Thesis Project: BARCELONE YOUTH HOSTEL

THESIS PROJECT:

BARCELONA YOUTH HOSTEL By: Malene Høyer Pedersen Studio M.A.D.; Spring 2016 Aarhus School of Architecture

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CONTENT: 6

INTRODUCTION

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ACADEMIC RELEVANCE

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SYNTHESIZING POINTS:

STARTING POINT A SEARCH FOR IDENTITY Theoretical considerations

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BUILDING BARCELONA

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Re-BUILDING BARCELONA

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Relation to Landscape

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Climate + Indoor/outdoor relation

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Material, surface treatment & Construction

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Layout and predominant geometry

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The Catalan Vault

Expansion of the city

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Connecting and reconfiguring

HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE CATALAN ARCHITECTURE & CASE-STUDIES Early days – arabic influences, medieval, romanesque Catalan gothic

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1840’s/50’s till 1929 – defining “Catalan style”

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1929 – 1975 World Expo 1929 & Modernism

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1975 – present The identity of Barcelona Connecting the past with the present

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SITE

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Location

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National Park

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Exploring Torre Baró

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Developing the neighbourhood

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Elements on site

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Spatial encounters

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TIMELINES

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HOSTELS

Synthesized overview

Definition of a hostel

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Makuto Hostel

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Interview: Rob Birch

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PROGRAM

Questions and challenges

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User group

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Online Add

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Function Sizes

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Adjacency

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DESIGN PROPOSAL

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REFLECTION

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APPENDIX A

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APPENDIX B

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APPENDIX C

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

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MASTER’S RESUMÈ

VOLUMETRIC STUDIES Placement on site Relation to the context

CONCEPTS

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VILLAGE STRUCTURE

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WALK-THROUGH

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NEAR CONTEXT RELATION

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MODELLING

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DORM TYPOLOGY

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ZOOM: SOCIAL SPACES

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Changing Expressions

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Circulation

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General Materials

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Colour Strategy

Approaching the structure

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Levels & Functions

Look back on theory Offset compared to outcome

Case-studies: Catalan Architecture

Case-studies: Hostels References and Inspiration

INTRODUCTION Barcelona is a city with a strong mix of the historical and the contemporary. You can take a stroll through the rundown neighbourhood Raval and end up in front of the white facade of MACBA, the modernistic museum of modern art drawn by Richard Meier, where skaters have taken over the front plaza. With around 4 million inhabitants (counting the upland) Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain and the capital of Catalonia.

Famous for “seny y rauxa” - common sense and madness, Barcelona is a city with a strong sense of identity, not only on a city-level, but also within each of its 10 districts. It is a city with a village-feel made up of smaller villages.

If you mention Barcelona and architecture in the same sentence, thoughts often drift to Gaudí, La Sagrada Familia and Parc Güell. The city is filled with interesting and expressive projects that also deserve a closer look. From Doménech I Montaner’s Hospital Santa Creu, which is on the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage to apartment buildings, convention centers and hotels by internationally renowned Catalan studios such as Mateo Arquitectura, Ricardo Bofill and Miralles/ Taglibeau EMBT. Barcelona is also a favourite on the list of a wide range of travelers. It caters to the romantic getaway, the backpacker on interrail, families and everything in-between. It has a dramatic landscape ranging from beaches to mountains with a vibrant city in-between. The city has been the host of a series of international events like World Exhibitions and large sports events, perhaps most recently the 1992 Olympic Games. Each of these events drew in the worlds attention, and played parts in shaping the cityscape of Barcelona.

It adds something extra to the travel experience, to stay in a place with a more integrated connection to the local history and culture. Since Barcelona has such an established identity with many layers to it, there is good potential to incorporate this into the project.

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Introduction

site

Barcelona - principal section, from beach to mountains

Catalonia

Regions of Spain - Placing Catalonia

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ACADEMIC RELEVANCE The last part of my bachelor’s degree at AAA was mainly focused on the larger end of the building scale. Ranging from Student housing, over transformation of an old building into accommodation for artists, to a reprogramming of large industrial spaces into a mixed-use program with a focus on creating an attraction value for visitors and tourists. A common feature of the projects was to program the shared spaces and facilitate the possibility of unpredictable meetings with benefits for all parties. As well as linking the architecture to the surrounding context and community. I enjoy this type of programming, but was often a bit frustrated that working with a larger mixed-use complex did not allow much time for working with materials and detailing beyond programming.

My masters program until now has allowed me to do more of a zoom-in and I have mainly worked with a smaller scale focused around single-family housing.

I spent my 7th semester as an exchange student at New Jersey Institute of Technology and found it very inspiring to change scenery. Leaving the well-known means an opportunity to gain new perspectives. My semester at NJIT exposed me to a wide set of references that I may not have found otherwise. Studying architecture also means searching for your own personal style and interests within the field and here I feel that I got a little bit closer to finding just that.

For the 2015 fall start-up workshop I was on a team who worked with the Elii office of architecture, a firm based in Madrid. They work across many scales, but always introduce playful elements and unexpected combinations of functions. During the workshop we did many different forms of prototyping via collages and mappings. We were encouraged to ask the question “why not?” and to not throw out ideas that at first seemed a bit too crazy, but instead engage in the discussion accompanying it. I found this more playful approach to architecture very inspiring, and was intrigued by their representation techniques and use of colour.

I spent the rest of my 9th semester at Studio M.A.D. The foundation of the semester was to develop a narrative through work in different scales from furniture to a small house. My final project for the semester was a 40 m2 second home for an actor. In the project I tried to address the

balance between work life and private life working with a strict set of parameters in the form of a grid and thresholds. I wanted to create a series of contrasting experiences within a relatively compact and small space, allowing the program to expand outside of the house into the garden and surrounding area when needed. I would like to test some of these thoughts at a larger scale and in a more dramatic existing context during my thesis project.

I intend for my thesis project to form a bridge between the problems and interests I have encountered during my bachelor’s degree and those of my masters program.

Academic motives and interests: • To work with the thresholds and transitions between public/private spaces.

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Creating architecture which facilitates better opportunities for relations and meetings between the people using it.

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Working with the surrounding context and landscape, addressing the ideas of community and neighbourhood.

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Food and the social spaces/opportunities related to it and the platform for encounters and learning that it can create.

Problem Formulation

STARTING POINT The goal of my thesis project is to design a hostel in Barcelona, with a main focus on the social spaces and the opportunities this program creates to connect with a neighbourhood and the city.

The project takes its jump of point in a student competition from 2013 held by Archallenge and Barcelona City Hall. The competition brief suggests that a youth hostel can act as a generator and meeting point for a neighbourhood and create interaction between locals and travelers. The competition proposes an orientative program of 2500 m2. The program also lists the following functions to be included:

- Hall/Reception - Bedrooms - Community Space - Dining room/kitchens - Terrace

The actual area and program will be generated from an interest in examining the possible connections between context and building. The layout of the social spaces, the thresholds between public/private functions and the opportunities for relations and encounters will all be important factors in the design and programming of the project.

Site: The Archallenge competition brief suggests at site placed in the district of Nou Barris in a lot belonging to the Barcelona city hall. The site is in a place called Torre Baró, a district that came about during the 20th century and is closely connected to the Collserola’s mountain national park.

Panorama, proposed site - archallenge BYH, flickr.com

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A SEARCH FOR IDENTITY Authenticity and Tradition When starting this project, I gave a lot of thought as to, what it means to build with a take-off point in culture and historical context. What do I find important to to remember when building in another country? Not only what, but why? And how would it be done? To specify these thoughts more I decided to read the theories and thoughts of someone else, who has worked intensely with this subject.

In a world with increasing globalization, by some claimed to be overly materialistic. The focus on finding identity, authenticity and unique experiences is predominant. This is also a concern and highly relevant within the world of architecture.

In an essay about the feasibility of regional architecture, Juhani Pallasmaa questions what the role of such an architecture is today: “Is it possible to alter the course of our culture?

Is the resuscitation of regional architecture in post-industrial and Post-Modern society feasible?

Indeed, can authentic architecture exist at all in the materialism in which we live?” (Pallasmaa et al., 2005, p. 265) To discuss this, it is necessary to set a baseline for what authenticity is. Charles Lindholm, professor of anthropology; tries to define the concept of authenticity and our search for it in our everyday life. In his book Culture and Authenticity, he also touches on what happens to that search when we break out of our familiar environment to become tourists and travelers: “The quest for authenticity touches and transforms a vast range of human experiences today - we speak of authentic art, authentic music, authentic food, authentic dance, authentic people, authentic roots, authentic meanings, authentic nations, authentic products. (...) Authenticity gathers people together in collectives that are felt to be real, essential, and vital, providing participants with meaning, unity, and a surpassing sense of belonging.” (2008, p. 1).

So, to say that something is authentic, is to say that it is in some way true. In a quest for authenticity while traveling we look for the traditional, a historical link back in time and most of all we constantly compare what we know well from back home to the new environment of our destination.

Kenneth Frampton writes about the concept of “Critical Regionalism”, and in his essay from 1983 he describes the strategy: “The fundamental

strategy of Critical Regionalism is to mediate the impact of universal civilization with elements derived indirectly from the pecularities of a particular place.” (Frampton, 1983, p. 21) He also underlines that architecture can only keep its position as a critical practice if we can find a balance, where we place ourselves at an equal distance to progress and history. Frampton calls this the “arriere-garde position”. A mediating point between new, universal technology and a regionally specific vernacular where neither of the two is allowed to overrule the other. “It is my contention that only an arriéregarde has the capacity to cultivate a resistant, identity-giving culture while at the same time having discreet recourse to universal technique” (Frampton, 1983, p. 20) It seems inevitable that I will work more from a comparative Scandinavian point of view when it comes to designing. But there should also be a thoughtfulness and awareness in the attempt to incorporate authenticity, especially when it is done as an intentional thing and does not necessarily appear naturally. It can be hard not fall into the trap of preconceived stereotypes and notions.

Can a Scandinavian architect design something authentically Catalan?

“What constitutes a sense of specific locality?

The constituent elements are, of course reflections of natural, physical, and social realities.

They are expressions and experiences of specific nature, geography, landscape, local materials, skills and cultural patterns.

However, the qualities of culturally adapted architecture are not detached; they are inseparably integrated into tradition. Without the continuity of an authentic tradition, even a well-intentioned use of surface elements of a regional character is doomed to sentimental scenography, to be a shallow architectural souvenir:” (Pallasmaa et al., 2005, p.

265) For the definition of tradition Pallasmaa refers to T.S. Elliots essay from 1919 called “Tradition and the individual Talent”: See quote on the next page.

The following research and investigations are my way of attempting to acquire a historical sense regarding the architecture of Catalonia and in the next phase I will translate it into a design proposal.

I will keep reflecting on this throughout the process.

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Theory

“Tradition is a matter of much wider significance. It cannot be inherited, and if you want it you must obtain it by great labor. It involves, in the first place, the historical sense... and the historical sense involves a perception, not only of the pastness of the past, but of its presence; the historical sense compels a man to write not merely with his own generation in his bones, but with a feeling that the whole of the literature... has a simultaneous existence and composes a simultaneous order. This historical sense, which is a sense of the timeless as well as of the temporal and of the timeless and of the temporal together, is what makes a writer traditional and it is at the same time what makes a writer most acutely conscious of his place in time, of his own contemporaneity.

No poet, no artist of any art, has his complete meaning alone. His significance, his appreciation of his relation to the dead poets and artists.

You cannot value him alone; you must set him, for contrast and comparison among the dead�.

- T. S. Eliot - tradition and the individual Talent 1919

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BUILDING BARCELONA Barcelona is first mentioned as being under roman rule. In 415 it was invaded by the Visgoths and in 718 the Arabs conquered the area. The region was liberated by the Frankish army in 801, but later reconquered by the Arabs in 985. The County of Barcelona was united with the county of Aragon in 1137 to form the kingdom of Aragon (Ingrosso, 2011, p. 24) The first part of the main irrigation system for the city was established during this period to bring water down from the mountains and the Besós river. It was called the Rec Comtal and consisted of a series of channels and aqueducts. (“El Rec Comtal,” 2012) Barcelona first became identified as a capital city at the beginning of the year 1000. Up through the Middle Ages Barcelona had its' own government institutions, it's own language and was a large trading power with own colonies. The Catalan aristocracy grew and the economic future looked bright. In 1469 The kingdoms of Aragon and Castille merged and while Barcelona kept it's own government administration, it was no longer regarded as the Capital and was denied trade agreements with the new colonies in America.

The political Autonomy of Catalonia was terminated in 1716 after Philip V of Bourbon had become king of Spain. All public administration was removed from Barcelona and it became prohibeted to teach the Catalan language. The Expansion of the city to grow outside of the city walls was also prohibited and the Bourbons tore down the infamous neighbourhood La Ribera in the city center to build a large military facility and prison.

The native Barcelonians viewed this development very negatively and as an excessive assertion of power. (Ingrosso, 2011, p. 11) Despite the hardship, the industry and population within the city walls (la Muralles) bloomed.

Especially the cotton factories were doing well. The city became very overcrowded and as a result had a lot of sanitary and health related problems. In the 1830s the rebellious voices started to form a choir around Barcelona, Catalan language reemerged.

This was the beginning of a series of initiatives to once again make Catalonia autonomous continuing all the way up to the present. (Rowe, 2006, p. 8) In 1854 the order was finally given to tear down the walls and a plan for the extension was needed.

The chosen proposal was drawn by Ildefons Cerdá

and selected in 1860. It was named L'Eixample (the extension plan) and is based on a strict rectangular grid with roads no less than 30 meters wide (in some places up to 30 or 50 meters). The corners of the square blocks were chamfered to make future traffic run smoother. The new plan made absolutely no reference to the old city, instead it prioritized green space and open construction planned for a density of 250 persons pr. hectare. This ratio became highly unrealistic. The buildings were made higher and enclosed the blocks on all four sides privatizing the inner courtyards which Cerdá had imagined to be public green space. By 1890 the population density had risen to 1400 pr. Hectare.

