INFRASTRUCTURE_ALTERATION
MARIO RODRIGUEZ SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE AND COMMUNITY DESIGN UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA
SUMMER 2010/INDEPENDENT STUDY
CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
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FROM THE THIRD WORLD
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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ARCHITECTURE “Medellin: from fear to hope”
CROSSING OVER
INFRASTRUCTURE AS OPPORTUNITY
MOBILITY
IMPACT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
DESIGN_APPLICATION
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2 INTRODUCTION
This study has a focus on areas of architecture that deal with issues beyond the traditional built
environment. In essence, it seeks to engage with topics such as infrastructure, public transportation and social responsibility, all of which have become increasingly important for architects to deal with today. Along with the original intention of searching for alternative strategies that could potentially begin to change the negative connotation of infrastructure in this country, questions about the social impact that such elements have in our cities have to be addressed. To be better able to understand such implications, I believe that one has look at conditions beyond the local scope, that way there is an opportunity to establish a base line or precedent for the analysis. This is not to say however, that what applies in a different context will work locally. On the contrary, I believe that by establishing a set of precedents we are better able to extract general ideas which can then be translated into a local language. For this purpose, I have included a summary of information gathered from articles and personal experience from two very unique places outside of the United States: Kyoto (Japan) and Medellin (Colombia). The reason for this particular choice was mainly driven by some of the writings of Jane Jacobs, where she explains that in order to really understand a place one has to be able to experience it personally, not from writing or images (although I’m not implying that writing and photography tell less of a story about place). Having visited both cities within the past year, this study represents a perfect opportunity to compile some of the observations collected from the time spent in each place.
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FROM THE THIRD WORLD SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ARCHITECTURE
The second largest city in Colombia and an indisputable industrial leader of the country, Medellin has in recent decades become synonymous with violence and drug trafficking. Ruled by drug lords during the best part of the 1980’s and 1990’s the city faced severe social conflicts which made it one of the most violent cities in the world with a homicide rate of 380 per 100,000. As if that wasn’t enough, the city has always had a large social barrier standing between the poor and the wealthy as a result of the sudden expansion of the city during the 1950’s. Change commenced to emerge with the turn of the millennium, as a new political leader began to defy convention and establish a new way of thinking which put the common people and their needs ahead of other priorities. The change was extremely positive, with crime rates dropping by almost 90% during the early 2000’s, although there has been sudden spike again since 2009, an inevitable effect of the global economic conditions which continuously drive up the unemployment rates. During this period of change, the city experienced a significant growth spur
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the civic sector with a number of public libraries, schools and parks that have definitely made a difference in the lifestyle of the people. This phenomenon has caught my attention during the last couple of years, and sparked a new interest within me to go back and experience it first-hand. What I found was amazing. Not just from my perspective either, but from personal accounts of so many people that I questioned when I had the chance during my trip. This was perhaps the best evidence of the positive change that has occurred during the last few years, more so than any method of architectural analysis. This represents a great opportunity to understand the social and political implications that responsible architecture can have on a place. With this in mind, I set out to understand what changes actually made the most difference on the city not by diagramming and sketching, but by simply spending time out and listening to what people had to say. What I found out has only been confirmed by a number of articles published recently about this sudden positive move that saw its birth from political movement of a select group who chose to challenge the way things were normally done.
ESPANA LIBRARY by Architect Giancarlo Mazzantti.
ORQUIDEORAMA, Botanical gardens. by PLAN B Arquitectos.
5 “Medellin: from fear to hope” OPPOSITE: Community courts in the San Javier neighborhood. 1 of six new library parks seen in background. image taken from metro station. BELOW: University professor and mathematician Sergio Fajardo, the mastermind behind the city’s transformation. Fajardo served as mayor of the city between 2003-2007.
This slogan, adopted by the group Citizens Commitment Movement which was formed in the late 1990’s by Sergio Fajardo, sought to send a new message of change through the city and to the world. This movement was primarily political, but that was the intention from the beginning. Their idea was to re-shape the city through the implementation of new policy and responsible architecture. Since their formation, they have been resolute in their idea to give the people of the city an identity that they can be proud of. To date, they are responsible for commissioning at least five major public parks, six libraries, ten new schools and more than 50 other architectural projects that have challenged the way things were done in the past. That is an astonishing amount of civic projects compared to most cities in the United States, especially when one takes into account the fact that the city’s population is only 3.5 million. The biggest portion of this urban re-shaping has been encompassed around the major transportation hubs in order to give people better access to sporting as well as recreational and educational facilities. The new Explora Park, the EPM library, the Orchideorama, and the Espana library are all within a few hundred feet of major stops along the Metro, Medellin’s metropolitan rail system. In fact, a lot of the effort of the movement
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was to facilitate access to such places for the people, in this way new opportunities were presented to those of lower resources. Acording to Fajardo, this has been his main goal since the beginning, as he discusses in an interview with Colombian Architect Giancarlo Mazzanti: “We proposed that the best of society was where the greatest needs existed. The poor are habitually given crumbs, but our proposal was to give them the very best. We had to break away and show another way.� Sergio Fajardo, on BOMB Magazine.
