Michael Contento / Architecture and Design Portfolio by Michael Contento

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Contento | Selected Works

Contents 02 Centro de Acçao Social por Música 12 Centro de Acçao Social por Música 14 Torre David / Informal Vertical Communities 22 Torre David / Gran Horizonte 26 Urban Parangolé / The Syncretic City

34 Parangolé / Parangolé Special Edition 36 MetroCable / Small Scale Big Change 44 CIASMSB 52 Hoograven / Urban Rehab 62 Rietveld Retrofit 66 Charged Void / Olympia Kwartier

Centro de Acçao Social por Música Despite its central urban location, the marginalized area of Grotão within Paraisópolis is effectively separated from the formal city. Within this isolated zone, increased erosion and dangerous mudslides have designated the site as one of many high-risk zones in the city - a primarily inaccessible void in the otherwise dense fabric. The project fundamentally transforms this void into a productive zone and dynamic public space through social design - a process of analyzing the local effects of rapid growth and improving marginalized settlements through social infrastructure. In addition to stabilizing the challenging Project topography and eliminating further Architect erosion damage, the new terraced Urban-Think Tank landscape transforms Grotão into a ‘natural arena’ that encourages Grotao diverse community participation. Paraisópolis The intervention opens the edges of São Paulo the void to re-establish connections Brazil within the isolated urban fabric 2009 and to introduce social programs present where they were once categorically neglected. Localized moments of this program, which includes sports facilities, urban agricultural, public space, transportation infrastructure, replacement housing, and the Fábrica de Música, are simultaneously connected to all boundaries of the area by the landscape of activated terraces.

2011 Holcim Gold Award Latin America 2012 Holcim Silver Award Global

The lower zone of the site contains the Fábrica da Música, which stacks diverse programs to maximize site potential. These include public transportation, sports facilities, and the music school, which contains practice and rehearsal spaces, studios, a performance hall, and auxiliary classrooms. This is a vital catalyst in the area, expanding music and cultural programs into the favela while forming a new network that serves the youth from all levels of society. The project proposes that architects eschew their conventional role in traditional hierarchies to serve as an enabling connection between the opposing forces of top-down planning and bottom-up initiatives. By creating common ground for these two forces, we can eliminate divisiveness and generate productive interactions. Here the priority becomes equipping this peripheral neighborhood with infrastructure, water, sewage networks, lighting and services in addition to social infrastructure in the areas of education, safety, culture, public space, and sports. The proposed urban model aims to translate a society’s need for equal access to housing, employment, technology, services, education, and resources - fundamental rights for all city dwellers – into spatial solutions. fundamental rights for all city dwellers. ■

The site is fundamentally transformed from an inaccessible void into a productive public space; the primary risk (water) is redefined as a resource.

Brazil Population: 187 Million Geographic Area: 8,547,408 km2 Urban Population: 80% of Total S茫o Paulo Population: 10.5 Million Metropolitan Region: 19.7 Million Geographic Area: 1,523 km2 Parais贸polis Population: 80,000 Geographic Area: 822,739 m2 Occupation Date: 1960s No. of Lots: 9,236 No. of Properties: 17,141 Residential: 14,538 Other: 2,603

Contento | Centro de Acçao Social por Música

Project Catalysts

High Risk Zone Increased erosion, ongoing mudslides, steep slopes, poor soil, and inadequate stormwater runoff drainage systems have categorized Grotão as a High-Risk zone. These are areas that are deemed unfit to build and are therefore in need of innovative and imaginative solutions.

Lack of Public Space The lot lines and road grid were not planned due to the area’s difficult terrain. This helped initiate the informal occupation of the land, which has been built up with housing, leaving only the minimal space needed for circulation. With no public space, the congested pathways provide the only gathering points. Lack of Social Infrastructure Due to rapid, informal urbanization and challenging topography, the necessary social infrastructure and equipment were not incorporated into the development of the community. There exists a strong cultural dynamic that fuels daily life in the favela, but there are no major hubs or networks within the neighborhood to accommodate the residents.

Project Goals

Ethical Standards and Social Equity The project expands the definition of sustainability beyond ecological concerns into social and economic imperatives. Improvement of this and other marginalized zones depends on the provision of basic services, equal resource distribution, adequate social infrastructure, and new programs where they all have been conventionally ignored. The terraces provide necessary public space in the form of a dynamic and productive zone available to all residents. The design process is built on community participation. Environmental Quality and Resource Efficiency The project utilizes site orientation to provide a combination of both passive and active systems for maximum efficiency and low cost. The building and landscape work as one comprehensive system that can effectively handle the varying conditions of the wet/dry season cycle. Building materials and operability maximize light and minimize solar gain.

Contento | Centro de AcĂ§ao Social por MĂşsica Contextual and Aesthetic Impact The site is fundamentally transformed from an inaccessible high-risk zone into a desirable and productive space. In order to handle the challenging topography, new section profiles were necessary to retain the hill and stop further erosion/damage. This practical infrastructural solution was embedded with important social infrastructure to form a dynamic node of public space with both fixed and flexible program. Economic Performance and Compatibility This urban intervention fits into a larger network of slum upgrading projects financed by the city. However, it is a new prototype and conceptual framework that redefines what can be done within this budget. The program of the project is flexible and able to adapt to changes based on need (daily, seasonal, etc.). The project serves as a new hub of various activities, and its introduction into the site not only provides immediate forms of exchange (music, agriculture, social, knowledge, etc.), but also serves as a catalyst that encourages new uses in the surrounding areas. Innovation and Transferability The building is a framework and prototype that can be utilized to address other high risk zones. It encourages flexibility and a critical re-thinking of design in cities - a new urban model that creates a platform between top-down planning and bottom-up initiatives.

