MARGARITA JOVER

“In a line, the world comes together; with a line, the world is divided. Drawing is both beautiful and terrible.”

Drawing as a medium

Using architectural drawing as a medium, one can operate in three different ways. If we classify them according to their role, beginning from the most public sphere and ending with the most private, first we have the drawings that are drafted as instructions for construction: a precise tool to communicate the form and material qualities of the design. Next, there is the drawing as a graphic medium to express different architectural ideas for different audiences. Finally, in the studio or in more private spheres, there is the drawing as the expression of an intuitive pursuit to explore ideas. In each of these three roles, the drawing takes on different levels of resolution, where resolution is understood as the amount of information necessary to communicate certain ideas. Depending on the category in which the drawing is operating, certain aspects of the architecture will have high levels of resolution, and others will have very low levels of resolution.

In the first level of drawing, which belongs to the more public spheres and is used to communicate the construction of a building, the drawing shows high levels of resolution in technical aspects such as form, materials, costs or methods of assembly; at the same time, it loses all resolution in the information associated with understanding the architectural object as an urban element. On the other hand, the second level of drawing can synthesize the urban role of a building very well, but it omits entirely any information related to material qualities. This second type of drawing sometimes acts like a thematic diagram or compass; other times it takes the form of a poetic act that clearly reflects a specific aspect of the architectural reality. On that same second level, perhaps the most complex, we find different families of architectural drawings that aren’t a means to physically build an object, but rather an end in themselves to communicate architectural ideas. We find diagrams in plan, in section, and other two-dimensional montages with high levels of resolution in various spatial, material and cultural aspects of the architecture. The third level of drawing is an investigation; it asks questions of itself as it is produced. Its relationship with thought is immediate. It is a drawing that tries to capture the ideas flowing through the drawer’s mind. It encircles them, pursues them, and works by trial and error. This type of drawing can operate in plan or in section, in any abstraction of reality, in an iterative way. Each iteration questions the others, obtains a response and answers with another iteration. The process requires a means for each iteration to see the previous one and intuit the next one in a flexible space-time sequence. This is the case of explorations that are often done using layers of tracing paper in architecture studios. The degree of transparency or opacity is critical to this process, because it defines the margin of maneuverability for operation. If the paper is extremely transparent, it is impossible to move mentally and visually beyond the present iteration. If it is too opaque, it is impossible to see the past. But if it is semitransparent, the past and the present can enter into dialogue to construct the future. These explorations operate with predefined levels of resolution, necessary and sufficient to generate the dialogue between the present, past and future formal, spatial or ideological configuration. In this context, defining the medium and the means for one’s work becomes the most significant creative task, which provides the foundation for a certain type of thought to flow.

Physical medium and digital medium

Working with traditional media, we find materials that have specific properties, like semi-transparent paper, pencils or paint; and they are imbued with certain rules that indicate possibilities and impossibilities. Working with digital media is the same. The medium has rules like a chess board: there are things you can do and things you cannot. An in-depth familiarity with each drawing software lets you understand which medium to choose for exploring one idea or another. Certain programs allow a particular kind of question and, consequently, certain types of responses: i.e., formal, pragmatic, etc. In architecture schools and firms, it has been common knowledge for some time that the different programs should coexist, and the more different they are, the more leeway the human mind has to approach complex spatio-temporal and material problems. This criterion runs counter to economic interests, according to which software companies aim to monopolize the market, and with it the forms of drawing and thinking. Moreover, using all the drawing software on the market would define the operative limits of human beings when it comes to drawing, although it would also provide indications for designing new programs to explore things that are impossible with the existing ones.

Drawing as a medium for architecture by aldayjover

We understand architectural drawing as a medium that anticipates the architecture that will be built. Whether it is digital or manual, an architectural drawing describes precisely, but it only partially evokes the future built reality.

The main challenge in an architectural drawing is achieving the right amount of information, both for the purpose of construction and for evoking architectural meaning. When a drawing gives too much information with respect to its dimensions, it interferes awkwardly between the design and the future built reality. This happens frequently with perspectives that imitate reality: they contain too much information to hold up in a blueprint, and that information is very often not hierarchized. The result is visual noise that obstructs the reading of the architectural future.

Drawing entails establishing controlled degrees of lack of definition for the sake of an increased precision in understanding the drawing as a medium for use in construction as an approach to the spirit of the built work.