(Montaner, 1997, p. 28) Cerdá's plan mainly focused on the extension aspect and not on linking Barcelona with the neighbouring cities. From 1903 to 1904 a public competition was held and the most significant contribution was by León Jaussely. In opposition to the uncentered grid structure Jaussely proposed to implement a hierarchy with diagonal routes, to create boulevards and make room for monuments, highlighting governmental and administrative buildings of importance around the city. He also proposed a series of garden cities scattered around the perimeter of the city.(Montaner, 1997, p. 178) The British ideal of garden cities was very influential during the beginning of the 20th century.

It was an idea authored by Ebeneezer Howard in 1898 where he published a manifesto which started a whole movement. The main point was to unite city and country-side by creating a cooperative of up to 30.00 people owning a large piece of land together.

The cooperative would be centered around a central park, surrounded by housing units, and also contain work places for the inhabitants. The streets should be lined with trees, and further out along the edge of the cooperative farms would allow the area to be self-sufficient. (Gympel, 1998, p. 83) Around Barcelona you find neighbourhoods which were first shaped around less ambitious versions of these ideals ( fx Parc Güell, and Tibidabo). It proved very difficult to create an economically feasible garden city, it was simply just too expensive to actually carry out the ideals, so very few could afford the lots inside, but traces from the infrastructure and layout are still visible today.

The Spanish Civil war broke out in 1936 and ended with the victory of Francisco Franco in 1939.

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Building Barcelona

Cerdá’s plan for the Eixample from 1860. The previously walled up city and nearby villages are highlighted. (Montaner, 1997, p. 29)

Jaussely’s revision from 1907, with new diagonals, monumental structures and a focus on creating garden cities. (Montaner, 1997, p. 178)

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Re-BUILDING BARCELONA In 1946 the recently formed United Nations instated a boycott of Spain, the economy plummeted and the late 40's were named the years of hunger.

Catalonia continued to rebel and as a result even harder restrictions were applied here.

Once again banning the Catalan language and demanding only Castilian street signs around Barcelona. In comparison to other regions in Spain, Catalonia was in a better financial situation because of its' previously established industry. This made it attractive for immigration. During the 1940's and 50's Barcelona attracted an estimated number of 750.000 immigrants from all over Spain. This let to squatter settlements called barracas around the periphery of the city.

In 1957 Franco's regime went bankrupt and Spain opened up to foreign investments. The economy gradually improved up through the 60's. Over-all Spain remained one of the poorer countries in Europe but in regions like Catalonia the growth was rapid. The immigration had created a need for low-cost housing and apartment buildings went up all around the city, in some places the Barracas were even improved upon instead of getting torn down. In general the urban plan was made more inclusive (Rowe, 2006, p. 32) When Franco died in 1975 the development of Barcelona entered a new era. The city was overcrowded and in a lot of areas there were a lack of schools, green spaces and public services.

There was also a very limited budget to implement a change, so instead of making a plan for the rebuilding of the whole city the approach was much more case by case. Small interventions and forms of guerilla-architecture was done to make fast improvements, where it was needed most.

From 1980 till 1987 about one hundred new public spaces were created, barrio by barrio, from the city center and out to the outskirts (Ingrosso, 2011, p.

44) It was a goal to make economically sustainable solutions helping the financial situation of the specific area, but also to incorporate the wishes of the inhabitants. In 1984 the municipality divided the city into 10 districts each with their own subadministrations.

In 1986 Barcelona officially won the bid to host the 1992 Olympic games and along with this came larger strategies, the economic investments and opportunities to improve infrastructure, like creating the ring road system, and to bet big on tourism.

(Ingrosso, 2011, p. 52)

The rebuilding of the 80s, combining the ad hoc with the planned became known as the Barcelonamodel. For this, Barcelona was the first city to receive the prestigious Gold Medal for architecture given by RIBA in 1999. Like with most urban plans, there were also critics of the Barcelona-model:

“The identity of the Catalan capital was remodeled ad hoc on the basis of some of its, local, physical,historical, cultural, political an economic characteristics and the whole of its history was reinterpreted from a typically post-modern perspective, so that the architecture of it's tradition, the “golden ages” with their protagonists, the Middle Ages, Modernisme, Cerdá and Gaudí were picked out to construct an image that could be exploited for the purpose of tourism. All of this was favoured by the city's geographical position and climate, as well as by its proverbial quality of life” (Ingrosso, 2011, p. 78) The brand Barcelona became very strong and today tourism is not only looked at as something positive. There is tendency for the locals to feel that their city has been taken over, and actions like now requiring payment for residents to enter Park Güell has not helped negate this. It is also becoming increasingly expensive to live in Barcelona, just like many other capital cities around Europe.

Meanwhile the development of Barcelona continues and is now starting to reach the perimeter of the city. So the question is whether Barcelona is in danger of becoming a generic city or if the individuality of the districts and the city spirit can be preserved?

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Building Barcelona

10 districts of Barcelona with the infiltration of the national park and urban green areas 2014 (www.carta-bcn.cat)

Anti-tourist flyers and posters found in the Graciรก district. A district put under high rent pressure by tourists renting holiday apartments at high prices.

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HISTORIC PERSPECTIVE Division of Time Periods and Method

Changes in style and new emerging trends in architecture are most often connected to major historical events, drastic political changes or new inventions of materials etc.

For creating an overview of Catalan architecture I divided it into four time periods.

1. Early days: Arabic influences and Medieval architecture 2. 1840’s/50’s till 1929 world expo 3. 1929 – 1975 4. 1975 – present Based on the division of these periods i chose a series of case-studies that will highlight different relations to the parameters specified by Pallasmaa in the theory section (page 12) as a way of gaining a sense of locality.

“The constituent elements are, of course reflections of natural, physical, and social realities. They are expressions and experiences of specific nature, geography, landscape, local materials, skills and cultural patterns.”

- Pallasmaa, Encounters I reformulated it to these 4 points which I find could be relevant to consider later in the design phase: • • • •

Relation to landscape Climate + Indoor/Outdoor Relation Material, Surface Treatment and Construction Layout and Predominant Geometry.

On the following pages I will do a brief account of the historical background, major events and architectural style found in each of the 4 periods and follow up with a synthesizing discussion of the 4 outlined points based on the case-studies.

I wanted to base my investigations on case-studies which I could visit in person during a study trip.

To log and keep track of the case-studies i created a study guide I could fill out during my trip (see page across). I also documented with photographs, diagrams and sketches.

A description, as well as photos and sketches of each of the historical case-studies which I have chosen to reference can be found in Appendix A in the back of this booklet.

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EARLY DAYS Arabic Influences, Medieval, Romanesque and Catalan Gothic This first period covers a large span of time and architectural styles, however at this point in time Catalan architecture had not yet defined it self. Major works of this period are mostly religious buildings and palaces/homes for the higher aristocracy.

In 710 the Arab conquering and colonization of Spain started. This lead to a flourishing of Arabic art and architecture all over Spain. In an attempt to measure up to other famous branches of architecture across the world, the islamic architecture adopted elements from ancient Christian, Persian and even Indian architecture.

The most famous works of this style are found in the south of Spain in the Region of Andalucia.

The building of the Cordoba Mosque started in 785 and lasted till the end of the 10th century, when Cordoba was actually the largest city in Spain. For the Mosaics of the Mosque experts were brought in from Konstantinopel. A strong tradition for tiling has stuck in Spain ever since. (Gympel, 1998, p. s. 15) The Arab colonization of Catalonia did not last as long as the occupation of the south of Spain, but still had influences on the style and Architecture of the region. During the Reconquista, the Arabic rule of Spain was brought to an end and the mosque was turned into a church by the Catholics.

The Palace of Alhambra was the final Islamic bastion in Spain and fell in 1492. The same year as Christopher Columbus discovered America.

(Gympel, 1998, p. 18) (During my study trip I also went to visit Andalucia, both to see the works mentioned, but also to get a feel of Andalucian style to comparatively understand what is specifically Catalonian.)

Within Catalonia the architectural style followed more the one of the rest of Europe, where classic Medieval, Roman and later Gothic were the popular styles. The Catalan style of Gothic is the first example of the region starting to establish its own architectural identity. The Santa Maria Cathedral is a good example of this. The development of the regional architecture does not evolve much individually until the 1840s where different branches of Catalanism evolve in politics, differing in opinion on the level of independence the region should have.(Rowe, 2006, p. 14)

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(Catalan) Architecture

Alhambra Granada - 13-1400’s

Cordoba Mosque Cordoba - 785

Santa Maria del Mar Barrio Gótico BCN, 1329 - 1383

Parc del Labyrinth Horta District BCN - late 1700’s

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1840’s/50’s - 1929 Defining “Catalan style” - Modernismo arises At the same time as the walls were torn down around the old city and extensive expansion plans were formed, Catalonia also started to grow into it's own style of architecture differing from what was seen around the rest of Spain. In 1875, the Escuela Provincial de Architecture was founded, and in the following decade significant Barcelonian architects like Antoni Gaudí and Domenech I Montaner graduated from there. (Rowe, 2006, p. 21) In the aftermath of the industrialization, architects around Europe sought to incorporate elements of nature and craft into their designs.

Styles like the French Art Noveau and German Jugend Stil emerged.

In 1888 Barcelona hosted the First Universal Exhibition. The city aimed for the status of a capital city and to distinguish itself from the rest of Spain, the exhibition was meant to draw the focus from other European capitals to Barcelona. Although the exhibition was not a huge success, it did unite a group of architects and artists in the pursuit of Catalan Identity. In 1890 the Festes Modernistes was first organized in the seaside village of Sitges and the Catalan Modernista movement got its name. The Modernistos sought to create an expression for the current time, but did it while looking back at past traditions such as the Arabic or the Medieval and incorporating elements of nature.

Domenech I Montaner was not only an architect, but also became a prominent political figure. He was president of the Unió Catalanista and one of the founders of the Bases Manresa. A program run to emancipate Catalonia from the rest of Spain.

(Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, 2014, p. 8) He was an avid architectural historian, but at the same time broke with the past plans for the development of the city, expressing the attitude that an urban fabric should be diverse and adapt to the needs of individual projects. Some of his first work was for the site of the Universal Exhibition and his last was the Hospital de la Santa Creu I Sant Pau. A large hospital complex in the style of Art Nouveau but with a Catalan twist.

Antoni Gaudí shared the interest in incorporating craft, nature and tradition into architecture, but distanced himself from the politicals of the modernista movement. He had a strong catholic faith and used that as driver in his projects.

Gaudí did not only use the elements of nature as decorations, but incorporated it into the overall

shape and construction of his buildings. He worked with sets of strict geometries such as single-ruled surfaces and hyperboloids to achieve organic shapes which were still build-able. His most famous work, La Sagrada Familia is still under construction, but all over Barcelona you find his very striking and unique works of architecture.

The culmination of this periods happens at the 1929 world exhibition, where a new generation of Catalan architects starts to take over.

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Catalan Architecture

Parc Güell Antoní Gaudí Planned as a garden city (1914)

Hospital Santa Creu Domenech I Montaner BCN - Eixample 1902-1911

Mercat del Born Josep Fontseré i Mestres, Josep Maria Cornet i Mas BCN - Barrio Goticó 1873 – 1876

Casa Batlló & Casa Mila

Antoni Gaudí BCN - Graciá 1904-1907

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1929 - 1975 This part of Catalan history is very complex with large political changes and various dictatorships.

A post-modernisto movement started to form regarding the work of Gaudí and D.I. Montaner to be excessive and out of touch with time. Along with this came a wish to “normalize” architecture and look more to buildings like baroque palaces and classicism.

Originally, the 1929 world exhibition was meant to take place at a much smaller scale, but the government saw the opportunity to attract attention to Catalonia. It has almost become a trademark for Barcelona to host major events which are meant to be temporary and then somehow incorporate the built pieces as a permanent part and memory in the city. The Modernista movement had flourished and now the whole world was invited to see what Barcelona had to offer. It was also a chance for Catalonian architects to be inspired by other European tendencies. (Montaner, 1997, p. 8) In 1933 the GATPAC movement was formed.

A group headed by José Lluís Sert, aimed at promoting a local, modern and rational style of architecture. The group worked closely with Le Corbusier and shared many of his ideals. (Ingrosso, 2011, p. 21)Within the next decade the Spanish civil war broke out and lasted till 1939.

Two groups of architects dominated the second half of this period. Coderch, Sostres, Basó and Gili were on the side inspired by Le Corbusier and Alvar Aalto. The other group which included Oriol Bohigas, Josep Martorell and David Mackay based their work more traditional crafts and materials like bricklaying etc. These were the years after the Spanish Civil war where the economy was in a poor condition and very little new architecture was built in Barcelona. Still there was a search for implementing the new and modern while holding on to parts of vernacular tradition. (Montaner, 1997, p.

229) Architects brought back a variety of inspiration from study trips around hubs for different European Avantgarde groups.

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Catalan Architecture

Gran Hotel Miramar Montjuic BCN, 1928

Barcelona Pavilion Mies Van Der Rohe Montjuic BCN, 1929

Casa de la Marina Coderch & Valls Barceloneta BCN, 1951-54

Fundacio MirĂł Josep lluĂ­s Sert Montjuic BCN, 1972 - 1974

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1975 - present In 1975 Franco passed away and at the same time Catalonia was set free to once again pursue it's own identity. Four years later Catalonia was declared an autonomous region and put in a bid for the Olympics.

It is difficult to define a certain singular style within this period. Barcelona formed an identity as a modern capital city and when the districts were divided in 1984, each of them also sought to form their own identities.

Once again there was a looking back to traditions and the vernacular. However, many new fabrication methods changed the relationship with materials and there was a reinvention of traditions such as the Catalan vault. Gaudí's complex geometries could suddenly be untangled with computer power.

When the 2008 financial crisis hit Europe, the Building sector was hit very hard all over Spain and it became necessary for many architects to seek jobs outside of their home country.

Catalan architecture has always been branded better, so it was more well-known around the world, but now other parts of Spain, particularly architects educated in Madrid are becoming strong competition. Overall this helps attract attention, but new Catalan architecture is less of a brand in itself.

(Fernández-Galiano, 2015, pp. 1–3) In the time before the crisis, foreign architects and firms had been invited to build significant works throughout the city. Jean Nouvel is behind the Torre Agbar, from 2006, an illuminated skyscraper which at the time was Barcelona's second tallest building, only surpassed by La Sagrada Familia.

