Project report adriana useche macig 2014 web by adriana useche

THE AWAKENING OF OUR F A C U L T I E S The for

revealing potential of space the Venezuelan political conflict

Adriana Useche

THE AWAKENING OF OUR F A C U L T I E S The for

revealing potential of space the Venezuelan political conflict

Adriana Useche

University of Westminster MA Architecture Cultural Identity and Globalization Mayor Thesis Project September 2014

Abstract When a country is so immensely affected by an internal conflict as Venezuela it becomes empiric for architecture to become more involved with the issues that condition life and generate such contested environment. Based on that believe the presented thesis is developed, using research and design as interdependent collaborators in order to reveal, in a critical way, certain elements that relate to the idiosyncrasy of the Venezuelan, which have participated in the consolidation of the conflict. In order to achieve such task it was important to first establish a strategy that could facilitate a critique’s existence outside the typical political frame, by generating arguments outside the conflict, where none of the groups is specifically targeted. This was achieved by the employment of the Venezuelan novel Doña Bárbara (1929), written by Rómulo Gallegos, in order to create a narrative. In it elements of a fictional story act as reflectors of a wider and more complex reality, related to political, social and cultural issues, using symbolism through the description of characters and landscape, where the main idea is developed around the battle against the barbarism of a nation, the lack of morality and the everyday injustices. Simultaneously the site selected for intervention would also be primordial, the Bolivar Avenue. An Avenue that evidences the failure and lack of possibilities caused by modern urban planning, projected and constructed under the supervision of French professionals, as part of the massive urban development propelled by the oil’s incorporation to the economic system, existing nowadays as a very isolated and poorly connected avenue, employed mostly by vehicles and avoided by pedestrians, located also in an area where politics and space are closely related. The project therefore combines both elements. In a first basis the site is modified in an abstract way, departing from the employment of a new grid that defines quadrants, and each quadrant responds to the characteristics of each site. The narrative of Dona Barbara enters modifying what was before abstract, by relating the environments created to specific chapters of the novel, that is to say the spaces begin to narrate a story as the built forms dialogue with moments from the live of characters, and each quadrant represents an instant in the journey that takes the reader from the beginning of the avenue to its end. Such instants are later captured producing the intersection of all design components upon which the critical argument is built.

Contents Acknowledgements

0 Introduction

1 Politics and Space: constructing a theoretical basis

2 Narrative and site: from theory to specificity

3 Process of design: developing a methodology

Design Proposal: pursuing reflectivity

Conclusions: a critical awakening

Endnotes

Bibliography

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements It is important for me to take this opportunity in order to thank those whose participation have been primordial for the development of the thesis. First of all I must thank both Nasser Golzari and Samir Pandya, the thesis supervisors, for encouraging always an intellectual rationale behind the ideas developed while respecting and comprehending my personal alignments for the research, for showing incredible patience and support even in the moments of more hesitation, and for stimulating the experimentation of different representation techniques which made the process more fluid and certainly more interesting. I would also like to thank the group of colleagues who supported me with additional information, like professor Pablo Molina for having email conversations about the urban process in la Avenida BolĂvar; Andres GarcĂa for sharing his photographies of the city, and Juan Carlos Leal for scanning important journalistic information and sending it to me. I am very grateful to my family, especially to my parents for always trusting my decisions and for believing in my professional development, comprehensives and supportive all the time. Finally I want to thank all Venezuelans who still believe in the improvement of our society, and work for it everyday, struggling with so many obstacles in a day basis, those who fight for the education of future generations and ultimately believe in the reconciliation of society beyond the political lines that nowadays affects the country.

INTRODUCTION a call for reflexivity

Introduction

If there is something that is, and has been, defining the sort of behaviours and practices that constitute human life is the consolidation of cities. For contemporary society which has been exchanging drastically, specially for the last two centuries, their preferences from rural to urban life, the city seems to have become a concept each time more inseparable from it. In that sense when we consider the process that has made more complex the development of society, from the effects of globalization to the increasingly dependency of technological resources especially in media and communication, and how rapidly change can be absorbed, has simultaneously altered the way urban spaces are constituted. Cities are manifesting human need for adaptation and, as time passes, documenting human history and its different economic, social, political and cultural elements is a permanent task of the urban studies. When studying Caracas, capital of Venezuela, we see such patterns emerge; a city defined by a process of centralization, whose structure, both social and spatial, has been greatly determined by an economic system dependent almost uniquely in the exploitation of oil, just as from the vicious and corruption that resulted from it. Caracas as a urban space suffered its major transformations during the twentieth century. The project of modernization was praised particularly by the elite classes in order to achieve the progress

that the new revenues from oil could trigger. The acceptance of methodologies derived from modern urban planning would define the future spatial relationships within the city, meaning the design of plans as the structuring element, plans, that as many others from the modernist era, were constructed from assumptions about the different systems of relationships established in the city, projecting divisor lines on space while avoiding other 1 possibilities. However while the formal urban fabric was being defined the country also experimented the instabilities that social and political conditions caused, accompanied by the flaws in an economic system which translated into large disparities between social classes, social injustice and urban segregation, serving as basis for a conflict that would consolidate during the end of last century, and materialize into a “populist” government, led by corruption and repression, generating strategies that incentive the division of society, all of which is translated into a permanent state of violence and uncertainty as is present in Caracas. The thesis presented finds its core by recognizing the existing relationship between the built environment in Caracas, and the political component that defines its inhabitant’s lives, trying to question both the political and social characteristics that condition the country’s cultural identity, by the translation of research to design. 1

The design element will, subsequently, carry with it the critical component, where the intention is to present a political content without addressing it directly, and not acknowledging any specific side. In that sense the idea is to construct a narrative that is “written” from the idiosyncrasy of Venezuela, and intents to expose several variables that participate in the way society conducts itself, and ultimately contributes to the persistence of conflict. The “Awakening of our faculties” is a call therefore for reflectivity, for an understanding of the country’s confrontations beyond their politicization, which appears as opposition to Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos phrase “the numbness of his faculties”, in reference to a man who had lost sight of his own capacities, just like the nation that is caught in an eternal conflict and whose people need to be awaken. The structure of the thesis was built upon the necessity to generate a logical order that demonstrates the fluidity in the translation of research into design, corresponding to four sections. The first section serves as the theoretical basis, exploring the concepts of Agonism employed by Chantal Mouffe, and Thirdspace by Edward W. Soja, which is primordial for the construction of a design methodology. On the second section two other components are identified, the narrative originated in Gallegos’s novel “Doña Bárbara”, as the critical 2

guideline of the research, and the site, or space e for intervention, which corresponds to the Bolivar Avenue in Caracas, presented in a historical but also contemporary context. From this we move forward to the third section, explaining the development of the design process, having its conclusive product on the fourth section where a description of the final design components is found. Finally a the conclusions intent to generate a critical overview about the process of research and design. The design proposal is constituted by a series of elements that act interdependently and evidence a sort of chronological evolution. This is expressed in the way the final architectural spaces as shown in the perspective images are the conclusive pieces, where all, theory, narrative and site come together. As subjective as they may seem, they are in fact exposing different concerns that combine both a personal political critique, and a reality that affects society as a whole where the paradoxes of contemporary urban life are revealed, always attempting to exist within the limit of the poetic, and evoking the awakening of our faculties. “We can hope, as Baudilaire sometimes hoped, for a future in which the joy and beauty, like the city 2 lights, will be shared by all.”