Design themes: the tension between materiality and immateriality

The Cultural Center in Utebo transforms the ruins of an old flour mill into a cultural center for a small town near Zaragoza in the Ebro River valley. One of the main architectural themes involves the transformation of the half-buried ruin; its shapeless and heterogeneous materiality, formed by worn adobe and stone walls, communicates the passage of time. The design aims to contrast this messy reality with the precise and tyrannical geometry of certain urban arrangements. The architectural intent is to generate an intense vibration as suEannE WarE is a Professor and Head of School Architecture and the Built Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She holds a masters degree in landscape architecture from the University of California, Berkeley and a PhD from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Melbourne. Her most recent books include Sunburnt: Australian Practices of Landscape Architecture, edited with Julian Raxworthy (Sun, 2011) and Taylor Cullity Lethlean: Making Sense of Landscape, edited with Gini Lee (SpaceMaker, 2013). Her research outputs as creative works have been awarded national and international design accolades (SIEV X memorial, the Road as Shrine, The Anti-Memorial to Heroin Overdose Victims). Much of her scholarly and creative practice work centres on socially engaged design processes, citizen co-design, and design activism. She is a Fellow in the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects. She has been visiting professor and scholar at ETSABarcelona, Spain and at Ecole Nationale Superieure du Paysage –Versailles.

DaviD Cohn is a North American critic of architecture specializing in Spain. Now semi-retired, he has been based in Madrid since 1986. He holds a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University (1979) and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University (1976). He was International Correspondent in Madrid for Architectural Record (USA) from 1992 to 2019, and collaborated regularly with a number of international and Spanish periodicals. He has published over 780 articles and 15 books, including “Young Spanish Architects” (2000) and monographs on Fran Silvestre, Francisco Mangado, Fernando Menis, Mansilla + Tuñón, Fraile + Revillo and Manuel Gallego, among others. In 2002 he received a Research Grant from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, and in 2006 he gave the Keynote Address at the Museum of Modern Art in New York for the inauguration of the exhibition “On Site”, which was dedicated to Spanish architecture. His upcoming book, “Modern Architectures in History: Spain”, will be published soon by Reaktion Books, London.

Luis FranCisCo EspLà was born in Alicante in 1957. He obtained a degree in fine arts from the Valencia School of Fine Arts. Awarded the Gold Medal of Fine Arts 2009. He is the son of Francisco Esplá, novillero (bullfighter of young bulls), and founder of the Alicante Bullfighting School, and brother to the matador Juan Antonio Esplá. He first wore the suit of lights in Benidorm on 21 June, 1974. This first novillada bullfight was followed by numerous others that same year, at the end of which he made his debut with picadores (mounted lancers) in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. His official presentation as a bullfighter took place in Zaragoza on 23 May 1976 and was validated in Madrid the following year. He has garnered major triumphs in bullrings all around Spain, and has forged a reputation as a genuine master of the art of classical bullfighting and in the suerte de banderillas. He retired from the rings in 2009 after the official presentation as a bullfighter of his son Alejandro.

Bruno DE MEuLDEr teaches urbanism at KU Leuven, is the current Programme Coordinator of MaHS and MaULP and the Vice-Chair of the Department of Architecture. With Kelly Shannon and Viviana d’Auria, he formed the OSA Research Group on Architecture and Urbanism. He studied engineeringarchitecture at KU Leuven, where he also obtained his PhD. He was a guest professor at TU Delft and AHO (Oslo) and held the Chair of Urban Design at Eindhoven University of Technology from 2001 to 2012. He was a partner of WIT Architecten (1994-2005). His doctoral research dealt with the history of Belgian colonial urbanism in Congo (1880-1960) and laid the basis for a widening interest in colonial and postcolonial urbanism. His urban design experience intertwines urban analysis and projection and engages with the social and ecological challenges that characterize our times.

ELizaBEth K. MEyEr, FASLA, is the Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where she has taught since 1993, also serving as Chair of the Department of Landscape Architecture as well as interim Dean of the School of Architecture. She holds degrees from the University of Virginia and Cornell University; she taught previously at Cornell and Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and practiced as a landscape architect with the EDAW and Hanna/Olin design firms. She was named one of the 25 most admired educators in the U.S. by DesignIntelligence in 2011, 2012, and 2013. Ms. Meyer is engaged nationally as a studio critic and lecturer; she has published widely on contemporary landscape design practice and theory, exploring such issues as the social and aesthetic implications of creating new parks on toxic industrial sites, and the role of aesthetics in sustainable design.

JaviEr MonCLús (Zaragoza, 1951) is an architect from the School of Architecture of Barcelona and a Doctor from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. He is Professor of Urban Planning at the School of Engineering and Architecture of the University of Zaragoza, where he has been director of the Departmental Architecture Unit. Director of ZARCH magazine. Member of the editorial board of Planning Perspectives and Director of the PUPC Research Group (Urban Landscapes and Contemporary Project). Author, co-author or co-editor of numerous publications (more than 200) on urban theory, urban design and urban history. Among which we can mention the book Urban Visions. From the culture of the plan to landscape urbanism (Abada, 2017, Urban Visions, Springer 2018; co-edited with Carmen Díez). Many of them are part of a collective work focused on the systematic knowledge of urban forms and the architecture of cities. Responsible, together with Carmen Díez, for the research projects “Urban Regeneration of Housing Estates in Spain” (UR-HESP) (MINECO). He has developed his professional activity in urban planning as an author, collaborator or consultant. In Zaragoza, it is worth mentioning his responsibility in the Riberas del Ebro Plan and his activity as director of the Accompaniment Plan of the 2008 International Exhibition.