And this efforts show, as I and several others have encountered in our recent trip to the city. The projects have become symbols of the community, without being flashy and imposing, and in this aspect the architects had a very difficult task. From the beginning they were charged with creating positive symbols of the city, without changing the very rooted cultural identity of the people. In the
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opinion of several of the locals that I had the chance of talking to during my short visit, all of the architects responsible for the various projects have been very successful at dealing with such sensitivity, As Giancarlo Mazzanti (Responsible for the Espana Library, the Loen de Greiff library, and more recently the 2010 South American Game Cliseums.) describes from his recent visits to the city, “…people today are proud of where they live, whereas in the 80’s they’d be terrified to admit they lived in the same area as Pablo Escobar’s unconquerable compound.” This change from fear to hope has been one of the most significant results of the campaign. Fajardo believes that hope is simply giving people a choice; some will opt for the way of violence and crime, others will not, but as long as there is a choice there is hope. He speaks of hope in the city as doorways, people were not forced to take the only way out anymore (drugs and crime) they had for the first time a choice to do art, play sports, or several other activities. In many occasions, opening this doorway was as simple as a set of stairs between a cluster of homes, or a bridge over a small creek, or a paved road to the metro station; in others it meant a larger investment by the state and the government. San Javier Library park, designed by Architect Javier Vera
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CROSSING OVER
INFRASTRUCTURE AS OPPORTUNITY What is the role of infrastructure in today’s society? What is encompassed when we speak of infrastructure? These were probably the first questions I asked myself when I started looking into the idea of infrastructure as opportunity. Depending on the location and the social context the answer can vary. To some it only amounts to roads, ports and railroads; to others it also includes schools, hospitals, even the world wide web can be thought of as infrastructure in today’s terms. Specific definitions are too much of a constraint when approaching this topic from an architecture point of view, although thinking of basic elements can be very helpful and inspire creative solutions. Personally, I understand infrastructure to be the basic organizing element of most of our behaviors and activities. What I mean is that in order to be educated we need a place where learning is accomplished in a productive and pleasant manner, so schools are the basic organizing element of that activity thus becoming infrastructure. The same could be said about transportation, work, healthcare, etc. If we look at infrastructure with this attitude, I believe that there is an opportunity to go beyond the current expectation that one item may only serve one purpose.
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Given the current trend towards more sustainable practices, it makes sense to take a deeper look into this elements which spread throughout our cities and suburbs in order to develop strategies which help erase the somewhat negative connotation they carry with them. Because most elements that fall within the category of infrastructure are public or semi-public, they represent a great opportunity to test and apply new urban strategies. There are a number of architects and urban planners that have approached this topic with success around the world, but it seems that more can be done, especially considering the current rate of expansion of most major urban centers. With this in mind, I have spent some time looking at bridges as an element of infrastructure that is commonly present in every society and provides opportunity for design intervention. The idea is that the concept of a bridge is very simple, connect two points across a void, and so its expression and application become then very powerful pieces of its design. Throughout history this expression has remained mostly tec-
TOP: Henderson Waves pedestrian bridge, Singapore. OPPOSITE: Rolling bridge, London. BOTTOM: BP pedestrian bridge at millenium Park, Chicago
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tonic, leaving bridges to be mostly developed by engineers, with very few examples of bridges generating any habitable or functional space. I believe however, that bridge design is an aspect of infrastructure that architects need to be more involve with, as was the case with the Romans and later during the Renaissance. Metaphorically, bridges are an extremely powerful element of design, and rightly so. They represent communication, connection, and mobility among other characteristics. The conditions present at this crossings usually represent a fragile balance between the different social and cultural context at each end, making them perfectly suited for architectural intervention. In modern context, foot bridges have become a temporary way of dealing with the ruptures created by years of careless construction of transportation infrastructure. However, some of this crossings are no better of a solution than the highway canyon they attempt to bridge. Because of budgets constraints and little concern for proper design, this crossings have made people afraid of any further implementation of infrastructure in their communities. As a former 40 mile highway commuter on I-95, I grew somewhat used to seeing crossings that looked more like bird cages than a decent points
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of connection between communities. There are precedents of successful bridges that accomplish more than just a crossing path between two points as is the case with Ponte Vecchio in Italy, as well as the land bridge across I-75 near Ocala, Florida. An intricate part of the Cross Florida Greenway, the land bridge was completed in the year 2000, as a link between the hiking and equestrian trailheads located on either side of the highway. Although this is not the best example of what can be accomplished with better design, it does represent a more dedicated approach by the state to provide a sensible connection. A much better executed example of similar intention is perhaps Seattle’s Freeway Park, designed by re-known landscape architect Lawrence Halprin. Built in 1976, this crossing is better known as an urban oasis that connects two sides of the city which used to be separated by the main highway I-5. These are only a couple of examples of successful infrastructure interventions that go beyond the requirements, and take several other conditions into consideration. OPPOSITE: Wire fence covered pedestrian bridge, MiamiDade. RIGHT: Cross Florida Greenway land bridge, Ocala, Florida
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Seattle’s freeway park, extending over Interstate 5.