Introduction

Fig 1. Aerial view of Caracas

POLITICS AND SPACE constructing a theoretical basis

Politics and Space

The political component that frames current society in Caracas and the rest of the country results a key element for the development of the research process, as well its later incorporation into design, since it will define the critical background that sustains and validates the mere essence of the project. The polarization originated by the rise of Chavez as the president of Venezuela in 1998 has left a profound division in the social tissue, exacerbated by a divisive discourse, rooted in decades of disparities in classes that compose the citizenship, and unavoidably any attempt of intervention needs to be considered of such reality. It is evident, therefore, that we must first, before going into the process of design, recognize the relevant theories and knowledge that are originated from a political perspective; in order to do so the concept employed by Chantal Mouffe as an “agonistic state” seems of a particular importance. Agonistic state refers to overcoming the understanding of politics in the classical sense, where the concepts of Right and Left are no longer used, since those kinds of systems have clearly been de-legitimize. Without falling into liberalism what Mouffe intends is to establish a possibility where two considered political extreme groups can adopt adversary positions instead of enemy positions, and even when having nothing in common they still a share a symbolic space. She recognizes

the importance of creating passions, which are inseparable from the world of politics, as they create the relationships of collective identity, but what matters is to exchange the conception of the we/they relationship for one where differences can be presented and play out instead3 of stigmatized, calling it a “conflictual consensus” . The objective is, therefore, to construct a strategy that enables the gestation of such consensus, where conflict is not the traditional violent confrontation, but is almost a space of mutual recognition, that far from being neutral, instead it is presenting the alternatives for people to choose and stimulating modes of identification. Nonetheless what needs to be avoided is the appearance of voids of alternatives, that occur when existing parties are incapable of generating a concise and identifiable message, leading to the rise of populist proposals, where the we/they relationship is strengthened, based on the promise that “the people” will have the power in return, becoming at the end a big fallacy, as it did in Venezuela, where the discourse of new socialism is in reality a charade driven by the capitalist oil income. In an ideal scenario the concept of agonism would construct the base where political foundations in a society are supported. However, when considering its implementation in current Venezuelan society characterized by the coexistence of two opposing 5

Fig 2. Gathering of pro-governmental followers

tendencies, where the ruling one has declared itself as the possessor of truth, conducting acts of censorship and repression, the possibilities of a realistic “Agonistic Estate” are practically nullified. Consequently the idea of agonism for purposes of this investigation, does not intend to generate a direct impact that modifies the structural system of politics and society, as if architecture could act as an immediate solution, but to implement the concept in a strategic way in order to present critical arguments that far from falling into neutrality, attempt to explore and reveal issues rooted in the Venezuelan identity, all of them participant in the historical process that shaped contemporary society. Intrinsically the intentions of not establishing an specific political point of view facilitates and incentive discussions, where the mayor concerns are not based on mere ideologies, but the critical aspects that frame our actions and behaviours, and the space as a form of architecture becomes the initial point where both extremes can 6

find a shared ground. In that sense another process that results important not only in Mouffe’s conceptualization of “agonism” but also for the comprehension of this specific project is that of reflexivity, which is referred to as the development of a system that is able of accommodating a fluid interchange of ideas, validating the diverse interests and demands from individuals with different backgrounds and lifestyles. Triggering the mechanism of reflexivity, therefore, will restructure the way conflict is seen, allowing the coexistence of opposite beliefs under a tolerant environment. Reflexivity becomes subsequently, on one hand, a sort of modus operandi, on the other a process that seeks to be stimulated by the critical component based on the notion of agonism, where the main idea is not to present a formal alternative, but to question the existing arguments and structures that have validated the consolidation of the political conflict and the absence of tolerance, using

Politics and Space

Fig 3. View of consolidated informal settlement in Caracas as evidence of urban segregation

space as a medium of expression. Evolving from the political component, and having understood its implications, the following stage will require to comprehend the notions and conceptualizations of space, as part of the architectural intervention, in other words the correlation between the stimulation of reflectivity in a political sense, with a physical representation that evokes certain spatiality. The study of space, becomes irrevocably a priority in the course of research, evidently because of the nature of the design process, but also because politics and power notions that frame the existence of different thoughts and tendencies are materialized in the form of space, as it could happen for example in the appearance of urban segregation, a condition that affects the territory of Caracas, and that also manifests an empiric relationship between the spatial distribution of social classes with political views.

As we understand the implication of spatiality, and its intrinsic relationship with politics, we must refer to several concepts and terms employed by Edward W. Soja, when he discusses the issue of the Thirdspace, which he clearly differences and prioritizes among the Firstspace and Secondspace, describing all as different epistemologies and ways of thinking about space. The Firstspace espistemologies are referred by Soja as the proper materialization of space, related to the kind of actions and social activities that are conducted in them; the Secondspace epistemologies, on the other hand, are more related to the idea of thought and mind than with the physical world, it is an interpretative and representative way of thinking about space. Finally the Thirdspace epistemologies are those which while being critical about the limitations of the first two, also stimulates new possibilities and questions old and established conceptions, the Thirdspace becomes then:

thirdspace

Fig 4. Diagram of theories

reflectivity

agonism

Politics and Space

“The space where all places are, capable of being seen from every angle, each standing clear; but also a secret and conjectured object, filled with illusions and allusions, a space that is common to all of us, yet never able to be completely seen and understood, an “unimaginable universe”, or as Lefebvre would put it “the most general of 4 products”. Soja borrows the term of triple dialectic employed by Lefebvre to develop his idea of Thirdspace, where the barriers of the physical space intermingle with the mental space, and none is privileged over the other; it is a space that ,consequently, facilitates the construction of possibilities that transgresses the limitations of the built environment, and new alternatives can be confronted or proposed. Furthermore the most important characteristic of the Thirdspace, in terms of this research, is the inclusiveness and openness with a , nonetheless, political thrive, which if in fact they are impossible to be known completely, their basic knowledge is the leading factor that motivates our desire for resistance towards domination and 5 power. In other words a Thirdspace will firstly allow the coexistence of radical thoughts and maintain a certain open character that relates to its capacity to change and evolve, secondly its essence is

political, even when it is implicit, needed to be discovered, in order to achieve its intrinsic motives which might not necessarily be shared by different groups, and finally it is, most importantly, not a space that needs to be physically experience in order to inspire and attempt to achieve its ultimate goal of questioning the existing power structures. The design proposal that engages with architectural intervention will, as a result, relate to both theoretical concepts, or rather, use them as the fundamental guideline from where the project can evolve and materialize. This is accomplished on one hand, by guaranteeing the prevalence of that critical argument that appears from the necessity of being provocative and generating real confrontation by the implementation of the agonistic and conflictual consensus concepts, and on the other by the search of a spatial representation that, whilst relating to the political motive that leads and characterizes the nature of this research, accomplishes it in subtle and almost persuasive ways, not presenting solutions, but exposing and revealing possibilities or realities, remaining opened for future discussions.

NARRATIVE AND SITE from theory to specificity

Narrative and site

Having established the sort of theoretical background that motivates and acts as the structural element by guiding the rationale of the research, two other components need to be discussed, since they construct together another pivot point for the process of design. Firstly the narrative implemented, that is to say the elements taken from the comprehension of social practices and behaviours which are directly related to the cultural identity of the Venezuelan, and secondly the site and the reasons that justify its selection. The narrative will construct the critical element of the project, which relates to the concept of agonism and its implementation as a medium of critique, as it was previously explained, where the issues and concerns about society in Venezuela are exposed, having always present the importance of politics and power. In order to do so, the narrative can not be constructed by personal interpretations or personal inventiveness, rather by verifiable sources. In that sense a Venezuelan novel, with a regionalist character and clear critical essence towards national politics and identity was selected: “Doña Bárbara”, written by Rómulo Gallegos, and published in 1929. Moreover the site, as the word indicates, is the physical space that is chosen to be modified or altered. It needs to be expressive of the characteristic of a Firstspace, where its material essence also transforms and is transformed by the