XaviEr MontEys is a professor at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), where he directs the Habitar research group, and carries out his teaching activity at the Escola Tècnica Superior d’Arquitectura de Barcelona (ETSAB). He has taught classes and lectures at various university centers and institutions. He is a contributor to the magazines Quaderns d’Arquitectura i Urbanisme, Arquine and the Quadern supplement of the Catalan edition of the newspaper El País. He is the author of various articles and books, including Casa Collage (2001, with Pere Fuertes), La habitacion (2014) and La calle y la casa. Interior planning (2017), all of them published by Editorial GG.

KELLy shannon teaches urbanism at KU Leuven, is the Programme Director of the Master of Human Settlements (MaHS) and Master of Urbanism, Landscape and Planning (MaULP) and a member of the KU Leuven’s Social ad Societal Ethics Committee (SMEC). She received her architecture degree at Carnegie-Mellon University (Pittsburgh), a post-graduate degree at the Berlage Institute (Amsterdam), and a PhD at the University of Leuven, where she focused on landscape to guide urbanization in Vietnam. She has also taught at the University of Colorado (Denver), Harvard’s GSD, University of Southern California, Peking University and The Oslo School of Architecture and Design amongst others. Before entering academia, Shannon worked with Hunt Thompson (London), Mitchell Giurgola Architects (New York), Renzo Piano Building Workshop (Genoa) and Gigantes Zenghelis (Athens). Most of her work focuses on the evolving relation of landscape, infrastructure and urbanization. She has numerous publications and works on design research consultancy projects, primarily to the Vietnamese and Flemish governments.

Iñaki Alday

Margarita Jover

Jesús Arcos

Francisco Mesonero

Contributions by:

Eduardo Arroyo

David Cohn

Luis Francisco Esplá

Elisabeth K. Meyer

Bruno de Meulder

Xavier Monteys

Javier Monclús

Kelly Shannon

Sueanne Ware

Merrie Afseth

Pablo Alós

Elena Albareda

Aroa Álvarez

Rafael Álvarez

Arnau Balcells

Teresa Baldó

Eric Barr

Lorena Bello

Pascual Bernat

Leah Bohatch

Juliana Bracchi

Paulina Baroni

Laia Boquera

Marta Castañé

Pablo Carro

Cristina Capel

María Eugenia Castrillo

Amanda Coen

Laura Collado

Ana M. Cubillos

Saida Dalmau

Andreea Dan

Caroline Dillard

Enric Dulsat

Montse Escorcell

Jorge Espinosa

Alina Fernandes

Sean Fowler

Silvia Foros

Julia Frost

Omar González

Alba Guillén

Jordi Hernández

José Manuel Herrera

Moisés Jiménez

Ryan Kiesler

Nicole Lacoste

Carla Leandro

Connor Little

Arántzazu Lúzarraga

Marilena Lucivero

Xinyu Lyu

Andreu Meixide

Susana Mitjans

Katerina Mitsoni

Shinji Miyasaki

Mario Monclús

Eliott Moreau

Carmen Muñoz

Monisha Nasa

María Nieto

Leonardo Novelo

Héctor Ortín

Ana Ostos

Anna Planas

Irene Pecharromán

Filippo Poli

Laura Paes

Rubén Páez

Paula Poveda

Rafael Pleguezuelos

Ana Quintana

Anna Ramírez

Derek Rayle

Nerea Rentería

Lucia María Rodríguez

Natalia Rodríguez

Catalina Salvà

Claudia Sanllehy

Júlia Salvia

Dolores Sancho

Marta Serra

Bruno Seve

Xiaonian Shen

Zhilan Song

Megan Spoor

Théa Spring

Gina Susanna

Cecilia Vinyolas

Joana Verd

Raquel Villa

Nina Walters

Makai Wilson-Charles

Tensae Woldesellasie

Ana Zabala

L’Atelier du Paysage. Christine Dalnoky. Project: The Water Park.

Burgos&Garrido arquitectos. Project: Social Housing Torre Baró.

Eric Batlle y Joan Roig. Project: Renovation of Paseo de la Independencia.

Jorge Rigau arquitectos. Project: San Juan de Puerto Rico Old Acueduct.

KLM arquitectos. Project: Buenos Aires Elevated Highway Park.

