condensing diversity
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Why do people use the city? This was subject of the initial search for the stranger within the context of Sliema. My behaviour was paralleled to a subject sitting around, watching the hectic city life unfold around him. The character highlighted this in his a r r i v a l b y d i n g h y, s e e k i n g o u t t h e c i t y a s t h e spectacle of diverse human interaction. T h i s w a s l i n k e d t o D a n i l o M a s s o t t i ’s anthropoligical study of the umarells over the last decade. He hypothesises that the stereotypically old man, arched forward with his hands held strictly behind his back is in hunt for spaces which foster social diversity within the modern cityscape.
“gli umarelli cacciano gli spazi che esibiscono l’eccitazione della città diversa”
II . SOCIAL CONDENSER Coined by the Constructivists, as a proposal for a new type of architecture that would serve as a space which broke hierarchies of s o c i a l c l a s s a n d g e n d e r. The idea was linked back to the need of t h e s t r a n g e r, w h o h u n t s f o r a s p a c e w h i c h hosts this diversity which the city has the potential to exhibit. Parallel to the Rem Koolhas’ definition in his ‘Patent for the Social Condenser’, the intention is to create a space which embraces the congested, random and unpredictable character of metropolitan life and the unprecedented events it has the potential to create.
“programmatic layering upon vacant terrain to encourage dynamic co-existence of activities and to generate through their interface_____________unprecedented events” Rem Koolhas’ Patent for the Social Condenser
I I I . P E RV E RT E D C O N D E N S E R The appropriation of the space towards the private realm, possible through his act of patenting came under much criticism. (Prada E p i c e n t e r, N Y C ) . Described as a perversion, the privatisation of a space which stripped down to its bare function, is public. This argument seemed highly relevant within the context I find myself in, where public spaces are offloaded to private stakeholders at the expense of the very publicness which constitutes their basic requirement to be, in this sense, a public space.
“through this act of patenting_________ privatized the Social Condenser: a notion whose publicness, as the Constructivists themselves emphasized, constitutes its very kernel.� Strelka Institute on the appropriated condenser
IV . POTENTIAL CONDENSER Iconic for its significance as a memorial of the social, the site where the Chalet, Ghar idDud once stood holds the potential for social condensation. Once a node which attracted all social classes from around the island as a centre stage for dancing and artistic expression, it also indirectly served as a space for people w a t c h i n g . I t i s s a i d t h a t t h e l o w e r f l o o r, w h i c h w a s r e s e r v e d a s t h e a d u l t d a n c e f l o o r, was masked with a system of blinds due to the social norms of the time. Stories are told of teenagers sitting on the rocky beach hoping for a glimpse into the forbidden.
“we want to ____________commercialise the beautiful structure again� Konrad Mizzi to Times of Malta (2017)
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The site of interest forms part of the masterplan for the Ghar id-Dud rejuvenation project which is currently in the pipeline, described by the architects as the creation “of a continuous h o m o g e n e o u s e n v i ro n m e n t , w h i c h i s t o a c t as a node for social interaction”. Briefed by government to include the regeneration of the pebble beaches through the construction of an embedded breakwater at coral reef level, the project includes a proposal for the regeneration of the social nature of the chalet t h r o u g h “ h i g h - e n d d i n i n g w h i c h w i l l e n s u re a high quality platform for social interactions.” This seemed almost reminiscent of the a r g u m e n t a g a i n s t t h e p e r v e r t e d c o n d e n s e r.
“we want to ____________commercialise the beautiful structure again� Konrad Mizzi to Times of Malta (2017)
V I . WA L K O F D I V E R S I T Y Wi t h i n t h e f r a m e w o r k o f t h e p r o p o s a l , there seems to be two parallel directions of f l o w, t h a t o n t h e p r o m e n a d e , a n d f o l l o w i n g t h e r e j u v e n a t i o n , a l o n g G h a r i d - D u d b a y. The chalet was therefore re-imagined as an intermediary space which connects the two l i n e s o f f l o w. T h i s w a s l i k e n e d t o t h e f u n c t i o n o f R o m e ’s Spanish steps, connecting Piazza di Spagna t o P i a z z a Tr i n i t à d e i M o n t i , c r e a t i n g a n intermediary social space of ascension which allows people to sit on the steps, admiring the diversity of the city which shuffles down, a utopian space for the umarell.
