 |
| Cidade Tiradentes, São Paulo, Brazil |
Revising the transportation systems of a metropolis is
one of the essential operations that can secure the unpredictability of life,
supported by the possibility of directly transforming quotidian conditions of
the population.
The thesis’ primary object of study is mass
transportation, specifically metro
systems, focusing on the fact that currently, a number of large urban
agglomerations are not proportionately served in infrastructural terms. São
Paulo arises as a crucial example in which the rampant growth of urban sprawl
intensified social and spatial inequalities establishing a major challenge to
provide accessibility in a congested metropolis of twenty million inhabitants.
The strategy aims to rethink São Paulo metro system approaching
design simultaneously in both urban
(network) and architectural (station) scales. In this sense, it is
crucial to consider the decentralization of infrastructural centers into the
peripheral areas of the city, dealing with infrastructure as the primary
trigger to generate transformation that must be coordinated with a mixed
program approach. The hypothesis is a speculation that the architecture of
these great infrastructural works can play a major role in a metropolitan
transformation that ultimately will result in social inclusion.
The proposal is grounded on the potential of engaging infrastructure as inclusive
urban catalyzer.
The desing of a metro station seems a very fascinating and challenging proposal. The role of the infrastructure in the contemporary city is increasing less technical and more social. In the same way than museums are often designed together with programs such as cafe, shops, lecture rooms and libraries generating a new hybrid, stations are today part of these macro-real state operations where investors usually see a potential to place their business in such a hub of people. Most of the stations are paired with supermarkets, shopping facilities, hotels cinemas and other activities. Les Halles in Paris, Shinjuku in Tokyo or Pensylvania Station in New York are examples of how these stations have become real malls in the middle of the city. So, as a programatic hybrid there is clearly a potential that infrastructure becomes not only a mobility hub but a destination per se. However, this is a double sword edge, as precisely because the infrastructures are thought in terms of real-state feasibility, these programatic hybrid demand certain requirements that usually weakens the architectural proposal. The architect has to struggle to embrace all these programs under the same roof. Only in the cases of the airports, where space is available, this city within a city seems to allow architectural expression. What I want to say is that civic spaces such as the old and amazing Penn-station are no longer possible. The civic space that before was placed in the train platforms have now shifted to the mall next to it. Because at the end, it will be the mall , the hotel or whatever program annex to the station who will paid for it . The biggest part of the cake is reserved to them.
ReplyDelete