Architecture without buildings

Politecnico di Milano Academic year 2014/15 School of Architecture

Architectural Design Studio 2 prof. Marc A. Visser prof. Elisa C. Cattaneo prof. Fabio D. Colaci

Group n°11 Students:

Ignacio Uribe Gomez Jorge Enrique Herrera Alexandra Krivolapova Anna Chistopolova

Index City Introduction

p. 7

Strategy

p. 10

Metaproject

p. 16

Detailed pproject cases

p. 56

Glossary

p. 102

4

CITY INTRODUCTION Leeuwarden has been

for centuries well-known for its trade capacity. Situated along the Middelzee, it was an active trade centre, until the waterway silted up in the 15th century. Existense of the canals revived this capacity and gave an opportunity to emerge the city in a regional and country scale.

Howewer nowadays Leeuwarden appears to be not only a production center but also a culture carrier, which has social, economical and ecological challenges, facing cities and regions throughout the Europe. That’s why large-scale cultural Intervention is necessary - it can fuel new approaches to these challenges.

Moreover, the socienty is changing rapidly. Contemporary urban condition is made up of services, ideas, cultural characteristics, social microclimate, information which cannot be represented by architecture’s figurative codes, but by internal environmental qualities, dispersed throughout the land, not closed within the building perimetr. Like in the past, the city exchanged and shared goods - “physical products”, now it would share its culture, ideas, challenges - instruments of contemporary society.

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SMALLER CITY STRATEGY

6

The smaller cities strategy is A NEW

CONCEPT OF QUOTIDIAN GEOGRAPHY AND EXPERIENCES, BASED ON THE EXISTENT RESOURCES OF THE CITY, reinterpreting and reusing the public space, requalifying it, endowing it with interaction proposals that use creative resources and technology, between the creators and the citizens, either inhabitants or visitants.

Being a small city would require a new way of re-thinking the city. The urban transformation was not made through several PHYSICAL INTERVENTIONS but consisted on the change of perceptions in the city by means of architectural and artistic interventions. This is a process, which combined tangible and intangible performances and daily events where inhabitants of the city were involved. Therefore, the new geography is not a modification of the architectural environment, but a landscape intervention that ALTERED THE TRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIP between the city and its people. The new map of the city after the application of the strategy is a virtual map where traditional city, new buildings and specific events are overlapped.

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Strategy

Leeuwarden and the Friesian landscape do not work through linear connection or static networks, but as dynamic magnetic fields, defining poles of attraction and interchanging contents.

8

Some “points� both in the region and in the city have a capacity of attraction in a flat magnetic field, creating poles of attraction.

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Magnets as words

WORDS

magnets

Significant

Physical forms

Meaning

Since

Functions

contents and meanings are being interchanged, they could be conveyed through words. And these words are interpreted as devices or poles of attraction (magnets).

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Operations WITH WORDS Operations

The operations are interaction among these words or poles of at-

traction. These operations could be referred to the figures of speech in language.

ADDITION

Substraction

TRANSPOsItION

Permutation

Repetition/ Expansion/ Superabundance

Omission/ Abridgement/ Lack

Transferring

Switching/ Interchange/ Substitution/ Transmutation 11

Relations between words The devices, as magnet or poles of attraction, are related among them as linguistic units in semantics.

Synonyms Same meaning - different forms

Antonyms Opposite meanings (equilibrium) - different forms

HoMonyms Different meanings - equivalent forms

PAROnyms Similar forms - different meanings 12

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METAPROJECT

The city of Leeuwarden as a magnetic field.

Some existant resources work as poles of atraction or magnets.

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MAGNETS - magnetic poles - magnetic field

Magnets There are three types of magnets.

Magnetic pole Set of magnets working altogether.

Magnetic field The tension created around magnetic pole, caused by its capacity of attraction.

units The units of magnetic field are people.

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M

agnetic poles consist of points of attraction - magnets itself, different on their capacity to attract people.

As in physics, there are three types of magnets.

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Permanent magnets

Parameters Stability Meaning significant both for the city and for Frisland culture Capacity of the space Proximity to the canals Capacity of people attraction

They are permanent in the sense that once they are magnetized, they retain a level of magnetism. It does not matter what are the conditions and circumstances, permanent magnets work as attractors.