social practices it hosts, a place where history and politics are manifested through its built, or nonbuilt, environment; a place existing in the geography of Caracas which modification can have a significant, or even symbolic, impact within the urban structure, highly identifiable and relatable to its inhabitants; The Bolivar Avenue (Avenida Bolívar) was selected as a consequence. In the following sections a more detailed and specific description of both the novel “Doña Bárbara” and the Bolivar Avenue is presented for their further understanding. 3.1. Narrative: Doña Bárbara, symbolism and social critique 3.1.1 Social context and the critical element Doña Bárbara is a literary piece of fiction published in 1929, and written by Venezuelan writer and political figure Rómulo Gallegos, who constructs a narrative where the use of a love story is accompanied by a critical discourse towards the social and political structural system, accomplished by the use of symbolic elements, which are related to the idiosyncrasy of Venezuela, therefore not only there is a strong and evident presence of symbolism throughout the narrative, but also its regionalist approach allows the story to be dependant of the country’s cultural and social 11

traditions. At the time the book was written Gallegos was living in the exile, this due to his opposition towards the dictatorship of Juan Vicente 6 Gomez, an old fashioned caudillo who established a personalistic system based on repression, and allowed the exploitation of oil by foreign companies 7 in national territory. Such figure would inspire Gallegos to create the character of Doña Bárbara, and the story that follows her. Nonetheless the novel does not limit itself to a critique towards a specific regime. Gallegos was convinced that the tyranny of Gomez was more than simply an individual lust for power that came from an evil instinct, as he perceived it as a consequence of a collective acceptance towards abuse, in all 8 aspects of life, as for a lack of principles and moral. Such appreciation makes the issue of “barbarism” an explored one beyond the boundaries of the main character Doña Bárbara, allowing the construction of a story where characters that even when being secondary, are fundamentals for formulating the social critique, and help to express the battle between the barbarism and the civilization. He defended the idea of civilization, since he was an educator himself, relating it to the concept of justice, and the respect for the law, all of which was incompatible with a political culture that was accustomed to violent mediums when competing for power, and where members of the elitist and 12

educated classes had failed in providing leaders 9 that would enlighten and guide “the people”. What seems more relevant, and the reason that motivates the selection of Doña Bárbara as such an important reference in the development of this research, is that beyond the universal essence the book holds, political and social culture encountered in Venezuela still maintains many of the critically revealed characteristics along the novel. The nation is still susceptible to militaristic and authoritarian regimes, there is almost an absence of non-corrupt justice institutions, education is used for only specific interests, and the establishment of a middle class has not managed to reconcile the social conflict by the impulse of new leading figures, poverty is a struggle more people has to face as a consequence of the growing rate in urban areas, like Caracas, where informal settlements have consolidated throughout its extension along the years. The validity in the novel’s discourse is, therefore, providing the arguments that will maintain and sustain the political-critical element, where politics and poetry find a shared scenario. Consequently the story needed to be analysed, as well as the elements that constitute its narrative, discovering the kind of relationships that are crucial for contemporary society, and are also expressed

Narrative and site

in a way that allows their identification in current scenarios, even when they were originally exposed more than eighty years ago.

3.1.2 Content and main elements

The novel Doña Bárbara receives the name of its antagonistic character, since the story is in reality focused on the main character Santos Luzardo, a young man that is raised in Caracas, and after years of living in the city travels back to his childhood home, an old ranch located in the estate Apures which belongs to the region of “los Llanos”, a region characterized by huge extensions of land almost untouched by the hand of men, with an immense variety of natural diversity and two seasonal periods that define and restrict the lives of its inhabitants: the dry period, when ponds evaporate and air becomes thicker; and the winter, as the rain arrives nourishing the land. The story begins as Santos arrives in Altamira, the old ranch that for a long time had belonged to his family, and years before served as scenario for multiple family tragedies. His purpose in returning to this unsettling place is that of recovering the lands that the well-known Doña Bárbara had been stealing from him, using fraudulent strategies, to whom he plans to confront by resorting to the pertinent judicial organizations, ignoring that the

woman had by them already established long lasting relationships with the individuals in charge, and had made deals that facilitated her impunity against any kind of accusation. As the story continues, we are faced with the struggles of Santos in different ways: his confrontation against Doña Bárbara, a woman that becomes obsessed with the man from the city, and reacts in often contradictory ways; his search for justice in the respective public organisms, which ends up in his own frustration; the civilizing idea of the Llanos, by defending the proposal of fences and other mechanisms to organize and modernize the territory; the new feelings of love that he develops towards Marisela, the abandoned daughter of Doña Bárbara, a wild creature who he transforms and almost awakes; and finally his own personal struggle against the susceptibility of falling prey to his more primitive instincts that arise from the ineffectiveness of his actions, all exacerbated by the savage characteristics of the natural environment and behaviours of characters. In order to construct a clearer picture of the potentialities that the novel holds as the source of critical components, some elements can be identified in it that serve as more specific referential points, and at the same time are responsible for structuring the story for the reader: the nature, the local traditions and the symbolism behind the characters. 13

â&#x20AC;˘ Nature and landscape: The landscape of the Llanos plays a significant role in the story, where even in occasions it seems as if nature, which manifests through the presence of rivers, rains, fire, and local wildlife, becomes another character, that is quite often described in incredible detail, allowing the reader to construct a very lucid picture, functioning as a medium to celebrate and exposed the marvels of national geography. Nevertheless what is more significant in the use of nature as such an important literary element is its dualism throughout the story; nature holds in its insuperable beauty the dangers that originate from its wild essence, its more inseparable feature. Such wildness is translated into the behaviours of men as well, as the primitive instinct that human being contain within themselves. The issue of control and civilization enters then not as a literal opposition to nature, but as a resource that can be positively implemented in order to generate balance. The development of Santos as a character is highly intertwined with this idea, as he focuses his intentions of civilizing the land, and explores the duality in himself, realizing that the process of transforming the barbaric to civilized is far from simple, and the intentions of improvement by the implementation of law and justice must be accompanied by a profound comprehension of the local identity, which is partly built upon peopleÂ´s relationship with nature.

Fig 5: typical view of a river in the Llanos

Fig

breading

cattle

Fig 7: taming the cattle

Narrative and site

Fig 8: boys from the Llanos playing a the national instrument

â&#x20AC;˘ Local traditions and racial mixing: The description of local traditions is a permanent concern in Gallegosâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s narrative, some chapters are developed in a way that framed a certain event or moment under very precise and autochthonous traditions, such as celebrations, hunting of animals, the breeding of the cattle, and even superstitious activities, all of which are the result of mixed influences derived from the different racial backgrounds that compose the local folklore and identity. By doing this Gallegos aspires to incentive the values of nationalism and patriotism on one hand, on the other, he also manages to, through the character of Santos, present a critical point of view regarding the more mystical traditions that were based in the believe of super-natural

forces held by men, women and animals. Gallegos also addresses the issue of racial diversity, since Venezuela is a nation formed under a mixture of races and traditions, as he believed in the importance of racial mixing for the development of a stronger national identity, as well as for the establishment of stronger connective ties between social classes. This can be exemplified by the loving relationship that is formed by Marisela and Santos, as individuals with different social and racial backgrounds, symbolizing the union between the state (the elite) and the people, as well as the possibilities that would be generated after that 10 bond. 15

Fig 9: characters diagram

• Characters and symbolism: Doña Bárbara: is the personification of Gomez’s despotism. It is a complex character who grows a deep feeling of resentment and hate towards men after being raped during her adolescence. She develops a seductive and mystic character, and the final picture that we are presented with is that of a woman that conquers men and subsequently takes from them everything. People are respectful of her, which allows her to do as she pleases, but eventually she disappears surrounded by the same mystical air that always surrounded her, after having seen the potentialities of love between Marisela (her daughter) an Santos. Santos Luzardos: Santos is the civilized man, who is also victim of his own dualism, in an attempt to manifest the features encountered in his social 11 class. Marisela: she is Doña Barbara’s daughter, left by her mother and raised by an alcoholic father. Santos meets her and takes her under his responsibility, educating her, which ultimately becomes for him the vivid example of civilization, the “enlighten barbarism”, the ideal that Gallegos so strongly believed in for the future of Venezuela. 16

Lorenzo Barquero: a man that felt victim of Barbara’s seduction, but whose failure in defeating the barbarism within himself is only attributed to his actions and his soft character, hiding behind the idea of a woman that holds some sort of imaginary superiority among every human being. He lives devoted to alcohol, consumed by the vice, and careless of his daughter, surrendered and conformed, a representation of the mediocrity and conformism that avoids the nation’s evolution. Mr. Danger: an American man that settled in the Llanos, who is not vulnerable to Barbara’s charms, careless of local people, only interested in the money that the breeding of cattle and land appropriation generated. He is the symbol of the American invasion that took place during the early 20th’s century, when countless of international companies deployed a series of headquarters in Venezuelan territory for the exploitation of oil. Ño Pernalete: symbolizes the corruption in the judicial system. He is in charge of the police headquarters, and therefore Santos expects of him the enforcement of law, but is disappointed once he understands the law of Doña Bárbara had more relevance than the formal one.

