A Q U A // T E R R A H AVA N A Rachel Braude, Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett
A Q U A // T E R R A THE ISLAND OF RECIPROCITY Ellie Sillett
A Q U A // T E R R A THE CORAL MUELLE Henri Lacoste
A Q U A // T E R R A THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION Rachel Braude
02
03
CONTENTS
i. SYNOPSIS OF THESIS
i i . G LOS S A RY O F T E R M S
iii. THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
0 1 . H AVA N A A S H AV E N
0 2 . F I LT E R I N G
03. MUELLE
04. QUARRYING / tilling
05. DOUBLING
06. DISMANTLING
0 7. R E C I P R O C I T Y
08. STUDIO / TESTING
09. CONFIGURING / calibrating
-
ENDNOTES
-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
-
IMAGE REFERENCES
- APPENDIX
i.
06
A Q U A // T E R R A Synopsis
The shared meta-thesis is concerned to operate within a moment of prolonged anticipation, uncertainty, transition and flux; the present condition of the Cuban republic as it hovers between isolation and contact. Cuba is on the cusp of change, its insular economy open to a restricted but highly lucrative substantial economic shift in the island economy since the fall of the Soviet Union and the complete cultural and economic isolation that ensued. Havana is enveloped by water and the sea is at its backbone. The city has always had an extreme relationship with the bay, from its foundation as a city, to times of military advancement or economic strength. Havana’s harbour was once seen as a ‘haven’ and this is said to be the origin of the city’s name. Three projects are proposed that triangulate around the bay of Havana, addressing these concerns of economy, insularity and flux together with the historic relationship between land and sea. The first project deals directly with an opportunistic and reciprocal relationship between the city and the cruise liners; the second addresses the state owned businesses which must adjust as a consequence of the influx of tourism; and the third engages the economy of tourism as it begins to feed into the reconstruction of the city of Havana.
SYNOPSIS
and potential seismic tourist dollar. Tourism as an industry represents the most
08
09
A Q U A // T E R R A THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
Synopsis
Aqua // Terra : The Archipelago of Reconstruction focuses on a doubling, on another city of Havana that contains all the materials to rebuild the city. The thesis deals with the economy of tourism as it begins to feed into the reconstruction of the city of Havana.
city from the ancient wall to the harbour and addresses the dilemma of reconstruction and repair and the consequential problem of population displacement. There is the scale of the warehouse of the Sierra Maestra depot, and the dense field of the compressed city and the temporary housing for those displaced in this process; and then there is the archipelago of islands and infrastructures that hold, test and prepare the materials for the reconstruction of the city itself. The fourth scale is that of the micro-architectures, of both the testing station and the ‘memory houses’ for the cultural histories of the city. These operate as programmatic transects through the macro territory, each with specific operations and characteristics facilitating the choreography and movement of the archipelago. The islands lie in flux; responding to changes in weather conditions and citywide events and festivals, while facilitating the movement of citizens from Habana Vieja across the bay to La Regla.
SYNOPSIS
The architecture operates at four scales; the first explores the seam of the
O R I E N TAT I O N Aqua // Terra : The Archipelago of Reconstruction 1. Jose Felix Martin de Arrate : Projected Room 2. Alexander von Humboldt : Projected Room 3. El Caballero de Paris : Projected Room 4. Ana Mendieta : Projected Room 5. Yemoja : Projected Room 6. El Ceramista : Projected Room 7. The Guardian of the City / Testing Station : Projected Room 8. 1:200 model of The Guardian of the City 9. The Archipelago unpacked out into Bahia de la Habana 10. The Archipelago packed away during storm conditions 11. Framing the thesis drawing/model - Identification of macro and micro territories
12. The Archipelago of Reconstruction in relation to The Coral Muelle 13. The Warehouse partially filled with materials 14. Shadow section through The Warehouse 15. A selection of islands of The Archipelago 16. Environmental and ecological bay analysis, looking at the triangulation of the three projects 17. The Calibration Table 18. The Archipelago of Reconstruction thesis drawing
13.
15.
14.
16.
11.
12. 10.
9.
8.
1. 2.
5. 4.
6. 7.
O R I E N TAT I O N
3.
18. 17.
ii.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS
The glossary defines key words which explore the working methodology of Aqua//Terra: The Archipelago of Reconstruction. Here the reader is offered both a relevant, a thesis specific definition. W O R D [noun] [Etymology / derivation of the word]
+
1.
Dictionary definition
2.
Dictionary definition
Aqua // Terra definition The Archipelago of Reconstruction definition
G LOS S A RY O F T E R M S
conventional dictionary definition, a shared meta-thesis definition and where
H A V E N [noun] [Pre 1050; Middle English] Derived from the German Hafen 1.
A harbour or port
2.
A place of shelter and safety
A term used to describe a place of prosperity and a positive state. Used by early settlers to describe Havana.
F I L T E R I N G [verb] [1375 – 1425; Late Middle English] From the Medieval Latin filtrum meaning piece of a felt used to strain liquids 1.
The separating out of elements through a material or substance
2.
The removal or separation of certain elements using a particular device
Derived from the porous rock used as a water filter at the Casa Del
Agua, filtering encompasses the acts of holding, releasing and
stockpiling.
+
The movement and testing of materials and people.
M U E L L E [noun] From the Latin moles meaning jetty 1.
A landing pier
2.
A dock, wharf or jetty
The muelle is the blurred threshold between land and sea, it is both
an extension of the city and at the same time an extension of the bay
therefore classified as an edge condition. It is the gate to the city
where goods are housed, stored and sorted.