They are represented by historical, cultural (museums), religious buildings and educational institutions.

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TEMPORARY magnets

Parameters Changeability Capacity of the space Proximity to the canals Dependence on external stimulus

They act like a permanent magnets when they are within a strong magnetic field - event, but lose their magnetism when the magnetic field disappears. The physical alternative to them is performances, installations and artistic events.

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POTENTIAL magnets

Parameters Features that could be developed Capacity of the space Proximity to the canals

This group is conveyed by unidentified spaces, which has a potential to become both permanent and temporary ones. This group is represented by open spaces, abandoned buildings, farms and agricultural areas.

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MAGNETIC POLES

Magnetic pole is formed by the permament magnet that works together with the temporary magnet(s) in order to give a strong magnetic field to the temporary one - to make it active not only for the period of event, but also for the prospective time.

Thus, installations, artistic perfomances or workshops, situated in the area of influence of university for example, will be always activated by the permanent presence of audience.

The less strengthened magnetic pole is formed by potentional magnet that has a capacity to be transformed to the permanent one.

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FRIES MUSEUM Act as a permanent magnet, because it attracts a lot of people being one of the main sights of the city, the content is rich and telling the story of the city.

Gerechtshof Leeuwarden City court, the old building

FRIESPLEIN Square - the place of festival fairs,

perfomances, people gatherings

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De Blokhuispoort One of the oldest objects in Leeuwarden - was built in 1500 and till recent times served as a state prison. Now building hosts the administration of Culture and is going to be adapted to the new needs.

PROVINCIEHUIS The historical building, which was hosting the governmental schools since the very beginning of existence, was reconstructed and expanded in order to host Province of Friesland.

TWEEBAKSMARKT The historical street starting from De

Blokhuispoort and goes till the main Cathedral of the city. This spaceb offers a lot of opportunities.

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Stenden University Hogeschool is a state-funded professional university, which has more than 11000 students.

NHL University The NHL University in Leeuwarden is a university of Applied Sciences that offers professional education in the field of Business and Management Studies, Education and Communication, Healthcare, and Technology.

Square between universities The big open area, which was reorginised last years offers with a proximity of the study and initiativeness organisations - potential site.

Parking lot Parking was also created last years, howewer its scope and openness offers more potentiality.

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Wetterskip Fryslân The current organisation was formed in 2004, but has a history begining in the Middle Ages. It keeps in control the water state, dikes and in the Friesland circumstances plays very important role.

Crystalic office The purpose of the building doesnt carry any magnetic importance, but the idea and embodiment (resemblance with a traditional dutch farm house) gives a new meaning.

Abandoned building The big open area, which now is abandoned.

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The Waag Building has a deep history, it take its origin in 1483 as a center of trade city, where all the goods were weighted. Currently it host public library and open restaurants. It could be called one of the main touristic at-

The Waagplein The square, where the waag building is situated, appears to be not only the central space of the city, but also the site for seasonal activities and fairs.

The

area at the both banks of the canal from Waagplein to the monument of Anne Vondeling is considered to be potential magnet.

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Sint Bonifatiuskerk Hogeschool is a state-funded professional university, which has more than 11000 students.

Prins Hendrik Kazerne The historical building of barracks takes its origin from the beginning of 19 c. and visually stay as it was, but it overlived the hard life.

At the same time the square in front of it and inner courtyard offer majori-

Stichting Fryske Toaniel Stifting Tryater Theater and educational center with the seasonal perfomances and workshops. Situated on the opposite side of the canal from kasarms

Vijverstraat park Park behind the theater is a potential magnet, it visually closed from the canal but has a connection with it through the theater.

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Theater - bioscoop De Harmonie Harmony is the city theater and concert hall of Leeuwarden and it is in the top five of the largest theaters in the Netherlands. It hosts programs of theater and music, and also accommodate third parties requiring

Centrum voor Film in Friesland Organisation, responsible for all the movies throughout Leeuwarden. In the nearest future there would be built cinema.

The green area on the bank of the

river is used foe summer events, processions.