Narrative and site Fig 10: map of Caracas with the site.

3.2. Site: a physical space + social practices

environment in order for humans to inhabit, which happens on a physical level and constitutes the 3.2.1 Selection of site: modernity, conflict infrastructure necessary for diverse functions. At and spatial differences the same time cities, as built environments, are also transformed by the behaviours and activities society The urban space constitutes another conducts, in a process that is interdependent, making fundamental point in the development of the them places of authenticity, which is constructed research, most importantly when considering the not only for the physical qualities they gather, variables that will align the process of intervention but for the ability to expose the diverse social through design; it manifests the adaptation of the practices as well as the political, cultural, historical 17

Fig 11: Map of Caracas showing the division between north and south produced by the river and the highway

and economic characteristics of any population, in other words when we think about it we do so using the first space epistemologies. Caracas, as the capital of Venezuela, has suffered since its foundation in the colonial time an immense number of transformations, exacerbated by the strong process of centralization the country has experienced specially in the 20th and 21st centuries, alongside with failed politics of modernization and the impoverishment and degradation of urban areas. The city has become a materialization of the social conflict that formed throughout the years, which translates into a political-economic crisis. Such crisis, if indeed has been caused by many factors, has a direct relationship with the incorporation, and dependency, of oil sales as the base for the economic system, which incomes generated had significant impact in the urban structure, specially during the mid-twentieth century, when the project of 18

Modernity transformed the city, departing from the importance of roads development, the incorporation of foreign urban patterns, the distinction between vehicles and pedestrians, the specificity in urban 12 functions and others. In that sense a site that is capable of exposing such urban processes, while still being significant for contemporary society was selected: the Bolivar Avenue or Avenida BolĂvar, located in the city centre, which therefore generates a rupture in the urban fabric that was established as a grid by the Spaniard empire during the colonization period, altering the continuity of scale in the area, as well as the diverse uses of the surrounding infrastructure. Nowadays the area has still a big importance in the comprehension of the cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban development, and its location on the west side of Caracas points us towards a relevant issue, the west-east relationship. If indeed there are no physical barriers

Narrative and site

Fig 12: Map of Caracas showing the division between west and east, the red dot is the progovernmental borough, and the blue is the area constituted by the four boroughs with mayors from the opposition.

that divides both sides, it is true that west and east have differences in terms of the social classes that inhabits them, because even though poverty is present throughout all the capital as also do some middle to high class residential areas, from an historical perspective there is evidence that their development was framed by important differences, since during the first three decades of last century the location of factories on the limits of the river on the Westside, and the following pollution of the waters, generated unsanitary conditions which did not appeal for the highest classes, causing a restructuring of the land value, and a consequent 13 predilection for the east side terrains, determining therefore the city’s future spatial configuration for years to come. Nevertheless, what is certain is how the political division is extrapolated into territorial space, where the inhabitants of the “Libertador” borough, which occupies almost half of the city on the west and has the major proportion

of population, has always selected publicly titled pro-government mayors, while the four remaining boroughs on the east, which are considerably smaller, have most recently all leaned forward the candidates from the opposition. There is, inevitably a social-political-spatial relationship. Contradictorily the initial intention of the Bolivar Avenue was to compensate the major urban growing pointing towards the east, by revitalizing the historic centre. Unfortunately by the time the plan was being developed the growth towards the east had already consolidated, and inevitably the Haussmanian urbanism proposed will fail in generating 14 the expected impact. A more detailed description of the historical context and the current site’s characteristics is exposed in the following sections.

Fig. 13: Perspective of initial plan suggested by Rotival, which included a pyramidal monument to celebrate Simon Bolivarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life

Narrative and site

3.2.2 An historical frame:

The precise historical moment in which the avenue was projected is crucial for the understanding of social and political agents that will frame the consolidation of conflict; it was 1936, and the country was re-directing its economic structure, shifting from a dependency in agricultural production, to a dependency on oil revenues. This shift did not only represent a considerable rise of incomes, but multiple consequences such as the uncontrollable rural exodus, the re-urbanization of principal cities, and the beginning of a modernization process. However it is also crucial to understand the development of the national identity as Ewell explains: “The foreign-directed petroleum exploitation affected Venezuelan society in a number of ways (...). Roads, health care housing, sports

and entertainment, religion and working customs all followed the foreigner’s preferences; most oil camps had clearly differentiated living areas for foreigners and Venezuelans. (...) Foreign attitudes to Venezuelans were frequently arrogant, 15 ethnocentric and condescending.” That image of foreign superiority, and the several traditions and customs that came with it, will remain inseparably from national idiosyncrasy, leaving its vestiges visible even in today’s society. Such an important urban intervention as the one of Bolivar Avenue would not escape the characteristic imported ideals of the time, as we can deduct from the following graphic which exposes a time-line that frames the planning, construction and eventual changes of the avenue during different time periods, under a political perspective, both national and international.

Fig. 14: Schematic plan of Caracas in 1933

Fig. 15: Time-line of Bolivarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Avenue construction.

Various aspects are important to highlight from the time-line. On one hand the selection of French planners and architects to lead the process of design. This decision was based upon the exaltation of European values especially French urbanism as a prestigious and seductive element to import, voted in favour against the also considered North-American model. As the city grew so did the aspiration to resemble foreign and influential cultures, and it was the elite who would lead such 16 transformations. On another hand we also are faced with the figure of Maurice Rotival, who reported to the main planning office in France, and whose itinerant presence is not affected by local political instability, coups, and the different governmental models. His approach to design came from scientific analysis, reinforced by his career in the military sector. Planning was for him a resource that the elite should control, where social subjects were only considered as precautionary measures that would not permit the appearance of social unrest, avoiding 17 all participatory processes. Evidently by making this choice on Rotival behalf, politicians as well as local architects with a European education were leaning towards the urbanism that favoured the elite, considering power and control major concerns. Nevertheless the attempt to create order at the time was starting to represent a contradiction, as 24

the peripheral areas in the city started to witness the appearance of informal settlements. What Rotival intended when creating the general plan of intervention was a massively monumental projection of buildings and public spaces, inspired by methodologies of the Eccole Beaux-Arts. Nonetheless, and paradoxically, what remains of his proposal is very little. The decade of the fifties will end with the elimination of the “National Commission of Urbanism” and with it the disappearance of the last great project of urban planning in a city level, along with the illusion of control and planning of urban development, as the elitist groups lost the 18 impulse that motivated a concrete national project. The avenue would then exchange the monument for Simón Bolívar for the recognized residential complex of “El Silencio” by Carlos Raul Villanueva; The Centro Simón Bolivar, a project that according to Rotival’s master plan should expose the characteristics of the Rockefeller Centre, remains the most vivid evidence of his leading role as urban planner in Caracas. Inevitably the Bolivar Avenue suffered the effect of time. During the decade of the seventies the residential complex “Parque Central” was built on the east extreme of the avenue, nevertheless without any intention of being an integrated piece, its concept of a city within the city takes space

Narrative and site

but gives nothing in return. As the eighties arrived a new proposal intended to dress the avenue with a new set of cultural and governmental spaces. The project led by Spanish-Venezuelan architect Carlos Gómez de Llanera introduced some absolutely enchanting pieces of architecture, with an overwhelming presence, but destined to remain as islands in the avenue that has no continuity, and where the extensiveness of open spaces under the Ecuadorian sun avoids any kind of desire for human interaction.

