08A Design Intervention Description
Design Intervention
Mau Rovira
There are many great things in the city of Barcelona, it is encompassed by sports, has a strong Catalan culture, and amazing food. When first studying the L’Eixample blocks and the superilles, it was noticeable that this city was trying to design for open spaces considering the density of the citizens and tourists. The first thing that is noticeable when getting of the plane is the summer heat of the Catalan city. Considering all these things, I found the interest of outdoor recreation spaces that could help mitigate heat. The major questions were; How large can the change of temperature be in a recreational space before intensity of usage decreases? How can we design for those changes in temperature?
Before starting the research and the de
sign process, I went through some background theory, reading articles of great architects such as Vicent Guallart, Stan Allen, and Juhani Pallasmaa. Guallart focused on the major economic issues of Spain and how the idea of habitat is changing through time. The idea that athletes comfortability level is different than that of a hundred years prior seemed very interesting, Stan Allen, in “Field Conditions” takes a very philosophical approach in the simplicity of postminimalism. Specifying that the conditions with which the artist (architect) chooses to display his ideas, has a large impact on the overall feeling of place. These field conditions seem to promise a “thickness” and “intensification” of experience in particular moments within what he calls the extended filed. These patterns and lines are something to think about when developing new and creative ideas for heat mitigation. Lastly, Juhani Pallasmaa in “The Geometry of Feeling” takes you to a place where all buildings have meaning and explains what are those things that this meaning is tide to. It is how our senses are being activated, it’s a whole experience. He talks about two major things that I thought were very interesting where the “illusion of elementarism” and the “architecture of imagery” play alongside. The illusion of elementarism in shorter words state that the advance of every modern science can be broken down into elements. Smaller particles that create a whole system for triggering those senses. This is precisely the idea of designing systematically for different streets in Barcelona. Going from large scale studies with QGIS, choosing sectors of the city that are applicable, which in my groups case was Horta Guinaldo, and then designing at human-scale.
Below are some precedents;
As part of the whole design experience, we were able to visit Granada and Vall de Nuria where we tested our data collection methods and interventions. Hiking was not particularly something that I enjoyed, but it was not the case this time. I was reminded of what it was to be in nature, completely encompassed by the trees,the rocks, and the water. Relating back to the topic of heat, it was something evident as a factor during the hikes. The reflection of some of the rocks increased the feeling of heat. You can see in the image in the bottom that some of the students are enjoying the cold water and laying down for the sun. This also made me think about materiality and how some in specific can conduct heat well and how others may not. Throughout the hikes at Nuria, I paid close attention to temperature changes in different spots and why that was happening. Some parts of the path were shaded, and others were completely uncovered. The paths that were uncovered tended to have more airflow but were also higher in temperature.
Back to Barcelona, he testing in Horta Aguinaldo would be done by an Arduino sensor of temperature and humidity. Trying to compare spaces that were hotter than others and why that was happening (shade…). I would also try and find spaces that are successful regarding heat mitigation and measure the amount of time that is spent there by a person. All of this information would then lead me to design solutions for excessive heat that are best fit for this particular neighborhood in Barcelona. Many of these sensations of heat are part of everyday life. Whether it is designing a pergola or placing a tree for shading, there are many different strategies that can be used in those situations. One of the major issues that I have found in Barcelona, and in most of Catalunya is the lack of water fountains. Being in very hot climates mean that dehydration can happen much faster, therefore adding water stations throughout Horta, a sports community, is only logical. Another issue was the lack of shade and increasing temperature in the middle of the streets, which was helped by the pergola
design that also crosses with the running path. A way of connecting all of these design solutions through the line drawing (axon) seemed complex. Starting with a vertical pattern of design iterations seemed the best way to capture the essence of the space as well as an axonometric model of the street with specific placements.
The spaces that we studied throughout the term were impacted by heat, there was no doubt about that. It is an issue that will continue to perisit and something that us architects should help design for. Throughout the testing with arduino and different data sets, the solutions provided were a direct result from all that time spent analyzing. Taking a more scientific approach to design is something that is very beneficial, especially when dealing with large-scale projects.
