19 — AURILLAC (FR), SHORTLISTED — A COURS ET A JARDINS
20 — AMSTERDAM PIARCOPLEIN (NL), SHORTLISTED — PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE, HAPPY PEOPLE
21 — TORRELAVEGA (ES), SPECIAL MENTION — DE LA MANZANA AL MERCADO > SEE MORE P191
INFRASTRUCTURE AS A PRODUCTION SPACE.
functions to be maintained, many teams sought to
THE PROCESS AS A DRIVER OF CHANGE
devise active processes of transformation. The question
As part of the objective of bringing productive spaces
they tried to answer was how to transform a place
back into the heart of cities, infrastructure — in all its
gradually in such a way that its functional transition is
typological diversity — seems to offer a genuine (two-
logical and economically viable? That is the challenge
or three-dimensional) resource space for productive
of Europan 14, and why the teams need to be creative
regeneration. Indeed, the development of active or
in their proposals for processes of change. This is also
passive mobilities demands a programme for the
the source of the complexity of the project, and the
transformation of infrastructures and the spaces
key to its feasibility. How to enact the transformation?
associated with them. The development of active
What interventions to start with? What might be the
mobilities in the heart of European cities is releasing
impacts of these initial interventions on the place? How
certain infrastructures from passive mobility, with the
can these impacts become drivers for the progressive
result that they become spaces of “architectural”
regeneration of these infrastructures? Ultimately, are
character, with the potential for new uses (Madrid car
not the method or the conceptual strategy employed
parks). Under these circumstances, infrastructure
to convert infrastructures into spaces of production as
becomes a latent resource for the productive city, with
important as aesthetics in the quest to produce a space
potential for adaptation, for transformation, that cities
of genuine quality?
and urban designers need to exploit. From the point of view of usage and programming, there is also the question of identifying the appropriate type of production. Linked with the regeneration of infrastructure, this question can also be approached in terms of the history of the place and of local needs. In other words, productive use can partially derive from the place itself and its legacy. It can in part reflect a local culture, rather than simply being “parachuted” into place. There are many different kinds of production that could be reintroduced into the city: industrial, digital, cultural, agricultural, social, artisanal, etc. Productive regeneration can also entail a mix of these types of production, and can even imagine an approach that is reversible, adaptable, allowing systems of production to vary with the different timeframes of the site. An example of this approach is De la manzana al mercado (fig.21), the special mention project in Torrelavega. Finally, in order for infrastructural transformation to move in step with the transition in mobility, and for certain
Fraade, R, Who’s afraid of the petextrian? The blaffer, 2018 2 Millard- Ball, A, Pedestrians, autonomous vehicles and cities, journal of planning education research, 2017 3 D’Arienzo, Younès, Ressources urbaines latentes, Métis Presse, 2016 4 Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, Réver(cités), villes recyclables et résilientes, AMC, 2016 5 Ariella Masboungi, Berlin le génie de l’improvisation, Parenthèses, 2017 6 Léchot-Hirt Lysianne, Recherche-création en design. Réflexions et modèles pour une pratique expérimentale, Métis Presses, 2010 1
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