3.2.3 The Bigger context: urban relationships

Before entering into the details of the avenue, understanding how it relates to its context seems quite relevant, in order to generate a more efficient strategy that considers elements from a bigger picture. Therefore when facing a series of informational maps created about the current urban structure some points must be mentioned: Scale and history: first of all the avenue appears clearly as it breaks the continuity of the initial grid, and occupies a whole set of linear blocks, which, intuitively, also indicates a matter of contrasting scales, between the context with still some colonial characteristics and the immensity of modern architecture.

Politics in space: it is evident that the area in general has a considerable presence of political institutions, implying two issues of concern: not only the site has been the stage of political unrest that characterizes the country, such as the numerous coups, and protests, but when taking into account the propagandistic and physical exposition that characterizes current administration, and reminding the fact that the area belongs to an official borough, it is understandable why it has such a obvious political presence, and how just by taking a few steps into it you are confronted with the image of power almost as an omnipresent element. Public spaces: we can also see the existence of several public spaces. They appear as voids in a very congested grid, belonging to a city that is no stranger to the deficiency of public spaces, and where those that do exist are hunted by the insecurity of the streets. The two bigger ones, which crown each extreme of the avenue, might be worthy to mention, the one in the far west, “Parque el Calvario”, a park located on a hill, designed under a classical model in the end of the nineteenth century. On the east extreme is “Parque Los Caobos”, a park that has very old history but was renovated and modernized during last century, which connects to a set of important cultural buildings. Both parks seem remote and excluded by the avenue, with no intention to belong to a bigger structure of urban 25

Fig. 16: Context analysis

The site

Public spaces

Main accesses and mobility 2

Politics in space

Main accesses and mobility 1

Informal settlements

Narrative and site

relationships.

Main accesses and mobility: the lines that appear to indicate the sort of vial connections express there is a clear dominance of the west-east relationship, favoured by the obvious presence of the main highway. The north-south roads do not express that kind of continuity, perhaps as a consequence of the geographical characteristics that imply narrowness in that sense. The underground stations appear outside the boundaries of the avenue, as if they were trying to avoid it, very contradictory when considering the urban importance that was given to the avenue. Finally an element to highlight is the one of the “Metrocable”; a cable car recently added that connects the back side of Parque Central with an informal settlement.

The very ambitious master plan once known as “Plan Rotival” has more impact for the voids and disruptions it generated than from the actual built infrastructure, which current status cannot be attributed to one single person, but to a series of actors and agents whose participation might not have been as public as Rotival’s, but actually had more influence in the decision making process. In any case the next stage of the research requires a more specific description and understanding of the avenue’s prevailing characteristics, in order to comprehend the future possibilities for design and intervention.

Informal settlements: looking at the bigger context also reveals the existence of several informal settlements, some small ones on the east side, located on margins of water streams, a common place for them to be built, and some bigger ones on the west and south of the site. The spots they create vary in size, but all introduce a different sense of scale to the urban fabric.

3.2.4. The site in the present:

Along the avenue three sorts of areas can be identified, almost as if there had been an intention to divide it since they hold very particular characteristics: A The first area identified as A corresponds to the section where vehicular transit happens underground, allowing a better pedestrian flow, where the main public space is the “Plaza Caracas”, (Caracas Square) which is contained in between the towers of the Centro Simón Bolívar. The avenue has its start in this area, as two other diagonal avenues join and create a new axis that departs 27

Fig. 17: Zoom in, the three implicit areas

from a first square, creating an open space from which it is possible to obtain a general view of the area. The most significant edifications located in this section are the following : 1_The residential complex “El Silencio”, a social housing project designed by Venezuelan architect Carlos Raul Villanueva. Its construction replaced the monumental proposal suggested by Rotival, due to the urge during the forties for developing more social housing units. 2_The “Centro Simón Bolívar”, which was planned by Rotival as a multifunctional building with different uses, that could accommodate a system of vehicle19circulation as well, being innovative in that sense, and which final design landed on Venezuelan architect Cipriano Dominguez. 3_The National Theatre, built in the 19th century.

4_Catholic Church “Nuestra Señora de Coromoto”, also built in the 19th century. 5_The “Palacio de Justicia”, (Justice Palace), whose construction started during the eighties but was never formally finished, and nowadays is only partly used. B The area identified as B corresponds to the middle section of the avenue, which even when being smaller than the other two, it is important due to the kind of crack it generates which interrupts the visual continuity of the avenue as the built context is lowered down in relation with the vehicles and pedestrians. The kind of initial proposal originated in the Plan Rotival for this area was never accomplished, in fact the area remained empty of any particular use for a while, nowadays what can

Narrative and site

be found on it is: : 6_La Hoyada (from the word “hoyo”, hole in English), hosts two different activities, on the south side there is a “provisional” bus terminal; and on the north side there is a “Bolivarian Market”, as part of the social initiatives led by governmental institutions, constructed with provisional and informal techniques. C This last area has a direct relationship between the built infrastructure and the avenue, nonetheless it is only a spatial one, since programmatically speaking there are not functions that allow the avenue to be attractive for pedestrian circulation, and buildings of cultural importance seem isolated by large open spaces, therefore the initial intention of making the area a sort of lively cultural urban space failed in doing so. Current administration has started to build, quite sporadically, massive social housing buildings in those open spaces. The avenue finds its end as it is connected to the highway in an underground passage. Its most important edifications are: 7,11,12,14,16_ New social housing. 8_MUSARQ, the Museum of Architecture, built in 2012.

9_Museum of Stamp and Design “Carlos Cruz Diez”. 13_ School of Art, Cristobal Rojas, constructed in the eighties. 15_ National Art Gallery also constructed in the eighties, with a large empty space on its side. 17_”Parque Central”, mixed use housing complex, with no clear connection to the avenue, constructs a city within itself, and does not generate a proper urban relationship with the context. 18_Hotel Alba, which used to be the Hilton Hotel but was expropriated by Chavez administration. 19_Teresa Carreño Theatre, a theatre belongs to a larger area of cultural edifications. The following diagram shows the described buildings and their localization:

Fig. 18: the Bolivar Avenue, showing the Palace of Jutice and CSM in the background

Fig. 19: Important buildings

PROCESS OF DESIGN developing a methodology

Process of design

Many questions arise throughout the analytical and theoretical path that has to eventually materialize the design idea, specially when dealing with two seemingly conflicting themes: the critical thrive that originates from political background and the poetry of literature as it is found in the book Doña Bárbara, with issues that concern the creative process of the built environment. The intention of reconciling both components into a strong proposal required a long process of experimentation, which means that evidently some mistakes needed to be made in order to achieve a clearer comprehension of what should be the guidelines of design, what had to be avoided, and evidently what kind of representation techniques where appropriate. At the same time it was empirically relevant that the project, in its final version, was contextualized in space, by establishing a readable relationship with the site, but also in time, adapting the narrative that originates from a book from more than eighty years ago to contemporary society.

