Re-Inhabiting Relics by Cameron Frame

RE-INHABITING RELICS CAMERON FRAME

A STUDY OF FRAGMENTS CAMERON FRAME , HARSHA GORE , RALF MERTEN MODOLELL

RE-INHABITING RELICS CAMERON FRAME

INTRODUCTION

A STUDY OF FRAGMENTS

6-7

ADDRESSING THE ISTHMUS

8 - 13

RESPONDING TO PANAMA

FRAGMENTS AT A CITY SCALE

15 - 17

PANAMA CITY: URBAN GRAIN

18 - 19

PANAMA CITY: TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE

20 - 21

PANAMA CITY: LAND USE

22 - 23

DRAWING PANAMA CITY

24 - 27

POLYNUCLEAR FRAMEWORK

28 - 29

SCALES OF FRAGMENTS

30 - 33

INTRODUCTION

34 - 35

FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE

36 - 39

A STUDY OF EDGES

40 - 41

TOOLS FOR CHANGE

42 - 43

CASCO VIEJO , PANAMA CITY

PATRIMONIO VIVO [LIVE HERITAGE]

TOOLS FOR CHANGE

46 - 51

SITE IMAGERY

52 - 53

CROSSING THE SITE : LINES

54 - 55

LAYERING COMPLEXITIES

56 - 57

ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS

58 - 59

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT

60 - 61

CROSSING THE SITE : EDGES

62 - 65

CROSSING THE SITE : HIGHWAY

66 - 67

APPROACHING THE SITE

68 - 69

PUBLIC PERFORMANCE SPACE

70 - 71

COLONIAL RELIC : A WALKING EDUCATION

72 - 75

LIVE HERITAGE : FUTURE RESPONSIVENESS

76 - 77

ADDRESSING EXISTING STREET CONDITIONS

78 - 81

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR

82 - 85

STRUCTURES TO DISSOLVE EDGES

86 - 87

RE-ADDRESSING URBAN FOCUS

88 - 89

ARCHITECTURAL ASSEMBLY

MOVING FORWARDS

MAPPING PANAMA CITY

GATEWAY TO A HERITAGE FRAMEWORK

RE-INHABITING RELICS

CONTENTS

94 - 95

A STUDY OF FRAGMENTS CAMERON FRAME , HARSHA GORE , RALF MERTEN MODOLELL Our approach to using design as a crossing strategy was grounded in understanding natural patterns of migration and settlement in Panama. Working as a group of three, we looked to contextualise our readings of the Panamanian narratives by grounding our architectural investigation in a scaleable proposal. A glossary of actions defined the strategies at play across the range of urban scales. Beginning with identifying inequities and infrastructural negligences at a country scale, the exercise adapted this extractive lens at the scale of Panama City. The exploration for urban negatives - spaces where there is perceived room for architectural imagination - begins to manifest in a City strategy reliant on dissolving social hierarchies and centralities. The current urban pattern is identified as a compact, nuclear system. Our proposal for Panama City looks to decentralise areas of social convergence by way of architectural activation in multiple urban nodes, the network of which create a polynuclear city. Analysing Panama through tools of land use, urban grain and transport allowed us to investigate micro-patterns in the City that presented themselves as fragments with edges. These perceived edges were then mitigated using design as a tool to either cross, stitch, or dissolve them. The urban strategy consolidates itself as a network of these architectural sites, which have been further explored at a range of micro-urban scales; mediating social, economic and infrastructural inequities.

FRAGMENTS AT A COUNTRY SCALE

COUNTRY-WIDE

ADDRESSING THE ISTHMUS

COUNTRY-WIDE

Infrastructure and Transport

Population density and key Cities

Governance and autonomy

ADDRESSING THE ISTHMUS

Strategising infrastructure

The first step that was undertaken collectively was to analyse the pre-existing condition of Panama at the scale of the country, by establishing several layers that allowed the mapping of trends, and inequities associated with them, that populate the country’s fabric. These were: 01 population density and key cities; 02 infrastructure and transport, highlighting road network, maritime ports and air terminals; 03 education and labour, highlighting education infrastructure and dropouts in the education journey; 04 environmental racism, highlighting areas of land degradation, deforestation and flood risk; and 05 governance and autonomy, highlighting areas that have been intended to become start-up and climatic resilience hubs, as well as indigenous zones. COUNTRY-WIDE