Westerpark The park is

the part of the oldest neighbourhoods of the city and altogether with a bank of the canal gives a lot of opportunities.

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Haskerzathe in het Jelsumer Oudland Big

old farm which count already one century, and can be characterized as typical countryside dutch complex.

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Taniaburg Big camping area, which was in the past - a farm, nowadays have rich and beautiful land with lake and all needed housing facilities.

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Nij Bosma Zathe Big and developed farm dealing generally with animal breeding. Considered to be a potential magnet, because has sources to become a sprayer of knowledges.

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METAPROJECT

FIELDS Magnetic fields Railway Water bodies Poles of Attraction

MAGNETS Permanent Temporary Potential

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MAGNETIC POLES

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MAGNETIC FIELD IN A REGIONAL SCALE

Human settlements in the region act as magnets in the flat magnetic field with different capacity of attraction, defined by their own scale.

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Metaproject in a regional scale The higlighted cities are considered as magnets due to the quantitive indicator - theirs population.

Towns and villages of Friesland also work as magnets whose attractiveness depends on the amount of historical and cultural buildings that are presented there.

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52 Synonym,Antonym,Homonym,Paronym

Relationships between words

Synonym,Antonym,Homonym,Paronym

Relationships between words

MAGNETS Buildings Buildings

Temporary Structures

Open spaces Temporary Structures

Urban elements

Landmarks

Open spaces

A

Agricultural Agricultural

Commercial Agricultural Commercial Agricultural

Commercial

CCultural Facilities ommercial Cultural Facilities

Cultural Facilities Cultural Facilities

Educational Educational

Educational Educational

Hosting Hosting Hosting

Hosting

Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure Infrastructure

Logistic Logistic Logistic

Logistic

Recreational Recreational Recreational

Storage SStorage torage

Recreational

Storage

Operations Operations Operations

Operations

Addition/Substraction/Transposition/Permutation Addition/Substraction/Transposition/Permutation bstraction/Transposition/Permutation

Addition/Substraction/Transposition/Permutation

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OPERATIONS

ADDITION

Substraction 54

TRANSPOsItION

Permutation 55

LOCATION OF THE SPECIFIC PROJECTS Abandoned building This construction is neglected in an area with lots of potentialities. The structure of the building is almost intact; therefore, the interior space (roughly 3500 m2) can be re-used with a project of renovation.

Crystalic office The purpose of the building doesnt carry any magnetic importance, but the idea and embodiment (resemblance with a traditional dutch farm house) gives a new meaning.

Zaailandplein Square in front of the Fries museum - the place of festival fairs, perfomances, people gatherings. Entrance of the city 56

Prins Hendrik Kazerne The historical building of barracks takes its origin from the beginning of 19 c. and visually stay as it was, but it overlived the hard life.

At the same time the square in front of it and inner courtyard offer majority of opportunities.

University square The big open area, which was reorginised last years offers with a proximity of the study and initiativeness organisations potential site.

farms around the city centre Five different traditional farms were selected to interact with Kazerne building, whose functions are diverse.

They are big old farms which count already one century, and can be characterized as typical countryside Dutch complexes.

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events:

city | countryside events:

RINS HENDRIK KAZERNE

city | countr

Permanent Magnet

PRINS HENDRIKAgricultural KAZERNE Infrastructure

Building

Permanent Magnet Building

Opposite meanings - different forms

Permutation: to move or transfer

ANTONYMS

- Switching - Interchange - Substitution - Transmutation

MS around city centre Potential Magnet Open Space

Transprogramming: combining

two programs, regardless of their incompatibilities, to move ortogether transfer with their respective spatial oneconfigurations. set of tracks to another.

Permutation: OPERATION

OPERATION

from one set of tracks to another.

To change or exchange.

from To change or exchange.

- Switching - Interchange - Substitution - Transmutation

Hosting

Educational

FARMS around city centre Potential Magnet Open Space

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ryside

Agricultural

Infrastructure

Transprogramming: combining two programs, regardless of their incompatibilities, together with their respective spatial configurations.