María Pilar Sancho. Project: Recovery of the Gállego River Bank in Zuera.

RCR Arquitectes. Project: Green Diagonal Park.

Vir.mueller architects. Project: Maharashtra Park and Bridge /Noida Masterplan.

West 8. Project: Green Diagonal Park.

05AM Arquitectura. Project: Ibiza Pedestrian City Center.

ABM Consulting (Hydraulic Engineer Consultant)

Artec Studio (Lighting Design)

ASEPMA (Water Solution Consultant)

Aníbal Sepúlveda (Historic Preservation Expert)

BIS structures (Structural Consultant)

Benedicto Gestión de Proyectos (Budget and Project Manager)

Bruno Remoué + associats, urbanism & mobility (Mobility Consultant)

Conrado Sancho (Civil Engineer Expert)

David Solans. Taller de ingeniería ambiental (Hydraulic Engineer Expert)

Davide Vason (Infographic)

Eva Brugal (Budget and Project Manager)

Escofet (Furniture Design)

IRBIS (Environmental Consultant)

INCO ingenieros (Engineer Consultant)

IGuzzini (Lighting Consultant)

Fernando González (Agronomy and landscape)

JG Ingenieros (Engineer Consultant)

Jorge Abad (Biology and Ecology Expert)

Josep Bonvehí (Budget and Project Manager)

LAMP Lighting (Lighting Consultant)

Pepe Lanao (Budget and Project Manager)

Level infrastructure (Civil Engineering)

Luis M. Gutiérrez (Budget and Project Manager)

Matèria Verda (Agronomy and botany) mmcité (Furniture Design)

Paisaje Transversal (Urban Planning)

Pablo Rived (Budget and Project Manager)

PROMPT Collective (Infographic)

PyP (Systems) - Estudio Ros (Facilities Consultant)

PSC Ingenieros Hidráulicos (Hydraulic Engineer Consultant)

Randelec (Facilities Consultant)

Roser Vives Delàs (landscape & agronomy)

SBDA (Infographic)

SENER (Engineer Consultant)

Torres-Rosa Consulting (Engineer Consultant)

Photographers

Jordi Bernadó

Recovery of the Gállego River Banks in Zuera –– 9, 36, 37 left, 38-43

The Water Park –– 111, 115, 120-123

Renovation of Paseo de la Independencia –– 66, 71

The Mill Cultural Center –– 28, 44, 47, 48, 52, 55

Can Mustera Farmhouse –– 56, 58, 60, 61, 63, 65 left

Mas Bassedes Farmhouse –– 240, 244, 248

Water Park Pavilions –– 124, 126, 127, 128, 129 right, 130, 131

Water Park Power Plant and Infrastructure Buildings –– 99, 133 top right, 140,141, 146, 147, 149 bottom

Agricultural Interpretation Center ––218, 220 bottom, 225 top, 225 bottom right, 226 right, 227

Residence and Day Center for People with Intellectual Disabilities –– 100107

José Hevia

Renovation of Paseo de la Independencia –– 68, 69

Zaragoza Tramway Integration –– 196, 198, 199, 203, 204, 205, 207

Water Park Pavilions –– 129 left

Water Park Power Plant and Infrastructure Buildings –– 143, 145, 147 top right, 149 top

Arbolé Theater –– 134-137

Las Delicias Sports Hall –– 10, 84, 86, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93

Las Armas Social Housing –– 74, 75, 79, 81, 83

Pedro Pegenaute

Aranzadi Park –– 162, 163, 164, 168, 169, 171

Agricultural Interpretation Center ––220 superior, 225 bottom left, 226 right, 228, 229

Eduardo Berian / Hidrone

Aranzadi Park –– 25, 158, 165,

Germán Lama

Ibiza Pedestrian City Center Images delivered by Ibiza Municipality –– 230, 232, 234, 235, 238 top right

Lourdes Grivé Roig

Ibiza Pedestrian City Center Images delivered by Ibiza Municipality –– 238 top left

Carlos Madrid

Recovery of the Gállego River Banks in Zuera –– 37, 38

Adrià Goula

Benicàssim New City Center Model –– 175

Badalona New City Center Model ––

192

Santiago Amo

The Water Park –– 117 right

Infographics

sbda –– 21 right, 150, 151, 155, 157, 174, 177, 179, 182, 183, 185, 186, 189, 190, 191, 195, 210, 212, 215, 216, 246, 254-257, 259 top, 260, 263, 266 top, 268, 273, 274, 275, 286, 290, 291, 292, 294-297, 303, 305, 308, 316-318, 322, 325

Modelmakers

AiR maquetas y proyectos

Benicàssim New City Center Model –– 175

Miquel Lluch

Badalona New City Center Model –– 192