ADDRESSING THE ISTHMUS

COUNTRY-WIDE

Decentralisation to combat inequities

Resilience toward education and water mismanagement

Democratising the population by enabling community autonomy

Territorialising ecological preservation

The key aims above materialise in two types of strategic actions at country scale. First, these take effect in the implementation of new decentralised urban nodes. They use community participation to promote public sovereignty, creating sites of autonomous independence; and therefore enhancing opportunities for entrepreneurship. They include facilities for education where non-existent, water resilience infrastructure, and empower local heritage by re-activating its frequency. Secondly, new connections across the urban nodes are proposed to create co-existent autonomies across the country in a non-intrusive manner within the ecological landscape. Maritime mobility is proposed in indigenous zones where new road network would result in deforestation, paired with the enhancement of road infrastructure where existing, but requiring strengthening to connect isolated territories. Finally, the existing cargo train line crossing the isthmus becomes publicly accessible, ending in new urban nodes at each end, which become gateways to maritime mobility. 14

RESPONDING TO PANAMA

COUNTRY-WIDE

San Miguelito

B Parque Natural Metropolitano

FRAGMENTS AT A CITY SCALE

Panama Viejo

Centro Historico

CITY-WIDE

FRAGMENTS AT A CITY SCALE

The same analytical methodology for the country scale was applied to the city scale. The following layers were selected: 01 urban grains; 02 land use; 03 infrastructure and transport, highlighting road networks and metro systems – both existing and those proposed by the municipality. These were overlayed to create a map that displayed the trends and associated inequities that construct the urban reality of the city.

CITY-WIDE

PRODUCED BY AN AUTODESK STUDENT VERSION

PANAMA CITY: URBAN GRAIN

scale 1:30000

A nolli plan of Panama City identified spaces of convergence at an urban scale. Patterns of isolated settlements emerged, with clear delineation in densities and grains of neighbourhoods. CITY-WIDE

PANAMA CITY: TRANSPORT & INFRASTRUCTURE

scale 1:30000

The transport infrastructure of the city was also mapped, and main and secondary roads were highlighted, alongside existing and planned metro lines and their stops. The first realisation was that there were areas of the city that were not being serviced by either existing or planned networks of public transport. Therefore, the first move was to introduce mobility routes to bridge these areas in order to provide access to metro stations, and most importantly train station hubs. These were predominantly placed in areas of informal grain or new masshousing peripheries. These took the form of cycle lanes, which would minimise the use of cars in order to avoid further polluting the city, conceived as green corridors. CITY-WIDE

PANAMA CITY: LAND USE

Infrastructure Infrastructure Transport LinesLines Transport Public Schools Public Schools Churches Churches Public Buildings Public Buildings Commerce Commerce Housing Housing Mixed UseUse Mixed Parks Parks Places of Historic Significance Places of Historic Significance

scale 1:30000

An exercise of mapping land use in the city established patterns and grains of inhabitation. They made distinction between areas that are residential, mixeduse, infrastructure and commercial. Public buildings were subcategorised into schools, churches and other. The result showcases a city that combines a wide variety of grains, densities and patterns.

CITY-WIDE

DRAWING PANAMA CITY PT.1

Crossing in edge conditions

Points

Lines

Dwelling in edge conditions

Nodes

Stitching in edge conditions

Combining the layers created a mapping exercise that uses a language of points, lines and nodes to analyse the city’s grain. Points are public amenities and places of interest, such as metro stations or open infrastructure. Lines connect points and enable mobility across the city. Nodes are destinations that are established by clusters of points or the intersection of lines. Furthermore, the map revealed a fragmented urban grain, which directed focus to the examination of the edge conditions of such grains by means of establishing a set of actions; crossing through them, dwelling within them or stitching them. Employing this language and the analysis of edge conditions enabled the strategic proposal to unravel the urban morphology of the city and establish a plan of action. CITY-WIDE