Hosting

Educational

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SpaCE QUALITIES

FARMS around city centre Potential Magnet Open Space

Flexibility Opennes Lightness Horisontality Spread

PRINS HENDRIK KAZERNE Permanent Magnet Building

Rigidity Closeness Heaviness Verticality Concentrated

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010 010 1001010 1010 100 101 01 0

011 10 11 0101 101010

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01 1 10 10 00 01

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The interchange of the content and the DATA between CITY AND COUNTRYSIDE through farms and Kazerne building.

10 1

010010101010 1011 1010 10 1 01010001 010 001

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00 001 1 0 10101

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1 110010100101 0001011 0 11010101011010101

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The

courtyard of the Kazerne is transformed from the potential magnet to the permanent one, and would subsist during and after event.

Prins Hendrik Kazerne 65

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The courtyard of Kazerne is becoming an eternal endless container of “COUNTRYSIDE DATA�.

The perception of the inner space is changed and the rigid structure gives room to an endless garden through mirrored surfaces.

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New space qualities: FLEXIBILITY LIGHTNESS OPENNESS SPREAD

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Countryside farm

New space qualities: RIGIDITY CLOSINESS CONCENTRATED

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The

farms are transformed to the countryside “neighbourhoods� in order to host visitors and tourists of event. After places would remain a temporary magnets, but short term structures would be deleted.

Due to the PERMUTATION operation, the qualities of the opposed spaces are interchanged by the itroduction of the walled LABYRINTH.

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labyrinth structure

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Temporary

hosting elements areintegrated in the labyrinth structure.

The “walls� devide the space and create the atmosphere of the neighbourhood.

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events:

community | diversity events:

abandoned building

community | di

Potential Magnet

Cultural Facilities

Building

abandoned building Potential Magnet Building

Same meanings - different forms

transfer the order or place of; interchange. To convey or cause to pass from one place, person, or thing to another.

OPERATION

synoNYMS

OPERATION

transposition: to reverse or

- transferring

c

rossprogramming: u spatial configuration fo not intended for it, that building ransposition: tochurch reverse or for bow Similar to typological d transfer the order or place of; ment.

t

interchange. To convey or cause to pass from one place, person, or thing to another.

- transferring

uare between universities Potential Magnet Open Space

Logistic

square between universities Potential Magnet Open Space

76

R

iversity Educational

using a given or program t is, using a wling. displace-

Cultural Facilities

Educational

c

rossprogramming: using a given spatial configuration for program not intended for it, that is, using a church building for bowling.

Similar to typological displacement.

Recreational Logistic

Recreational

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SpaCE QUALITIES abandoned building Potential Magnet Building

Emptiness Passivity Flexibility Isolated Private close space

square between universities Potential Magnet Open Space

Emptiness Activity Flexibility Interconnected Public open space

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The qualities of the university square space are TRANSFERRED to the abandoned building and OVERLAPPED with the existent state.

Consequently, new space which is appeared to host artistic events and perfomances during the event of European Capitals of Culture, and to continue to act in the same way, but for needs of students and inhabitants after.

New space qualities FLEXIBILITY ACTIVITY INTERCONNECTED PUBLIC OPEN SPACE 80

TRANSPOSITION

Abandoned building

Becomes a permanent perfomance hall and exhibition space for the Universities of Leeuwarden

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events:

community | diversity

crystalic office

events:

com

Potential Magnet

Cultural Facilities

Building

Educ

crystalic office Potential Magnet Building

disprogramming: combining

increase in size, quantity, quality, or scope. To do, experience, or produce again.

s

HOMONYMS

ubstraction: to remove (a part - REPETITION of a thing, quantity, etc) from the - EXPANSION whole. An insufficiency, shortage, - SUPERABUNDANCE

ZAAILANDPLEIN Potential Magnet Open Space

or absence of something.

- omission - abridgement - lack

programs, whereby a require configuration of program A co nates program B and B's pos configuration. The new progr may be extracted from the in to in join contradictions contained p increase in size A, and B's required spatial co tion may or be applied B. do scope.toTo

aDDITION:

OPERATION

Different meanings - equivalent forms

OPERATION

aDDITION: to join or unite so as to

produce again.

