Ivanna DĂaz / selected works
01.
Swarm intelligence Public space revitalization
BACHELOR ARCHITECTURE THESIS PROJECT “The city does not consist of houses, outdoor porches or public plazas: the men are who form it.” (Eugenio Espejo)
My final project of my bachelor degree as an architect began with a reflection on the public space in the city of Bogota and as the implementation of digital tools as methodology analysis that could produce results which break the linear scheme of space that arises in this city. The debate of public space begins with the “Non Place”, a mediator space between mass transit and the user. This concept proposed by Marc Augé, highlights the postmodern phenomenon in response to a specific case of humanity in response to globalization. This applied in the context of Bogota reflects poor transport infrastructure and low quality of public space as a result of the polarization of the quality of space derived from an economic hierarchy of the sectors of the city. The lack of democratization of space causes a second process: the residual space. Both concepts related as cause and effect are the result of a deteriorating urban process space, either by neglect or lack of planning.
Santa fe, intervention area.
In the context of Latin America, cities are characterized by social inequality. For Bogota, no stranger to this phenomenon, there is a proposal for 2020 for the transport system “Transmilenio” (mass transit system, Bogota) the largest multimodal station arises in one of the most depressed areas of the city and it is separated from one of the privilege central locations just for a main road.
Zone of Repulsion
Focal Agent
Zone of Alignment
Agents affecting local Agent
Zone of Attraction
Metric distance model
There began the restoration project of public space in my project, based on studies conducted by the district to have a future perspective of the state of the place. The main objective was to create a new structure of public space parallel to the existing from a reflection of the place, using digital tools for analysis and design methodology for interpretation and translation of these data in public space.
Processing Catalog.
Taking emerging systems and “swarm” behavior as a starting point which is described as a collective behavior of different subjects or agents acting on their own judgment without a leader, it can be said based on the findings of Shiffman that this behavior is a natural capacity to limit and perceive the environment. This way each autonomous agent processes information from their surroundings and calculates the action. This is where the trajectory of each of the alleged agents can give guidelines to frame the subsequent design process in urban planning.
“Agent”, represented in the data as floating and permanent population was related to the analysis of mobility in the Processing software, simulating the path or distance
Topological distance model
between two points, for analysis of travel, transit number of population, and tensions in travel to give the space requirements to formulate new permanence spaces for the sector. This simulation connected in real time with the Grasshopper platform for Rhinoceros returned the data to the Rhino interface where the 3D model could complement the analysis taking notion in 3D space.
Following the analysis, the information obtained in the nodes or stress points where agents were meeting points with the user was related with the context in place, looking for the projection of cultural scenarios that generate appropriation by the inhabitants of the sector related as a symbiotic relationship that would allow the user to be the one to change the public space.
Morphological tests.
Data interpretation into architectural language: The data transmitted by Processing to Rhino as vectors, was used as a determinant of design with which the project was completed with general space improvements and targeted interventions listed below: Urban Spectrum: “Urban spectrum” was called to all the new proposals as a model that engages the existing and expands itself around the city. Network equipment: Complementary equipment with the aim of promoting the dynamic of space. Pedestrian mobility: A network connectivity between the pedestrian and the existing structure in the city. Flowers Square: This square, one of the oldest in the city of Bogotá, related to the sale of flowers for visitors to Central Cemetery, is one of the most emblematic places in the city because of its history. This place has undergone a series of transformations which have ignored the dynamic and cultural characteristics that relate and depend on it. With the intervention raises the hierarchy of this space, as a mediating point between “city of the dead” and the rest of the city. Commercial platform for central station Transmilenio:This equipment is seen as a point from a number of pedestrian mobility circuits, being a midpoint between the two stages of the proposal, the flowers square, social housing and Central Station. In this area trading programs, permanence, circulation and appreciation are distributed.
Design. Ivanna Díaz, 2013-2014
02.