DRAWING PANAMA CITY PT.2

The first observation that can be derived is that the city is divided into two diagrammatic halves, a predominantly informal and mass-housing peripherial half to the East that requires activation and a historic and planned half to the West that lacks opportunities for human-pace interaction. On one hand, to activate the Eastern end of the city, the strategic proposal introduces mobility routes in isolated areas that are not currently being serviced by either existing or planned networks of public transport. There are existing arteries within informal settlements that activate homogeneity in land use and enable a mixed-use grain to emerge around them. This localised precedent, conceived as activating lines, is applied to variate land use and enhance public interaction within areas of mass housing and informal settlements, in a cultural, social and economic capacity. These lines also materialise in an environmental capacity, proposing alternative means of transport to avoid the current reliance on car usage – and associated pollution levels - and also activating rivers to mitigate flood risk where needed by introducing porous surface treatments with associated sewage systems. These lines also permeate the fabric of the Centro Historico to the West, in alignment with the proposal by Patrimonio Vivo and the BID (Inter-American Development Bank), who seek to vitalise the areas by means of activating corridors. In addition, where vacant land is available in informal neighbourhoods, new public infrastructure is proposed and existing facilities are enhanced to maximise their potential, materialised as activating points. On the other hand, the Western end of the city displays a faster pace of the urban fabric. A rejuvenation of the rigidity of the formal grain, is enabled by the introduction of breathers. These exist as social, cultural and human-scale points of local interaction, located in vacant lands within the formal grid, as well as being recognised within existing boulevards. These seek to break the monotonous rhythm of the urban grid, provide ‘human-pace’, address the lack of low-income entertainment provision and alleviate the heat island effect experienced by these areas. Throughout the city, the strategic proposal realises the lack of public space and proposes a seafront line which begins at the Centro Historico and extends along the coast towards the West, into the marshlands beyond Panama Viejo.

Activating Lines - cultural, social, and economic capacity

Activating Lines - environmental capacity

Activating Points

Breathers

Transport Hubs

Seafront Lines

Urban Negatives

The proposal introduces transport hubs that connect to the country-scale strategy with the adaptation of the existing train terminal and an introduction of a maritime terminal. These work in synergy via a new metro line. Furthermore, the exercise redevelops low-density industrial zones, understood as urban negative spaces. These are developed into housing areas to alleviate the existing deficit; coupled with parks and public amenities.

CITY-WIDE

In summary, the proposal works with the municipality’s District Strategic Plan, which redirects the city’s exponential growth, resulting in a dispersed and sprawled city. The current urban morphology has displaced residents from the opportunities that only take place in the centre. The District Strategic Plan seeks to define an edge to the city to counter further growth and prevent deforestation. It seeks to densify the city by occupying its vacant lands and proposes a compacted and polynuclear model for the city, where opportunities are decentralised and therefore accessible to all. The strategic proposal follows the municipality’s plan and establishes an interconnected, decentralised and polynuclear framework for the city. It combats localised gentrification and consequential displacement by proposing simultaneous improvement of existing grains. In addition, it suggests a compacted city by defining the city’s edge against the Metropolitan Natural Park to the North and by infilling its vacant sites. In conclusion, the city-scale strategic proposal connects the city via a series of identified nodes – or catalytic clusters of activity - that are networked into a central spine of co-autonomy, connecting the city from a reconfigured gateway to the Centro Historico, through the ‘slowed’ urban grain, and towards the activated informal neighbourhood of San Miguelito.

POLYNUCLEAR FRAMEWORK

UN Sustainable Development Goals + Adaptation into Strategic Proposals

Resilient + Inclusive

+ Competitive + Diverse

+ Mobile + Healthy

+ Eco-efficient + Productive

Paced + Collaborative

The proposal is aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, combining its targets into four key aims to deliver a paced and collaborative strategy for the both city and country scales. CITY-WIDE

SCALES OF FRAGMENTS

CITY-WIDE

RE-INHABITING RELICS: Addressing Panama’s Fragmented heritage through existing building stock As the latest phase in Panama’s rich and complex history begins, this study poses questions over the opportunities that the coming years hold for socio-economic development in the country. Inequality between urban and rural areas continues to increase, pushing indigenous communities into financially remote, and geographically difficult positions. Despite this, Panama holds a critical position in the global economy with money and goods traversing the canal continually; a position which this study seeks to engage with. The architectural scale of this work takes place in Casco Viejo, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is falling into fabric decline. As protected buildings deteriorate, the question arises; what does heritage in Panama mean today, and what condition does it lie in? A network of re-inhabited spaces provide the structures for indigenous communities to access the formal economy found within Panama city when desired, without permanently departing the home they hold in rural Panama. By exchanging skills with urban traffic, indigenous communities can find a new place within Panama, one that encourages preservation of heritage whilst providing economic enhancement. Workshops, galleries, classrooms, and performance spaces occupy existing buildings across the city, resulting in a rich programme, deeply embedded within the city. Exchanging knowledge and skills between communities, socio-economic inequalities are addressed to encourage a more diverse, considered future for Panama.

