a Marginal big enough to wander near the sea, even if it circled the whole island.

At that time everyday the locals were walking around with the same calm look in their eyes, knowing that being in that place, at that time, is somehow a grand privilege.

Such a project could easily be considered the biggest opportunity of a semester abroad. For me going from Greece to Portugal to Cabo Verde felt like a mission to avoid the winter of 2017. In these months that everything was so fast and new, visiting Cabo Verde was a shock. The people were different. Their first priority is to enjoy life with what they have. Their values in the supposedly more civilised West are considered naif. But the way of living is so calm and honest, the pace of life much more humane, so perfectly adjusted to the climate. I thought it was only a kind of myth, but time must really pass differently in Africa.

Life there is not easy. But people work hard to make it beautiful, with whatever means they have. And I will never forget how much I enjoyed designing something that could be part of this mission to really live life.

not Another Project MINDELO

santo antão

6-8pm

TRIPMEMORIAL

TRIPMEMORIAL