The swiss Company Herzog and DeMeuron did the Forum building for the 2004 Forum of Cultures exhibition. Overall there was a tendency for very large scale projects with a monumentality and autonomy to them.

During the lean years of the Franco era a lot of buildings were allowed to deteriorate including many noteworthy pieces of architecture which were in need of renovation. With the change of society, some of the functions had become inadequate or obsolete and were now transformed into other uses. The bullfighter arena became a large shopping mall, the Born Market was turned into a museum. In many of the transformations, focus was on connecting the past with the present in innovative ways.

Parc de la Creuta Oriol Bohigas, Josep Matorell, David Mackay Horta BCN, 1976

Archery Range Enric Miralles, Carme Pinos Valld´hebron BCN, 1991

26

Catalan Architecture

Gran Hotel Miramar Oscar Tusquets Blancas Montjuic BCN, 2007

Parc Nou Barris Carmen Fiol & Andreu Arriola Nou Barris BCN, 1999 - 2007

Convention center Josep LluĂ­s Mateo Diagonal - BCN, 2004

Auditori Forum Herzog Demeuron Diagonal - BCN, 2004

27

RELATION TO LANDSCAPE Since the site for the hostel is placed on a very distinctive site, I find it relevant to discuss this in relation to the historic perspectives I studied. The landscape around Barcelona varies from beaches to mountains. The mountains and hilltops are a constant backdrop to the city and has a stoic calmness about them in contrast to the bustling streets in the center. With this landscape, sloping terrain very often has to be accounted for when building in Barcelona.

In the Early period I looked at, there was a unification between very cultivated landscapes and the impact of time, making the buildings look like they have been there forever and actually emerged up out of the ground. Nature is a strong force, and no matter how much maintenance you do, it will eventually leave a mark on a building. The sun will weather it, stones will erode or greenery will grow in unexpected places.

To me this feeling is especially strong at the Alhambra. The palaces are placed on top of a hill and the oldest parts are built from stone dug out of other hills similar to it. The placement it has been given, where it both has the overview of Granada, but also sits there to be looked upon from the city, lends a majestic feel to the structure.

The gardens and the paths are a big part of the experience. The long hike up hill to get there, you finally enter through the gates and find yourself in a very cultured landscape. It is a series of intentional experiences, especially the internal courtyard of the Nazareed Palace. At the lions court the centered white marble fountain, guarded by the lion statues provide the audio track of lapping water. In Court of the Myrtles, water also play a key role, but as a totally still reflective surface bringing the sky down in the courtyard.

Labyrinth park, the oldest garden in Barcelona, was placed in the forest of the Collserola mountains to provide a form of calming escape for its owner.

It is a journey to get there, but like at the Alhambra you find perfectly cultured garden experiences, a look out over the city to one side and dense shady forest on the other. In the 2007 renovation of the Miramar Hotel, the architect considered the exact same themes. The hotel had already gotten a similar location on the Montjuic hill when it was built in 1928, but Tusquets elaborated on it by adding a structure referencing the forest behind the hotel

with both the military green colour, but also with the forest like structure of the balconies, and in front you find the terrace and a perfect orange tree garden.

At the Cordoba Mosque, you first enter into a courtyard, screening you from everyday life right on the other side of the wall, giving you the opportunity to calm your head. Once inside the combination of darkness, intentional shimmers of daylight and the vast column grid gives a forest like feel. Some of the cases I looked at are very urban or integrated into a city fabric like the mosque, but still you find inspiration from nature and landscape situations.

The Modernistos were equally fascinated with nature and landscape, and made the effort to morph nature and building. Domenech I Montaner introduced the therapeutic effects of landscape and garden in his Hospital Santa Creu. Stating how important he found it to remember the garden element for the well-being of everyone.

Gaudís construction techniques were inspired by phenomenons found in nature, and many of his works are like little fantasy landscapes once you enter. At park Güell, rough stone columns grow up from the ground. Other elements like the winding benches with tile mosaics contrast the roughness, but still interact with lines of topography.

At the Archery Range, Miralles and Pinos work with a balance of the built and the excavated, digging into the hill-side of Vall-d'hebron. Here the structure does not grow from the ground, it carves and pushes itself into it and holds back the terrain from collapsing down, leaving the experience of moving through interior space as the most important.

“As figure dissolves into field, the buildings are comprehended less through fixed perspectives and more through the unfolding, internalized experience of the body moving through space.”

(Radical Tectonics, 2001, p. 19)

28

Synthesizing Impressions

Growing from the landscape

Moulding topography

Placed to for the view and to be looked upon

Excavation of the hill-side

29

CLIMATE INDOOR/OUTDOOR Barcelona has a Mediterranean climate with warm summers and cool winters, but nothing too extreme in either direction, which makes Barcelona a good place to visit year round. However, during the winter periods it does cool down to an average temperature between 4 and 11 degrees. The city gradually warms up during March-May and peaks in July and August with an average temperature of 25 degrees, but there can be heat-waves to up well over 30 celsius. On average it rains 5-6 days every month. (“Barcelona, Spain Weather Averages | World Weather Online,” n.d.)This means heating is needed during winter, and there will be a need to find shade and prevent overheating once the sun really breaks through in the warmer months.

The Barcelona climate is ideal for outdoor life most of the year and the city has excelled in providing benches and other seating at all parks and plazas.

These spaces are considered to be everyones “gardens and balconies” and during siesta time people come out to enjoy the weather.

Comparing the climatic considerations in the cases over time, first off all the technological development of climate screens stand out, but a few factors seem to be timeless.

The thick stone walls of the early examples helped keep the heat out. It is also a common factor for the early cases that openings were either very small or screened in some way. Creating an overhang and not letting in direct sunlight is another tactic employed to keep spaces cool. The overhang presents the opportunity of an in-between space, between indoor and outdoor. At the Alhambra this happens in the form of colonnades or cloisters, where the facade is moved into the building and replaced by columns forming a walking path or balcony in-between the two. The cloister form is also used around the courtyards of the palaces The same thing happens around the courtyard at the Cordoba Mosque. Gaudí uses a variety of colonnades in Park Güell, layering plazas for enjoying the sun with places to find shade and

shelter.

At the Barcelona pavillion Mies Van Der Rohe uses unusually large glass panels for the Spanish climate, but also applies a large overhang for shade. Also almost all windows can be slid aside to open up the whole structure to let air come through.

The idea of double sided ventilation is an important factor in keeping cool during summer. Courtyards can lend this opportunity in larger structures, which can be seen in Gaudís apartment buildings where the courtyards are the center for circulation within the building and not display pieces like at the Alhambra.

Another way of controlling the amount of light is by using different types of screens. Shutters and blinds are very practical, since they can be turned to the exact desired setting and still let air come through. Coderch’s Marina House has Venetian blinds running in vertical ribbons all the way up the building giving a uniform expression, without taking away each apartment’s possibility to control the openness. The same uniformity can be found at the 80 years older Mercat del Born where shutters are incorporated into the whole top part of the cast-iron structure. In one of the newest examples, Mateo's Convention center, the screening has become a an organic skin wrapping around the whole convention complex.

Walking around Barcelona, I was constantly confronted with these mediations of indoor and outdoor. Not only in the cases I explored, but also on the many facades of residential buildings.

Outdoor hanging fabric or straw roller curtains pulled out over the railings of balconies or hanging from the overhang above created the same effect.

For gathering these examples, I did a small photo series of the phenomenon.

30

Synthesizing Impressions

100 mm

30

80

25 20

60

15

40

10

20 0

5 Jan. Feb. Mar. Apr. May. Jun. Jul. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Day Temp.

Average Rain fall

Night Temp.

31

0

MATERIAL, SURFACES & CONSTRUCTION

From all the cases I studied during my trip I created a catalogue of material meetings. Looking at this across the time periods, certain materials keep reappearing.

Stone:

Stonework play a very important role in the early days of Catalan Architecture. A material which was widely available in the landscape. The stone has the potential to both be very rough and tactile, but can also be polished up to shine. The beige sandstone seem to be favoured, but marble and different types of granite is also widely used. Like mentioned under the landscape relation theme, using the natural material of stone can help blend the borders between building and landscape. When stone is left in the sun it soaks up heat, but in the shade it is cool to the touch. As mentioned the use of stone has climatic advantages as well.

Gaudí was obsessed with the material qualities of stone and used it in almost all his works, contrasting the rough cut against the shiny or applying white marble as a calm floor against features demanding more attention. Mies played different nuances of marble and sandstone up against each other in the Barcelona Pavilion. In Park creuta del Coll, the retaining walls of rough cut grey granite speaks to the site’s past as a quarry. Auditory forum has the same rough tactility as the outside of Casa Mila, but here it comes from sprayed dark blue stucco, creating a strange unnatural stone surface.

Like all over the rest of the world material use in Catalonia evolved the craft to the prefabricated and modular, to now entering a more hightech approach, where it becomes possible to prefabricate more complex forms. With the regional tradition of working with complex geometries there is a strong focus on developing this further.

There has always been a movement within Catalonia favouring the old crafts and work done by hand, making sure that it did not get lost. The crafts and arts are treasured as an important part of the regions identity.

If you take a stroll through the Gothic quarter, there is still a wide variety of artisanal crafts produced by Catalan Artisans to be found.

Brick:

very structurally sound. It is found in many older Catalan houses. It reminisces the stonework of Catalan Gothic style of the Santa Maria Cathedral, Gaudí used it to create rib-structured attics in his apartment buildings. Sert put Catalan vaulted ceilings and terra-cotta floors in the Miró Museum to keep the building feeling low-key and not monumental.

Because of it's modular opportunities brick is one of the materials which have been experimented with a lot during the technological development in construction. At their Archery Range Pinos and Miralles use brick to create curvilinear walls, stacking the bricks upright for more flexibility.

Tile:

This relatively cheap material is the star in the construction technique “Catalan Vaulting”. A method used to create vaulting brick ceilings which are

The glazed tile work was brought to Spain during the Arab Colonization. It sparked the beginning of a strong tradition around the country. In Catalonia it was especially Domenech I Montaner and Gaudí who did the most elaborate work with ceramic tile. In the Arab version the tiles are organized in complicated repeating mosaic patterns. Gaudi also used the mosaic approach, but his patterns were more free, and were a perfect way to cover his organic winding surfaces. In the same time period, D.I.M. used more whole single-colour surfaces of glazed tile with pre-made floral decorations and mouldings. Then for a while tiles were not a huge trend. Maybe it was not considered as “honest” a material as stone or concrete, but in most recent times it has made a come back. Fiol and Arriola architects used large blue and yellow tile surfaces in Parc Nou Barris and it has also become a statement wall piece for new hip interiors of shops, cocktail bars etc. (“14th Tile of Spain Awards,” n.d.)

All of these very hard materials are very durable, which gives it a potential for re-use either in whole form or broken to become mosaic artworks. Even smaller finer ground materials can become terrazzo for floors or other surfaces.

The following quote from the book Radical Tectonics is not directly aimed at Catalan Architecture, but points out a material relationships and treatments which I can recognize in the things I studied.

32

Synthesizing Impressions

“The construction palettes of these buildings are rich and varied, with materials used as much for their sensate qualities as for economy and utility. Like the brutalist affinity for the power of raw material, the juxtaposition of rough and smooth, heavy and light, figured and plain makes the bodily experience of the buildings more direct and more complex, supplanting objectivity with empathy.�

(Radical Tectonics, 2001, p. 19)

Excerpt of material catalogue

33

LAYOUT & PREDOMINANT GEOMETRY The development of the geometric language in Catalan architecture is inevitably linked to the development within materials and construction.

The geometric potential in the materials shine through in the shape and form of the designs. The development in Catalonia largely follows the trends seen around Europe. However, like mentioned in the material section Catalonia was a frontrunner for innovation and through time buildings have been erected here which were conceived impossible to realize in other places. In this regard the Catalan Modernistas probably had the most extreme expressions, so I will discuss the geometric development in relation to that.

The geometry of the earliest period was mainly based on the classical geometries building as straight lines as possible with the available handcrafted materials. Incorporating Roman, Medieval and later Gothic elements. The Alhambra mixes the strict colonnades of the courtyard with a more self-grown combination of geometries heavily influenced by the landscape it was situated in.

Parc del Labyrinth and Santa Maria del Mar also use vaults, domes and columns but as the building techniques and style developed, the geometries used became much more precise and controlled.

Nature was no longer allowed to influence the geometries. Geometries were used to control the landscape.

With the Modernista movement coming into it's own in the last half of the 19th century the forms and geometry used became much more organic and winding. Again; the works of Antoni Gaudí are probably the most extreme examples of this with works mimicking nature and fantasy creatures. An example is the scaled dragon roof of Casa Batlló and almost all other features of that building with a plasticity to them, which makes you feel like you are in another world under water. Other Modernista architects created their own versions of this style still using the organic and winding geometry, but in more subtle ways. The emergence of cast iron construction like at Mercat del Born made it possible to achieve a much lighter expression overall, but still hinting shapes of nature with the filigree look of the construction against its' cover and the ornamentation of the steel columns carrying it.

The geometric expression and lacking ornamentation of the Barcelona Pavilion is almost the complete opposite of the Modernistas.

Governed by straight lines and orthogonal angles.

It became a symbol of a new period looking for a more simple and clean expression of form.

For the most recent period of Catalan architecture it is hard to generalize the geometric language. There is a trend combining the legacy of the Modernistas with the classic, favouring the curvilinear and oblique angles like seen at the Archery Range and even more recently in the Jaume Fuster Library by Josép Llínas. Both examples deeply rooted in the reading of their context, but with a much more complete and cohesive constellation of forms than in the early examples. A controlled version of the organic winding geometries.

In my studies of this most recent architecture there is also a small trend of of using triangulation.

I specifically saw this in the Auditori Forum which is essentially one big triangle, but also in the paved surfaces of Park Nou Barris.

To me it seems that the tradition of pushing boundaries while looking to tradition means that Catalan architects and residents are accustomed to a rich and variated geometric language. Taking chances and embracing the excessive when giving form to a building is less of a sensation here. This gives a bit more freedom for the designing and development of building projects.