+
The threshold between land and sea; A place for the materials of the
city and the harbour to be laid out at its foreground.
Q U A R R Y I N G [verb] [1375 – 1425; Middle English] From the Latin quareria meaning the place where stone is squared 1.
To cut into rock or ground to obtain stone or other materials
2.
Linked to quarry [noun] meaning an abundant source or supply
It is the act of unpacking a rich set of information. It allows
information to be tested in parallel enabling a plurality of meanings
and understandings to emerge.
+
An action that takes place at the scale of the city, the proposed architecture and the studio constructs. - The act of tilling the land and turning over histories of the city, leaving behind a fertile ground from which to imagine. - The act of dredging the bay to obtain productive materials and improve the quality of what is left behind
D I S M A N T L I N G [verb] [1570-1580; Middle French] From desmanteler meaning to tear down the walls of a fortress 1.
+
To disassemble, deconstruct or take apart It is the disassembly and deconstruction of a rich set of information with a desire to uncover deeper meaning. Disassembling and deconstructing the material and cultural fabrics of the city and its pigment and conditions.
D O U B L I N G [verb] [1175 -1225; Middle English] From the Latin duplus meaning equivalent to 1.
To duplicate something exactly or form another of close resemblance
2.
To create another to form a couple or pair
It is the use of existing information to create another, may that be
something similar in form, figure or concept. The act of ‘doubling’
sets up a line of inquiry between the old and new.
+
Creating another displaced version of something, while maintaining all of the same values as the original but in a different
form.
G LOS S A RY O F T E R M S
- The act of carving to reveal recesses, housings and shadow
R E C I P R O C I T Y [noun] [1560-70] From the Latin reciproc(us) meaning returning 1.
Mutual exchange
+
A mutual dependency and a programmatic
strengthening through a synergetic relationship
S T U D I O [noun] [Early 19th Century; Latin] From the Latin studium meaning study 1.
A place of experimentation, investigation and observation
2.
A place for the exchange of ideas
It is a place for the application of exploratory techniques, where
ideas are ever evolving. Modes of inquiry within the testing ground,
of the studio, are strengthened by the three way dialogue between
allied theses.
T E S T I N G [verb] 1.
The means by which the presence, quality, or genuineness of
anything is determined; a means of trial
2.
A particular process or method for trying or assessing
+
A working method that utilises small architectural interventions to
understand and explore wider implications.
C O N F I G U R I N G [verb] [1550-1560; Late Latin] From configurare meaning to mold, shape or reshape 1.
The arrangement of parts or elements to explore new meaning
The re purposing of found information to inform design. It is
taking information found from research and using it within a new
testing ground or condition to inform design moves and decisions.
+
A setting and adjusting of new architectures in relation to an existing set of conditions.
C A L I B R A T I N G [ verb] 1.
To divide or mark with gradations, graduations, or other indexes of
degree 2.
+
To plan or devise (something) carefully so as to have a precise use The intrinsic link between the city and the proposed architecture
LO C K
+
A micro-architecture that negotiates and engages with the grain of an identified territory
FIELD
+
Field is fertile and its productivity is best achieved through a
process of constant working. These processes yield intended
results, while also uncovering the unexpected. It draws from
research of spatial, historical and cultural layers of the city. It is a
crafted form of representation that looks to reveal urban, spatial,
programmatic, material and tectonic possibilities.
PROJECTED ROOM A ‘room’ identified for its key engagement with the overall
thesis programmatic. It is the space where the ergonomics of the
programme, form, materiality and environmental conditioning are
at their most precise.
GNOMON
+
A construct that embodies and acts out things far greater than
itself. It casts the intangible world onto the surfaces of the space we
physically occupy; that of the studio.
CHARACTER
+
A small architectural proposal that responds to characteristics
and cultural memories of a person/place who historically visited
Havana/impacted the city in a strange way
BARBACOA
+
An architecture within an architecture. It has a fragile relationship with the building it is reliant on for its structure.
G LOS S A RY O F T E R M S
+
-
NOTE TO READER
Aqua // Terra : The Archipelago of Reconstruction is the fourth and final volume of the set. The format, structure and approach of this volume is consistent with the previous three. There are two different ways in which the text progresses; one which is the introduction and elaboration of the volume itself, and one which is to do with the reflective voice. The latter is set up by a dialogue of call and response on consecutive pages, graphically distinguished by vertical text and a pairing of symbols.
iii.
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
a an
b
Ha
01
eja
Vi
la
eg
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
R La
MACRO -TERRITORY: THE ARCHIPELAGO
A series of islands lie in Bahia de la Habana along an axial trajectory that connects the harbour’s edge of Habana Vieja, from the derelict Sierra Maestra depot, with the shores of La Regla.
02
The Warehouse
Concrete Iron + Steel
Testing Station
Reconstruction Each island respectively produces and stores materials as a prelude to the reconstruction of the city of Havana. Buoyant and static infrastructures and yard-like typologies make up the morphological fabric of the archipelago. 03
Timber
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
Limestone Brick
Plaster + Stucco
Paint
Ceramics
04
05
Movement of Materials Raw materials brought to The Coral Muelle are dispersed along The Archipelago of Reconstruction. They are prepared on the islands and temporarily stored on barges before moving to either The Warehouse as a prelude to the reconstruction
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
of the city; or to The Coral Muelle to be sold.