7 Each project component is a prototype that addresses several key points of sustainability, which is defined beyond ecological concerns to include social and economic imperatives.

Ethical Standards and Social Equity

Terraces

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Urban Agriculture

Environmental Quality and Resource Efficiency Contextual and Aesthetic Impact Economic Performance and Compatibility Innovation and Transferability

Wetlands

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Music School

Integration

Public Elevator

Site Access

Contento | Centro de AcĂ§ao Social por MĂşsica

The building and landscape work together as one comprehensive system of public space, fixed and flexible program, mobility, and social infrastructure.

A comprehensive water drainage, filtration, and storage system transforms a potential risk into a potential resource. The design combines active and passive building systems for high efficiency and impact at low cost with low maintenance.

9 Passive Elements

Natural Ventilation Chimney Combination of stack, solar and wind supported ventilation system

Hybrid Photovoltaic Panels Electricity during the day IR-Emission of water during the night

Air Conditioner

Shading Protects against solar exposure along the east and west facade

Slab Cooling Tempering the concrete structure with embedded hydronic piping

Hybrid Ventilation Natural ventilation in shoulder seasons AC operation in humid season

Cross Ventilation Wind from south direction provides fresh air, warm winds coming from north direction are blocked by the hill

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Cooling Water Cycle Heat rejection from Air Conditioner Heat sink during day

Heat emission during night by lunar collectors on roof

Chilled water to air conditioner

Two measures help to improve the indoor climate: blocking the direct sunlight to minimize solar gains and opening the building to the wind from the south south east (SSE) to create natural ventilation. An intelligent concrete block design accomplishes these goals while preserving the outside view. The air entering the building provides a comfortable breeze, and exhaust air leaves the building through a solar chimney located on the west faĂ§ade. Active Elements To improve indoor climate, the thermal mass of the building is cooled by active slabs. Water flows through embedded pipes and absorbs the heat of the room to improve the operative temperature. The stored heat is then emitted from the terraces, which act as a thermal storage and heat sink. At night, the water is cooled by flowing through hybrid PV collectors located on the roof. These hybrid (photovoltaic and thermal) collectors have two functions. They produce electricity during the day and cool the water in the active slab at night by emitting the energy to the cool air. During the day, the water also cools the photovoltaic elements to improve efficiency. (The warm water can also help to improve the solar chimney effect by heating up the air). Estimating 100 kWh/mÂ˛/a for the performance hall results in approximately 120.000 kWh/a. By covering 80 % of the roof with the hybrid PV collectors,150.000 kWh of electricity can be produced in one year.

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Contento | Centro de Acçao Social por Música

The Music School and Performing Arts Center stacks diverse programs vertically to maximize space and achieve high impact at low cost.

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Project Team Architect Urban-Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner

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Project Architects Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman

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Design Team Thiago Natal Duarte, Carlos Guimaraes, Carolina Montilla, Baldomero Navarro

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Structural Engineer Imagine Structure Holger Techen Client City of São Paulo Secretaria de Habitacao (SEHAB) Elisabeta Franca (Director), Maria Tereza Dinitz (Project Manager)

Centro de Acçao Social por Música This publication is a limited edition print that expands on the ideas of the Centro de Acçao Social por Música in São Paulo, Brazil - winner of the 2011 Holcim Gold Award Editor and the 2012Holcim Global Silver Award. It proposes the building Urban-Think Tank as an alternative prototype - an Grotao adaptable and transferable urban Paraisópolis model and set of principles. ■ São Paulo Brazil 2012

Editors Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner, Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman Graphics Reudi Bauer Gina Donzé Print Zindel Druck Markus Zindel Binding BBL Christa Wyss

Torre David / Informal Vertical Communities Torre David, a 45-story skyscraper in Caracas, has remained incomplete since the Venezuelan economy collapsed in 1994. Today, it is the improvised home to more than Lead 750 families living in an extra-legal Researcher and tenuous squat that some have called a “vertical slum.” Project Manager Urban-Think Tank spent over a year Urban-Think Tank studying the physical and social Chair of organization of this ruin-become Architecture and home. This research resulted in the Urban Golden Lion-winning installation at Design the 13th International Architecture Exhibition - la Biennale di Venezia. ETH Now, this book, richly illustrated Zürich with photographs by Iwan Caracas Baan, documents the residents’ Venezuela occupation of the tower and how, in the absence of formal infrastructure, 2012 they organize themselves to provide for daily needs, with a hair salon, a gym, grocery shops, and more. Urban-Think Tank investigate informal vertical communities and the architecture that supports them and issue a call for action: to see in informal settlements a potential for innovation and experimentation, with the goal of putting design in service of a more equitable and sustainable future. ■

Torre David is not an anomaly; it is evidence of a global condition of informality. The tower is a doppelgĂ¤nger. It maintains the image of the original tower but haunts the city with an alternative set of desires. It sets out a new agenda not wholly outside the lines of current urbanization but with alternative trajectories born out of its unique occupation. The tower presents new modes of thinking and ways to organize space and building systems (water, electricity, circulation, public space). The tower is the interface between the formal and informal. It is a flexible model with shifting organization and interactions. The tower, through its subversion of conventional types, is not a model but a provocation â&#x20AC;&#x201C; one that suggests new forms. It has the potential to temporarily destabilize architecture in a productive way â&#x20AC;&#x201C; as an architectural experiment. The tower is a process that offers us a view into new trajectories of design. In our trajectory of urban research on informality, Torre David, an abandoned and subsequently invaded 45-story office tower in Caracas, Venezuela, presents a shift from the marginalized fringes of the city to the urban core. As such, the tower represents an opportunity to test new, alternative urban models.