The current point in Catalan architecture seems to be that all “geometric doors” are open, and it is more about the individual style of each architect as to which geometric style will be chosen.

34

Synthesizing Impressions Alhambra

As straight as possible with hand-crafted materials – Classical geometries – Geometry shaped by nature

Organic winding – Unexpected Geometry shaped like nature

Park Güell

Strict – Straight & Orthogonal Looking to classics Barcelona Pavilion

Oblique angles – Curvilinear Controlled version of the organic winding.

35

Archery Range

THE CATALAN VAULT In a few of my case studies I encountered a construction method called Catalan Vaulting.

The basis of the technique is to laminate thin flat clay tiles together into a shell structure. Typically with three or more layers of the tile and a super adhesive fast-drying mortar. The benefit of this technique is that the materials seem to morph together, and form a homogenous shell which can withstand a great deal of both compression and tension, while the curvature of the surface distributes the weight out to specific points. The Catalan vault can have both single or double curvature. It is fireproof and also the lightest form of masonry vaulting.

It is a historic vaulting technique dating back to medieval times, possibly even to the Old Rome.

Most often it was used purely structurally and hidden behind lowered ceilings etc. There are early examples to be found within Catalonia, but it is unknown if the technique is actually native to the region. Up untill the 1860's this form of vaulting was not considered to be anything special. (Sennott, 2004, p. 225) It was a cheap and strong way of vaulting large spaces for warehouses and factories, but the technique is also found in a large number of Barcelona's apartment buildings and more traditional village houses.

The Catalan Architect Rafael Guastavino snr. was one of the first to re-introduce the technique and it was quickly picked up by the Modernista movement as well. The techniques fit well with their simultaneous search for a distinct Catalan expression and the strength of the construction allowed them to investigate the organic and curvilinear.(Ochsendorf and Freeman, 2010, p. 19) Guastavino later immigrated to the United States and brought the technique with him and patented the thin tiles used in it as Guastavino tiles. They became widely popular here as well, and the American version of the vaulting can i.a. be seen in the NY Grand Central Station and the Boston Public Library.

In the late 1950's a Catalan mason also brought

the technique to Cuba where it was used the famous cluster of the 5 art schools. In Uruguay Eladio Dieste improved refined the techniques by adding steel reinforcements and pushing the limits of the spans. (Sennott, 2004, p. 226) With the rising cost of labour the Catalan vault slowly went out of style, although it is still a very strong way of building while using a minimum of material.

Drawing comparing tile vaulting from multiple layers of brick with traditional one-layered stone vaulting.

(Source: Oschendorf and Freeman, 2010, p. 20)

36

Synthesizing Impressions

Battlló Factory Guastavino Rafael Guastavino Sr.

Battlló Factory, interior historical view with vaulting covered by plaster.

(Source: Oschendorf and Freeman, 2010, p. 33)

Terminal de Omnibus de Salto Eladio Dieste

Grand Central Terminal, NYC Rafael Guastavino Sr. & Jr.

(“A Tribute to Eladio Dieste, Structural Artist,” 2013)

(“The Top 10 Secrets of Grand Central Terminal,” 2013)

37

TORRE BARร Ciutat Meridiana

Collserola Mountains

Torre Barรณ

38

Train station

Eucalyptus Sq.

Exit Barcelona

Site

Roquetes 39

TORRE BARÓ Size and Placement:

The city of Barcelona is divided into 10 districts.

Each district is then again divided into a varying number of neighbourhoods. The Nou Barris district is at the far northeast of Barcelona, and works as the entrance to the city by gathering important parts of infrastructure like national rail, motorways and water/electricity supply coming into the city. This connection to the rest of the city was established in connection with the 1992 olympic games.

With an area of 1,8 km2 the neighbourhood of Torre Baró is by far the largest of the 13 neighbourhoods within the Nou Barris. Compared to a population density of 20.609 on average in the district, the Torre Baró is one of the least crowded neighbourhoods with only 2.700 inhabitants/km2.

Torre Baró is the second to last neighbourhood before the city of Barcelona ends. Only the Ciutat Meridiana with a department of a university and various industry lies further out. (“Fitxes dels barris (statistics),” 2014)

Garden City Visions:

The Torre Baró was first envisioned as a garden city in the first decade of the 1900’s. It never became what could be defined as a garden city.

Instead the neighbourhood took on more of a selfgrown sprawl, which escalated during the 50s and 60’s when immigration peaked last in Barcelona.

The Torre Baró was never developed as much as the rest of Nou Barris in this period, likely because of the steep sloping grounds.

Public Transport:

Barcelona has a well-develop public transit system. The site is placed within an 8-10 min walk from the metro station Torre Baró-Valbona.

From the main square in the city center (Placa Catalunya), it takes 25 min with metro to Torre-Baró including one quick change at Trinitat Nova.

RENFE - the national railway service also stops at Torre Baró-Valbona making it easy to access when coming from other cities

40

Site

Torre Barรณ Neigbourhood

Nou Barris District

Site

Torre Barรณ - Valbona

Sants Estacio

Placa Catalunya

41

SITE: National Park Collserola:

The Collserola National Park is more than 8.000 hectares of greenery closely connected to the city and easy to reach with bus, train or even on foot.

The Park surrounds the perimeter of the city and filters down into it at points like Parc de La Creuta del Coll. On the other side lies the neighbouring cities of Sant Cugat and Cerdanyola. With 2.5 million visitors each year the park is very popular amongst both locals and tourists. The park mainly consist of typical mediterranean forrest and has an extensive network of hiking paths, bicycle routes and points of historical interest. The Torre Baró marks the most northern mountain viewpoint overlooking Barcelona. (“Collserola,” n.d.)

Passeig de les Aigües:

A 21 km long walking route following the Carretera de les Aigües, which used to channel water down to the foot of Tibidabo where it would pour into the larger water system of Barcelona. The route is currently divided in 2 parts, but a middle connecting part is underway. The route features a series of viewpoints overlooking Barcelona as well as the mountains, information stands explaining the history of the city's water system and the significance of it. (Barcelona’s heritage in Collserola, n.d.)

La Ronda Verde:

A 72 kilometer long bicycle route circulating almost all of Barcelona. From the river Llobregat in the southwest, up on the Collserola mountains, back down along the green corridor of the Besós river and all the way along the harbour front and beaches of Barcelona. The route offers a vast variation of landscapes, from the rural country side and mountain views to completely urban busy bike paths in the city. (Barcelona’s heritage in Collserola, n.d.) The route passes by the Castell de Torre Baró.

Castell de Torre Baró:

Despite it's medieval appearance the Castle was built at the beginning of the 20th century. It was meant to be a hotel, but due to the very bad connections of transport at the time, it eventually had to close. The Castell was in a ruinous state when the city council decided to renovate it in 2014.

It now serves as an information point about the city and has amazing panoramic views from the top.

Mirador de Torre Baró:

Mirador is the Catalan word for viewpoint. And from here there is a mesmerizing view out over Barcelona. There are benches, a raised bridge for better views and a pavilion for shade.

El Cordero:

Next to the mirador, hidden behind bushes and a parking lot, you find the restaurant El Cordero. It is the only restaurant on top of the Turo de Roquetes.

It has large banquet facilities for weddings, and although you can settle for a few tapas and a beer, the place is aimed more at fine dining with silver ware and pressed table cloths.

Interview: Maria, guide, Castell Torre Baró: Do a lot of people come here?

“Yes, it is very popular, especially on the weekends. It is a very nice location here on the corner of the national park. The view is not the best today, but when it is clear you see the city very well.”

Who comes here? Is it tourists?

“No, not really. It is very popular with the locals to come up here for the view. We have only been open for about a year, so not that many tourists know about it yet. It takes time for the rumor to spread around.”

42

Site

National Park Castell

Mirador

Site

Metro

Caricature -Experiencing Torre Barรณ

43

44

45

EXPLORING TORRE BARร Photographs of a route from the metro station past the site through the neighbourhood and up to the viewpoint of Castell Torre Barรณ.

Eucalyptus square

Arrival to site

El Mirador de Torre Barรณ

View from El Castell

46

Site

Climbing the streets

El Castell

Site from above

รณ

47

DEVELOPING TORRE BARÒ The Nou Barris District has been developed rapidly over the past 15 years, starting with the central district park. Within the las couple of years this development has reached the Torre Baró neighbourhood. Today the area is mainly residential with a self-grown structure, but without very many social and commercial activities.

La Regesa is an organization working with the municipality to build new homes and parking structures in areas considered to need development. Regesa works as an independent, but depends on government funding. The organization is behind the development built around the Eucalyptus square. A small square placed between the highway and the metro station establishing a new center for the neighbourhood.

The first apartment building by the square was completed in 2009. (“Regesa | Projects | Eucaliptus G,” n.d.)

It was hard to rent out the new apartments, and as a way of making the housing opportunities in the Torre Baró more affordable and attract new residents, the municipality has agreed to subsidize the rent of 222 empty apartments, which will be intended for university students and teachers. 32 of the apartments are reserved for teachers and students from University of Barcelona. (“Barcelona dará uso a 222 pisos vacíos en Torre Baró,” 2013) The development plans are not popular with everyone. In order to carry out the development around the Eucalyptus square 33 families were expropriated from their homes. They were promised compensation for the move and subsidization for part of their new mortgages. Later the subsidization was suspended and in 2013 there was still several pending complaints and lawsuits over the matter.

(El Periódico; 2013) In late 2014 university students from UPC took part in a workshop, aiming to uncover which strategies could be used to improve the neighbourhood. The students analyzed the area from social and spatial perspectives trying to determine how businesses and services can be brought to the area in a innovative and sustainable way. (Catalunya, 2015)

On january 16th 2016 the municipality announced plans to build a community center in Torre Baró next to Eucalyptus Square. It will be an investment of 1.3 million Euros and is intended as a way to promote the neighbourhood and improve life of the residents. The center will contain classrooms, workshop spaces, meeting rooms and a multipupose room. There will also be an office for the Torre Baró neighbourhood association and a designated space for the elderly. (“Nou Barris tindrà un nou casal de barri a Torre Baró,” n.d.)

48

49

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SITE: Elements on Site

1

Site

50 5

6

3 4

N

Site

1

The Aqueduct

2

Planted Trees

3

Housing

4

The Path

5

The Parking Lot

6

Old Brick Foundation

Next to the site, the is an old brick aqueduct built in 1826 as part of the old irrigation system for Barcelona.

It connects to the River Ripoll an outrunner from the Besós river.

(Barcelona’s heritage in Collserola)

There is about 20 new trees planted in a grid south from the site.

Next to the site there is old Baracasstyle housing terracing down the hill.

The main materials are red brick and whatever was found around the area.

The houses seem very unmaintained and are crumbling into a ruinous condition.

Right under the arches of the aqueduct a path begins, which can be followed up to the Castell Torre Baró.

Right before the aqueduct the road turns into a small parking lot. It is mainly used by closeby residents and by the municipality, when they come to maintain the area. There is room for 4-5 cars.

On site there is remains of an old brick foundation from an old house.

51

SPATIAL ENCOUNTERS Sketches from the Torre Barò Neighbourhood

Stairs winding up between the houses of the neighbourhood. Navigating between and around various plateaus, private terraces and under different sun covers. It is common for the entrance of the house to be directly out to the public passage-way.

52

Site

Most of the homes in the neighbourhood have large outdoor terraces created by stepping back the top levels of the building volumes and inhabitating the roofs of the houses.

The Barraccas style housing terraces down the steep hill-side. Several family homes are intertwined and grown together over time.

53

54

Locals enjoying the view over Barcelona from the Mirador

55

TIMELINES Overview of events from previous chapters.

Spain

EARLY DAYS

710

Arabic colonization of Spain

785

Building the Cordoba Mosque (till the end of the 10th century)

1314’00s 1492

Building Alhambra.

Granada, Andalucia Fall of Granada, end of Islamic rule in Spain

1840’s/50’s till 1929 1898

1929 – 1975

1936 – 39

1975 – present

56

Spain loses last overseas colonies (Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Philippines)

Spanish Civil War

1975

Franco dies

2008 2012

The Euro-zone crisis begins Financial markets slowly start turning back around

Historical Synthesis

Barcelona

Torre Baró

(Catalunya)

954-66

1717 1840 1854 1860 1888 1890 1905 1914 1929

1992

The Rec Comtal is built an extensive water supply system from the Besos River.

Muralles – the walls go up around Barcelona

1510 1530

The aristocratic Pines family Builds towers (Torre Baró gets its’ name)

1826

The aqueduct on site is built connecting to the Rec Comtal

2 branches of Catalanism emerge (aug. 12th) The order is given to tear down the walls around BCN Cerda’s plan for the Eixample First Universal Exhibition First Les Festes Modernistes movement named Modernismo

Jaussely’s plan for connecting communities Parc Güell, Gaudí’s example of a garden city

1900 1910

Castell – the hotel is built as a landmark of the neighbourhood.

Torre Baró is visioned as a garden city

1950’s – 60’s

Flood of immigrants to the neighbourhood. A self-grown village structure emerges.

World Expo Barcelona

Summer Olympics Barcelona

1992

The Nou Barris district is connected to the city with the new ring road system

2013

The Eucalyptus building and square is built Barcelona Youth Hostel Competition

2014 2016

57

Castell is renovated

New neighbourhood center announced

HOSTELS: There are almost 4000 hostels worldwide with over 33 million overnights in more than 80 countries. A hostel is a budget accommodation, most often with shared dorm-type rooms and shared bathrooms. Private rooms are becoming more popular, as a way of getting a cheap overnight and still joining in on the social aspects at ones own leisure. Many hostels host a wide variety of activities and are especially attractive for solo travelers or people looking to make new friends along the way. (“Hostels & owner/partner queries - Hostels Worldwide - Hostelling International,” n.d.)

“A p ​ lace where ​people, ​especially ​ young ​people, can ​stay ​cheaply for ​short p ​ eriods when they are ​ traveling” -Cambridge Dictionary

As part of my study trip I visited and stayed at a variety of Hostels. The two which made the greatest impression on me was the Makuto Hostel in Granada (which is described on the following page), and the ONE-Gaudí hostel where I interviewed the Manager Rob Birch about his thoughts on hostels.

