PART I | NARRATIVE Engagement | Elementary | Superposition
Engagement
Ledeberg has a strategic position, working as a connection between the center and the outside of the city; the flyover, one of the subject of this project, it’s the current responsible for this relation; but its overlapped presence is determining a big detachment from the surroundings and a barrier, physical and abstract. Moreover, the passage of the train rails and the wavy shape of the river are strongly designing the borders of the neighborhood and together are determining its internal form and, in same occasion, its fragmentation. (Fig. 1-2) Looking at the main activities present in the area, it’s relevant to indicate how the residential function is prevalent, determining so on the need of social devices and services that can be asserved to the inhabitants, but the physical conformation of the neighborhood its often creating marginalized situation. (Fig. 3) Considering the issues of the neighborhood, the main concept of the project started with the idea of creating new gathering spots, able to host different activities that could satisfied the needs of the several communities, while the vast spread of wastelands is seen as a resource to use with the intention of saturating the empty corner or lots with devices that can provide the desired or necessary activities. (Fig. 4) In a wider perspective, the project is seen as an evolutionary process, defined by a temporary nature, where the citizens are the actual agents of its development and are determining its path: after the creation of fixed platforms that are shaping and interacting with the landscape and that can host a manifold of uses, the citizen’s engagement with the project is realized through the idea of self-constructing boxes; those elements, according to what could be mainly needed at a certain time and to the convertible reality of the devices, guarantee the ability of host every kind of motions, and to be moved around the area. The background of this concept is to give the opportunity to the citizens, or moreover to the actual users, to determine in every occasion what, where, how, when and why something is going to be realized. (Fig. 5)
WASTELANDS
RIVER
FLY OVER
TRAJECTORIES
BARRIERS
LANDSCAPE FOOD CULTURES
PLAY
NEEDS
ART
(TEMPORARINESS) (CONVERSION) (EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS)
PEOPLE COMMUNITIES
MOBILE FURNITURES MUSIC HANDICRAFT
OUTSIDERS
MATERIALS BOXES
LIGHTING SIGNALS
DEVICES
PLATFORMS
Fig. 1
Location: Ledeberg, Gent
Fig. 2
Border @1: Fly Over Border @2: River Border @3: Train Rail Border @4: High speed road
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Function @1: residential
Wastelands
Function @2: offices
Public gardens
Function @3: commercial/industrial
Square
Function @4: ex-industrial area
Wastelands initially selected First interventions Secondary interventions Hypothesis of first self-generated pathway Hypothesis of secondary self-generated pathway
Fig. 5
Elementary
Basically, the aim of this intervention is to not transform or deeply engrave the neighborhood with a top-down imposition, but to take advantage of what is currently existing or what is not being used and convert it into a device for the community. The same objects who are mainly characterizing the area, as the fly over, the train rails and the river, are used in this context, while the interventions are oriented in the direction of maintaning the main structure of the neighborhood and acting just as light and punctual transformations. The actual way of intercession is structured in three levels: after the preparation of the ground and the imposition of platforms, the second step is to realize the missing connections between or inside the chosen lands; the process is then prosecuting with the application of movable devices, as the boxes and their same structural frame that would be used to realized a visual equipment to recall their presence in the area, while the human partecipation is the final and never ending step. According to this idea, and to the “impossible” task of predicting which are the social services mainly needed in the area and how they could change and develop in the next years, the selection criterion of the initials lands has been following a concept focused on their future possibilities to evolve and create closed or interacting spots, their actual possible connections between each other and the adjacency to the residential pattern. The characteristic of having a position recallable as a door on the city is also present in the concept of the project, and can be developed using the variety of lands and the mobile devices to create environment able to host ambitious functions that could attract visitors from the outside and give a strong connotation to Ledeberg. The characteristic of having a position recallable as a door on the city is also present in the concept of the project, and can be developed using the variety of lands and the mobile devices to create environment able to host ambitious functions that could attract visitors from the outside and give a strong connotation to Ledeberg. (Fig. 6)
Superposition The theme of superposition is already designing the area, and so on is determininig the intervention: as has been previously said, Ledeberg is defined by a multitude of physical devices that are drawing its form, as well as the society who inhabits it is composed by several cultures that need to reach a dialogue. Following this direction, the project is considering the superposition of what is already existing and what is going to be realized, in order to minimalize the impact on the area. The topic of connection is so on achieving even more importance, and it’s also affiliated to the scope of breaking up the physical fragmentation of the area in order to realize an interacting, unique territory. At the same time, the scope of the intervention is to enhance the qualitative difference betweens the existing superposition of the ground and the infrastructural level, using just punctual interventions and connecting the different levels. The specific area selected to initiate the process is composed by several layers, and the project is incrementing their number using cohesive devices. In order to activate the process, one spot has been identified as the subject of a landscape intervention: on the South border, a strategic point where the fly over, the train rails and the river are both present. (Fig. 7) Three wastelands are going to be bridged realizing a double level of connection, one on the ground and one on the top of the flyover. (Fig. 8) For the first layer, on the southern edge a bridging system over the river would join the two facing area (Fig. 9), while the creation of a tunnel under the train rails would complete the linear path (Fig. 10). The second path is realized on the central lanes of the fly over, and it plans to be extended in the next steps towards North, in order to meet the other lands. A third level of connection has been realized and its evolution is, instead, vertical: a system of ramps, stairs and elevator is designing the area, and guaranteeing the dialogue between the two linear routes and the several devices.