Contento | Torre David / Informal Vertical Communities

The tower is an evolution of research - from marginalized informal settlements, to the encroachment of informal settlements on the city, to the occupation of a formal structure. As such, the tower presents a new type â&#x20AC;&#x201C; from the nearly complete separation of informal settlements from the formal city to an informal settlement within a nearly complete formal structure. It is a physical combination of the formal and informal. As such, the tower represents how a neglected urban space has transformative potential as an active, on-going experiment.

The work does not condone or condemn the occupation; it is not an attempt to qualify or romanticize the situation, but to read it as an existing urban condition with possible new strategies - a new point of contact for architecture in the city.

Spaces are appropriated and new forms of circulation are continuously made, based on necessity.

Contento | Torre David / Informal Vertical Communities

Extensive documentation of the tower reveals how this space operates at the scale of the city, the neighborhood, and the building itself.

Torre David operates within a larger urban context. It provides a diverse set of programs that are integrated into the life of the city.

Each level of the tower gives a unique view of how spaces and systems are organized and of the precise relationships between the formal structure and the informal occupation - each accommodates the other. The research maps out where new informal structures have been built and how spaces have been occupied, recycled, and transformed.

This examination was a resistance to romanticizing or justifying the occupation. It opened up the possibility of rethinking verticality and rethinking how we operate in cities.

Contento | Torre David / Informal Vertical Communities

The research engaged the possibility of alternative energy and mobility infrastructures by developing several decentralized system prototypes for the tower â&#x20AC;&#x201C; a wind energy system, a hydro storage system, and a counterweight elevator. We found that small-scale wind energy systems can utilize the height of the tower to produce a supplementary energy supply and significantly shave peak demand. In conjunction with the wind energy system, the pumped pico hydro storage system takes advantage of strong community organization to coordinate water storage, distribution, and electricity production. A new elevator also utilizes community organization by operating similar to a public transportation system â&#x20AC;&#x201C; working on a fixed schedule as opposed to individual demand. It uses a counterweight principle to balance people, goods, materials, and waste. These small-scale interventions point the way to alternative models that address the challenges of informality, energy, and mobility. Their significance lies in their role as catalysts that re-think the city by building the new onto and within the old. Their positive effect is a consequence of a multidisciplinary approach that reorganizes existing conditions and knowledge into useful tools and new modes of operation. This is where we can learn from and transform not only informality, but also the city itself.

21 Urban-Think Tank Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, ETH Zürich Project Directors Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner Lead Researchers, Project Managers Michael Contento, Rafael Machado (Caracas) With contributions by Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner; André Kitagawa (Graphic Novella); Andres Lepik (Introduction); Christian Schmid (Afterword); Arno Schlueter, Jimeno A. Fonseca, Architecture and Sustainable Building Technologies (SuAT), ETH Zürich (Chapter III Research, Data Analysis, & Technical Graphics) Photography Iwan Baan Research Team Joost deBont, Nicolas Matranga, Ilana Millner, Jos. Antonio Nu.ez, Mathieu Quilici, Daniel Schwartz, Lindsey Sherman Conceptual Development Markus Kneer, Justin McGuirk, Lindsey Sherman Draft Text Ilana Millner, Daniel Schwartz Copyediting and Revisions Erika Rosenfeld Author Support and Proofreading Ilana Millner Translations Ishbel Flett (German-English), Carolina Montilla (Spanish-English) Graphics & 3D Renderings Michael Contento, Susana Garcia, Rafael Machado, Mathieu Quilici; Frederic Schwarz & Kaspar Helfrich (BHS Architekten); Anja Willmann (SuAT), Barnim Lemcke (SuAT) roject Photography P Daniel Schwartz Administrative Support Flavia Reginato, Allison Schwartz, Ramona Sorecau Design Integral Lars Müller / Lars Müller and Martina Mullis Lithography Ast & Fischer, Wabern, Switzerland Printing and binding K.sel, Altusried-Krugzell, Germany This book was printed on eco-friendly paper supplied by Geese Papier

Torre David / Gran Horizonte Urban-Think Tank was awarded the Golden Lion for the Best Project of the Common Ground Exhibition at the 13th International Architecture Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia. The exhibit, “Torre David / Gran Horizonte,” was produced in collaboration with Justin McGuirk (curator) and Iwan Baan (photographer). In the spirit of the Biennale’s theme, Common Ground, the installation took the form of a Venezuelan arepa restaurant, creating a genuinely social space rather than a didactic exhibition space. According to an official statement from la Biennale di Venezia: “[t]he jury praised the architects for recognizing Project the power of this transformational Manager project. An informal community created a new home and a new Urban-Think Tank identity by occupying Torre David Chair of and did so with flair and conviction. Architecture and This initiative can be seen as an Urban inspirational model acknowledging Design the strength of informal societies.” DARCH Torre David, a 45-story office ETH tower in Caracas designed by the Zürich distinguished Venezuelan architect Venice Enrique Gómez, was almost Italy complete when it was abandoned 2012 following the death of its developer, David Brillembourg, in 1993 and the collapse of the Venezuelan economy in 1994. Today, it is the improvised home of a community