RE-INHABITING RELICS

CITY

Addressing inequality at a national scale, as developed in the ‘Study of Fragments’ work, may occur by utilising Panama’s significant global position and a developed capital city. This scheme sets out to aid indigenous communities through the use of the formal economy found within Panama City - not with relocation, but by establishing spaces in the city for economic opportunities during temporary stays. These outlets focus on the indigenous way of life; educating, showcasing, and exporting the elements of society that the community wishes to. Capitalising on the heavy human traffic found within the area, the scheme raises awareness for the indigenous history within Panama, ultimately preserving an element of heritage within the country. The programme for this study establishes workshops, performance spaces, galleries, and assembly spaces, with temporary accommodation to support users during their stay in the city. 36

FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE: INTRODUCTION

STRATEGIC

FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE: EMBERA INDIGENOUS SETTLEMENT , DARIEN REGION

STRATEGIC

PERFORMING ARTS & ASSEMBLY

CRAFT

HOUSING

FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE: PROGRAMME IN THE CITY

STRATEGIC

IMAGE CREDITS THE STORYTELLING INSTITUTE

Panama has fallen behind its neighbours in recognition, protection, and societal education of the indigenous communities found within its borders, and this is now being felt within the groups themselves as they are further from touch with their heritage than ever before. The Embera people, located largely within the Darien regio,n have experienced these pressures and have only recently began learning of the generations before them in a structured system (Redman, 2016). Despite this, public understanding in urban areas remains low, and this scheme looks to catalyse the process of education by establishing a framework of spaces within the city dedicated to these groups. In return, the city gains a new cultural dimension by going beyond recognition into a state of celebration. 39

FRAMEWORK FOR CHANGE: USERS

STRATEGIC

A STUDY OF EDGES: PHYSICAL MODEL

Physical model illustrating the areas targeted for development, including Casco Viejo (left), which undergoes a process of retrofit to house indigenous communities deep within the city’s fabric. CITY

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING CASCO VIEJO

CITY

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING CASCO VIEJO

CITY

CASCO VIEJO , PANAMA CITY

CITY

HOUSING DEVELOPMENT

URBAN SERVICES & MOBILITY

CREATIVE DISTRICT

GASTRONOMY CORRIDORS

ECOLOGICAL CONNECTIONS

Chosen as a site for investigation, Casco Viejo sits at the southern end of Panama City and holds an existing set of cultural spaces and UNESCO world heritage status (UNESCO, 1997). These conditions make for heavy human traffic at a prime location in the historical city cantre, ideal for the programme proposed by this study. Existing urban conditions of social inequality, poor housing provision, and food scarcity mean this area has already had urbanist focus, in the form of the Patrimonio Vivo project, hosted by BID International development Bank (BID, 2020). This scheme aims to address the problems faced by everyday people in Casco Viejo with several strategic inputs. Together, these seek to provide a holistic and inclusive programme of development, bettering the quality of life for residents of the area. ReInhabiting Relics takes the Patrimonio Vivo scheme as a source of research for what the people of Panama are asking for from their city, with added consideration for the existing architectural fabric of the city. 45

PATRIMONIO VIVO [LIVE HERITAGE]

CITY

IMAGE CREDIT: NOT AUTHORS OWN

IMAGE CREDIT: ANDREW KAUFMAN

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING CASCO VIEJO

CITY

Taking a journey through the city to understand the interactions a user holds with this territory - and how an architectural scheme would position itself - gave rise to three tools for navigation. These tools form the basis of the strategic proposal observed in this study. As a user approaches Casco Viejo they are greeted by a landmark to signify the beginning of the programme: The Railroad Station. This building locates users and sets the tone for cultural intensity. Movement through the city occurs along a pedestrianised market street - Av. Central - which aids access to a network of derelict building shells deep within the UNESCO world heritage site. These structures are filled with programmed space. 47