Fig. 7
CRUCIAL PICTURES | EXISTING SITUATION
Level 2 - Fly over
Level 1 - ground
0 - Linear pathway
3 - Platforms
1 - Bridge
4 - River banks
Fig. 8
2 - Tunnel
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
CRUCIAL REFERENCE IMAGES
River Aire, G. Descombes, Geneva 2002
Parc de lancy, G. Descombes, Paris 1989
Galleria Vedeggio Cassarate, C. Zucchi, Lugano 2012
Trnovski Pristan embankment, J. Plecnik, Ljubjana 2009
Visiebeeld project, G. Descombes&Technum, Oostende
Inujima Art House project, K. Sejima, Inujima island 2010
Quiubox, B. Prismontas, Milano Design Week 2017
Cycle and Pedestrian Tunnel, B. crouwel Architekten&J. Linders, Amsterdam 2015
Press Box, SET Architects, Rome 2017
Into the Shadow, NIO Architecten, Amsterdam 2013
PART II | SAMPLES OF THE LEPORELLOS OF SPATIAL/SOCIAL ANALYSIS
LEPORELLO #0 | WASTELANDS This sample has been chosen since it’s showing the value as wastelands of the lands who have been selcted for the first intervention. LEPORELLO #1 | CULTURES&STORIES With this leporello the social aspect of the neighborhood has been deeply investigated. Two main corcumstnces are emerging from this research: the first one is the presence of a wide range of cultures and religions, while the second one is a common desire and need for public spaces where comunitarian or creative/artistic activities can be located. LEPORELLO #2 | MEETING POINTS From this analysis it is made even more evident how the neighborhood is not providing enough social spaces, becoming an obstacle for a community daily life. Moreover, the South part of the neighborhood is showing a complete absence of gathering spot. LEPORELLO #3 | DAY&NIGHT ACTIVITIES The selected part of this leporello is showing the intervention spots and the surrounding areas, in this way the project would take in consideration the spontneous life already existing to address the functions that are gonna be increased.
LEPORELLO #0 | WASTELANDS
“If we stop to look at the landscape as an object of human activity we suddenly discover a number of undecided spaces, which have no functions and which it is difficult to name. This whole does not belong to either the shadow or the light territory. It is located at the margins. Where the woods get trapped, along roads and rivers, in the forgotten recesses, where the cars do not pass.” G. Clément
LEPORELLO #1 | CULTURES&STORIES
LEPORELLO #3 | DAY&NIGHT ACTIVITIES
LEPORELLO #2 | MEETING POINTS
PART III | PROJECT: OVER ALL SITUATION
PLAN EXISTING SITUATION | 1:500
Green lands Earth Pathways Roads Water Trees Sand
FLY OVER EXISTING SITUATION | 1:2000
CROSS SECTION | 1:1000
LONGITUDINAL SECTION | 1:1000
PERSPECTIVE VIEW | FLY OVER
PERSPECTIVE VIEW | GROUND LEVEL
PLAN INTERVENTION | 1:500
Concrete linear pathway Projection of concrete pathway Green lands Transversal concrete pathway White sand Dark sand Light rocks Addition of structural elements Activitie’s boxes Metal vertical connection Projection of metal vertical connection
E’
FLY OVER INTERVENTION | 1:2000
SECTION D-D’ | 1:1000 A
A’
B
B’
C’
C SECTION E-E’ | 1:1000 D’
E
D
SECTION A-A’ | 1:1000
SECTION B-B’ | 1:1000
SECTION C-C’ | 1:1000
PART IV | PROJECT: ZOOMS ON DIFFERENT ELEMENTS AND AREAS THE PLATFORMS
PLAN 1:300
ELEVATION 1:100
SECTION 1:100
3D VIEW #1
3D VIEW #2
sand white rocks lake rocks white concrete grass
THE STAIRS
PLAN 1:200
SECTION 1:200
3D VIEW #1
3D VIEW #2
stirred metal net
metal checker plate
red metal cable
THE BOXES
PLAN 1:150
ELEVATION 1:150
SECTION 1:50
3D VIEW #1
corrugated metal panel canvas tent wood panel corrugated plastic panel white metal frame
THE TUNNEL
PLAN 1:300
ELEVATION 1:300
SECTION 1:50
3D VIEW #1
3D VIEW #2
polycarbonate panel epoxy finishing concrete white concrete illuminated back-pattern
THE BRIDGE
PLAN 1:300
SECTION 1:300
SECTION 1:50
3D VIEW #1
3D VIEW #2
stirred metal net
metal checker plate
red metal cable