2012 Golden Lion La Biennale di Venezia 13th International Architecture Exhibition

of more than 750 families, living in an extra-legal and tenuous occupation that some have called a vertical slum. Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner, along with their research and design teams at Urban-Think Tank and ETH Zürich, spent a year studying the physical and social organization of this ruin-turned-home. Where some only see a failed development project, U-TT has conceived it as a laboratory for the study of the informal. With the support of the Schindler Group, U-TT also explored innovative design solutions to address new modes of vertical mobility. In their “Torre David / Grand Horizonte” exhibit and in their book, Torre David: Informal Vertical Communities, the architects lay out their vision for practical, sustainable interventions in Torre David and similar informal settlements around the world. They argue that the future of urban development lies in collaboration among architects, private enterprise, and the global population of slum-dwellers. Urban -Think Tank issues a call to arms to their fellow architects to see in the informal settlements of the world a potential for innovation and experimentation, with the goal of putting design in the service of a more equitable and sustainable future. ■

“We found several realities, among them: This dead giant. A giant of 192m, dead in the middle of a capital city. Dead, with 45 floors uninhabited! When we arrived at the top floor of this tower and we stood on that heliport and we looked around, we realized that the whole population that had come to fill this land of caracas —Those who came from los llanos, from colombia, from wherever they came from— We realized that not all of these people were here in the center, in the healthy, flat part of the city. All of these people were sent out, to the surroundings, to the hills, where There is a higher level of risk. They were told: Go occupy those zones! And it was for this housing need that we deforested and damaged several spaces that today We know as our barrios.” - Fernando, resident of Torre David

“In the city of Caracas The failed tower and The failed city Present opportunities To imagine New urban futures. The tower As it exists is an Experimental laboratory In which we can posit New possibilities For how we Inhabit the Contemporary city.”

Contento | Torre David / Gran Horizonte

“Squatting Is both the Possibility And the Limitation Of Housing failures”

“Intelligence Starts With Improvisation” - Yona Friedman

“A call to action To our fellow architects, present and future: To see in the Informal settlements Of the world a Potential For innovation and experimentation, And to put their design talents in service to a more Equitable and sustainable future.”

Project Team rban Think-Tank U Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner, with Justin McGuirk (Curator) Project Manager Michael Contento esearch Team R Susana Garcia, Kaspar Helfrich, Rafael Machado, Ilana Millner, Jose Antonio Nuñez, Mathieu Quilici, Daniel Schwartz, Frederic Schwarz, Lindsey Sherman, Alexandra Zervudachi Collaborators Iwan Baan (Photography), Lars Müller Publishers Special Thanks The residents of Torre David, Jimeno Fonseca (ITA, ETH), Yona Friedman, Paul Friedli (Schindler AG), Antonio Garces, Marva Griffin, Andres Lepik, Sacha Menz (Dean, ETH Zürich, DARCH), Vivian Pedroni, Arno Schlueter (ITA, ETH), Christian Schmid, Kilian Schuster (Schindler AG), Katrin Trautwein, Klaus Nadler

Urban Parangolé / The Syncretic City Before anything it is necessary to clarify my interest for dance, for rhythm, in my particular case it came from a vital necessity for a disintellectualization…it was therefore, an experience of greater vitality, indispensable particularly in the demolition of preconceived ideas and stereotypification… there was a convergence of this experience with the form which my art took in the Parangolé. - Hélio Oiticica Urban Parangolé and the Syncretic City provide a framework that responds to the human need and desire for movement – that engages us in a dance with the city. This notion pays homage to the work of Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica and extends the central tenet that ‘life is movement’ from the body into the city. Urban mobility serves as a set of strategies that engage the city in new ways. Urban Parangolé liberates the spaces of the contemporary city, engaging all possibilities of the three-dimensional field of Design mobility. Through the strata area, Team flexible territory is introduced enabling São Paulo to support a Urban-Think Tank spectrum of innovative programs São Paulo and typologies accessible for selfBrazil determination. The city is now porous. New possibilities emerge 2012 and permeate the existing fabric, allowing for the productive utilization of all spaces in new capacities.

2012 Audi Urban Futures Award Finalist

This intensive research and design project was developed for the Audi Urban Future Award. The goal of this competition was to propose a vision for São Paulo, 2030 through the lens of urban mobility. The brief was to create a robust research of the existing city. This research was developed as a strategic vision that identifies transformational opportunities for São Paulo, an exhibition that visualized these potential changes, and two publications. ■

The Syncretic City The Syncretic City encourages a productive coexistence of multiple urban models and mobility systems without privileging or equalizing the elements. Instead, each is integrating with the others to form a robust set of urban strategies that encourage alternative urban futures.

Contento | Urban Parangolé / The Syncretic City

In the last century, rapid urbanization throughout São Paulo’s greater metropolitan region has resulted in a population of close to twenty million people. Even though this makes São Paulo one of the most vibrant cities in South America, it also creates a condition in which the established, rigid systems of mobility are no longer effective. Since the 1930s government investment has focused on the growth of extensive automobile infrastructure, a trend that has diminished investment in alternative modes of mass transit, and resulted in current issues of congestion and infrastructure limitations. This is a key component of the larger, asymmetrical urbanization process. Population density in parts of the central region of the city have diminished, while the urbanization of peripheral areas, especially in the sprawling gated communities and favelas, has exploded. As a consequence, the majority of people within São Paulo face both social and territorial immobility. Innovative new modes and pathways of motion are needed to make São Paulo an accessible and inclusive city for all of its inhabitants.