06
Choreography of movement : storm response The Archipelago lies in a position vulnerable to attack by storms and hurricane winds. Consequently, the static elements are more resilient and are cast down to the sea floor, while buoyant architectures retreat to the shores of Habana Vieja and La Regla to seek anchorage and refuge. 07
08
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
Choreography of movement : people, public space and events The formation of the productive landscape is such that it forms a pedestrian bridging connection between Habana Vieja and La Regla. Additionally, the yard-like conditions offer more public spaces to the city. The moveable nature of many of these infrastructures and barges allows for stages, facilities and rigs to be provided for the spillage of events and festivals, out onto the muelle’s edge and The Island of Reciprocity.
09
10 THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
THE WAREHOUSE
The Compressed City The Sierra Maestra depot lies at the threshold between land and sea. It acts as a warehouse for the storage of three sets of materials; those that are newly produced and waiting to rebuild the city; the rubble taken from reconstructed buildings within the city; and sediment and material dredged from the bay. Additionally, this highly dense field of material acts as a temporary housing for citizens who are displaced during the reconstruction process. 11
12 THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
MICRO-ARCHITECTURES: T Y P O LO G I C A L C H A R ACT E R S
The Testing Station : The Guardian of the City The Guardian of the City is a testing station, which drifts between islands. It docks alongside or within the islands and tests the materials produced against the extreme climatic conditions of Cuba - namely; rainwater, salt-water; high heat; and high humidity. The station is used to analyse and inspect the materials in order to improve their durability, with the aim of dealing with the reconstruction of Havana in a sustainable manner.
13
14 THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
15
Ana Mendieta
Alexander von Humboldt
Jose Felix Martin de Arrate
Caballerro de Paris
The Guardian of the City
El Ceramista
Yemoja Memory Houses Six Memory Houses deal with the less tangibly quantifiable and strange aspects of the city, responding to the cultural fabric and historical memories of Havana. These characters sit within the length of The Archipelago, from the city’s edge to La Regla.
16
17
Jose Martin Felix Arrate Jose Martin Felix Arrate looks after the strange form of map that is The Warehouse. He is also the gatekeeper for the muelle, controlling and logging goods that are entering and leaving The Coral Muelle, by the reinstated tramline that runs along the harbour’s edge. Similarly, he facilitates the movement of people from the pavement of
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
Habana Vieja through The Warehouse.
18
Alexander von Humboldt Alexander von Humboldt takes care of the distressed islands as they shelter from storms that hit Bahia de la Habana. He provides an anchorage to be safely tethered to and protected from turbulent conditions. To the public, he provides shelter in the form of silence from the ceaseless sound of Havana.
19
20
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
21
El Caballero de Paris [The Gentleman of Paris] The Gentleman of Paris operates out-with normal forms of inquiry and logic. He oversees the choreography of the movement of islands, while dealing with the chaos and shifting of elements out in the bay. Similarly, he orchestrates the packing and unpacking of materials within The Warehouse.
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
The Gentleman of Paris provides the passing pedestrians with a place of extreme shadow and light, in which to pause and reflect upon these qualities of Habana Vieja.
22
Ana Mendieta Ana Mendieta forms bridges between islands, while tending to the bay. Mechanisms and screens are used to dredge and filter detritus and productive materials from Bahia de la Habana. She provides the public with a submerged gallery. 23
24 THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
Yemoja: The Water Deity Yemoja: The Water Deity acts as a seagate for boats, while providing a place to pray for something to protect you; a gateway to the sea. She protects the inner harbour from the journey out to sea. Yemoja harvests and filters rainwater to provide passers-by with fresh drinking water. Additionally, she provides a salt-water public swimming pool, which uses meshes and screens to filter oils and pollutants from the sea. 25
26
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
27
El Ceramista : La Tierra a la Ciudad The workshop of El Ceramista acts as a connection point and gateway to La Regla. The ceramist is someone who transforms the ground into art. They lift earth from the world of The Warehouse, making it into ceramics and then offering it back to the city itself.
The thesis proposition will be bled into the set of terminologies established in Volume 1: Havana and defined in the Glossary of Terms at the beginning of this
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
volume.
28
29
30
01.
H AVA N A A S H AV E N
Introduction
As described in Volume 1 : Havana, early settlers are said to have named Havana after the term ‘haven’, in light of the characteristics and qualities that the harbour engendered. The once prosperous and ornate city of Havana now lies in a state of disrepair, with materials in short supply, while the bay which once provided safety and fortune to the city is in a poor ecological condition. Havana as Haven is now a faltering perspective. The Archipelago of Reconstruction lies within this context, with the issue of the material fabric at its focus.
The dereliction of buildings within Habana Vieja, exposing layers of history
31
32
The city in desperate need of repair
33
H AVA N A A S H AV E N
Scarcity of construction materials
34
35
M AT E R I A L FA B R I C
Due to the non financially profitable nature of conserving and repairing housing, efforts and finances have been focused on more profitable conservation programmes, to the detriment of the housing stock. It is, however, undeniable that the housing density in Habana Vieja, of 23,850km2, is uncomfortably high and is now viewed as being a fundamental issue in terms of “harmonious human, economic and social growth.”1 Currently, however, density and vernacular heritage of the city are being lost, with citizens being displaced to areas outside of Habana Vieja. It is said that there is a shortage of
H AVA N A A S H AV E N
as buildings are reconstructed the
500,000 housing units for the size of the population.2 The informal housing typology of the ‘barbacoa’ was established in response to this housing shortage. ‘Barbacoas’ are houses or structures built inside houses, making use of the vertical generosity of the buildings in order to add living space. This is however, often done at the detriment of the structural integrity of the original building.