4.1. An understanding of the site beyond the physical environment

The process of design began then with some almost instinctual approximations to the site that derived from an early identification of three different areas along the avenue. Such three areas

were so relevant because intrinsically they were exposing a number of issues that exist beyond an urban or spatial perspective, and are relatable to political and social agents that have shaped current society. The area identified as A appears as the one with a more developed urban structure, first by the way it relates to the context, and then because the buildings are better connected to each other, there is a continuity as one goes from one point to the other, and public spaces were designed to facilitate social encounters. It can not be denied that there was an intention to generate order and to organize the space in relationship with human activities. Nevertheless as the avenue advances towards the East this idea of completeness starts to be disintegrated, the first evidence of that is the existence of the Justice Palace building, a white elephant, abandoned and forgotten, almost in accordance with the judicial system of a country where most crimes that are committed are left with impunity. It is quite evident that the area B, which is mainly formed by the “Hoyada”, manifests a stronger character than the other two, even if it is just based on the void that it is constructing. The existence of La Hoyada as an informal market lacking a coherent

Fig. 20: Early sketches experimenting with the idea of chaos and order

organization and constructive methodology, as well as the “provisional” bus terminal with forty years of being postponed, evidences the inefficiency in urban politics throughout history, especially when considering the symbolic importance of the avenue. But that provisionality exposes something beyond the limits of urban planning; it is a quality that is extrapolated to the basic understanding of society’s behaviour, which has developed an acceptance towards unreliable measures, legitimizing temporality as an efficient mechanism. Nonetheless,

the issue resides not in the temporary itself, but in the fact that an intervention that is said to be temporal, and designed as such, is not solving a proper problem by elongating its existence, it is instead ignoring it. In a way we can compare this kind of conformism with some of the critical points found in “Doña Bárbara”, which are better portrayed by the character Lorenzo Barquero, and his careless acceptance of primitivism, reluctant to the possibility of improvement.

Process of design

Finally the area defined as C constitutes a sort of desire that could not be accomplished. What was expected for this area was the construction of a coherent system of urban relationships based on public and cultural spaces. It symbolizes a failed in the modernization of the city, where every piece of architecture gets isolated and pushed towards different directions. Understanding this differentiations allowed the creation of some early mapping experiments, that engaged with the issues that needed to be exposed, especially those of order, chaos and

isolation. The process of mapping began then with some basic sketching that afterwards became a more complex map created by several layers, that intended to construct a more global idea, not looking at the details, instead it was showing the bigger context and exacerbating relationships that were deducted by the interpretations previously explained. From this kind of planar representation an early attempt to approach a more three dimensional technique was made, resulting in an image that was focused on the middle area of the avenue as a representation of chaos.

Fig. 21: Early mapping experimenting with the idea of chaos and order

Fig. 22: 3d explorations of the map 1

Fig. 23: 3d explorations of the map 2

4.2 Experimenting with chaos

In order to facilitate a coherent evolution in the process of design it seemed appropriate to construct a clearer agenda for the intervention of the site, since what had been done had proven to not be a very valid representation of the local characteristics, which fell into superficiality and was executed quite sporadically therefore it does not correspond to Sojaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s enunciation of the Thirdspace, and the variables that affect the site have not been regarded carefully. More specificity needed to be applied when analysing and intervening the urban space. Nonetheless a concept that from that first experience appeared as highly relevant was that of chaos, on one hand because its understanding is so inherently related to the city of Caracas, and on the other because it is also very perceptible when reflecting about the middle area of the avenue. The chaos exists in the lack of spatial organization within it, but also by the dislocation it generates between both extremes of the avenue. In that sense the next stage in the search for a methodology of intervention became the examination of chaos and its different possibilities in this specific sector, which was achieved through the construction of four abstract models that were responding to chaos

in different ways, dividing that area of the avenue in four quadrants as well. The resulting models responded to the following titles: 1_Temporal transgressor chaos: the chaos appears to be moving towards a barrier and cutting across it. 2_Permanent dissolved chaos: chaos becomes a part of the solid piece, as if it had been absorbed. 3_Permanent contained chaos: represents the idea of how chaos can be contained while at the same time be visible. 4_Temporal controlled chaos: chaos is led in but is transformed before it enters.

4.3 The matrix of a methodology:

Once the process of experimentation with models was completed it became evident that such methodology was of particular efficacy; it was revealing by abstract techniques certain issues that are critical to the city, specially to this area, which also signified a level of specificity that was not achieved in previous representations. The interpretations of the built environment by models conceptually constructed were therefore approaching the Thirdspace epistemologies, by combining elements of the material space, the social practices that they host and alternative ways of representing such space that were not falling into

Process of design 1

Fig. 24: Model exploring chaos

Fig. 25: early attempts into contextualizing in

the

site,

appearance

the

model

showing

the

subsequent

utopianism, because in reality they were revealing a part of the critical component, without representing a fixed environment, instead they were openly speculating about urban but also political concerns. Based in this understanding an strategy of intervention was constructed that departed from the implementation of quadrants, as the ones already created, in order to generate a “new divisor grid” along the avenue and its closest context. Such grid would facilitate the comprehension of the site by sectors, as well as its representation in abstract models that were responding to local and concrete characteristics. This kind of strategy allowed a structured and methodological process that succeeded by departing from an analytical process, and also exposing, by conceptual means, issues that are found in the physical world. The sixteen models resulted in objects that can be seen

as unique pieces, but in reality when put together form a more complex totality, proving to also express continuity, where the issues that define the three critical areas in the site (A,B and C) are also manifested, and therefore differentiable.

4.4 Zooming in, incorporating the narrative:

As this reasoning of a methodology evolved, also did the necessity to translate that kind of abstract composition into more “tangible” ways of representing the space that could facilitate a more personal experience, and where the intention of been critical was accompanied by a desire of encouraging a reflective process. Consequently there was a need for the project to incorporate another scale to its representation techniques, where, by zooming in, the spaces constructed in the modelling process would acquired a more developed speciality, nonetheless

Process of design

expressing still the kind of issues that inspired the composition on a first place. Therefore early imaginary images were created for that purpose that translated but also transformed the model’s composition into perspective views, approaching the viewer to the projected environment. The idea of zooming in if on one hand was transforming the scale in which the project was developing, also made more evident the necessity of incorporating the narrative into the design proposal, referring to the used of “Doña Bárbara” as a guiding critical component. The process of design had proven to encompass relevant issues to the site’s political and social context, but it was still lacking an element that convey the critical component by focusing on physical transformations of the built environment. This consideration will determine the final stage of the design process, as characters, traditions and landscapes described in the novel will start to participate in the construction of more detailed perspective images of the project, and all the defining elements of the thesis are finally appropriately correlated.

Fig. 26-27: early 3d perspectives

DESIGN PROPOSAL design after research

Design proposal

The thesis final design component is the result of, on one hand the incorporation of theoretical concerns to the mediums of representation, firstly departing from an agonistic approach, as then taking into account the considerations that frame the proposal under Thirdspace epistemologies. On the other hand there is also a complementing and interdependent relationship established between the different techniques employed. In that sense the project can be read by the way each piece explores in a unique way the issues presented as the guidelines, where the level of abstraction is moulded and adapted to different scales and dimensions. Finally the narrative of Doña Bárbara is incorporated as the linkage between the abstraction of the built environment and the critical agenda that ultimately motivates the evolution of the thesis, calling for reflectivity instead of simply condemning.

The models, as the initial technique of exploration, served as a matrix. Their finality is to explore in a conceptual way issues that determine and affect the Bolivar Avenue, which at the same time are connected to a bigger network formed under social and political variables; and consecutively facilitate the evolution of such explorations. Furthermore each of the sixteen models are also attempting to inject in an early way certain issues exposed in the novel Doña Bárbara, which is almost an spontaneous result, because inevitability the content of the book relates to the Venezuelan society as much as the issues that have defined current conditions of the avenue does. Every model will, therefore, refer to a specific chapter of the book previously studied and carefully selected, according to its critical content, in order to generate the conditions that allow the introduction of such narrative.