Urban ParangolĂŠ engages us in a dance with the city! As such, new mobility strategies make the city more productive, healthy, and vibrant. Central to the success of the future city is a playfulness that presents Paulistanos with choices for multiple pathways of motion. This approach gives birth to the syncretic city, a city that combines the strengths of existing practices to produce alternative and innovative urban models.

Contento | Urban ParangolĂŠ / The Syncretic City

The Mobile Village In the mobile village, mobility and people replace infrastructure. Infinite loops of productive movement, redefine how Paulistanos engage with each other and their urban environment. Responding to tensions between micro needs and macro infrastructure, Urban ParangolĂŠ proposes multi-scalar mobility prototypes, forming a vision for the city where movement is an activity of both utility and pleasure.

Ultimately, Urban ParangolĂŠ provides people with new nodes of connection, encouraging residents to imagine their movement not simply as a unit of time and distance, but as a dynamic, productive journey. Hubs are networked through a three dimensional system of mobility that facilitates seamless connectivity. This is achieved through the addition of new strata, activating underutilized space in the city fabric. The city becomes porous, new possibilities emerge for the utilization of spaces and for the modes of urban activity.

34 meter wall collage, printed on a single piece of fabric

Contento | Urban ParangolĂŠ / The Syncretic City

The Audi Urban Future Award is an international architecture competition and exhibition. It is one of the four components of the Audi Urban Future Initiative, which is concerned with the future of urban mobility. The Audi Urban Future Award 2012 focuses on specific mobility scenarios in five metropolitan regions.

Installation and model within a 8.25 x 8.25 x 3 meter volume 6 meter diameter styrofoam model with overhead diagram projection Project animation

Project Team Urban-Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner, with Ligia Nobre (Curator) Research and Design Lead Lindsey Sherman Research and Design Team Mariana Albuquerque, Michael Contento, Alessia Finckenstein, Fabiola Cedillo Espin, Hannes Gutberlet, Sudipta Iyer, André Kitagawa, Philipp Kremer, Pauline Launay, Scott Lloyd, Rafael Machado, Ilana Millner, Lea Rüfenacht, Daniel Schwartz, Torunn Vaksvik Skarstad, Maria Abadia SuanzesCarpegna, Dominik Weber * with the students from the International Summer Academy 2012, ETH Zurich, Department or Architecture and the participants of the São Paulo ANCB workshop Consultants Thomas Auer (Transsolar), Daniel Dendra (anOtherArchitect), Maximilian Jezo-Parovsky (TenTen), Federico Parolotto (MIC), Scott Ritter (SSR) Presentation Booklet Ruedi Baur, Gina Donzé (Intégral Ruedi Baur) In partnership with the city of São Paulo, Secretaria Municipal de Habitação (SEHAB), Elisabete França and Maria Teresa Diniz Special thanks to the communities of Santa Ifigênia, Paraisópolis and the great city of São Paulo

Parangolé / Parangolé Special Edition Parangolé and Parangolé Special Edition are limited edition prints published as part of the Audi Urban Future Initiative. ■ Design Team Urban-Think Tank São Paulo Brazil 2012

MetroCable / Small Scale Big Change The Small Scale Big Change: New Architectures of Social Engagement exhibition presents eleven architectural projects on five continents that respond to localized needs in underserved communities. These innovative designs signal a renewed sense of commitment, shared by many of today’s practitioners, to the social responsibilities of architecture. Associate Though this stance echoes socially Research engaged movements of the past, Scholar the architects highlighted here are Urban-Think Tank not interested in grand manifestos Caracas or utopian theories. Instead, their Venezuela commitment to a radical pragmatism can be seen in the projects they Museum have realized. These works reveal of an exciting shift in the long standing Modern dialogue between architecture and Art society, in which the architect’s New York methods and approaches are being 2010 dramatically reevaluated. They also propose an expanded definition of sustainability that moves beyond experimentation with new materials and technologies to include such concepts as social and economic stewardship. Together, these undertakings not only offer practical solutions to known needs, but also aim to have a broader effect on the communities in which they work, using design as a tool. - Small Scale Big Change, MoMA The MetroCable, located in the San Agustín area of Caracas, Venezuela, is a multi-modal mobility system that ties into existing public

transportation. In addition to providing a transport network, it is a framework in which to insert ecological, economic, and social viability into the community through various catalysts and plug-in prototypes. It is a new urban model that introduces an alternative mobility system into a topographically challenging informal neighborhood of approximately 45,000 people. The MetroCable liberates the ground plane by utilizing the airspace of the city. Ideally suited to the steep terrain, it is a minimally invasive and flexible response that supports inclusivity. ■

San AgustĂn is situated on a hill that rises 100 meters to its ridge with steep slopes that extend toward the city. Despite its central location, extreme physical and social barriers leave it disconnected from the city. Many homes are built on high risk areas with steep slopes with difficult access. In protest to a proposal to build a destructive road network, Urban-Think Tank organized an informal public symposium as well as other community meetings to discuss alternatives. During these meetings the new cable car system was proposed, one that would minimize demolition, preserve the pedestrian-oriented community, and introduce historically absent social infrastructures. Through active community participation the government eventually abandoned their plan and adopted the MetroCable proposal, merging top-down planning with bottom-up initiatives. This new mobility network preserves the dynamic quality and social fabric of the neighborhood while simultaneously providing necessary access. It reconnects this area with the rest of the city by creating a loop of integrative infrastructure â&#x20AC;&#x201C; consisting of the MetroCable, the underground metro lines, and existing bus lines. In addition to providing a transport network, it is a framework in which to insert ecological, economic, and social viability into the community through various catalysts - plug-in programs and new prototypes.