A description of some of the other hostel casestudies I visited and reference in this booklet can be found in APPENDIX B in the back of the booklet.

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Flexible common space in the Amistat Beach Hostel

59

MAKUTO HOSTEL (GR) HIPPIE FEEL and BAR •

• • • • •

6 rooms + one for staff.

• 1 x Basic 8 bed mixed dorm • 1 x Standard 7 bed mixed dorm • 1 x Standard 6 bed mixed dorm • 1 x Basic 5 bed female dorm • 1 x 4 bed mixed dorm, en-suite • 1 x Private double, en-suite • 1 x 4-bed staff room One common bathroom, 3 toilets, 3 showers Outdoor terasse space with tables, seating, hammocks and a bar.

Kitchen with small dining area Indoor hangout/tv-room Tree house with bean bag chairs

Description:

The layout of the Makuto Hostel matches the layout of the old Albaycin neighbourhood where it is placed. The Albaycin is an old moorish neighbourhood with winding, narrow streets. The whole area has a maze-like structure and you are almost guaranteed to get lost. There used to be a vinyard in what is today the courtyard of the hostel.

You enter the reception room from the very narrow Calle Tina, and from the reception you step straight back outside into the courtyard. This is the main social area of the hostel with tables, chairs and a bar in one corner. The courtyard also has hammocks, and a tree house where you can catch the first rays of sun. Whereever you want to go in the hostel, you have to pass through this space.

That means you will always pass other people sitting there, having a drink and most likely asking about your day out.

The rooms are of varying size placed all the way around the court yard and at diffrent levels. All dorms share the same bathroom facilities.

The Makuto is a hostel, which is very social, but still gives you the opportunity to find your own quiet corner and relax with a book.

It rained on my last day at Makuto, so the photos, which are more true to the atmosphere of the hostel, are from www.makutohostel.com

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Hostels

“I love Makuto, but the main problem with having all the social space outside is that it gets really cold in the winter, then in summer it is super hot�

- Ole, returning guest at Makuto

Kitchen 12 m2

Outdoor Kitchen 10 m2

(Quiet) Courtyard 32 m2

(Social) Courtyard 62 m2

Reception 20 m2

Tree House 9 m2

Hang-out 20 m2

Lockers Dorm

Dorm

Plan; first floor 1: 200

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Staff room

INTERVIEW I met Rob at the Gaudí-hostel for a talk about his hostel philosophy:

Designing a hostel is like designing a city:

Robert Birch

Urban designer and Hostel Consultant.

Rob Birch started traveling 4 years ago and first of he got a job working at a hostel. With a degree in Urban Design, Rob has a strong interest in designing and creating communities. He now works as what he calls a hostel-consultant for the ONE-Hostel chain, designing and doing interior decorating for new hostels that become part of the chain.

One-Hostels are usually small hostels with around 30 beds or under. The company takes over hostels that are not running well and turn them around by implementing a new set of standards, retraining the staff and changing the interior spaces. There are currently 9 ONE-hostels located in Barcelona, Madrid and Prague, but there is definite plans to add more. The ONE-Hostel Gaudí is Rob’s current project, and has been open for 6 weeks now (since jan. 15Th 2016).

“I like to think of designing a hostel, like designing a city. You have to fulfill the basic needs for the inhabitants; like residential areas for sleeping (the dorms), and toilets, showers etc. Then there is the government watching over everything, which at a hostel is the reception area and staff. On top of that you get all the extra bonus, nice stuff you find in a city, like restaurants, bars, nightclubs etc. I try to incorporate that in the hostel by having things like: communal dinners (restaurant), lounge space where you can have a drink (the bar), room for watching a movie/tv (the cinema). In another hostel I am working with, we have an outdoor terrace which would be like the city park in this analogy.

You are building a small community.”

Placement of information

“I try to think about what people see when.

Information is super important in a hostel. I like to place headlines of information close to the reception desk. It should be short information, creating excitement, but not telling the whole story. That way you encourage conversation. By placing the information close to the receptionist that person can see what the guest is looking at and strike up a conversation. The same goes for placing information near the dining area, it can be conversation starter between the guests.

You want to put people in a positive state of mind from the beginning. They should be super excited to stay at this hostel from the beginning, that creates a good energy for everyone.

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Hostels

Interior Space and Surfaces:

“A hostel should be easy to clean, and it should always look clean. White walls are the biggest mistake ever! Especially on the part of the wall people will bump into alot. We try to source everything for our interior decorating as cheap and local as possible. Always trying to come up with new ideas for recycling materials. We like to add some kind of sustainability that way. A wall clad in chip board or recycled wood does not look as dirty as quickly as a regularly painted wall.

We also try to do interiors where people meet and chat with each other. Elements where one person can lay down and chill, can also be seating for 3-4 people when they all want to watch a game on TV. The lounge at Hostel One Gaudí is made very informal by using pallets stacked up to different levels. That means people will mix more and just sort of sit down where it is possible and don’t end up in opposite ends of a sofa. It is always easier to start chatting with someone sitting across from you or next to you at one large table, than if you were seated at a small table each. It is good if you can make people feel at home. In one of our other hostels we did a large wall collage with thank you notes from guests. It gives people something to read, and when they leave, maybe they write a note themselves and it will be up on the wall if they return for another holiday.

The most Important thing:

People should feel well taken care of. If you can make them feel at home and relax, they are more likely to engage in the activities and socialize with each other. I stayed at a hostel in Lisbon once.

At the Home Hostel Lisbon, which makes you feel like you are at your grandparents house. It was homey in way that did not seem stilted with very rich and personal interiors. That is what I aim for, when I work with a new hostel.

Interior, Home Hostel Lisbon fra www.homelisbonhostel.com

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64

Barracas-style housing in the near-by context

65

PROGRAM The first part of his project was mainly about gaining a general knowledge and understanding of the context surrounding the hostel project. It was about gathering information, inspiration and impressions, analyzing and cataloging it for use in the next phase. The Programming and design phase, where the project moves from the general to the specific.

The preliminary problem formulation:

To design a hostel in Barcelona, with a main focus on the social spaces and the opportunities this program creates to connect with a neighbourhood and the city.

To solve this, the program phase works with the following questions:

What are the opportunities to connect with the neighbourhood?

• Building on the momentum and popularity of the newly established tourist attractions and initiatives in the area. The Castell, the Mirador, and the future community center.

• After completion the hostel is likely to add life to the area, give a small financial increase for the few local shops and add job opportunities.

• By adding a bar to the program, the hostel would provide the function of a local “watering hole”.

Currently there are no other opportunities for this kind of informal meetings in the neighbourhood.

Students are moving into the new housing, but there is no place rooting them more to the place and community. The hang-out atmosphere of a hostel can help provide this.

• Strengthen the connection to the natural park and give ideas for new leisure activities.

What are the challenges in connecting with the neighbourhood?

• The juxtaposition of introducing “strangers” with the intent of only staying short-term as a medium for building identity and connections to a neighbourhood.

• The proposal needs to be of a size which does have an impact when unfolded in the local community, but without overpowering and becoming a nuisance to the locals. The positives need to outweigh the negatives in order to even spark interest in the project.

• Building with a respect to the aqueduct on site and the history connected to it.

What spaces and functions are needed to create this type of hostel and how can they be connected in a way which will strengthen the overall program?

On the following page I created an add, as it might appear, when guests are looking for accommodation online. The description provides a narrative of which activities could take place and be selling points for the hostel.

66

Program

History/ Culture Background research/ Case-studies - Spatial relations - Climate considerations - Material treatment - Indoor/outdoor - Social spaces and thresholds

Site/ Community Analysis: - Connections - Possible programs - Landscape

Program

Design

67

Ho(s)tels/ travellers Interviews/observations - Size - Activities - Atmosphere - Circulation

USER GROUP

40 - 60 guests

Hostel Guests

Regular overnight guest at the hostel looking for some of the experiences described in the online hostel add (p. 69)

Staff

Paid staff living locally, handling administrative reception work. Managing and serving in the bar.

Volunteer staff

Receives long-term (1-2 months) free accommodation and possibly board in return for smaller cleaning jobs, socializing with guests and contributing to the atmosphere of the hostel in general. Acts as a mediating connection between locals and hostel guests. They stay long enough to get well-acaquinted and will at the end of their stay train and introduce the next volunteers.

BYH has room for 4 volunteers.

Regular bar guests

Students and other locals living in the surrounding area.

By-passers

Local tourists visiting the Mirador and Castell looking for a cold drink and a place to spend the afternoon.

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Program

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Avinguda d’Escolapi Càncer, 93, 08033 Barcelona, Spain,

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Description: Do you want to step of the beaten track? Enjoy incredible views while hiking in the national park or kick back and relax while enjoying a cold drink in the shade. Then Barcelona Youth Hostel is the perfect destination for you. We are placed up in the Torre Baró neighbourhood, a place typically overlooked by tourists, where you will feel less like a tourist and more like a local.

There are plenty of options to go hiking in the surrounding area, wether you want to trek for a week or just a couple of hours we will help you plan and find the perfect route for you. If hiking is not your thing we rent out bikes for another way to explore the Collserola mountains. We have an extensive selection of maps and guide books which you can flip through in the cozy lounge area. You might even get lucky and find that novel to read while relaxing in the sun.

Every night we have a short walking tour up to the Mirador de Torre Baró to enjoy the sunset over the city. Afterwards you can cook dinner with your new friends in our fully equipped kitchen or grab a seat, a beer and a tapa in the bar. Students and locals living nearby often drop in during the afternoon to have a drink and a chat here. We are not a party hostel, but there will be plenty of opportunities to make new friends.

Barcelona Youth Hostel is for the young, and the young at heart. Our bunk beds and dorms are very comfortable, but if you are looking for a little more privacy we also have a few private rooms.

There is a small supermarket nearby for your most urgent needs. Otherwise the Torre Baró-Valbona metro is only a 10 min walk away, and within 25 min you can be in the center of Barcelona where the shopping possibilities are endless.

Book Now

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FUNCTION SIZE The spatial program and the size of the functions is derived from the various hostels I visited during my study trip in Spain, as well as a general practical estimat of the minimal space needed for a pleasant experience.

Estimated m2

Inspired and calculated by

Total for function

4-6 dorms

One Gaudí hostel - bed + hallspace

117 m2

2 double rooms

Standard tourist class room

30 m2

Outdoor sleeping

mattress size x 20

40 m2 *

Toilets and showers

Basic needs

20 m2

Kitchen

Casa Graciá

26 m2

Dining area

Amistat lowered dining area

27 m2

Lounge area

One Gaudí hostel lounge One Parralel hostel - tv room

27 m2

Library space

Casa Graciá, Makuto hostel

16-20 m2

Outdoor terrace

Makuto courtyard

62 m2 *

Sun/shade spots

Makuto tree house hammock size

20 m2 *

Bike rental

Parking 15 bikes

15 m2

Map display

Wall space only

n/a

Reception

Makuto hostel reception

20 m2

Staff/volunteer room

4-bed dorm - spacious

16 m2

Storage - luggage

Amistat Hostel

10-12 m2

Storage - hiking equip.

Equipment size, locker size - hall space

10-12 m2

Laundry

3 maschines + hall space

6 m2

Bar

Makuto Courtyard

60+ m2

Bar - kitchen

Neufert** bistro kitchen

8-12 m2

Linnen - storage

Neufert** retail storage

5 m2 410 m2

Estimated total interior

460 m2

Estimated footprint

* not included in total ** reference to general guidelines

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Program 40 m2 Accomodation 18 m

2

27 m 40 m2

2 18 18 m m2

2

15 m2

27 27 m m22

2 2 m 16 m18

15 m2 15 m2

27 m2 4 m2 10 m2

4 m2

2 m2 17 m27

2 6 m2 5 m

6

2 2 1210mm

20 m2

17 m2

20 m2

15 m2 2 4m 20 m

6 m 52m 10 m

28 m2

4 m2

Service Spaces

2

26 m2

6

27 27 m m22

16 m2 4 m2 4 m2

2

28 m2

27 m2

15 m2

2 410 m2m 4 m2

26 m2

62 m2

2

15 m2

20 m2

62 m2 Outdoor Spaces

12 m2

40 m2 40 m2 2

27 m 18 m2

15 m2 272 m2 40 m

27 m2 2 18 18 m m2

27 m22 15 m 27 m

27 m2 2 2 m 16 m18

27 27 m m22

10 m2

2

15 m2

17 m2

20 m2

20 m2 4m

2 m2 17 m27

6

20 m2

4 m2

2

15 m 10 m2 2 10 2m 4 m 4 m2

15 m2

6

28 m2 26 m2 Social Spaces 27 m2

2 27 m2 15 m2 15 m

27 m2 2 20 m2 4 m

Relative function sizes 1:200

60 m2 28 m2 26 m 2

2

4 m2 2 4 m2 16 2m 4 m 4 m2

28 m2

26 m2

622 2m2 m 2 15 71 4m

20 m2

17 m2 62 m2

20 m2

ADJACENCY Creating the Adjacency diagram was a way for me to work through the circulation and possible connections of the spaces within the hostel.

Considering which spaces would benefit from being close to one another or even flow together.

Examples of these considerations are: •

The social spaces will benefit from adjacency.The kitchen/dining, bar and lounge can help activate one another, so it should be easy to spill-over into the next social room.

•

For noise and privacy issues there should be a distance between the areas designated for sleeping and the social areas.

•

To create as strong a connection to the neighbourhood as possible and invite the locals in, the social spaces will need a close connection to both the path and the road.

•

Adjacent Nearby Distanced Not related.

A service function like laundry can also generate life to the social spaces when guests have to wait for the washing to be done.

Closely connected visibly, via path etc.

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Program 4 - 6 Dorms 2 Double Rooms Outdoor Sleeping Toilets & Showers Kitchen Dining Areas Lounge Area Library Space Outdoor Terrace Sun/shade Spots Bike Rental Map display - info area Reception Staff/Volunteer Room Luggage Storage Hiking Equipment - storage Laundry Bar Bar Kitchen Path Road Linen etc. - storage 73

VOLUMETRIC STUDIES To better understand the landscape of the site and find a strategy for placing my design in it, I created a 1:500 context model. With this model I did a series of volumetric studies, testing and refining my approach to the landscape.