Salone del Mobile Milano Sonic Wall
SOUNDART INSTALLATION. “Building is not just about the practical provision of shelter, or the construction of the modern infrastructure of a state. Though it may appear to be rooted in pragmatism, it is a powerful and extraordinarily revealing expression of the human psychology. (…) What architecture does – as no other cultural form can – is to glorify and magnify the individual autocrat and suppress the individual into the mass. It can be seen as the first, and still one of the most powerful, forms of mass communication.” (Deyan Sudjic)
Sound test.
For the Salone del Mobile in Milano 2012, the Universidad Piloto de Colombia wanted to participate with the aim to develop three interactive furniture designs for public squares. The proposal was a sound-based interactive urban installation with a system that uses continuous longitudinal constructions (strips), which define spaces to interact with the pedestrians in a double way (as sender and receiver),
collecting and transmitting public experiences with important cultural content. The particular application of the installation was designed for the main political square in Bogota. The continuous strips defined permanent spaces and circulation, acting as receivers and generating a direct relation between the sound art piece and the context. Prototype.
The prototype design had the intention to explore new relations between the interactive aspects of architecture at a sensorial level. It features a double curvature surface to involve the audience. It was developed in Grasshopper, a graphical algorithm editor; a triangulated tape that reflects the sociological and political views, from which we took the inspiration to merge the sound with the architectural object.
Manufacturing.
Three Sharp infrared sensors compose the interactive installation measuring the proximity of an object (a human hand) in a range of 20 to 150 cm. The information obtained from this reading distance is processed by the computer through Arduino open source hardware platform, which finally sends the data to a custom-designed patch for this project using the programming language Pure Data.
aforementioned defragmentation occurs in another layer, sounding simultaneously with the origi nal waveform. Each sensor activates a field recording taken in the three areas that compromise the concept of “power” in the Plaza de Bolívar (Bogotá), -which could be a reflection of any place in Latin America-: Presidential Palace, Primate Church, public square (plaza).
This interactive installation is compromised by measuring the proximity of an object. The interaction consists of the activation of a recording when a hand approaches the sensor, generating sound wave defragmentation (grains) of random size, returning to its original state as the hand moves away from the device. The
Through interactive granular synthesis, it is possible to “populate” each soundscape from the spaces mentioned, in the same way which humans occupy or vacate these architectural constructions, triggering significant emotional responses in the process.
Design. César Díaz - Ivanna Díaz, Music. Juan Carlos Vasquez, 2013-2014
03.
Santa María del Darien Heritage House
“... A devastating mixture of hunger and drowsiness killed nearly half of the Hispanic population of the colony. The not-suitable climate and food, the difficulty in obtaining supplies from Spain or from the Caribbean, the growing hostility of the natives brings the city to a progressive decline “(S. F. Vignolo)
Children in “Sanctuary”, Archaeological Pieces
Santa María de la Antigua del Darién is known for being the first spanish city to be founded in the American continent and also for its fleeting existence of only 15 years. It was founded in 1510 and destroyed approximately in the year 1524. Many of the most important figures in early Spanish occupation went through Santa Maria de la Antigua. The archaeological site of the city is located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in Colombia, in the town of Unguía, in the department of Choco. Currently, corresponding to the archaeological site there is a small village consisting of about 20 houses, called Sanctuary. On the path through the Gulf of Urabá and Tanela river is the most populous nearby settlement located 2km from the archaeological site. “Heritage House” is a project that emerged from the initiative of a group of Italian and Colombian archaeologists after the archaeological exploration which unearthed the city after 500 years. With the community of Sanctuary, a “museum-house” was built, where pieces of big historical and archaeological interest can be found on the site, and the others that will subsequently appear in the next few years will be exhibited. The Ministry of Culture supported the proposal, from which the design phase was initiated by the Office of Special Projects of Escuela Taller de Bogota Foundation.
The program is organized around an exhibition and washing courtyard, with which the shape of the building ascends organically in the midst of the jungle allowing a free path between workspaces in a museum tour. The use of straw for the ceiling required that the project height was proportional to the width of the first floor to give the necessary slope and allow rain water to be collected in this inhospitable place which has no electricity or water connection.