Contento | MetroCable / Small Scale Big Change

The stations and plug-in programs are prototypes that can be implemented throughout the neighborhood.

The components of the MetroCable system - prototypes and catalysts - effectively form a kit-of-parts, or toolbox.

Photo by Iwan Baan

Contento | MetroCable / Small Scale Big Change

Each station is equipped to accept various plug-in programs, or prototypes, such as replacement housing, educational centers, medical facilities, shops, and sports facilities. This integrates the necessary mobility infrastructure with necessary social infrastructure. The plug-in programs are hubs of intensity that provide social services and other community needs. In this way, the MetroCable transcends not only the physical borders, but also the social and potentially economic borders separating San AgustĂn from the city.

41 Each station focuses on a different anchor program and accepts various social infrastructures to improve mobility, provide accessibility, introduce new uses, and ensure adequate social equipment.

Contento | MetroCable / Small Scale Big Change

Each station acts as a catalyst of transformation. They immediately shift the border from the existing physical edge to central locations, working now from the inside out, encouraging new upgrades and spaces.

Section - La Ceiba Station

Section - San AgustĂn Station

The system connects to existing mobility networks, including the underground Metro, several bus lines, and Lecuna avenue.

Project Team Urban-Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner Project Design Team José Antonio Nuñez, Carlos Bastidas, Alfredo Brillembourg, Patrick Edlinger, Elizabeth Florian, Cesar Gavidia, Dora Kelle, Hubert Klumpner, Rafael Machado, Claudia Ochoa, Regina Orvañanos, Juan Ponce, Matt Tarczynski Research, Design, Exhibition Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman Landscape Architect Topotek 1 Martin Rein-Cano, Christian Bohne Graphic Design Intégral Ruedi Baur & Associés - Ruedi Baur Community Outreach Felix Caraballo Client C.A. Metro de Caracas

CIASMSB 2010 Concurso CIASMSB Second Prize 2013 Architizer A+ Awards Finalist

The design of the CIASMB Music Center for Social Action was conceived as part of our commitment to and previous experience with the Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (Fesnojiv). Their goal is to develop a future music complex that expands on the existing building where the national network of youth orchestras is Project currently based. The concept of Architect three new theaters topped by a new music school focuses on integrating Urban-Think Tank the cultural complex with the “Los Caracas Caobos” park and the larger urban Venezuela scale. The spatial distribution of 2010 the project elements is a coherent combination of the enclosed, private spaces of the school with the open and public spaces of the theaters. The music school was designed as a separate volume lifted above the theaters - separated from the public areas without harming the unity of the building or its operational function of accommodating more than 4,000 people. The technical details of the sun shading devices and solar panels create an architectural project committed to environmental considerations through clean energy generation and consumption. The circulation sequence of the building is developed through a ramp system that integrates the building and context from the main street / park to the music school above. The ramp also organizes a series of

events and programs across the different levels of the building. New connections between the boulevard and the park, which passes through the building, guide students and pedestrians to public amenities such as cafés, an audio library, and a bookstore. ■

Contento | CIASMSB

In order to maximize building performance (acoustic, structural, social), an innovative structural system was used. By supporting the music school above the performance spaces, users engage with all aspects of the program through integrated circulation.

A large exterior atrium serves as the central public space of the building. The ramp system connects this space to the performance halls and the music school above while integrating program, circulation, and public space.

Contento | CIASMSB

The two main performance halls anchor the buiding to the ground. The public entrance and ground level circulation connects the street to the park behind the building.

Ground Level - Main Performance Halls

The music school occupies the top two levels and roof. It is connected to the rest of the complex by the ramp system.

Level E1 - Music School

Level E2 - Music School

Contento | CIASMSB

Project Team rban-Think Tank U Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner

Section A-A

U-TT Project Architects Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman U-TT Project Team Willem Boning, Rafael Machado, Melissa Ramos SLiK Architekten GmbH Steffen Lemmerzahl, Ramias Steinemann, Lukas Kueng SLiK Team Ivo Piazza, Thomas Vermeulen Structural Engineer Castellón & Steiner, Ingenieros Civiles – Andrés Steiner; Ove Arup and Partners – Cliff McMillan, Ricardo Pittella, Christof Draheim Sustainability Engineer Ove Arup and Partners – Cliff McMillan, Trent Lethco, Maria Villalobos; Transsolar Climate Engineering – Thomas Auer, Daniel Pianka

Section B-B

Acoustic Engineer Müller-BBM GmbH – Karl-Heinz Müller; Ove Arup and Partners – Cliff McMillan, Joe Solway, Raj Patel Client Fundacion del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela (Fesnojiv)