#1

TWO CENTRAL VOLUMES - Building volumes scattered down the hillside - 2 central volumes for social functions - 2 main paths with cross-connecting plateaus - Buildings stay under top line of the aqueduct Main concerns: - Successfully connecting the structure with the path at the bottom of the valley.

#2

ONE VOLUME - One single building volume - Assimilating to buildings in the context - Path follows ridges in landscape and runs diagonally through the bar/common areas.

- Bar and reception are connected to the path but still both centrally placed.

- Leaves a very steep uphill climb from the path.

- The roofs become potential terraces - Easy to climb all the way up stairs inside the building when multiple floors are stacked

74

Design Process

#3

PATH FOLLOWS TERRAIN - Functions are gathered in 4 large volumes - Many stacked floors over each other - Autonomy to each of the building volumes - The path follows the contours of the terrain placing an outdoor terrace in accordance with the arches of the aqueduct.

#4

TWO LINES OF BUILDINGS - 2 lined up bodies of building volumes - Covered outdoor area connections - You step in under a cover to enter the “Hostel community�.

- Good opportunity to work with double height spaces.

- Very controlled rigid geometry might not be appropriate for the site.

- The volumes become very deep.

75

VOLUMETRIC STUDIES

#5

SCATTERED - Scattered volumes displaced from the path.

- Creates smaller niches in-between the building volumes.

- The bottom the slope seem too steep to only build one layer of buildings and not stacking them up.

- The top volumes are broken into smaller singular pieces.

- The connecting path becomes too straight and steep.

#6

CLUSTERED - Clustering as a strategy - The path gets longer and less steep - Building volumes start to orient more with the direction of the path.

- The path expands into the social functions and also creates smaller outdoor niches in-between the buildings.

76

Design Process

Simultanious skteching in plan and section

77

REFINING THE CONCEPT I chose to continue with the concept of clustering volumes, forming a village-like structure trickling down the hill-side.

Site

New Connection

The site is defined by the neighbour houses on one side and the aqueduct on the other.

Above the site there is a road, and at the bottom of the valley a path runs under the aqueduct and up to the national park. A new connection is added between the two.

78

Design Process

Clustered Volumes

Functions

The social spaces are placed on the middle of the slope, equally connected to the path and to the road.

The social spaces are placed on the middle of the slope, equally connected to the path and to the road.

Social spaces Dorms

79

REFINING THE CONCEPT

Expanding Path

Hikers and Bikers

The new connection between path and road winds down the hill-side to make the journey less steep.

The circulation expands into terraces, a form of courtyard, into the social spaces and even up on to some of the roofs.

At the top of the site and closely connected to the road there is the option for bike parking and bike rental.

At the foot of the hill there is storage for hiking equipment and the possibility to borrow it before trekking of on the path.

Social spaces Dorms

80

81

VILLAGE STRUCTURE

Early Iberian village structure, cliff dwellings near Granada (F, 1982, p. 176)

82

Design Process

First sketch rendering of the hostel complex

83

WALK-THROUGH The circulation expands and subtracts through the hostel. Weaving down the hill-side between inside/outside. Through further exploration of the hostel it is possible to find small niches and sun/ shade spots to occupy.

(1) Arriving from the road at the top of the hostel complex there is the option of side-stepping away from the road out on to the roof of the bike parking.

From here you can orient yourself in the layout of the hostel. (2) The shape of the top dorms will guide you down along the path around the corner of the volunteer staff room.

(3) From this point there are three options. (4) You can walk into the reception, to ask questions, use the computers, possibly go upstairs from the reception there is a library-like space for winding down with a book and enjoying the panoramic view of the valley.(5) Or you can walk into the middle of a dorm cluster. From the small courtyard here you can walk up a level to access the two private rooms placed together on the roof of the dorms. (6)The third option is to continue straight into the bar and later follow the interior path down through the main social spaces.

(7) In front of the reception and next to the bar, there is a large outdoor terrace, placed so you get a framed view out through the aqueduct. (8) Walking down the slope from the terrace, there is another cluster of dorms, including a building with shared baths and bathrooms for the hostel guests.

(9) The last building to be found at the bottom of the hill is a storage space for hiking equipment.

Where you can rent, store your own, and return it all at the end of the day, when you come back from hiking on the paths of the national park (10).

84

1 2

5 3 4

6 7

8

9

10 Layering up sketches to configuer the layout in plan.

85

NEAR CONTEXT RELATION Ad Hoc Development

The spirit of the proposal builds on some of the ideas of the “Barcelona Model”. That a small point of impact in a neighbourhood can kickstart a positive development and spread at a pace where it will not alienate the locals. The B.Y.H. student competition which was used as the starting point of this assignment, points out the chosen lot as the main site for the hostel, but leaves the delimitation of the proposals open to build anywhere om the hillside of the valley.

Since there has previously been problems with the expropriation of residents in the Torre Baró, it is important to me that this proposal can be built in a way that gains the trust and interest of the locals

The Neighbour Houses

The barracas style houses next to the site are left untouched by the designproposal. Looking around the neighbourhood they seem to be some of the least maintained buildings. They are in a ruinos state, but still occupied today.

It is my thought that if and when the neighbour houses become uninhabited the established village structure of the hostel can grow in that direction and incorporate the footprint of the buildings providing room for even more neighbourhood activities.

The Aqueduct

The design proposal also leaves the old aqueduct untouched, and instead of connecting to it, regards it as a large wall with arched openings acting as portals and view-framers from the hostel.

The village structure of the hostel complex leaves open the opportunity to explore further and come up close to the Aqueduct. At one point you can even find your way out and sit in a sun/shade spot under it.

86

Context

Barracas-style neighbour houses

The Aqueduct

87

MODELING Approaching the Structure In a 1:100 model I explored where to place the openings in the structure. To get a variated experience of the surrounding landscape and create the opportunity for different sun terraces.

The focus was also on the composition and feeling experienced when approaching the structure from the path. I found that especially the three layers containing the main social spaces could easily become overpowering compared to the rest of the structure. It was a balance of making them stand out and be inviting, while still seeming to be an integrated part of the whole hostel structure.

1: Three layers stacked and terraced over each another. One large volume comming out towards you.

2: The floors are displaced making each volume seem more like an independent.

#1

3: The middle volume starts to rotate. It stands out, but without the monumentality of #1.

#2

#3 88

Design Process

89

DORM TYPOLOGY The dorms are the most private spaces of the hostel. They have simple interiors focused around the bunkbeds. The bunkbed is essentially the only area specifically reserved for the individual in a hostel. All the beds are placed up against the front wall. That way you can feel more private when sitting in your own bed. Nobody can look at you unless they walk by in the hallway. Each bed also has it’s own window to look out on the valley. The vaulted ceilings are adapted to the dimension of the bunk beds as well (see section on page across).

The terrace at the end gives a small covered outdoor spot to relax, look out through the arches of the aqueduct and see who arrives back from a day out in the city.

PLAN 1:200 - STANDARD 8-BED DORM

90

Typologies

Principal section of the dorms introducing a vaulted roof relating to the interior plan. Each of the bunkbeds also get their own window towards the facade inspired by the boxstyle beds at the ONE Hostel GaudĂ­.

91

ZOOM: SOCIAL SPACES In phase II of the design process I zoomed in on the 3 main social spaces.

• THE BAR • KITCHEN/DINING AREA • LOUNGE These spaces, their atmosphere, internal connections and connection to the path are the base for the main points of the program. This is where there is the largest potential for new meetings and social relations.

92

93

CHANGING EXPRESSIONS After zooming in on the social spaces, I decided to change the expression of this part of the hostel structure. Where the dorms are more introverted and solid in their expression, the social spaces needs to be more open and inviting. Moving along with the idea of a village structure I wanted to find a point where the hostel still seemed like one unified structure, but each of the clusters were still allowed an individual expression fitting the functions within.

I introduced a column grid, to open the structure of the social spaces more. Instead of appearing as solid individual volumes they are now constructed with columns and planes. The vaulting roof shells are no longer contained by the walls, but allowed to break out, cantilever and create overhangs and covered areas.

The direction of the vaulted ceilings help underline and guide the direction of a path through the social spaces.

Introducing the vault as an element also relates to the arches of the aqueduct on site

94

Expression

First model of social spaces

First introduction of column and plane constructon with the vaulting roof shells.

95

CIRCULATION Social Spaces The circulation concept of the main social spaces is to break up the barriers between the levels. Allowing sounds and light to pass between the floors in the stairwell facilitating the vertical connection indoors.

In the first proposals (1.) the spaces were stacked with separated interior and outdoor connections. By shifting the level of the dining area up towards the bar, the distance between the spaces becomes shorter and they connect more easily (2).

The indoor and outdoor circulation are integrated more with each other. (3) There are more openings between inside and outside giving the option of a much more complex circulation pattern, which still meet at important points down through the structure.

96

BAR

BAR

Circulation

KITCHEN/ DINING

1.

BAR

LOUNGE

KITCHEN Interior vertical connection

Outdoor path

connection

KITCHEN/ DINING

BAR

BAR

2.

LOUNGE

KITCHEN/ DINING

Interior vertical connection

BAR

connection

BAR

LOUNGE

KITCHEN DINING Interior

KITCHEN

Outdoor path

vertical connection

Outdoor path

DINING

connection

KITCHEN BAR

LOUNGE

3.

BAR

Interior vertical connection

LOUNGE DINING

Outdoor path

connection

KITCHEN BAR

DINING

LOUNGE

KITCHEN

KITCHEN

Interior vertical connection

Outdoor path

connection

DINING Interior vertical connection

Outdoor path

connection

LOUNGE LOUNGE Interior vertical connection

Outdoor path

connection

Interior vertical connection

97

Outdoor path

connection

KITC

GENERAL MATERIALS Based on the material library i gathered via my case-studies I chose a palette of materials to be used throughout the hostel complex. I wanted a variety in the tactile experience of the surfaces.

Brick:

Black Steel:

Brick is the traditional material for the vaulting technique it makes sense to leave it exposed. It is also found in the neighbouring houses as well as in the aqueduct on site.

Adds more of an industrial feel and contrasting the tactility of the stones with a sleek and rigid appearance. The clean straight lines of the steel will also be a nice contrast to the vaulted ceilings.

Rough Slate:

Greenery

All back-walls of the social spaces and the plinths under the building volumes will be clad in rough slate. Underlining the impression of either carving into the landscape or the structure growing up and out from it.

The slate found in Spain ranges from a dark grey to a dark rust colour with almost all shades of grey and sand to be found in-between.

Referencing the national park and the site in general there will be a layer of greenery to be found all around the hostel complex. Helping blur the line between indoor and outdoor. The plants also adds both life and calmness to the atmosphere of the spaces.

Brick of the Aqueduct

Slate found in the Collserola Mountains

Metal structure seen in the Mercat Born

Greenery on site

Material sample Brick Vault

Material sample Slate wall

Material sample Steel and Vaults

Material sample Leafy greens

98

Material Choices

COLOUR STRATEGY The strategy for use of colours in the Barcelona Youth Hostel is to assign a colour identity to each of the 3 levels of social spaces (kitchen and dining are one split level). Colours which fit the atmosphere and spirit of the activities carried out in that room.

Just like there should be a spill-over effect of the people from one space to the next, the same will go for the colour scheme. There will be a recognizable colour continuing between spaces, signaling that the other spaces also belong to the hostel/bar and that it is okay to occupy them too.

The over-all colour scheme is based on shades of primary and secondary colours that will compliment the general materials. Moving from warm red and oranges in the bar to cool blues and dark greens in the lounge. In the lounge vibrance is added with a complimentary orange also found in the bar area, and vice versa with the dark green against the red in the bar.

BAR

DINING KITCHEN

tdoor ath

ection

LOUNGE

BAR 99

ATMOSPHERE & MATERIALS Assigning identity and colours to the social spaces.

The mood board collages show the combination of the general materials, the colour scheme and some possible interior constellations of furniture for the social spaces. Giving an idea of what the atmosphere would be like in each of the rooms.

The references are a mix of new, modern interiors and spaces I encountered in Barcelona.

Bar:

100

Material Choices

Kitchen & Dining:

HOSPITAL DE LA SANTA CREU I SANT PAU

Lounge:

101

FINAL DESIGN

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LEVEL 1

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Arrival from road // Bicycle Parking // Private Rooms

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LEVEL 2

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Volunteer Room // Dorms // Library Space

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LEVEL 3

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Bar // Reception // Outdoor Terraces // Laundry

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LEVEL 4

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Kitchen // Dining Area // Shared Baths

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LEVEL 5

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Lounge // Dorm // Outdoor Terrace

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LEVEL 6

PLAN 1:500 // org. 1:200 Storage and Rental of Hiking Equipment // Dorm // Arrival from Path

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REFLECTION Looking back on the project:

It is a challenge to do a project with the intention of creating detailed interiors, starting it of with examining the growth of a city, and looking back on a thousand years of history, but it also makes the process super interesting and unpredictable. I was not sure what I would find, when I first set out to do my investigations. I had previously spent some time in the city, but not previously visited the site or that part of Barcelona.

However, my research into Catalan architecture as well as my trip to Spain made an impression on me, which will last for a long time. It also sparked a fascination and a curiosity for more.

The survey and interviews I planned to do amongst the hostel guests did not go as planned.

I planned for it to be very structured, but in the end I was more successful with just listening intensely and using a softer way of guiding the conversation.

It was really interesting to briefly become part of these small “hostel-communities� and examine how they operate.

The cornerstone in the project has been for me to work out the structure of the hostel as a very complicated circulation diagram, taking my research and the parameters of it into consideration. I did not expect to end up with this village-like structure.

It emerged through the process of consolidating research, site and program.

I have done this project from a perspective of what I found to be most interesting and fun to work with. And I could happily spend another semester diving even deeper into Catalan culture and experimenting even more with construction and materiality.

I am happy with the design proposal I ended up with, and feel that a lot of the situations I intended to facilitate could actually occur within this hostel.

At the end of this project and process, it is also time to look back on some of the questions I posed at the beginning. Regarding globalization, regional architecture and what strategies to use when tackling this as an architect. I have not made a final conclusion on this, I just scratched the surface of the discussion.