36
Barbacoa
37
Density and condition of Habana Vieja
38
Polluted and turbulent waters of Bahia de la Habana
E C O LO G I C A L
Bahia de la Habana (The Bay of Havana), lies in an extremely poor ecological condition primarily due to its use by the industrial sector, which lies along the shores of the bay, as a place to discharge untreated waste. Similarly, untreated
waste
from
the city and surrounding inlets is expelled into the bay. This has created a poor ecosystem for aquatic life and thus negatively impacted the local fishing community. 39
40
H AVA N A A S H AV E N
Bathymetric study of the depths of the bay
41
N.E. prevailing wind direction and ocean currents
H AVA N A A S H AV E N
Geological condition and health of aquatic system
Concentration of pollutants
Sand shoals and rock shelves are found around the shores
Industrial waste from the crude oil refinery
of Casablanca and La Regla. The highest levels of dissolved
and the Marimelena inlet.
220,000m3 / day of organic waste from Guasa
bacoa inlet and LuyanĂł river
Urban waste and large volumes of untreated
wastewater discharged from AtarĂŠs inlet
oxygen are at the mouth of the bay, reflecting a better health of the aquatic system in this water region.
42
02.
F I LT E R I N G [verb]
+
The movement and testing of materials and people
Each of the proposed micro-architectures act as filters, in various ways and at differing scales. This chapter will focus on The Guardian of the City: The Testing Station as a example.
43
44
F I LT E R I N G
The animate nature and architectural language of The Guardian of the City, facilitating the testing of materials
The textural grain of Bahia de la Habana lies in flux, as materials are prepared and moved
The grain of the bay shifts as islands and materials seek refuge from storms and turbulent weather conditions 45
M OV E M E N T O F M AT E R I A LS Raw materials arrive at The Coral Muelle primarily by cargo boat or via train and tram. They are unpacked and reloaded onto smaller boats for distribution along The Archipelago. The prepared materials are stored on barges before moving to The Warehouse, or to The Coral Muelle, to be sold within the city or to be dispersed further afield via the tramline to the trainline at Estaciรณn Central de Ferrocarriles in the south of Habana
F I LT E R I N G
Vieja.
46
M OV E M E N T O F M AT E R I A LS
All of the material that accumulates within The Warehouse, whether it is newly prepared or rubble from the city, is relative to the material required for the rebuilding of the Havana. The Warehouse becomes a map for the survey of the city. 47
F I LT E R I N G
Accumulation and diminution of materials, forming A Map for the Survey of the Building Condition of Havana.
48
Festival del Redentore, Venice
MOVEMENT OF PEOPLE
The collection of islands form a Redentore-like bridge between Habana Vieja and La Regla. During weekends and holidays, when the flow of pedestrians is likely to increase, citizens dock their boats between islands to form additional connections across the bay. The barges and yard spaces form additional public and performance spaces. 49
Movement of pedestrians across The Archipelago. Spot heights marking moments of activity, such as the gathering of boats to
watch performance, or the movement of seagates to allow boats to pass through.
50
F I LT E R I N G
M I C R O -A R C H I T E CT U R E S : T Y P O LO G I C A L C H A R ACT E R S
51
52 THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
T E ST I N G M AT E R I A LS
The Guardian of the City is comprised of a series of testing towers, each with specific conditions; a truss crane arm and a finely calibrated buoyant deck and yard space. This is navigated between islands by tug boat and docked into specified anchorages.
The docking and undocking of The Guardian of the City : Testing Station from the Stone Mason’s Yard
53
54
F I LT E R I N G
T E ST I N G M AT E R I A LS
Deck The deck’s textural surface is calibrated to the programmatic function of The Testing Station. Perforated steel skins allow dust to be collected in trays below, while textured steel prevents slipping elsewhere. The buoyant docks act as a counterweight to the data manuscript wall, while also providing a docking point for boats. 55
56
F I LT E R I N G
Furniture
D E TA I LS
-Steel 01. Light porosity testing + microscopic analysis detail of projected room
-80mm pre-cast concrete panels hung on steel brackets anchoring back to concrete
light
porosity
testing + Microscopic analysis
A. Buoyant docks
table
B. ‘Nodding duck’ wave energy
02. Hinge detail between stationary
C. Truss crane
dock + deck
D. Finely calibrated stone mason’s deck
-Long
steel
l-hinge
plate
connects deck and truss structure
-Vapour barrier -Mineral wool insulation 140mm -Steel reinforced concrete 230mm Reinforcement 50mm from exposed concrete -Surface to protect from marine environment -Cold water pipes running through -Water pumped from sea bed
concrete dock
G. Delicate stone sample testing
-Hinge joint allows deck to
H. Crane control
tidal changes + loads applied to
I. Accelerated drying room
floating docks
J. Microscopic analysis + light
-Additional deck sits underneath
porosity testing laboratory
the primary deck on the concrete
K. Secure legislation document
to
track system
-Reinforced concrete 230mm
storage L. Stone sample rainwater testing well M. Stone sample salt-water testing well
-Vapour barrier -Mineral wool insulation 140mm -Timber battens 50x50mm
03. Hinge detail between two moving
N. Fire testing
elements: dock + deck
O. Inhabited wall - data log manuscript storage
-Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm Floor -Steel i beam 100mm
-Long steel l-hinge plate connects
P. Hollow deck housing services
deck and truss structure to floating
Q. Testing station buoyant deck
dock
-Steel joists 100mm -Mineral wool insulation 100mm -Timber battens 50x50mm
with ballast chambers
-This dock takes the heaviest of loads, namely stone +ruined building elements, thus the space
-Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm
under the deck is reserved for a
Roof glazing
laboratory
rotate accordingly in relation to
to tide movement. Deck slides on
Rear wall
device F. Data collection laboratory
lengthen and shorten according
-Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm
E. Compression strength testing
to concrete supports on stationary
supports, allowing deck
-Timber battens 50x50mm
double
framed
harvester
Outer skin
-Insulated
SCHEDULE
5mm,
15mm, 5mm -Concertinaed fabric shutter system -
ballast chamber. The ballast provides a counter force to the loads applied to the dock
with rollers on steel tracks -Rainwater channel set into concrete The Guardian of The City : Testing Station 57
B.