Hoograven / Urban Rehab

* This project was part of the Utrecht Manifest, a biannual cultural event for social design held in Utrecht, Netherlands. Utrecht Manifest explores the development of contemporary design from a socio-political perspective. An integral part of Utrecht Manifest 2009 was Hoograven Invites You, a research project in social urban design under the direction Project of Urban-Think Tank. For this, an Architect investigation was carried out into Urban-Think Tank the development opportunities of Hoograven the Utrecht district of Hoograven. Utrecht The neighborhood of Hoograven The Netherlands presents a situation where 2009 predominant planning practices have favored the “tabula rasa.” These conditions have not been able to accommodate flexible and dynamic growth. The urban condition now needs a new logic of density, hybridity and informality. New urban interventions should become catalysts for responsible, effective and adaptable growth within Hoograven/Utrecht. This will also allow them to serve as conceptual prototypes; not only for Hoograven, but for future interventions beyond its boundaries within the broader urban context. The proposal follows this new spirit of urban intervention with physical appropriation, hybridity, production and adaptive reuse. Here Urban-Think Tank presents a contemporary vision for the city of Hoograven through three HotSpots: URBAN REHAB. ■

Contento | Hoograven / Urban Rehab

Each component of the Hoograven / Urban Rehab project is a transferable prototype. The elements form an urban toolbox that can be implemented in this and other scenarios.

Contento | Hoograven / Urban Rehab

HotSpot 01 HotSpot 01 provides a new art and cultural campus for the neighborhood of Hoograven. This proposal revitalizes the existing industrial zone through the introduction of the HKU, new student and faculty housing with dedicated commercial zones, the renovation of the Pastoefabriek, and an integrated artpark. A new running track also weaves through the site, connecting these diverse programs to each other and to the existing fabric of Hoograven. The existing industrial site provides a unique and inspiring setting for the new location of the HKU. The introduction of the art campus acts as an extension of the artistic production of the Pastoefabriek, creating an environment for the interchange of all arts while simultaneously transforming the static industrial zone into a flexible, adaptive and productive cultural node. In this hybrid node, art will be a cultural, social and economic foundation for Hoograven. Within a network of interconnected apartment units, courtyards, and towers there exists a mixture of residential, commercial, community, gallery and parking zones. Apartments of various sizes and configurations accommodate both students and faculty and adapt over time to produce informal and flexible spaces. This produces multiple living conditions to accommodate specific needs. An activated roofscape is added to the Pastoefabriek creating new circulation, gallery spaces and connections to the new HotSpot landscape.

The ArtPark is a connective tissue that reaches into the art campus and the residential surroundings of the community. While the ArtPark intervention extends across the site, its nucleus consists of the important relocation of community gardens and divers zones of play, performance and art. The new pathways of the ArtPark provide multiple means of exploration and connectivity. The existing warehouses on site are utilized through careful manipulation and are transformed into the new educational zones of the HKU campus. A performance bar, academic tower, production bar, gallery bar and studio tower organize the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facilities into a dense and enriching cultural atmosphere for students and visiting artists. HKUÂ´s relocation provides the stimulus to rehabilitate the character of the entire area and create a dynamic and engaging waterfront.

Contento | Hoograven / Urban Rehab

HotSpot 02 New flexible expansion “jackets” rehabilitate and extend the existing housing units. The jacket provides increased insulation, new water infrastructure, gallery circulation, balconies [both public and private] and opportunities for growth. The addition of the jacket allows for the building to be rehabilitated without relocating the inhabitants. The urban experience is densified and intensified through the insertion of new commercial spaces and a souk. The three existing blocks – Huize de Geerlaan, Oudegein Laan and Robijnhof - require adaptation to meet the necessities of their current inhabitants who often have unique and diverse family structures. An updated vision for Hoograven requires adaptive and flexible housing integrated into a dynamic urban fabric of mixed-use spaces.

Housing is improved through a prefabricated kit-of-parts system that is attached to the existing housing blocks. Through the addition of this jacket, apartments are expanded and renovated without disturbing the existing configuration or even requiring residents to be relocated. The jackets are also tied into an elevated platform and landscape/ circulation system within the housing block. The souk pairs a commercial street with social housing apartments in an open structure inspired by Moroccan markets. The new building helps to create a cohesive urban system linking the new commerce in the surrounding areas. The souk interacts with the neighboring mosque and landscape, establishing an activated community gathering place.

Contento | Hoograven / Urban Rehab

HotSpot 03 HopSpot 03 provides a dynamic sports hub that consists of a Vertical Gymnasium, skate park, renovated rowing club and activated pedestrian walkway. The elevated pathway connects the various programs on the site while providing access to each zone. This intensifies the waterfront experience along the canal and generates increased recreational opportunities while allowing the waterfront to be enjoyed by pedestrians. The skate park is placed within an existing wall, adapting a lost structure for a new vibrant purpose. Through the re-use of the existing facilities and introduction of added program, the new activated waterfront provides the inhabitants of Hoograven with a variety of recreational opportunities to promote healthy and active lifestyles. Participation in sports encourages community cohesion, providing a common interest to people from diverse backgrounds.

Based on an adaptive prototype that utilizes density and hybridity, the Vertical Gymnasium has been specifically customized to Hoograven. Rather than being distributed throughout the neighborhood, the different features - basketball court, volleyball court, football field, running track, rowing club extension and restaurant - are placed vertically, providing a concentration of different activities in a single center.