For this reason, the ceiling was parameterized in order for the form to be responsive in the architectural program. The variables used correspond to the changes to the form (width) in the program of the first floor, which are subject to change, modify the height and sinuous ceiling with each change of the curves that define the form of the first floor. Implementation of some simulation tools allows visualization of structural elements that give guidelines for on-site construction. The material proposed for the project is subject to the materials and techniques of the area. Black and indigenous communities which work with “carpentry” are waiting to be included in this project for the future by making use of their ancestral knowledge. The project stands on a slab of “poor concrete” (soil and cement) to prevent moisture through direct contact with the soil. The pillar structure; wooden straps and beams which are proposed structure have excellent structural qualities.
areas where the architectonic structure is exposed. This material is one of the most commonly used for vernacular-architecture in Colombia. Besides being considered environmentally friendly, it is one of the best materials to control temperature and humidity. As a result of the infrastructural shortage of water and energy, the design responds to the idea of self-sufficience with solar panels, rainwater harvesting and filtering pits for waste. It is expected that the construction will begin in 2016 with the support from Sanctuary and surrounding communities.
The structural pieces used were obtained in order to allow the complete manufacturing on-site with artisanal techniques. The materiality of the museum and cellar walls were required to be protected from moisture found on location, since Choco is one of the wettest places on earth, the behavior of materials is subject to it. The bareque (mixture of soil and organic material poured into the bamboo framework) is the material chosen for the
Design. David Fuentes, Ivanna Díaz, Felipe Gonzales, 2015
04.
NC-LAB
Creative Laboratory NC-Lab was a pedagogical event organised and produced by the art gallery NC-Arte. This workshop was addressed to artists of different categories through experiments and performances during 4 days.
The requirements of the spatial proposal demanded modules that worked programmatically as different individual scenarios for each artist. Simultaneously those modules should offer the possibility to adapt themselves into one big scenery when the entire flow of attendees were involved in the event.
The concept for the spatial proposal was to create a module that had the possibility to open and close the space as required. In the morning the space give the possibility to be opened for breakfast and public interaction. In the middle of the morning the space opens offering 6 sceneries for 6 artists’ workshops. At the end of the day a big performance under the responsibility of a recognized artist could take place on a big scenery for everyone. The installation was made with scaffoldings and textile divisions which allowed the connection between spaces. Inside the module the scaffoldings have textile bags to keep the pedagogical material for the workshop. The materials used were recyclable cardboard tubes as lockers, chipboard panels, multidirectional scaffolding, textiles and meshes that were assembled on-site.
05.
Personal explorations Digital Fabrication
The first contact I had with Digital Fabrication tools was at the beginning of my training as an architect. An “Expressive Technology” research group enrolled me in academic projects related to this issue that strengthened my interest in further exploration of this recent architecture line. In 2013, I developed a research project for my Bachelor thesis with emphasis on application of digital methods for urban analysis and digital prototyping with 3D printers. The acquisition of a Colombian Patent printer, connected me with groups of independent designers with whom we had the opportunity to develop workshops for children, one of these for the “WorldSkills Americas”; a competition of trades, and the second in the European Festival “Between Seas and Rivers” for Goethe Institut addressed to public school students. As I completed my academic process I joined the “School of arts and crafts” as an architect and designer. It is a foundation which aims to educate young
people in a state of social vulnerability in trades such as carpentry, construction and cooking with a focus on the recovery of traditional knowledge and intangible heritage. At this stage, we linked traditional processes for carpentry and construction with technology, an experience which increased my interest in learning more about advanced manufacturing techniques applied in architecture. Most of projects were concentrated on the renewal of one of the headquarters of the school in the old railway station with theoretical and cultural proposals. Throughout this process a constant exploration of new ways of making objects and conceiving architecture has continued in the present in a few personal projects. Currently in time, this process of exploring new alternatives remains among some independent designers with whom I have projects with and at the university where I work as a teacher in charge of the Technology group to which I belonged as a student.
Full Portfolio Here