Does the increasing globalization of society still make room for a regional architecture?

I think it does, and I also agree with Charles Lindholm (anthropologist) that it possibly makes us crave the regional and specific even more. The world is becoming smaller. We live in a time where any architect could potentially design and build for anywhere in the world (even without ever stepping a foot on site). This is amazing and freeing, but also opens up the option that everywhere will become generic and the same.

In my theory section I quote Juhani Pallasmaa for cautioning against sentimentality towards the regional, since that could create an unwanted form of stereotypical souvenir architecture. It is a very hard balance. To incorporate the recognizably regional without doing a replica.

Kenneth Frampton’s perspectives on Critical Regionalism are also highly relevant in this discussion. Working with these theories really is a paradox of becoming modern. Not while holding on to the past, but through evolving from it. There is an interesting point in architecture right now, where the development of technology has moved so far that it could potentially strengthen the exploration of the regional instead of endangering it.The scale seems to slowly be tipping towards the individual rather than the mass-produced. In a place like Catalonia where the regional identity is really cherished and still very much a hot topic today, it will be really interesting to see the development in the future.

Maybe it is actually less about doing regionally specific architecture and more about working super specifically in regards to site and place, then the regional element will often be incorporated naturally. The added layer of digging down into the regionally specific could be a catalyst for setting up unique situations, experiences and memories of the exact place. Then it also makes sense, to mix these ideas of the regional with the hostel program.

Since it is those unique situations, experiences

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Reflection

and memories, which most travelers leave home to find. But what happens to the regional, when it is interpreted by a “travelling” architect?

Can a Scandinavian architect design something authentically Catalan?

It is through Scandinavian eyes that I defined what I found to be specifically Catalan.

Perhaps not being Catalan could somehow be an advantage, when working from a regional perspective? As an external it might be easier to see the special characteristics of a region and not take it for granted. The characteristics of a region could become more evident from a point of comparison. Being a non-native to the tradition heightens the awareness, but it also does not come

instantly, it takes work and curiosity to gain those perspectives. In the end, the result might not be AUTHENTICALLY Catalan, but a more international and modern version of it. You could then again argue that the Catalan architect will face the same challenge of relating to the international and modern.

Through my work I have established a method for beginning to understand the connection between region and architecture. An insight into how culture, history and architecture can be interlinked. Synthesizing historically can be a way of identifying things which are in a way timeless.

Although Catalonia is a special place, the method could also be applied elsewhere when looking at other regions.

“Critical Regionalism depends upon maintaining a high level of critical self-consciousness. It may find it’s governing inspiration in such things as the range and quality of the local light, or in a tectonic derived from a peculiar structural mode, or in the topography of a given site.”

- Kenneth Frampton, Towards a Critical Regionalism

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A

APPENDIX : CASE-STUDIES

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Alhambra Granada - 13-1400’s In 1237 Muhammad I al-Ahmar, the founder of the Nasrid Dynasty started the construction of the Alhambra. The structure is the largest tourist attraction in Spain and sits on the top of a cliff overlooking the city of Granada with the Sierra Nevada Mountains gleaming in the background.

The Alhambra seems to almost emerge from the earth.The area consists of several palaces which were added over time. The most famous is probably the Nasrid Palace with its’ intricate details and inscriptions. This palace also houses the famous court yards- Court of the Lions and Court of the Myrtles. (The Alhambra and the Generalife, 2015) Throughout the palaces water is an important element and is found in the form of reflection pools, small streams and fountains. The court yards used to be display pieces with a calm and serene atmosphere from the water and a lushness from the plantings. (Ballantyne, 2012, p. 240). The palace is very introverted, and it’s difficult to say where the line between inside and outside goes. The covered path behind the columns, allows you to find shade and help keep the palace cool.

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Cordoba Mosque Cordoba - 785 The Cordoba Mosque was built on the site of a roman cathedral, which was turned in to a mosque in 711 after the islamic conquest of the area. In 1236 there was another change in power and the mosque was turned christian with only vey small changes.

The layout of the mosque is dominated by a strict repetitive grid of columns. (Ballantyne, 2012, p. 118)In fact since each of the conquerers added to the existing mosque it is composed of several overlapping grids inside, each adapted to the previous one through material or proportion.

This gives a sence of flowing between very different spaces without actually crossing a form of threshold.

The outside is walled of with only very little light allowed to enter and even though the space is vast, the series of columns does not make it feel overwhelming. The islamic part aimed to not have a center, but with the integration of the cathedral a very dominant center was added.

Parc del Labyrinth Horta District BCN - late 1700’s The Labyrinth Parc is the oldest garden left in Barcelona, it is located on the northwestern outskirts of the city. Like the Alhambra it was part of a royal estate. The garden was done in a neo-classical style with a green maze as it’s central focal point. Later a romantic garden was added. Along with the classic, the park also includes a mix of Moorish and arabic elements.

Water is again a key element and can be found in various forms around the garden. The garden changes from strictly kept hedges, symmetry and repetition in the center to more wildly grown forrest along the edges (Mcspadden, 2010)

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(Catalan) Architecture

Santa Maria del Mar Barrio GĂłtico BCN, 1329 - 1383 The Santa Maria was built between 1329 and 1383 by the architects Berenguer de Montagut and Ramon Despuig. The Cathedral is considered to be the best example of Catalan gothic architecture.

The lateral nave of the cathedral was elevated to almost the same height as the central nave. This branch of gothic was focused on using the vaulting and columns as decoration. One of the central ideas was to simplify the layout by removing the side naves and using fewer and narrower columns to create a feeling of lightness and verticality inside. (“Architecture of santa maria,� n.d.) In some of the interior decorations you will also find Catalan nationalistic symbols and colours. Santa Maria really does feel like one enormous room with the alter as the main focal point when you enter, and when you exit the famous circular mosaic window above the entrance really stands out. With the combination of really heavy stonework, and mosaic windows, not much light is let inside the church, but what does come through really highlighst the structure and vaulting, drawing your eyes upwards to the ceiling.

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Catalan Architecture

Parc Güell Planned as a garden city (1914) The construction of Park Güell started in 1900.

Eusebi Güell wanted to develop a piece of his land into a vilage inspired by the british ideal of the garden city and hired Antoni Gaudí to draw it. Very few of the lots were ever sold due to the price, but the park was still constructed with a central plaza and various viewpoints. (“Park Güell,” n.d.)

Sitting on a hillside the landscape of the park terraces down with winding paths. Parts of the paths are carried by columns which seem to be be growing up from the ground. This creates other covered paths with vaulted ceilings and sheltered seating.

The roughness and earthiness of the stone work is contrasted by the wavy lines and shiny colorful mosaics of the plaza. The columns under the plaza were inspired by those of ancient Rome and adds a solemn elegant feel to the space.

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Hospital Santa Creu Domenech I Montaner BCN - Eixample 1902-1911 For the plan of the hospital D.I.M. Was also inspired by the garden city movement. The layout distanced itself from the grid of the rest of the Eixample by working with a diagonal. Montaner was allowed a site of 9 Eixamle blocks for the hospital.

Making it feel like a city within a city. The complex consist of 27 individual pavillions symmetrically arranged along two axises north/south and east/ west with a complicated network of hidden underground walking paths.

Each pavilion had two specially designed gardens for the patients. The idea of hospital gardens was new, but D.I.M. Believed in nature as a healing element which could purify the air and lift the spirit of the patients. The whole site slopes, so the landscape terraces upwards and the greenery consisting of rosemary, lavender and orange trees sit like green pillows around the pavilions, concealing light channels and windows for the underground pathways. The sloping site also creates the opportunity to connect the underground walkways seamlessly with the ground floor of the front pavilions. So more efficient and fast circulation can take place under ground and let the gardens above keep a tranquil atmosphere. (Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, 2014) Montaner used Art Nouveau style brick and ceramic tiles. All pavilions have vaulted ceilings, done with the catalan brick vault and decorated with colourful patterns of tile.

The hospital made the UNESCO world heritage list in 1997 and was extensively renovated and mostly brought back to it's original expression, but for exhibition purposes vertical panels of dark wood and frosted glass have been added, playing nicely up against the pastel colour scheme of the interior.

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MERCAT DEL BORN Josep Fontseré i Mestres, Josep Maria Cornet i Mas BCN - Barrio Goticó 1873 – 1876 The Born Market was the first cast iron building in Barcelona. It was built on top of the ruins of an old monastery and housed the main market of the city. It was one large space with a myriad of market booths set up inside. Today the building serves as a memorial of the civil war and archeological escavation of the convent. (“el born cultural center commemorates war of spanish succession,” 2015)

The structure faces a small square, but becomes almost monolithic with its dark appearance and gleaming tile roof. The bottom part of the building is solid brick wall in a red/yellow pattern, but the top part consist of dark grey metal shudders keeping the heat out. Semi transparent windows and the gaps of the shudders still let in enough light to create a comfortable atmosphere inside. The daylight also highlights the structure and shows of the delicacy of the metal work. The diamond pattern of the brick is repeated in the tiling of the roof.

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Catalan Architecture

CASA BATLLO Antoni Gaudí BCN - Graciá 1904-1907 (photos, 1st column opposite page)

CASA MILA Antoni Gaudí BCN - Graciá (photos, 2nd column opposite page) The two apartment buildings by Antoni Gaudí are very similar, but also very different. Both of them were built for wealthy families, who wanted to make the investment in an extraordinary piece of architecture, so that they could later live of the rent coming in. The owners apartments were placed at the bottom, so they would have the most space without seeing much of their tenants.

Both houses also have quite a few common trademarks of Gaudí's principles: The circulation revolves around the courtyard spaces and vertically around centrally placed lifts and stairs. The courtyards bring light down internally and also allow for double-sided ventilation of almost all spaces.

The social spaces like dining room and living room could be expanded easily to accommodate larger groups of guests by rolling aside large sliding doors.

The double layer of the roofs help keep the houses cool and also finish of the top of them, in Gaudí's words: “like a hat finishes the outfit of a fine gentleman”. The air ducts, chimneys and other outlets you might find on other roofs, were in both cases turned into sculptural elements. Both houses also have roof terraces where you can get maximum sunlight and sit in the sculptural roof landscape.

For the addicks Gaudí used the Catalan vaulting technique. In casa Mila the arches are left with the original brick-finish, but in Casa Batllo they are painted white to reflect the light. This creates beautiful organic spaces, but originally these were the spaces for servants and utillities like washing and storing.

Gaudí was obsessed with controlling the light.

Not only to get the maximum amount, but to actually get the exactly right amount for the spaces.

The tiles of the internal courtyard of Casa Batllo gradually changes colour to account for stronger

sunlight at the top and less at the bottom.

Casa Mila has the nickname La Pedrera (the pebble) amongst the locals because of its exterior texture of rough sandstone. On the inside the surfaces are painted with colourful floral motives.

Like the outside lines of the terraces and roof, marble wainscotting is waving across the interior walls. The house has a strong earthy tactility throughout.

Casa Battlo has a lot of references to seascapes with a strong but rounded geometry. Blue and green colours are dominant in the tiling and the roof looks like a large scaled sea dragon guarding the house.

The interior walls have small beige scales painted all over above the warm wooden wainscoting.

The detail level of both houses are extremely high. Gaudí designed everything down to the door handles and window hasps with the relation to the human body in mind. He shaped the handles in clay with his fingers and had them cast in brass.

(Separate Audioguided tours, 2016, of Casa Mila and Casa Battló)

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Catalan Architecture

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Barcelona Pavilion Mies Van Der Rohe Montjuic BCN, 1929

Built for the world expo of 1929 as the German contribution. It can maybe not be defined as Catalan architecture, but it was very influential on the architecture of the time and a prime example of Modernism. The pavilion was torn down after the exhibition, but in the 1950s a group of architects led by catalan Oriol Bohigas lobbied to have it resurrected. In 1986 it was rebuilt by Montjuic.

The Pavilion sits on top of a sandstone plinth when you arrive from the front, on the back side the approach to the landscape is softened by a blanket of greenery. The pavilion manages to be both extrovert and introvert at the same time.

The overall construction consists of a soaring roof plane, steel columns, and octagonal marble clad walls forming a series of folded spaces which are both defined but also overlapping.

It is possible to close of the central part with floor to ceiling sliding windows. Otherwise you are shielded from wind and weather by the placement of the walls.

The materials are very rich and expressive, but the green marble, silvery steel and beige sandstone also gives a tranquil feel. The material meetings are direct and without any extra lines or in between elements. The pavilion also features two reflection pools which add to the calmness and peace you feel. It adheres to the principles of clarity, simplicity and honesty. (Mies Van der Rohe Pavillion, n.d.)

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Gran Hotel Miramar Montjuic BCN, 1928 The Gran Hotel Miramar was first built in 1928 with a mix of classic and Baroque style. It was placed on the Montjuic mountain overlooking the ocean and at a prime spot for being looked upon from the harbour. Various movie stars etc. favoured the hotel for their stay in Barcelona and it had a Hollywood-vibe to it.

In 2007 the Hotel was extensively renovated and a new addition was built (see the following period).

Casa de la Marina Coderch/Valls Barceloneta BCN, 1951-54

The interior layout of the apartment building located in the neighbourhood of Barceloneta was inspired by the layout of GaudĂ­s Casa Mila.

Circulation is mainly connected via a central staircase and a lift opening directly into each of the apartments. The rooms are introverted and the facade is dominated by large venetian blinds.

(GonzĂĄlez and Lacuesta, 1999, p. 50) The Facade also has vertical bands of glazed orange tile. From the street it appears to be folding around the corner and the bottom floor is pulled back the part hanging out over the sidewalk is painted blue underneath as a contrast to the orange. The overhang of the roof elegantly finishes of the top of the building. Along with other apartment blocks by Coderch this was one of the first successful examples of merging the modern with the traditional Catalan characteristics.

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Catalan Architecture

Fundacio Miró Josep lluís Sert Montjuic BCN, 1972 - 1974 The Fundacio was drawn by Barcelona-born architect Josep Lluís Sert in collaboration with his close friend the artist Joan Miró. They aimed for an expression rooted in the Mediterranean tradition, creating a southern European environment. The Museum has a large roof terrace doubling as an extra exhibition space, and from here the skylights of the building seem like a series of small houses cloistered around a landscape.