01.
C.
J.
I.
K.
A. 03.
H.
O.
G.
02.
N.
F. M.
E. L. P. D.
Q.
58
04.
02.
01.
05.
03.
59
01. Outer skin
Mineral wool insulation 100mm
80mm pre-cast concrete panels
Timber battens 50x50mm
hung on steel brackets
Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm
Anchoring back to concrete Vapour barrier
04. Roof
Mineral wool insulation 140mm
Insulated double glazing 5mm,
Steel reinforced concrete 230mm
15mm, 5mm
- reinforcement 50mm from
Concertinaed fabric shutter
exposed concrete surface to
system - with rollers on steel
protect from marine environment
tracks
Cold water pipes running
Rainwater channel set into
through - water pumped from
concrete
sea bed Timber battens 50x50mm Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm
05. Furniture Light porosity testing + microscopic analysis table
02. Rear wall Reinforced concrete 230mm Vapour barrier F I LT E R I N G
Mineral wool insulation 140mm Timber battens 50x50mm Cuban pine panelling 13.5mm 03. Floor Steel i beam 100mm Steel joists 100mm
Light porosity testing + microscopic analysis / element of projected room 60
F I LT E R I N G T H R O U G H M AT E R I A L I T Y
Steel Louvres
Oculus
Filtering in relation to airflow and sunlight occurs at the
The oculus provides light to the floors below, while the
scale of the architecture itself, through the selection of
pivoting concave mirror intensifies both light and heat,
materiality and architectural details.
accelerating the drying time in the designated drying space below.
Controllable, pivoting steel fins encourage passive ventilation, while perforated steel meshes facilitate cross ventilation.
61
62
63
64
03.
Havana’s muelle : the unpacking of materials onto the foreground of the city
65
MUELLE [noun]
+
The threshold between land and sea; A place
for the materials of the city and the harbour to
be laid out at its foreground. 66
Terracotta roof tiles
Varied architectural styles Historical architectural influence 67
MUELLE
T H E M AT E R I A L G R A I N O F HABANA VIEJA
Architecturally, Havana is an extremely diverse city, with
This rich tapestry of influences has meant the material
the building styles and material fabric reflecting historical
grain of the city is equally varied. More resilient, often
and political events. The Spanish colonialists brought
religious buildings were constructed from limestone laden
Moorish and Baroque styles, while French settlers
with fossils and coral. While other buildings use a palette
followed with neoclassical influence. In the early 1900s,
of concrete; brick; timber; iron; terracotta and stucco.
after gaining independence from Spain, the architecture began to reflect American influence in a number of its pre-revolution governmental buildings.1 68
Islands storing materials : fields of materials
69
MUELLE
Islands storing materials : a tapestry of varied materials stacked together
70
SIERRA MAESTRA DEPOT
History The most southern warehouse of the Sierra Maestra Terminal was historically the depot for the storage of goods and amenities for Habana Vieja and trade beyond. It now lies as a ghost of the past; a memory of prosperous times. In a state of disrepair, there are just traces of activity remaining in the form of loading bays, storage demarcations and goods hoists. The Territory of the Barbacoa The facade of the depot is identified as the Territory of the Barbacoa, perceiving it as a threshold between land and sea; a boundary between the past and future. The ruinous nature of the facade demands a reciprocity with itself and the ‘lock’ mechanism.
The condition of the Sierra Maestra Depot
71
73
74 MUELLE
DREDGING BAHIA DE LA HABANA
Lock Initially dealing with the ecological condition of the bay, the lock mechanism dredges the harbour for productive and fertile materials. The morphology of the architecture is calibrated to the facade of the Sierra Maestra depot, identifying moments of ingress and weakness. An architectural language is established of steel grills and meshes, responding to both the climatic conditions and the methods for drying the silts and sediments. The tower provides a dwelling and laboratory for one worker to analyse the fertile material. Internally, the facade itself is braced by a row of supports, while a pivoting crane arm pierces through and disperses material into the warehouse for future use.
Behind the facade of Sierra Maestra Depot
Lock dispersing silt into the depot
75
76 MUELLE
T H E WA R E H O U S E O F M AT E R I A LS
The Archipelago of Reconstruction looks to the depot as the muelle; the place for laying the contents of the city prior to its reconstruction. Newly prepared materials and rubble from the demolished city form a highly dense field of columns, while beneath, the dredged material from the bay is accumulated. The Warehouse of Materials is always a double of the city itself.
The Warehouse at maximum capacity
Movement of shadow and light through the field of materials
77 100m 20m
78 MUELLE
1:1000
CITIZEN DISPLACEMENT
The Warehouse is seen as a ghost city of Havana; the city reformed into a different configuration; while depicting the extreme
Unité de Habitation, Le Corbusier
density and shadow found within the city itself. It is likened to Le Corbusier’s Unité de Habitation in this way and is imagined as
The density of The Warehouse of Materials
a place to temporarily rehouse the displaced citizens, during the reconstruction of their homes. 79
Movement of light and shadow amongst the columns of material
80
MUELLE
Quality of light inside Sierra Maestra
81
MUELLE
Sierra Maestra building condition
82
04.