Project Team Architect Urban Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner Project Architects Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman Design Team Zachary Aders, Rajiv Fernandez, Carlos Guimaraes, Emily Johnson, Lea Rufenacht, Allison Schwartz

Rietveld Retrofit

* The Rietveld Retrofit is a continuation of the Hoograven // Urban Rehab project in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The Robijnhof area of Hoograven was designed in the 50’s by Gerrit Rietveld, with public spaces designed independently by BJ Galijaard, then a landscape Project architect with the Parks Department. Architect Recently, many of the buildings in Urban-Think Tank the district of Hoograven, including with the Robijnhof, have been declared SLiK Architekten unfit for continued use. The main challenges include failing building Hoograven systems, accessibility issues, and Utrecht safety concerns. A Tabula Rasa Netherlands approach of demolition and new construction would disrupt 2011 the existing social fabric of the predominantly Moroccan and Turkish population. The goal of the Rietveld Retrofit project is to address the immediate problems facing the physical structure of the buildings while preserving the social fabric and revitalizing the neighborhood with additional living space, public amenities, and program. The project takes the form of a series of prefabricated prototype units that plug in to the existing housing units. New building systems and spaces are then inserted into each apartment from these units - building infrastructure, kitchen unit, bathroom, expanded living space, and expanded bedroom space.

Each unit is attached to new exterior circulation, providing simpler access to each unit. This outdoor circulation is then connected to a single elevator bank, eliminating the need for multiple elevator banks in each building. The ground plane is also improved through a series of new public spaces and amenities. Automobile circulation and parking are reorganized to make existing exterior space available for new uses. This process of minimal change for maximum impact would allow each family to remain in their apartment for the majority of the renovation. The new add-ons improve aging building systems, (poor) excess circulation, security, and comfort. ■

The neighborhood is transformed through the implementation of the prototype units and circulation system, eliminating the need to demolish buildings and disrupt existing social networks.

Contento | Rietveld Retrofit

By providing exterior circulation connected to each new plug-in unit, a single elevator is able to provide access to a maximum number of apartments without high cost. This provides the necessary circulation and accessibility on site at a minimal cost.

Each plug-in unit provides improved building systems and infrastructure, increased space, a new kitchen unit, elevator access, and improved accessibility.

Each prototype is plugged into the existing apartments, improving the living space as well as the surrounding public spaces.

â&#x20AC;&#x2039;Project Team Architect Urban Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner U-TT Project Architect Michael Contento, Lindsey Sherman SLiK Architekten GmbH Steffen Lemmerzahl, Ramias Steinemann, Lukas Kueng SLiK Design Team Valentina Coppo Landscape Architect Topotek1

Charged Void / CrackHouse CourtHouse Urban-Think Tank was invited by MVRDV to design two buildings within the Olympiakwartier area of Almere as part of a larger project that includes a total of 25 design firms from Europe, America, and Japan. For the life of the urbanite, the space in between buildings is just as important as the buildings themselves, and they act together consequentially. The proposal presents two buildings - the Crack House (E4) and the Court House (K8) - with the idea that if total land use is planned to achieve an optimum use at any level, then we must also consider the potential to charge all vertical, short term or transient spaces as places of importance. These spaces that we have called “charged voids” are working as active parts of our project for Almere. These inner courts, or vertical cracks, become part of the technological urban context of our buildings. These cuts or courts are meant to be landscape strips Design making it possible for small interior Team spaces to appear in the interior Urban-Think Tank perimeter. These common spaces themselves are finished in different Almere glazed ceramic walls to enable a The Netherlands unique greenhouse interior. The 2010 voids are shaped by the unique characteristics of individual need (flower pots, mini-balconies, bridges, drying laundry, and even a potential animal habitat) to meet specific patterns of human habitation. Each exterior wall system of the apartment design will articulate these individual desires to

produce a collective courtyard identity for each building. These circulation voids are also charged with technical program as to increase the exposure not just to natural light, ventilation, and views but also to accommodate necessary building system infrastructure and services. These building infrastructures are strategically placed in the void to permit future flexibility and upgrading without compromising the vertical installation shafts. The void therefore becomes a blurred boundary between exterior and interior. By comprehending the idea that humans form a community around resources, our buildings offer a living experience as part of the complex urban setting in Almere and the Dutch Randstad beyond. ■

The Olympia Kwartier development in Almere focuses on housing, public space, and a diverse set of integrated programs as a comprehensive whole.

Image courtesy of MVRDV

E4 - Ground Floor

A A

Contento | Charged Void

E4 - Level 01

E4 A

Crack House

In building E4, two planted â&#x20AC;&#x153;chandeliersâ&#x20AC;? provide light and greenery to the voids while still allowing for natural light to reach the ground floor and air to move through the building. Planted with hardy vines, such as Hedera helix, these fixtures provide greenery to all levels while softly illuminating the crack in the evening.

E4 - Typical Floor Plan

E4 - Section A-A

K8 - Ground Floor

A A

Contento | Charged Void

K8 - Level 01 A

K8 Court House

In building K8, solitary specimen trees, suited for shady compact spaces, lend a green atmosphere to the interior atmosphere. Covered by glass, this mild climate can host a colony of birds, providing a small and lush oasis for the residents of the building.

K8 - Typical Floor Plan

K8 - Section A-A

Project Team Architect Urban-Think Tank Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner Design Team Michael Contento, Rajiv Fernandez, Carlos M. Guimaraes, Jose Luis León Mora, Carolina Montilla, Lea Rufenacht, Stefan Schieber, Allison Schwartz, Lindsey Sherman, Maarten Brillenburg Wurth, Floris van der Biggelaar Landscape Architect TOPOTEK1