- REPETITION - EXPANSION - SUPERABUNDANCE

Infrastructure

ZAAILANDPLEIN Potential Magnet Open Space

86

Log

mmunity | diversity

cational

g two ed spatial ontamissible ram B nherent n or unite so as to program e, quantity, quality, onfigura-

o, experience, or .

Cultural Facilities

Educational

disprogramming: combining two

programs, whereby a required spatial configuration of program A contaminates program B and B's possible configuration. The new program B may be extracted from the inherent contradictions contained in program A, and B's required spatial configuration may be applied to B.

gistic

Infrastructure

Logistic

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SpaCE QUALITIES crystalic office Potential Magnet Building

Symbolic Decontextualised Hermetic container Isolated by itself

zAAILANDPLEIN Potential Magnet Open Space

Permeable Changability Openness Isolated by context Integrated container 89

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In this project, two operations were used - namely, ADDITION and SUBSTRACTION - in order to relate the two ‘magnets’, previously defined in the main strategy. Those actions were realised through the ‘conceptual deconstruction’ of the Crystalic Office, (1) reducing it to its most basic elements, (2) showing the action spatially in and on it, (3) SUBSTRACTING these elements, and (4) ADDING them to the Zaailandplein in the city centre, disrupting the rigidity of both spaces.

The Crystalic Office is a decontextualized element in its environment -because of its shape, function, materials- and through this action the square in the constituted centre is receiving some of these characteristics.

91

Crystalic office Becomes a temporary perfomance space.

hermetic

92

Exploaded

93

In order to draw attention to the ordinary building elements OFFICE SPACE IS HIDDEN and the most important feature that is provided by the triangular frame glass structure - the view behind - is also changed. THE GLASS IS «SUBTRACTED» and the light coming through a range of wholes transforming these public parts of crystal office into the space suitable for light performances that would be held during the event.

New space qualities INTEGRATED CONTAINER ACTIVITY INTERCONNECTED PUBLIC OPEN SPACE 94

95

Zaailandplein Becomes a temporary perfomance space.

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This

space is affected by the ADDITION ELEMENTS

«subtracted» from the crystalic office such as distinctive TRIANGLE FRAME STRUCTURE, STAIRS, OFFICE BOXES, FOUNTAINS. It reverses the meaning and the perception of these elements.

Thus, frame structure is not just a pyramid it’s a deconstruction

of a symbolic building, stairs are not any more elements provided access among floors, they become a temporary structure which suggests bleachers and shadowed areas during performances.

New space qualities INTEGRATED CONTAINER ACTIVITY INTERCONNECTED PUBLIC OPEN SPACE INFORMATION HOLDER

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100

Potential magnet

Temporary magnet

The main perfomative

objects for European Capitals of Culture, which are activated during the event and remain temporary after.

Permanent magnet

The objects which are changed completely and consequently became a permanent attractors, which are active during the event and after.

Target audience

Target audience

Tourists and visitors

Mienskip - local inhabitants

101

glossary

Magnetism:

the property of attraction displayed by magnets.

(2) void, due to its lower relative density, attracts the contiguous spaces to it. It is utilized to highlight the image of those spaces, dense but more distant, in the area where it is predominant.

(1)

Magnet:

It is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other materials and attracts or repels other magnets.

102

Absence-Presence

penetrability

Culture trade

It is the primary meaning of the empty space as opposed to the filled space. It is the category of the space in which there are movement and transformation.

Disintegration

POSSIBILITY

Transference of information and ideas among poles.

Disruption Distance exceptionality

Vacuity, as the quality that expresses a low density in the physical occupation of the space, constitutes frequently a rarity. And it is in this exceptionality where significant uses of the void reside.

FLEXIBILITY

Void understood as lack of characterization of the space makes it transformable and adaptable to alternative use.

Movement Multiplicity Permutation of structures

The empty space as not-occupied or not-characterized space is an available place, a place in which the possibilities are projected, the territory of the fortuity.

Repetition SCENARIO

The transitive character that the space may have is become real through its ability to receive the action –human or not- and to highlight it.

Simultaneity TOTALITY

Void, without adjectives, is the kingdom of the possibility. If this potentiality is extended to all levels, the empty space becomes the suitable medium to mean globality and universality.

Transformation 103

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