Fig. 28: completed models

Fig. 29: final map showing the final response to the context and the codes that are used to read the other design components

Design proposal

In order for the initial abstract idea to evolve, a final map is constructed where the urban relationships between the site and the proposal can be examined. The map is therefore contextualizing and adapting what was before solely abstract into a more complex and specific intervention, where the edge between what is old and what constitutes the proposal starts to respond to different situations; the context appears dominant sometimes, by appropriating and blurring the line that separates it from the intervention, which in return the design responds as it extends beyond the boundary or as it also repeats it self by the apparition of fragments strategically located throughout the context, all of which is related to the current existence of local governmental buildings, such as the National Assembly and the Presidential House (Miraflores)., or public spaces such as parks and squares.

The final and most decisive graphic component of the thesis is constituted by the perspective images. They are in a way photographs, that expose a single instant in the journey. Such instants or moments are constructed by the relationship between the built environment, understood as the design intervention, with the critical message that is originated from the specific selected chapter of DoĂąa BĂĄrbara, nonetheless what is shown in the images is far from a literal placement of characters or landscape to the site, instead they use symbolism as a way of expression, that allows the comprehension of the critique into contemporary terms. In other words the intention of been critical, that was before achieve uniquely through an abstraction of the site, now is supplemented by an element that is directly related to the Venezuelan identity; the subject and the background are one entity.

A third technique of representation that departs from the map generated is a section which attempts to recreate, in a more detailed scale, a journey that takes an individual from the beginning of the avenue to its end, and each one of the quadrants start to construct a linear narrative, where the environment is transformed based on the geometries that the models generated, but also the injection of poetic elements from the novel play a more crucial role.

Fig. 30: section/journey.

Fig. 31: Image correspondent to the Chapter called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The men devourerâ&#x20AC;?, describing the history of

Barbara and her subsequently resentment which

constituted her repressive and controlling character. Located in the site is the National Assembly, which constitutes the legislative power where laws are created in order to benefit the official side.

Fig. 32: Image correspondent to the Chapter called â&#x20AC;&#x153;The ghost of the bramadorâ&#x20AC;?, referring to a large cayman

which hunted the river and was believed to have

powers among men; is an exposition of the superstitions that characterizes live in the Llanos. Located in this quadrant is a historical church that appears in contrast not only in scale but in style to the modern architecture.

Fig. 33: Image correspondent to the Chapter called â&#x20AC;&#x153;An unusual eventâ&#x20AC;?, is the moment Santos confronts the local authority in search of justice, but founds only his own disappointment. In this quadrant is located the abandoned structure of the Justice Palace.

Fig. 34: Image correspondent to the Chapter called “The hour of the man”, as Santos evolved as a character affected by the barbarism of people, confronting his own instinctual condition. Located in this space is the market of “La Hoyada”.

Fig. 35: Image correspondent to the Chapter called â&#x20AC;&#x153;Someday it will be trueâ&#x20AC;?, Santos dreams about the civilization of the Llanos, will it come true or will it become the ghost of what it could have been? The initial urban grid in this area becomes smaller, creating a greater contrast between it and the avenue, the issue of scale becomes more evident, as modernism is opposed to colonialism .

Fig. 36: Image correspondent to the Chapter called “The daughter of rivers”, Doña Bárbara wanders through the town, feeling unfamiliar but captivated by the place, the town observes her, with admiration and fear. Located in this quadrant is the residential development of Parque Central, a isolated and unconnected piece.

CONCLUSIONS critical awakening

Conclusions

The problematic that frames contemporary life of Venezuelans is far more complex that what is perceived in the present, and perhaps that is why there does not seem to be space for reconciliation. A society is the result of its own history, its own cultural elements or the ones it absorbs from the outside, the concepts it chooses, or a chosen for it about political life, the economic structure and its consequences etc., all of which can be so miscellaneous and variable that at the end does not create a single profile, but a variety of them, ultimately contributing to the diversity that characterizes the basic understanding of human life. Unfortunately when such diversity is not accepted a conflict is generated. The conflict in Venezuela is constructed upon political differences; nonetheless it managed to consolidate by the huge social contrast among its citizens originated throughout the years. Many errors have been made by political leaders and the enlightenment that Gallegos hoped for and inspired “Doña Bárbara” has not been materialized, after all, ignorance will always be a tool on which politicians can rely on. What the thesis evolved into, is evidently not a proper proposition about how to solve such issues; it is attempting to introduce architecture design into the discussions, which is of course motivated by a personal interest that questions the position of the profession in relation with the

field of politics and social studies, and how it can be implemented beyond the limits of the existing. In that sense the project became not a formal proposal, where the architect is the creator and mind behind a new re-structure of urban spaces that will somehow solve the contested condition; instead it translated design into a critique that manages to actually step outside the conflict, perhaps the most difficult part, where both the issue of modern urban planning as a inefficient resource for urban life in Caracas, and most importantly the conditions that have determined the consistency of conflict are exposed. Therefore the process of design always required a constant revision and modification of the objectives that avoided the apparition of the project architect, and left more space for reflectivity where other fields could also contribute. Due to the character of the project the final result has a profound personal influence. The perspective images that represent the most critical point in the thesis are the most vivid example of that subjective component. They are one hand dependant on the novel and how the characters and landscapes are adapted in order to be integrated with the spatial proposal that, on its own, is also resulting from a personal methodology, trying to be extrapolated to the contemporary situations; on the other the kind of atmospheric conditions as well as the imaginary appearance of spaces originated also 55

Fig. 37: “All horizons, all pathways”

Conclusions

from very personal intentions that intended to influence the way they could be perceived. In that sense the project if on one hand is guided by theory and research, it is also dependant on personal decisions and needs to be understood in that context. It is important to say that the thesis is presented as an open ended proposal, which means there still space for developing the issues into a further and more complex way. Nonetheless what must be reminded is that conflict, in its different forms, is faced by many societies around the world, and the inclusion of architecture as a tool that can contribute in the discussions, where architects could assume a more active role able to correlate knowledge from other intellectual fields, results key for the development of the profession, and the way people can relate to it. If indeed there are many examples of how this has been achieved in the past, as Daniel Libeskind, Peter Eisenman among others have, there still voids that must be filled and hopefully researches, such as this one, might continue to generate new resources and engage with the evolution of society beyond the boundaries of the built environment. As for Caracas and the country in general refers to we can only rely in time to reveal the capacity of a society in overcoming the lethargic

state that contains us away from progress. But that progress must not be understood as it was for the modernist period, and it restrictive character for human life, instead it must relate to the capacity of society to exist under a tolerant frame, where diversity is considered an enrichment element and not the cause of violent conflicts, and agonism can emerge with spontaneity. Evidently such achievement is a complicated process that will require a selfexamination of historical and social variables that have led to the apparition of intangible boundary lines, which have been reinforced by a current political speech. Nevertheless Gallegos was right when he insisted that the existence of a repressive and corrupt government was, and still is, more than just the success of authoritarian leaders, it is actually their legitimization and admiration, making figures like Doña Bárbara common characters in the social fabric. The change needs to originate from bellow, from the simplicities of the everyday living, and the enlightenment must be guided but not forced. We can only hope for a day where the cycle of history will swift course, and we can finally see beyond the limits that have been imposed for us and sometimes even by us. “Venezuela still loves, suffers and waits.” Rómulo Gallegos

Endnotes 1_ Read, E. et al., (2005). Future City. Oxon: Spon Press. 2_ Berman, M., (1982). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. New York: Penguin Books. 3_ Mouffe, C., (2005). On the Political. Abingdon: Routledge. 4_ Soja, Edward W., (1996). Thirdspace. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers. 5_ Ibid., p. 56. 6_ Caudillo refers to a political and/or military leader typical of the region with a authoritarian character. After the consolidation of independency in it was the caudillos who fight over power during the civil wars, nonetheless such characteristics will remain in the political leaders for years to come in the 20th and 21st century. 7_ Ewell, J., (1984). Venezuela a Century of Change. London: C. Hurst. & Co. 8_ Crow, J., (1955). The Essays of Rómulo Gallegos. Hispania, 35-40. 9_ Skusrky. J.,(1994). The Ambiguities of Authenticity in Latin America: Doña Bárbara and the Construction ofNational Identity. Poetics today. 15 (4), 605-642.