83
Q U A R R Y I N G / tilling [verb]
Turning over the fertile ground of the city, in order to draw from the grain of the city itself
QUARRYING
+
100m 20m
84
Striations drawn back from the Sierra Maestra warehouse through the city, to the ancient wall
85
Mapping the points of ingress along the street facade of the Sierra Maestra terminal, forming the origin of the striations
pi pe s
ADUANA PUERTO HABANA
c ol umn s
d oor
ve n t
stair
ADUANA
ve hi c l e s
c orr i d or
eg g s
SAN PEDRO
d oc k
s t r uc t ure
ENTRADA DE PERSONAL
slit
d a rk n e s s water
pi pe s
offic e
GARAGE TA L L E R E S
CA P I TA N I A HABANA
CA P I TA N I A D E PUERTO
86
87
QUARRYING
Drawing striation lines mapped against the facade back through the city and compressing the tilled path into The Warehouse 88 100m 20m
89
QUARRYING
The build up of materials in The Warehouse, as a prelude to reconstructing the city. Memory Houses nestled amongst a dense city of columns as material builds up. 90
91
QUARRYING
Initial striations tilling back into the city, from the territory of the lock. Initial triangulation forming between three allied projects. 92
Mapping the cultural fabric of the city 93
QUARRYING
health
science
history community
mind botany care religion religion
anchorage
94
95
How did this mapping and investigative process of quarrying affect the physical model-making processes?
M E T H O D O LO GY
96
The physical processes of routing, carving and cutting have been enjoyed for the shadow and depth produced, while making productive use of off-cut materials .
M E T H O D O LO GY
05.
sta
mi
ra Ce
In
el
ad
si gle
r
C to
n Sa
u
B el
od ist
V en
e
iaj
d
en
A
97
M na
DOUBLING
Creating another displaced version of something, while
maintaining all of the same values as the original but
in a different form.
DOUBLING
+
die
M
en
ta
er
e od
El
ll ba Ca
r Pa
is
ldt bo
n
eja
Al
o dr
vo
um nH
a
eM
Jos
n rti
li Fe
r xA
e ret
98
Doubling the more resilient architectures from the city into the sea 99
100
100m
DOUBLING
101
DOUBLING
Doubling the tilled city into Bahia de la Habana.
102
THE DOUBLING PROCESS
The islands of The Archipelago taking on initial forms based upon the footprint of the doubled grain of the city; the programmatic interests and the ground condition beneath. 103
DOUBLING
The buoyant architectures drifting within the bay, while the static, resilient elements remain in place.
104
105
106
How does doubling play out at the scale of constructs?
DOUBLING 107
THE GNOMON
The Gnomon explored the journey from within the city, through The Warehouse, to the islands out in the bay.
108
The Warehouse is re-formed from 3D print to oak and then reverse cast into plaster. Creating another version of the same object in this way is interesting, as the results are uncontrollable. Aspects get altered in the process - for instance the grain of the oak is intensified when cast into a plaster double, while the sharpness of the oak edges is lost. (see appendix)
DOUBLING
DOUBLING
Doubling of the grain of the city and identification of micro-architectural forms within a set of parameters and an established language of barges, yards and towers
CASA JOSE MARTIN FELIX ARRETE gatehouse of the muelle
C A S A A L E JA N D R O VO N H U M B O L DT silence - storm anchorage
H O M E N A J E A A N A M E N D I E TA dredging - filtration - categorisation
109 CASA DE YEMOJA bridging - water desalination
DOUBLING C A S A C A B E R E L LO D E PA R I S conductor of the landscape - city of shadows
110 NECESIDAD DE LUJO ceramicist studio - gatehouse to regla
111
112
06.
DISMANTLING
+
Disassembling and de-constructing the
material and cultural fabrics of the city and
its pigment and conditions.
Mapping the cultural fabric of the city
Memory Houses each formed from the pairing of a character with an extract of a text, that captures an essence of Havana
113
114
DISMANTLING
Mapping building typologies within the city, along the tilled axis. 115
116
DISMANTLING
Mapping building conditions within the city, along the tilled axis. 117
118
DISMANTLING
Nolli model/drawing of Habana Vieja representing the building condition of the city. Initial transects highlighted as moments of interest along the axis of The Archipelago. 119
120
JO S E M A RT I N F E L I X A R R AT E
Jose Martin Felix de Arrate was considered to be Cuba’s first historian and the first person to really do a survey of Cuba. He wrote Key of the New World, which was a complete description of Cuban society of the eighteenth century. This work covered: geography and nature, economy, authorities, civil chronology and a cultural chronicle.1
121
O N E -WAY S T R E E T
“All trips to Havana are unfinished. One looks for a photo or loses the memory of one. A memory that didn’t exist is erased, and another created that doesn’t appear in any pictures. One recovers some insignificant detail—a little bottle of shampoo, a glass—and that detail is labelled with some new amnesia. Upon contact with the air of another time—that air, which you bring with you—the object remains, but that which is illustrated by the object dissolves.”
of a trip toward forgetting. Habaneros, at the end of the day, erase the city constantly, every day. Aspiring to this kind of forgetfulness turns out to be the most genuine way of participating in that which is Cuban. I don’t know if the word is forget, exactly, but it would be a synonym. In Havana, poems speak of other things, paintings show other realities. One looks for life behind the city’s
DISMANTLING
“The story of a trip to Havana should be written in reverse: the chronicle
back or within it, deep within it.”2
Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989 “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle” by José Quiroga Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach
122
3. 5. 2.
4.
6.
1.