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: UNDERSTANDING CASCO VIEJO

CITY

Taking the Patrimonio Vivo project as a tool for understanding the city’s needs, this study focuses on the identified gastronomy corridor of Av. Central, extending to Plaza de Francia. This passage through the city is artery for socio-economic life in Casco Viejo and has been a market street for generations, however in recent years it has fallen into fabric decline with many of the shops closing and tourist business moving further north in the city (Panama Vieja Escuela, 2022). Whilst this scheme does not primarily focus on the development of Av. Central, it does see this corridor as a tool for change - a main thoroughfair to which users access other spaces in the city and is therefore critical in the development of Panama City’s future. By stimulating this spine of movement people gain efficient access to a network of existing structures programmed with new uses. 48

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: SPINE

CITY

IMAGE CREDIT: ARCHIVE PHOTO, NOT AUTHORS OWN

During colonial occupation the historic neighbourhood of San Felipe saw significant development with high influx of built matter over a short period of time, largely funded by aspirations of a trans-isthmus canal (UNESCO, 1997). Now holding a protected status, this area has fallen into fabric decline in recent years. Many buildings now lie vacant or as a decaying shell with no occupier able to take on the site, resulting in a constellation of plots lying vacant with their facades largely intact. This presents a uniquely valuable opportunity: to occupy existing building stock as a means of deeply embedding a programme within an urban territory, dispersed across numerous sites. Programmes celebrating the indigenous people of Panama are given prime land within the city’s historic heart, reclaiming these relics originally built out of colonial exploit, to usher in the next phase of life in Casco Viejo. 49

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: EXISTING STRUCTURES

CITY

IMAGE CREDIT: CARLOS ENDARA

Built in the late 19th Century, and the third of its kind of this site, the Panama Railroad Station located adjacent to Plaza Cinco de Mayo is a dormant colonial construct (Saunders, 1949). Closed in 1964 and reoccupied with various programmes of housing, exhibition, and education since, this building remains a symbol of European and US occupation in the city. Whilst the city has continued to evolve, the station has been a consistent figure throughout, still bearing its first & second class citizen entrances to the building. The preserved condition of this structure and its protected landmark status show how Panama’s society still witnesses the presense of colonial exploits on a daily basis. Despite this, the location of this structure shows that this site has the potential to be a significant device within the urban environment if utalised effectively. This building becomes the gateway to a wider strategic proposal outlined above, and will be used for a study of investigation in this design phase. 50

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: RAILROAD STATION

CITY

TOOLS FOR CHANGE: RAILROAD STAITON

CITY

Cast model of the cultural node identified in ‘A Study of Fragments’ (above), showing the existing Railroad Station situated between two contrasting neighbourhoods. Site photos (right) show the current condition of the land, featuring excavated topography and a derelict structures. The site demonstrates its potential for urban change here. 52

SITE IMAGERY

SITE

SITE IMAGERY: RAILROAD STATION TODAY

SITE

Acting as a bottleneck between Casco Viejo and the northern section of the city this site sees significant human traffic - a language of crossing is embedded within it. Drawing site lines across the territory shows a gridded urban environment meeting the organically structured neighbourhood of Santa Ana (northern end of Av. Central), with oblique angles found readily between the two. This ‘nearly aligned’ quality is taken as a metaphor for the position this area holds within the city, devoid of a strong identity, and is extrapolated into an architectural and conceptual standpoint when developing a response to the land. Key site lines are extracted to form the basis for movement across the site. 54

CROSSING THE SITE: SITE OF TRAVEL

SITE

CROSSING THE SITE: SITE OF TRAVEL

SITE

Due to its scale relative to the other existing structures in this territory and critical location as a gateway to a cultural district, the site lends itself to large public gatherings and community assemblage. Therefore, as identified in the programmatic study of Embera culture, a space for performing arts - dance and music between large groups of people from across the collective - is established here. The architecture will require assembly spaces, studios for rehearsal and education, as well as places for showcasing the rich history of performing arts in Panama. 56