“we want to ____________commercialise the beautiful structure again” Konrad Mizzi to Times of Malta (2017)
I c a n ’ t f o r g e t - h o w I w a t c h e d a s s h e s t o o d a t t h e t o p o f t h a t l o n g m a r b l e s t a i r. Amazed, and then with a sleepy pirouette - went dancing slowly down to the fountain-quieted square. - Richard Wilbur
VII . C A T W A L K S I n t h i s i m a g i n e d c a t w a l k o f d i v e r s i t y, w h a t then should be made of the relationship between the ‘models’ who shuffle across the space and their audience? References to catwalks were made while researching this relationship, which sparked a realisation that the physical has a direct influence on the intimacy levels being discussed. In contrast to the barrier seen in Alexander McQueen Spring/Summer 2001 r u n w a y, t h e d e s i g n s h o u l d f o s t e r a n e x p e r i e n c e which blurred the distinction between model a n d s p e c t a t o r. W h e r e t h e l i n e b e t w e e n t h o s e on display and those who watch them cannot easily be drawn.
“The layout diffuses the boundary, providing __________ an unmediated experience between models and audience” Rem Koolhas on the Prada Women’s Fall/Winter 2017 show
VIII . S C A L O L O G Y Whilst researching Rem Koolhas’ idea of t h e s o c i a l c o n d e n s e r, I s t u m b l e d a c r o s s t h e ‘stair room’ which formed part of the 2014 Fundamentals Biennale. The space exhibited the works of Frederich Mielke, the master of s c a l o l o g y. His lifelong research on the history of staircases as a reaction towards the standardisation of dimensions. He argues that the thread and depth of a step, should be appropriated to its intended use and users. _____a ramp allows ease of access _______a high riser allows ease of sitting _________a wide thread allows spaces to lie and so on...
“The layout diffuses the boundary, providing __________ an unmediated experience between models and audience” Rem Koolhas on the Prada Women’s Fall/Winter 2017 show
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A system of ramps intersect the constraints of the chalet, connecting the 4 endpoints t o g e t h e r, i n d i r e c t l y t u r n i n g t h e c h a l e t i n t o a n intermediary space of flow from all directions. The intention was to not limit the space to a s i n g u l a r d i r e c t i o n o f f l o w, b u t r a t h e r a crossing of path permutations between the nodes ABCD.
F o l l o w i n g t h e d i s c u s s i o n o n s c a l o l o g y, t h a t t h e dimensions of a staircase reflect its function, led to the fragmentation of the steps. In doing so, the different pockets of space generated are able to host different uses by different users, encouraging dynamic coexistence of activities, the backbone of the s o c i a l c o n d e n s e r.
Returning to the argument on the relationship between the models and their audience, there seemed to be the need to connect the spaces of flow to the spaces of the social through a series of ramped fragments as shown. Thus giving the option to cut across the space through the intertwining staircase, shifting around the people who have now become the subjects.
O n t h e s u b j e c t o f m e m o r y, t h e r e r e t a i n e d t h e need, not for a reconstruction of what used to be, but rather a physical reference to the past within the present context. The outer grid which once held the column foundations was marked through subtle indentations in the step, giving the patrons a r e f e r e n c e o f t h e p a s t w i t h i n t h e n e w. T h e s e indentations contain embedded LED lights, which go on to light up the chalet at night, replicating were the columns one stood.
The materiality of the structure aims at marking the original area of the site from its extensions. Hardstone clad stairs blend into the rock face beneath, emphasising the permanence of the original chalet boundaries. This is contrasted off of the anti-slip raw concrete ramps which extend beyond the original boundaries, breaking through the stone, symbolic of the ruptured structure which preceded it.
IX. C O N D E N S E D At the least, this project aims to showcase the hypocrisy in the design and planning of public spaces with which we are currently experiencing. The project was spurred on as a reaction to the offloading of an iconic site with infinite s o c i a l p o t e n t i a l t o a p r i v a t e s t a k e h o l d e r, a n d it being presented to the community as the provision of a high quality public space, where the use is selected for capitalist gain, and the users are gentrified by the brands within it. Throughout the project it became increasingly evident that the potential of the social condenser and the communal activity it brings with it is heavily lost within the sector of the public-private.
the commerical; _____selects the function, __________defines the user, _______________filters the diversity
which the city has the potential to exhibit.
daniel xuereb