JOS E M A RT I N F E L I X A R R AT E He looks after the map of the city; the warehouse - as a strange form of map. All of the material that accumulates within the warehouse is relative to the material required for the rebuilding of the city . The warehouse becomes a map of the survey of the city. He is also the gatekeeper for the muelle, controlling and logging the goods entering and leaving the muelle by tram. 123
DISMANTLING
1. Public walkway 2. Elevated walkway across road and tram 3. Elevated tramline 4. Muelle gatekeeper 5. Data manuscript store 6. Gatekeeper’s dwelling
124
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT Alejandro de Humboldt was a botanist and mineralogist who stored some of his collections in his house in Havana. He determined the exact geographical positions of Cuba’s towns and cities and charted the coastline with extreme precision. He updated and corrected earlier maps, giving Cuba the shape it is shown as today.3
125
T H E R E I S N O S I L E N C E I N H AVA N A
“From eleven o’clock in the morning until dawn of the following day, there is no silence in Havana…Shooing away silence is part of a marketing ploy. It is not just the jukebox from the morning of one day to that of the next. It is the prefabricated but live segments…That insistence upon not allowing even a minute of silence in a city that is about to fall apart says nothing about the Cuban people. Better yet, let’s clarify: it says something about what someone thinks that the receptor of that signal wants. It is important for the tourist (or foreigner) not to sit down and write, not to sit and think, and not to observe. music in the background. Imperative to cancel out the destruction of the city with the construction of the imaginary map of the possible city…A friend who has come along with me has written a poem that encapsulates a bitter truth: ‘‘In Cuba, silence is bought.’’ But there is no money capable of buying
DISMANTLING
Better yet, it is important for the tourist (the foreigner) to observe only with
an instant of silence in a city that presents itself as the capital of rowdiness. Tropical dialectics: musical noise, silence of the painted slogans”4
Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989 “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle” by José Quiroga Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach
126
8.
ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT
He takes care of the distressed islands as they shelter from storms that hit the bay. He provides an anchorage for which they can be safely tethered to and protected from turbulent conditions. 127
1.
3.
2.
DISMANTLING
5.
6. 4. 7.
1. Public elevated walkway through the warehouse 2. Place to seek refuge in the form of silence, from the sounds of the city 3. Private dwelling 4. Guardian of the archipelago’s watchtower 5. Ground level walkway at the base of the field of materials 6. Dock 7. Track to guide islands to shore 8. Testing station docking at shore 128
EL CABALLERO DE PARIS El Caballero de Paris is celebrated as the city’s most mentally unstable man. There is now a statue outside in Plaza de San Francisco to remember him by. He is said to have walked the streets of Havana greeting everyone and discussing his philosophy of life, religion, politics and current events with everyone that crossed his path. 5
129
VISITS
TO
A
NON-PLACE:
H AVA N A
AND
ITS
R E P R E S E N TAT I O N ( S )
“the real part of the city is not just its economy, urban planning, or social conflicts, but also the imagined images that are constructed from these phenomena, as well as what is imagined outside of them, as a narrative exercise, as representations of its spaces and writings” - Silva 1992, 135 “Havana as a “memory-city” (Augé 1995), a space (physical and symbolic at the same time) that is built upon collective memory and representations of its
“The social construction of an imaginary around the production of an urban sensibility, of a feeling of the city, is constantly updated through the different axes of mental maps representing the city’s space: inside and outside, public
DISMANTLING
history”
and private, center and periphery, interior and exterior, before and after (Silva 1992).“6
Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989 “Visits to a Non-Place: Havana and Its Representation(s)” by Velia Cecilia Bobes Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach
130
4. 3.
1.
E L C A B A L L E R O D E PA R I S
He operates out with normal forms of enquiry and logic. He oversees the choreography of the islands moving. He deals with the madness, chaos, shifting or moving of things in relationship to each other out in the bay. 131
2.
DISMANTLING
5.
1. Public elevated walkway 2. Ramp back down to ground level 3. Surveyor’s platform 4. Dwelling and workplace of the conductor of the Archipelago and Warehouse 5. Public space to enjoy the intense light and shadow amongst the columns of material 132
A N A M E N D I E TA Ana Mendieta was a Cuban American performance artist, sculptor, painter and video artist. She was born in Havana but moved to the United States in order to seek refuge from Fidel Castro’s regime. Mendieta’s work was focused on themes including identity, place and belonging. Her works are generally associated with the four basic elements of nature. Mendieta often focused on a spiritual and physical connection with the Earth.7
133
I M PA STO
“Impasto: the dense application of pigment on fabric…Many have said it already: Havana needs a coat of paint. But after so much repetition I realize that the aestheticized decay is actually what’s profitable. It seems to promise a certain nudity, like a body that reveals its layers in a desire for transparency. However, the effect lies. The peeling paint hides what makeup reveals…the peeling walls of Havana seek…sucesivas, coordenadas (successive events, coordinates). Continuities, following events, postrupture: revealing those successive breaks in time as a spectacle or show. To create the succession of
Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989 “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle” by José Quiroga
DISMANTLING
those layers and not the violent break that the visible lack of paint represents.”8
Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach
134
3.
2. 1.
4.
5.
A N A M E N D I E TA
She forms bridges between islands, while tending to the bay. The bay is dredged for productive materials and detritus. 135
1. Public walkway 2. Worker’s access to dredging mechanism 3. Inclined track for tower to be taken by boat to a different location 4. Dredging tower and dwelling 5. Sediment screens 6. Protruding double height gallery 7. Access to gallery space 8. Drying grills 9. Gallery space 10. Pivoting filter screens 11. Track for screens
10.
DISMANTLING
11.
6.
9. 7. 8.