LAYERING COMPLEXITIES

As programmatic complexity develops in the performing arts realm, architectural mass arises. Taking the existing topography as a starting point and cues from the Embera dances, an in-the-round space is generated to host organised gatherings for music and dance. Structures for rehearsal studios and supporting spaces are added to the edges of the site, which iteratively grow into a response that addresses the street conditions surrounding the building. In response to the railroad station’s colonial history, its fabric is stripped back and brought down to meet that of other structures within the area. Additional programmatic complexity is layered into the building, with the inclusion of assembly halls, classrooms, and gallery spaces. Continuity between the built architecture and vernacular forms of construction aid a softer approach to the site. ARCHITECTURAL

ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS

ARCHITECTURAL

ROOFSCAPE

ELEVATED WALKWAYS

EXISTING FABRIC

EXCAVATED TOPOGRAPHY

ELEVATED HIGHWAY

Assembling on the site are key architectural components that provide critical programmatic elements to the scheme, each responding to an identified edge condition. The existing building is dissolved to create permeability between the colonial past and modern day Panama, whilst the built architecture reinforces the edge condition between site and the elevated highway, improving street condition. Connecting these elements are elevated walkways allowing for slower crossings, engaging with Panama’s complex colonial past by passing through the existing building. These walkways float above the excavated topography, host to primary programmed space. 59

ARCHITECTURAL COMPONENTS

ARCHITECTURAL

-01 FLOOR PLAN

00 FLOOR PLAN

GENERAL ARRANGEMENT

01 FLOOR PLAN

02 FLOOR PLAN

ARCHITECTURAL

CROSSING THE SITE: EDGE CONDITIONS

Traversing the topography involves crossing multiple social and architectural edge conditions that each contribute to the lost identity of this portion of the city. From dissolving the built material of the station opening up the site from the West, to building parallel to the highway as a means of shelter from the experientially pollutant road condition, the architectural moves involved in this scheme handle key divides observed in this site. By addressing these boundaries, a public, identifiable location is created to aid crossing the city. This site becomes both a intermediate and end destination for crossing the city.

SITE

CROSSING THE SITE: EDGE CONDITIONS [PHYSICAL MODEL]

SITE

Handling the relationship between the site boundary and elevated highway remains crucial to the success of creating a coherent public realm as proposed by this study. The existing street condition here lacks programme and purpose, despite close adjacency to metropolitan transport links. Establishing a set of retail lots at intervals along the street front replicates similar spaces across the city, and gives direction to crossings under the highway. Building above these units with programmed space shelters the performance bowl and park from the road which represents the most significant route across the isthmus. 66

CROSSING THE SITE: HIGHWAY ADJACENCY

SITE

CITY POSITIVE

CITY NEGATIVE

APPROACH

EDGE CONDITIONS

APPROACHING THE SITE / CROSSING THE CITY

SITE

Due to its boundary position between two neighbourhoods, each with different urban identities, varying architectural conditions had to be established in order to best treat the streetscape to which the proposal faces. Approaching the site from the West, a user is faced with architecture set back from the street front, and a wide view into the public park. The need for greater green-space provision was identified both in the ‘Study of Fragments’ and through consultation with urbanist workers based in Panama city itself. The open frontage to the West of the proposal spills into Plaza Cinco de Mayo, and welcomes users in. To the East, architecture braces the site boundary but maintains public realm conditions at ground floor level as a way of creating new public space - something that is needed to mediate the crossing of the elevated highway. 69

APPROACHING THE SITE / CROSSING THE CITY

SITE

Found topography informs spatial hierarchy of the proposal, and acts as an anchor point to which programmed space revolves. Accompanying the topography at a lower level are studios for the rehearsal and teaching of indigenous music and ancillary space to support the above-ground structures. Rooflights from street level provide daylight to each of these spaces, whilst maintaining transparency into the programme of the building. The primary function for this surface is as a performance bowl, with audio-visual equipment hosted along the walkway structures and at upper levels of the built architectures, enabling evening use of the building. Outside of performance, the bowl holds potential to be used as a public park - sheltered from the noise of the movement surrounding the site - and a necessary breathe in the city’s urban fabric. Versatility of the landscape is crucial for the success of placemaking here. 70