Cert was inspired by Corbusier and let it be obvious that the walls were cast in concrete by leaving the imprint of the wooden molding. As a rationalist he believed in the honesty of material and not in creating monumental spaces. The terracotta floor throughout the museum helps underline these ideas.

One of the key features is the olive tree courtyard at center of the whole museum. From the roof terrace it creates the feeling of a cloister, and from the entrance level it frames the view out over Barcelona. The entrance level is purposefully raised so the view does not appear until you are by the door at the top of the ramp. The white walls are perhaps not a distinct Catalan feature, but the vaulting of the ceilings is based of the traditional Catalonian Vault.

(Fundacio Miro, Architectural trail, n.d.)

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Parc de la Creuta Oriol Bohigas, Josep Matorell, David Mackay Horta BCN, 1976 The park is located in what used to be an old quarry. This means that the landscape consists of a half circular steep slope and rough hillsides.

All the way atop the old quarry there is a hiking path continuing from here up other similar peaks, connecting the Collserola Mountains and the city.

The architects split the park into two zones.

One for children's play, and picnic with a large wooden clad plaza. The other with a variation of spaces to be inhabited by different gatherings and room for contemplation. This second zone has large reflective water pools, an amphi theater and winding, sloping paths. (Gonzรกlez and Lacuesta, 1999, p. 123) The materials of the park reflects its past with stone walls and oversize metal railings adding an industrial feel. In this area plants are allowed to grow somewhat wildly over the sides of terraces, in opposition to the other part where the landscape is much more groomed and controlled, with strategically placed palm trees and the warmth of the wooden deck.

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Catalan Architecture

Archery Range Enric Miralles, Carme Pinos Valld´hebron BCN, 1991 Redrawn simplified plan of the archery range

The structure was built for the 1992 olympics, where four areas of the city were transformed to host the event. The archery range is placed in the district Vall d'hebron on the northern outskirts of Barcelona, at the edge of the Collserola mountains.

The whole are slopes drastically, so the different facilities vary in levels and dig into the landscape, this is especially true for the Archery Range.

(GonzĂĄlez and Lacuesta, 1999, p. 157) The balance between the built and the excavated is a signature theme for Enric Miralles.

The changing room facilities are dug into the hillside with curvilinear walls walls separating the spaces.

The roof is created with a series of prefabricated concrete planes appearing to emerge from the hill and fan out along the structure. The free end of the planes are held up by angled steel colums adding an industrial feel. The overhang provides shade for the area in front of the structure. On the inside the folding and overlapping of the roof planes combined with the arched walls provide unique light situations, where daylight is let into the building.

(Radical Tectonics, 2001, p. 29) Miralles and Pinos used a combination of red brick, concrete and rough granite. The steel was painted dark red, so it both matches the brick, but also stands out against the grey concrete.

The architects have created a structure which at once seems thoroughly anchored, but also floating and very dynamic.

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Gran Hotel Miramar Oscar Tusquets Blancas Montjuic BCN, 2007

Structure

Volume

Original Facade

When the hotel was renovated in 2007, only the old main facade was kept. The architect added a new structure behind it, which terraces down the hill. The stepping of the new structure blends well with the landscape and the terrazing of the orange tree garden in front. Almost all 75 rooms have balconies, most of them with a view of the Mediterranean ocean. Sunscreens can be folded out over the balconies and create defined outdoor spaces extending the bedrooms.

The military green colour of the new structure lets the old facade stand out. The coulour also melts with the background landscape and takes on an almost forrest like structure with the columns, dark wood and copper finishes.(PaĂ­s, 2007) The official entrance to the hotel is actually found on the opposite side, where you walk down a driveway and in under the hotel. There is a small roundabout for taxis etc. with a fountain in the middle. Over the fountain there is a cutout in the middle, allowing for a couple of palm trees to grow upwards and for the sun to come in.

The interior is played down with beige sandstone. A material which is continued up through the internal atrium, a part which the architect was particularly proud of.

"It is essential that hotels have heart, so people know where and who you are when you leave your room".

- Oscar Tusquets Blanca 127

Catalan Architecture

Parc Nou Barris Carmen Fiol & Andreu Arriola Nou Barris BCN, 1999 - 2007 The park stretches through the Nou Barris neighbourhood, connecting various historical points including an old aqueduct and a library. At the time of the parks construction, the district did not have a defined identity, but was a mix of various neighbourhoods that grew into one another. The idea with the park was to connect the neighbourhoods more. It has become a green lung of the most dense part of the district and was part of the Barcelona-model recovery of the districts. In retrospective Parc Nou Barris is considered to be one of the most successful green areas implemented during this period. It works with a triangular geometry with large surface pavements in red brick and yellow tile creating a fragmented geometrical landscape inspired by Cubism. (“Arriola Fiol, arquitectes | Parc Central de Nou Barris – Barcelona,” n.d.)

The concept of the circulation of the park is to not give the visitor an obvious path to walk through it. Instead you will follow a path and pass or end up unexpectedly by one of the historical sites. The sloping landscapes is used to create a variety of seating areas without adding benches.

The materials used in the park highlight each other. The brightness of the tile make the old brick structures stand out and greenery softens the thresholds between the different park spaces.

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Convention center Josep LluĂ­s Mateo Diagonal - BCN, 2004 The largest convention facility in southern Europe. An enormous metal structure reflecting the sunlight. The most interesting part of the building is its' semitransparent skin. Punctured metal panels fold into a somewhat organic structure, sensitive to daylight and climatic conditions. This skin seems to unzip from the building volume, but also unifies the whole complex. It is the organic aspect in an otherwise very orthogonal building. The folding provides shade and shelter, where it is needed. The statics of the building are very complex with trusses keeping it all together. (Lleonart and Moreno, 2007, p. 190)

Auditori Forum Herzog Demeuron Diagonal - BCN, 2004 A giant dark blue triangle soaring over an asphalt landscape. The space under the building becomes one with the square around it. The main part of the building touches the ground at 17 points and at certain points light-wells are excavated from the volume and let skylight come through. (Lleonart and Moreno, 2007, p. 140) The exterior of the building is finished of with a rough dark blue stucco adding an earthy tactility.

The rough surface is contrasted with silvery hightech materials like patterned metal screens and mirrors meant to look like water streaming down the facade.

The forum was the main building designed for the Forum of Cultures event in 2004. It is placed right next to the Convention Center. Despite the buildings vast size, they do not seem overpowering, since most buildings in this area are of a similar scale. The forum building went practically unused for a long time until part of the Natural history Museum moved in.

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Catalan Architecture

B

APPENDIX : Hostel Case-studies

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CASA GRACÌA (BCN) XL HO(S)TEL •

• • • • •

Capacity for up to 500 guests • 1-2 room appartments • Full suites • Single rooms • Double rooms • 4-bed dorm rooms Kitchen with dining area Large dining room Outdoor terrace Library Tranquil work space

Description:

Casa Gracia is a cross between a hostel and a hotel. It is very large extending over 6 floors and 2 buildings. The size means it has the capacity to accommodate large groups like school classes etc.

It is not like your typical hostel, but has a much more grown up and elegant atmosphere. Casa Gracia does not have a hang-out and an outdoor chill space. It has a library and a terrace. The common activities are things like wine tasting, jazz music and theater. It captures the mood of the shopping street Passeig de Gracia right outside the door.

The whole complex has one main reception, but also a secondary one up on the first floor by the common spaces.

Casa Gracia has a very welcoming and spacious kitchen with inspiring writing on the walls, all the utencils you can think of and a whole shelf of spices you can throw in your food. The kitchen is centered around a large island and a rustic dining table with benches. You are free to take your food into the dining room or out on the terrace, but if the kitchen is not overcrowded, it seems like an obvious choice to sit down here and chat to whoever might come by.

The library space is a room with large windows letting in lots of daylight. There is large leather arm chairs and bookshelfs where you can find something to read or leave the book you are done with for the next person.

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Hostels

GENERATOR (BCN) Colourful intricate interior •

• • • • • • •

Capacity for up to 500 guests • Luxury penthouse • Double privates • Single privates • 8 bed mixed dorm • 6 bed female dorm • 4 bed dorm Cafe/bar on the ground floor Lounge area on ground floor Lounge area w. computer games etc.

Pool table and fuss ball table Canteen dining in the basement Outdoor terrace only for special events Extra common areas for groups.

Description:

The generator hostel belongs to the XL group of hostels, with 5 floors of rooms it is extremely big and hosts a lot of groups like school classes etc. The interior of the hostel is inspired by the annual “Fiesta de Graciá” which takes place in the neighbourhood where the hostel is located. It is a street party with food and music. The streets are decorated with coulourful paper lanterns and different themes. The ceiling of the first floor cafe and bar is filled with these lanterns. The floor in this area is a plastic version of the tile you find all over the streets of Barcelona. The surfaces of the common areas have a richness and intention to them. All bathrooms have colourful and patterned tiles as a pop of colour. The Generator hostel has put a lot of effort into the interior design and to make it capture the vibe of Barcelona and the Graciá neighbourhood. It works really well in the downstairs bar and lounge but in the upstairs more relaxed lounge area it somehow seems a bit too staged. It seems a little bit like a computer game interior. No daylight comes in here and since the floor is open to the reception area a lot of noise comes up there.

Generator Barcelona does not have a kitchen for its’ guests, you can eat in the canteen or at the cafe, but there is a big social catalyst missing. None of the common spaces make it easy or effortless to connect with others. The room ends up being the most connecting space for meeting others, and here you are limited to the up to 8 people you share it with.

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ONE-HOSTEL GAUDÍ (BCN) SMALL and SOCIAL •

•

The hostel describes itself as a home away from home, where you will get to feel like part of a family. Like most hostels it is run by a live-in staff, the difference here is that the designated space for staff is so small that they really do end up using the common space like their living room.

The Gaudí hostel is very much a social hostel, where all the social functions are organized within one single room. The closest you get to a private escape is sitting in your own bed.

The hostel has “box”-beds, which are more comfortable than regular bunk beds and gives more privacy by only being open on one side.

With only three rooms for guests, the Gaudí hostel is very small and you will quickly see and know everyone who stays there.

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Plan; 1:400

Bathroom

Toilet

Description:

Bathroom

Laundry

Common Area 84 m2

• • •

Luggage

• •

4 rooms + one for staff • 3 x 8-bed dorm • 1 x 16-bed dorm 40 beds (32 for guests) One large common area w.

• Kitchen/dining, • Lounge/tv area • Reception.

Separate mens and womens bathrooms with 2 showers and a toilet each Handicap accessible bathroom Luggage room/storage Laundry facilities

Hostels

AMISTAT BEACH HOSTEL (BCN) Brand new with beach-vibe

Tv Room 35 m2

• • •

Breakfast / common area 132 m2

• • • •

Reception 38 m2

•

150 beds all on one seperate floor • 12, 8 or 5 bed dorms • Private rooms ensuite Common area - with pull out counters for breakfast and parties. DJ station and bean bags.

Kitchen with dining area Small courtyard connected to kitchen Tv / lounge area Separate mens and womens bathrooms with 6 showers and a toilet each Handicap accessible bathroom Luggage room/storage Laundry facilities

Luggage Storage

•

Description:

Kitchen 50 m2

Laundry Toilet

Toilet

Toilet

Courtyard 12 m2

The hostel is located close to the beach a theme that is used in the interior decorating. The thresholds between the spaces are very intentional and well thought out. Amistat is medium sized and is very unique in the way all rooms are placed together on the 2nd floor. 1st floor is dedicated to showers, bathrooms and other practicalities.

The social spaces are placed on the ground floor and created so they can easily be transformed for different activities. This eliminates the noise problem between the spaces, you often have in hostels The main lounge area has a row of bean bag chairs and stacks of stools, which can be taken out for breakfast or dinner time. The room also has moveable counters that can be pulled out to form a

Plan; first floor 1:400

bar on the weekends.

Amistat has a full kitchen with a cooking island, only separated from the lounge space by an 80 cm step down, which facilitates a bench all the way around the dining area. A small courtyard creates a lightwell and gives daylight to the kitchen.

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C

APPENDIX : REFERENCES & INSPIRATIONS

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CASES DE CAP DE SETMANA AL GARRAF

LA RICARDA

Antonio Bonet Castellana El Prat de Llobregat, Barcelona

J. LL. Sert, J. Torres Clavé Costes del Garraf, Barcelona

Photo credits:

Pizza, A., Freixa, J., Sert, J.L., 1997. J. LL. Sert i la Mediterrània.

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Photo credits:

Eric Vökel, 2010. . Eric’s Blog

VAULT HOUSE

DIESTE HOUSE

JOHNSTON MARKLEE Oxnard Beach, California

Eladio DIeste Montevideo, Uraguay

Photo credits: www.dezeen.com/2014/03/17

Photo credits: Anderson, S., Dieste, E. (Eds.), 2004

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ESTATE IN EXTREMADURA

GARDEN HOUSE

ร BATON ARCHITECTS Province of Cรกceres

Manuel Bailo & Rosa Rull Unknown, Catalonia

Photo credits: www.abaton.es/en/projects

Photo credits: ARQCAT:: [arquitectura catalana].

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SINGLE-FAMILY HOUSES

BALDARAR HOUSE

CARME PINOS Rosas, Gerona

LANGARITA NAVARRO ARCHITECTS Benidorm, ALICANTE

Photo credits: Pinรณs, C., Torres, A.M., Moreno, R., 2003.

Photo credits: Vidani, P., n.d. langarita-navarro

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MASTERS RESUMÈ

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6th semester:

(Bachelor’s project AAA)

Reprogramming the Paper Island // tutor: Lena Kondrup - Transforming a large industrial space in central Copenhagen

7th semester: Exchange student at NJIT - New Jersey Institute of Technology

8th semester: Internship - Constructa, rüdgivende arkitekter og ingeniører - Silkeborg - Overview of the building process from start to finish.

- Sketch proposals for single-family housing and renovations.

- Collaboration with clients/municipality.

9th semester: Studio M.A.D. - Rural habitation // tutor: Charlotte Bundgaard - Development of a narrative from site, to furniture to building

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