CONCEPT: EXCHANGE
Politics consist of social relations involving authority or power, indeed it is a process of exchange by which groups of people make collective decisions. But exchanges are not always possible, in some cases they need to be fostered through architecture. It appears that blurring the boundaries and the functions between architectural elements, like doors, walls, and facade, seems to facilitate these interactions. Political and social interactions are more likely to happen when you have a high density of people. Encouraging points of encounter within the city, will also decrease the control that the government has upon individuals, and the exchange of their ideas.
Havana
and the public transport system The Effect of economic restrictions on transport practices in Cuba Like many developing nations, Cuba has been undergoing a revolution in the way its society lives, works and accesses mobility. Events have led to a transformation in how goods and people are moved , not least because of a huge reduction in the amount of hard currency available to pay for fuel , vehicles and spare parts. This resulted in a number of innovative behavioural and technological outcomes. Cuba thus provides an enhanced example of how physical, economic and social factors influence the development of transport systems. At the national level, the planning policy mechanisms have reduced the need for travel , while the lack of transport supply has ensured that only ‘necessary’ trips are made.
train railways
Trips that are made are carried out either on vehicles operating at very high capacity or by using less or non-polluting modes. At an individual level, citizens are extremely aware as to the cost of transport and as such tend to conduct those journeys that are necessary. Higher transport use is inevitable, but America’s blockade may have nudged Cuba towards a more sustainable and less transport intensive society.
Alepuz M and Valdés Ríos H (2002) The urban transportation in time of crisis: The case of Havana, Proceedings of CODA
bus routes
camellos or omnibus
“camionetes”
metrobus
train railways
bici-taxis
taxis
main car routes
La Plaza de la Revolucion
and the central bus station
green spaces
monuments
paths : pedestrians
high ways and main roads
concrete ground : public space
roads : secondary usage
voids / buildings : interstitial spaces
monuments
concrete ground : public space
green spaces
roads : secondary usage
transitional spaces : traffic flows
paths : pedestrians
high ways and main roads
Idea of centralizing the different means of transport onto the plaza de la revolucion and create some new topography wher the monuments would not be the main focus of the plaza but the people.
Mode of transport
The topography will the need of the people, creating adapted waiting areas and some more direct ways for the pedestrians whose number keep on increasing.
Pedestrian Bicycle Enterprise bus Other Public bus Camello Car
The bus station will be one f the main hub of the plaza as it is th emeans of transport that needs the more improvement.
% in 1981 6.0 <1.0 3.5 84.5 6.0
% in 1998 43.0 13.5 10.8 10.8 9.5 6.7 5.6
La Plaza de la Revolucion
topography and points of views Today the plaza and its topography have been design, to put the emphasis on the political building to give them a dominating position onto the users and visitors of the plaza.
cuban pavillon : idea of presering the original landscape
top : At the corner of the Rampa and the street N, the pavillon of Cuba reveals the topography of the original site. The project was built in 1963 for the UIA congress. bottom : photo of the plaza during a political speech.
actual omnibus station
ministry of internal affair
buildings
todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s streets
todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s topography
Copella : the building plays with ligth and nature, its ground floor, covered by plants, looks more like a public plaza.
original topography
points of view : From the plaza once can not miss the domination of the political buildings.
The location of the buildings was determined in such a way that one could not miss them and that everybody could feel their power.
La Plaza de la Revolucion concept
to creat a dynamic and open this closed place to the rest of the city, to make it a place place of exchange and transparency. The plaza will thus open his borders, indeed they will blend into the the landscape, and transport network. The limit of the plza will no longer be limited byvegetal life roads, nor buildings as they will be part of this plaza, making it a hub of exchange at various levels, as well as a greener space : mainly socially and politically.
Idea of linking the building together on one layer and continuing the existing streets through the plaza.
La Plaza de la Revolucion
concept
On the first plan on the right one can see in black the zones which the planted areas on the ground level, the image above shows the ways these plants couls spread in time.
THE PLAZA DE LA REVOLUCION concept