PUBLIC PERFORMANCE SPACE

ARCHITECTURAL

PUBLIC PERFORMANCE SPACE

ARCHITECTURAL

FOUND LANDMARK

REMOVED FABRIC

NON-DEPENDENT RE-USE

Interacting with Panama’s complex and often difficult history requires multiple avenues of investigation. At current, the station lies in a condition nearly identical to that of the day it was constructed, whilst other buildings in the city have crumbled. This study asks, what are the social consequences of having a building such as this maintaining its architectural status within the city? What would be the effect on Panama’s live heritage should this building be reduced to the same state as majority architecture in the city? Here, roofs are removed, new openings are established in the facade, and membrane is made to be as permeable as possible. Socio-urban conditions are levelled by reducing the fabric quality of this building whilst enhancing that of the other structures found in Casco Viejo. Stripping back the preserved quality of this building encourages in the next chapter of social progress for Panama. 72

COLONIAL RELIC: A WALKING EDUCATION

ARCHITECTURAL

COLONIAL RELIC: A WALKING EDUCATION

ARCHITECTURAL

Acknowledging the colonial past experienced by Panamanians remains important to this proposal, and therefore the shell of this building is retained rather than removed. A metaphor for dependence is established, and rather than structurally relying on the past for support, elevated walkways pass through the station, floated above the walls. Society today feels the presence of the past, without relying upon it. These walkways take unconventional or new entrances into the building, as a means of interrogation into the importance of conforming to historical societal structures formed by these occupiers. 74

COLONIAL RELIC: A WALKING EDUCATION

ARCHITECTURAL

COLONIAL RELIC: A WALKING EDUCATION

ARCHITECTURAL

LIVE HERITAGE: FUTURE RESPONSIVENESS

ARCHITECTURAL

Space at the upper levels of the built architecture take the form of flexible, wide-span rooms with partitions dividing studios and gallery rooms. At a strategic level this proposal seeks to provide a framework to which Panamanians access, learn from and contribute to live heritage. By not being rigid its response, this strategy keeps the building relevant to the ever changing definition of heritage. Therefore, it is appropriate for the building at an architectural scale to be responsive to the needs of the people using it. 77

LIVE HERITAGE: FUTURE RESPONSIVENESS

ARCHITECTURAL

ADDRESSING EXISTING STREET CONDITIONS [WORMS EYE AXO]

SITE

ARCHIVE PHOTO , NOT AUTHORS OWN

ADDRESSING EXISTING STREET CONDITIONS

SITE

Continuity with existing street conditions is critical to the success of this scheme, and takes cues from the language of vernacular roofs brought into assemblage create a landscape with a single building similar to that of an urban block in Casco Viejo, as seen in an the language of multiple parties inputting into the building is key to creating a public building without monumentality. Permeability in led building, with a fluid ground plane and programmed upper floors aiding this. Nolli elevations shown on the exterior of this 81

ADDRESSING EXISTING STREET CONDITIONS

urban and indigenous architectures to aid this. Planar aerial photograph of the site from 1930 (left). Emulating the facade remains critical for acheiving a community drawing demonstrate this allocation of mass. (above). SITE

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR: CASCO VIEJO

ARCHITECTURAL

Identified for its architectural and cultural significance, Casco Viejo observes a language of balconies at each level and regular shuttered apertures, a system that can be observed at all economic scales, with ornament and colour the only variables. Built structures in this neighbourhood occupy between two and four storeys, thus creating a strong architectural identity. The proposal provides a contemporary response to the urban vernacular, with balcony circulation and permeable screens into programmed space at upper levels. 83

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR: CASCO VIEJO

ARCHITECTURAL

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR: EMBERA COMMUNITIES

ARCHITECTURAL

00 IMAGE CREDIT: L. J. SANDLOW

Holding unexpected similarities to urban conditions in Panama, the architectures observed by Indigenous groups such as the Embera people occupy structures with two levels: an open, unprogrammed ground level, and an elevated plane to live within (Harera, 2020). The proposed structure in this study references this elevated plane for living by lifting the building off street level to the South and East elevations therefore creating an extension of the public realm. People move freely between the street and park conditions, mediating the crossing point beneath elevated highway. In this proposal the open plan ground floor level is interspersed with retail units for local businesses, maintaining the current street conditions found in the territory. 85

CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR: EMBERA COMMUNITIES

ARCHITECTURAL

Providing the structure to achieve architectural continuity whilst accommodating a range of programmed spaces has been achieved through the use of a regularised bay, with several types. Split columns and tilted bracing create a timber structure capable of spanning rooms large enough for dance studios, while the regular rhythm of the bay aids the staging of gallery spaces. Consistent details throughout the scheme provide an architectural identity to the proposal, whilst changes in bay type accommodates massing fluctuations to reduce architectural monumentality. 86

STRUCTURES TO DISSOLVE EDGES

ARCHITECTURAL

STRUCTURES TO DISSOLVE EDGES

ARCHITECTURAL

This proposal readdresses the focus of Panama’s history towards the indigenous people of the isthmus, whilst acknowledging colonial presence and the associated suffering. This realignment can also be seen at an architectural scale, where the primary axis no longer aligns with the Railroad Station, rather now with the built architectures for indigenous communities.

RE-ADDRESSING URBAN FOCUS

ARCHITECTURAL

ARCHITECTURAL ASSEMBLY

ARCHITECTURAL

Bringing together multiple architectural and urbanist tools for change onto this site has shown methods for approaching the next phase of heritage in Panama, and what that could look like. As the study progresses detail will be added to the designed spaces conceived thus far, parallel to the drawing of additional structures hosting other programmatic elements e.g. workshops, housing. At a strategic level there are mutually beneficial relationships to be established, demonstrated here through indigenous people reinhabiting relics across the city as a means for economic growth and cultural preservation.

MOVING FORWARDS

FUTURE SCALES

MAPPING PANAMA CITY

GATEWAY TO A HERITAGE FRAMEWORK

RE-INHABITING RELICS

CREDIT All work is that of Cameron Frame, unless credited otherwise. ‘A Study of Fragments’ is credited to Cameron Frame, Harsha Gore, and Ralf Merten Modolell. Other contributors include Georgina StewertFlemming. REFERENCES Cornish, V. 1914. The Prospects and Condition of the Panama Canal. Panama City. Echenique, Martin. 2020. Panama City, At A Walkers Pace. https://www.iadb.org/en/improvinglives/panama-city-walkers-pace. Fajarwati, A.S. n.d. Adaptive reuse for Dutch East Indies colonial building: Connecting identity, memory and social media in De Tjolomadoe. Thesis, Jakarta: Bina Nusantara University. Herrera, M.A, and J.G Quiel. 2020. “STUDY AND CATALOGUING OF INDIGENOUS VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN WESTERN PANAMA.” The International Archives of Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences; . McLaughlin, Bill, and Vicente Alberto Pascual. 2012. The Panama Railroad Postcards. https://www.panamarailroad.org/postcards.html. Panama Vieja Escola. 2020. La Antigua Estacion del Ferrocarril de la Cuidad de Panama. Accessed 2022. https://www.panamaviejaescuela.com/estacion-del-ferrocarril-ciudad-de-panama/. —. 2020. La Avenida Central a Traves del Tiempo. Accessed 2022. https://www.panamaviejaescuela.com/la-avenida-central-a-traves-del-tiempo/. —. 2020. La Historia del Ferrocarril de Panama. Accessed 2022. https://www.panamaviejaescuela.com/historia-ferrocarril-panama/. Permata, D.D. 2020. “The Centrum-Bandung : Adaptive Reuse at Heritage Building as Sustainable Architecture.” IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. Plan Distrital Panama. 2019. Plan Estratégico Distrital, Políticas Locales y Plan Local de Ordenamiento Territorial del Distrito de Panamá. Planning Document, Panama City: Alcaldia de Panama. —. 2021. ANEXOS DOCUMENTALES. https://plandistritalpanama.com/documentos. Redman, Joel. 2016. Being Embera. Institute Artist Management. Restrepo, Correa. 2012. The Panama Railroad Company. Bogota: Bogotá, D.C. Saunders, Alexander. 1949. “Short History of the Panama Railroad.” The Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin 8-44. SOEWARNO, NURTATI. 2017. “ADAPTIVE REUSE AS AN EFFORT TO PRESERVE AN HISTORICAL DISTRICT.” In The Sustainable City XII. WIT Press. UNESCO. 1997. Archaeological Site of Panamá Viejo and Historic District of Panamá. Accessed 2022. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/790/. Wikemedia Commons. 2021. “Panama Railroad Station general layout.” Wikemedia Commons. March. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Panama-Railroad-Station-general-layout.png.

REFERENCES