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MOBILITY
IMPACT OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
When comparing the two cities (Kyoto and Medellin) in terms of public transportation systems, Kyoto seems perhaps better organized, but Medellin still comes ahead on sheer numbers. Kyoto’s population is however just over a third of Medellin’s, and so the service is excellent. In terms of subways and rail service, Japan has one of the most extensive and efficient net in the world. Kyoto is serviced by two main subway lines, as well as a few independent rail car systems that extend beyond the city center. Because such services have been long established, the noticeable impact on the city is perhaps less than what I felt it was in Medellin. Although a direct comparison is difficult because one system is underground (Kyoto) and the other on or above ground (Medellin), making the infrastructure of the later more recognizable. The Metro system in Medellin is also fairly new, compared to urban rail systems standards, and unique in its country. Because of its recent implementation, the changes are still being felt through the city, and the infrastructure has had in most cases a positive effect at the urban and community level.
Kyoto serves as the gateway for Japan Rail trains traveling from south and west of the country to Tokyo on the north. The system is extensive and highly efficient, including the shinkansen or bullet trains pictured here, which cover the trip to Tokyo in just over two hours.
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Although the rail system in Medellin is not as extensive as Kyoto, it has had a lasting positive impact on the city, especially with the implementation of the MetroCable, a gondola system that services the informal settlements on the outskirts of the city
After spending time using both systems, I felt that they both do a great job of shrinking the city and creating better opportunities of accessibility for the people. What I mean by shrinking the city is that the systems shorten the travel time and make places on extreme ends more accessible to all. In Medellin this aspect was and continues to be extremely important for the informal housing settlements located on the hills around the city. The facility of travel has given the opportunity to many to be able to find work in areas of the city that were previously unreachable to them. The development of the infrastructure has also revitalized a lot of areas that were in desperate need of attention, which in turn has given the residents a desire to improve the conditions of their homes and shops. Now the plan is to extend the network of cable cars outside the city to allow access to recreational facilities and national parks to those of low income that could not afford the trip otherwise. Beyond the social impact, this strategy also seeks to reduce the environmental impact of motor vehicles, specially the thousands of buses that run on low quality diesel.
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DESIGN_APPLICATION
17 DESIGN: IMPLEMENTATION The following design proposal is not meant to be a direct answer to any specific problem, nor is it meant to be a comprehensive solution. It is simply an exploration on the topics mentioned before, at a site of which I have a good base of knowledge. The strategies looked at in this portion have an intentional sense of ambiguity, this way the proposal is allowed to maintain its conceptual characteristics without becoming too specific. This is not an attempt at providing the most appropriate solution, on the contrary, the purpose is to use the site as a test tube for a ideas and theories in an effort to keep an open mind about the possible solutions. If there is an underlying intention to this study, it is to raise questions and generate critiques about design proposals from others, this way ideas are allowed to grow and develop properly.
SITE: Located just west of Kyoto station, the site is mostly occupied by a large complex of industrial warehouses in the north, with some residential, commercial and light industrial on the south. The major feature to explore for this proposal is the large slice of railroads that transverses the site from east to west. With the industrial complex being phased out in favor of single and multi-family residential neighborhoods, a connection across the tracks could prove to be a positive factor in the formation of new communities.
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SITE_CONTEXT
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Because the site is being phased out from industrial use, parks and green areas might not be available on both sides of the tracks. In this scheme, the bridge or crossing has the ability to become an extension of a park on either side as well as being able to serve some of the functions of a green corridor. In this scheme, the bridge has the potential to be a very powerful connection as a gathering place for communities on either side of the tracks. At this juncture, the use of infrastructure has the ability to make a positive impact on a community, helping to relieve the negative connotation associated with it.
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The space generated by the crossing is finally recovered and is now ready to be put to use. Whether as a park, promenade, market or as in this scheme, used to replace the space for urban agriculture that has been lost in the city due to development. The use for this space will be dictated by the context and location, in this case urban agriculture was a sensible choice because it is already a culturally accepted concept throughout Japan. Similar to the concept of community gardens, the crossing serves double purpose, one as a connector and the other as a gathering space where each side of the tracks has the opportunity to engage the other.
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As mentioned before, the intention was not to provide a single correct answer to this condition, but to basically propose an idea that can generate comments and critiques that challenge the traditional way of thinking. So the idea is to detach the concept and ideas from any formal conceptions, in this case with a different version of the bridge itself. Although the formal expression is different, all the ideas of connection, urban agriculture and use of infrastructure are still applicable.
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