10_Ibid., p. 607. 11_Ibid., p. 622. 12_Marcano, F., (1998). Ciudad y modernidad: balance frente al pr贸ximo milenio. La experiencia urbana venezolana. Urbana, 22, 89-98. 13_Frechilla, J.,(2004). Di谩logos reconstruidos para una historia de la Caracas Moderna. Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela. 14_ Ibid., p. 34. 15_ Ewell, J., (1984). Venezuela a Century of Change. London: C. Hurst. & Co. 16_ Almandoz, A., (1999). Longing for Paris: the Europeanized dream of Caracas urbanism, 1870-1940. Planning Perspectives, 14(3), 225-248. 17_ Hein, C., 2002. Maurice Rotival: French planning on a world-scale (Part II). Planning Perspectives 17, 325. 18_Imbesi, E., Vila. E., (1995). Caracas memorias para el futuro. Roma: Gamgemi Editores. 19_ Hein, C., 2002. Maurice Rotival: French planning on a world-scale (Part II). Planning Perspectives 17, 325.

Bibliography Almandoz, A., (1999). Longing for Paris: the Europeanized dream of Caracas urbanism, 1870-1940. Planning Perspectives, 14(3), 225-248. Berman, M., (1982). All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. New York: Penguin Books. Crow, J., (1955). The Essays of Rómulo Gallegos. Hispania, 35-40. Ewell, J., (1984). Venezuela a Century of Change. London: C. Hurst. & Co. Frechilla, J.,(2004). Diálogos reconstruidos para una historia de la Caracas Moderna. Caracas: Universidad Central de Venezuela. Gallegos, R., (1929). Doña Bárbara. 1st ed. Clásicos Universales. Hein, C., 2002. Maurice Rotival: French planning on a world-scale (Part II). Planning Perspectives 17, 325.

Imbesi, E., Vila. E., (1995). Caracas memorias para el futuro. Roma: Gamgemi Editores. Marcano, F., (1998). Ciudad y modernidad: balance frente al próximo milenio. La experiencia urbana venezolana. Urbana, 22, 89-98. Mouffe, C., (2005). On the Political. Abingdon: Routledge. Read, E. et al., (2005). Future City. Oxon: Spon Press. Skusrky. J.,(1994). The Ambiguities of Authenticity in Latin America: Doña Bárbara and the Construction ofNational Identity. Poetics today. 15 (4), 605-642. Soja, Edward W., (1996). Third Space. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.

List of Illustrations Figure 1 Mesa, Julio., (2014). Caracas. [Online image] Available from: < https://www. flickr.com/photos/juliocesarmesa/14538689958/in/photostream/> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 2 Londoy , Bernanrdo., (2005). Frente de trabajadores en apoyo a la enmienda. [Online image] Available from: < https://www.flickr.com/photos/quecomunismo/3227296831> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 3 Montecruz Foto., (2009). Apilados. [Online image] Available from: < https:// www.flickr.com/photos/libertinus/4050030663> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 4 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Diagram of relationships. Figure 5 Herny, Liz., (2006). Venezuela 1960s. [Online image] Available from: < https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/141181436> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 6 Herny, Liz., (2006). Venezuela 1960s. [Online image] Available from: < https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/141180121> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 7 Herny, Liz., (2006). Venezuela 1960s. [Online image] Available from: < https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/141182957> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 8 Herny, Liz., (2006). Venezuela 1960s. [Online image] Available from: < https:// www.flickr.com/photos/lizhenry/141179880> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. Figure 9 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 10 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 11-12 Useche, Adriana., (2014). 62

Figure 13 Dirección de Urbanismo (1938). Poyecto para la Avenida Principal . Revista Municipal del Distrito Federal. vol.1. Figure 14 Plano esquematico de Caracas 1933 . [Online image] Available from: < http:// www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=850404> [Accessed 9 June 2014]. Figure 15 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Time-line of Bolivar Avenue construction. Images can be found at: • Plano esquematico de Caracas 1933 . [Online image] Available from: < http://www. skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=850404> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Plan para el año 1936 y 1939 . [Online image] Available from: < http://www. skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=456775> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Proyecto para la avenida principal. [Online image] Available from: < http://www. skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=456775> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Plan para el año 1951 y 1989 . [Online image] Available from: < http://www. skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=456775> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Avenida Bolivar de Caracas. [Online image] Available from: < http://www. skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=456775> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Mesa, Julio., (20014). Contra puestos. [Online image] Available from: <https://www. flickr.com/photos/juliocesarmesa/14363871417/in/photostream/> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. • Plaza de la revolucion. [Online image] Available from: < http://www.skyscrapercity. com/showthread.php?t=1115731&page=122> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. Figure 16 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 17 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 18 Hernandez, Marco., (2011). Venezuela 1960s. [Online image] Available from: < https://www.flickr.com/photos/emeahacheese/5606141785/in/photolist> [Access 15 May 2014]. 63

Figure 19 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Important buildings in Bolivar Avenue. Images can be found at: • Sosa, Aron., (2008). Urbanizacion El Silencio. [Online image] Available from: <http:// aaronsosa.photoshelter.com/gallery-image/URBANIZACION-EL-SILENCIO-CARACASVENEZUELA/G00001UQQWS4LplI/I0000zjGh0u131Rs/C0000j_CXS4tKzKI> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. • Parque Central [Online image] Available from: < http://www.gdc.gob.ve/content/ site/module/news/op/displaystory/story_id/3243/format/html/> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Mesa, Julio., (20014). Emulante [Online image] Available from: <http://www.flickr. com/photos/juliocesarmesa/14333670065> [Accessed 1 August 2014]. • Wikimedia., (2009)Centro SB . [Online image] Available from: < https://www. flickr.com/search?sort=relevance&license=1%2C2%2C3%2C4%2C5%2C6&text=parque%20 central%20caracas> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Garcia, Andres., (2010). Palacio de Justicia. • Nelsachi., (2013). Vista lateral del Teatro Nacional. [Online image] Available from: <http://www.panoramio.com/photo/86476098> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Fotolog., (2007) Nuevo Circo . [Online image] Available from: < http://www.fotolog. com/mmrrcc/49930884/> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • El Universal., (2011) La Hoyada . [Online image] Available from: <http://www. eluniversal.com/2011/05/09/plantean-descentralizar-al-nuevo-circo-y-reubicar-a-losbuhoneros> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Guevara, Carlos., (2008). Hotel Alba [Online image] Available from: <https://www. flickr.com/photos/tazloko/2201191390> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Rattia, Hector., (2013). MUSARQ [Online image] Available from: <http://www. correodelorinoco.gob.ve/comunicacion-cultura/mensualmente-musarq-recibe-visita-mas2-000-personas/> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Museo de la Estampa [Online image] http://www.venezuelatuya.com/caracas/museos/ fachada_museo_cruz_diez1000.jpg [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Alo Fm., (2010) Escuela de artes visuales Cristobal Rojas . [Online image] Available from: <http://alo-fm.blogspot.co.uk/2012_10_01_archive.html> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Cultura., (2009) Galería de Arte Nacional. [Online image] Available from:<http://vereda.ula.ve/gan/?page_id=448> [Accessed 15 May 2014]. • Teatro Teresa Carreño. [Online image] Available from: <hhttp://oleosymusica. com/2013/04/07/30-anos-del-teatro-teresa-carreno/ > [Accessed 15 May 2014]. 64

Figure 20 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 21 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 22 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 23 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 24 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 25 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 26 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 27 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 28 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 29 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 30 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 31 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 32 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 33 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 34 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 35 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 36 Useche, Adriana., (2014). Figure 37 Useche, Adriana., (2014). 65