136
YEMOJA Buen Viaje was frequented by travellers and sailors. Havana was an important seaport, and sea travel during the colonial era was very dangerous. The phrase “buen viaje” means “good voyage” or “good trip,” and seafarers sought out the church and its patron deity, Yemoja, to pray for protection or thanksgiving during their travels. It also served as the final stop along the procession of the Via Crucis.9
137
THE HOUSE OF MEMORY
“The Art of Memory...it can be said that it involves associating a building, real or imaginary, with the phrases that are to be committed to memory. As one can see, it has to do with relating two constructions: a building and a speech. It is a double architectural exercise” “We all have proof of how memorable places can be. We return, consciously or unconsciously, to places where we have already been or where we have never
Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989 “La Habana: City and Archive” by Antonio José Ponte Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach
DISMANTLING
been. The most varied places appear in our dreams and our wakefulness”10
138
4. 1.
2.
YEMOJA The doubling of the Inglesia del Santo Cristo de Buen Viaje acts as a seagate for boats, while relating to the church and the water deity; Yemoja. It is a place for praying for something to protect you; a gateway to the sea. It protects the inner harbour from the journey out to sea. 139
3.
1. Rainwater storage 2. Rainwater filtration towers 3. Planes of varying materials guiding pedestrians through the islands 4. Pivoting bridge / seagate - allowing boats access through the islands and pedestrians access across 5. Bridge control tower and dwelling 6. Filtered water drinking point 7. Bridge control tower support 8. Contemplation spaces 9. Public swimming pool, with water filtered from the sea through a series of meshes to remove detritus and pollutants 10. Docks for citizens to anchor 11. Walkway across adjacent islands 6. 5. DISMANTLING
11. 7.
8.
9.
10.
140
E L C E R A M I STA : LA TIERRA A LA CIUDAD Following the Revolution, the state created a workshop: “Cubartesanías” (Cuban Crafts) to provide objects to the tourism industry. The workshop began specialising in ceramics. Eventually, the products stopped having a utilitarian character, but began to be seen as being of “considerable artistic quality.” 11 In the 1940s, two doctors Ramirez Corria and Rodriguez de la Cruz acquired a workshop which they dedicated to the production of this kind of art. This led to contemporary Cuban ceramics gaining in popularity.12
141
A C U B A N LOV E A F FA I R W I T H T H E I M AG E “Even as past and present layer each other over the same space, it is clear that the future does not intend to be simply an image of the past. If one reads the city as a cultural text, time is trumped by words. The text one creates for the image codifies it within the circumstances of its production. Something is detaining time, and it is not the city itself ” “Viewers do not get a picture of the present; instead, the picture of the past helps them imagine, in the present, what the future might be. The sense of the one who performs the gaze: the text is dedicated to a foreign observer, who morph into the role of the investor, symbolic or real.”13
DISMANTLING
dislocation involved in these image-text dynamics distances the object from
Cuban Palimpsests by José Quiroga
142
1. 2. 9.
3.
8.
7.
E L C E R A M I STA The ceramicist’s workshop acts as the connection to La Regla. The ceramicist is someone who transforms ground into art. They lift the earth from the world of the warehouse - making it into art and then taking that back into the city. 143
1. Perforated public walkway bridging to La Regla; allowing rainwater to drain 2. Exhibition spaces and public rest spaces with adjustable louvres to control airflow 3. Testing station docking alongside during a festival to provide lighting for performance. 4. Kiln 5. Public viewing platform, looking over the workshop 6. The ceramicist’s workshop 7. The ceramicist’s private access to material store 8. Material store
DISMANTLING
9. Fuel storage for kiln
4.
6.
5.
144
145
INITIAL MICRO-ISLAND
The micro-island, the first project of Island Territories v: Havana was concerned with the layers of history built up on an island and the consequences of the relationship between humans and the natural world. It explored the idea of the transformation of matter over time and the island’s altered states, while looking at the themes of disruption and reformation. Tectonically, the construct surroundings, providing a necessary degree of stability to the micro-island.
Tethering Static vs. animate Disruption and reformation
DISMANTLING
clung and lent upon the existing fabric of its
146
0 7.
RECIPROCITY
+
A mutual dependency and a programmatic
strengthening through a synergetic relationship
View over the bay, looking at the reinstated connection between Land // Sea facilitated by the presence of The Coral Muelle and The Archipelago of Reconstruction. 147
148
T H E C O R A L M U E L L E // THE ARCHIPELAGO OF R E C O N ST R U CT I O N
The two thesis projects sit in tandem with a multitude of connections enabling a reciprocal relationship. At the scale of the city’s edge, the two projects reinstate the elevated tramway, in order to re-establish connections between the muelle, the railway and Havana Vieja, in preparation for the Old City’s reconstruction. At
the
scale
of
the
architectures
themselves, the relationship of reciprocity is acted out through the exchange of raw materials, prepared materials and byproducts.
149
STUDIO CONSTRUCTS
The studio constructs of The Drawing Machine and
The Calibration Table
intersect each other in a geographically accurate manner in terms of location along the edge of the city. However, they also act as tools of inquiry.
RECIPROCITY
The Drawing Machine and The Calibration Table
150
STUDIO CONSTRUCTS
The intersection of the constructs enables the research
Drawing Machine in order to continue populating the
inquiries to be ever-changing. The dialogue between the
muelle’s edge. This reflects The Archipelago’s response at the
two devices forces each to be responsive to the other. As
scale of the bay to marine traffic. Equally, The Drawing
one develops, the other must consider the new context.
Machine must negotiate its way around the architectures
The development and configuration of The Archipelago
of The Archipelago of Reconstruction and The Coral Muelle.
must maintain awareness of the routes required by The 151
The Drawing Machine and The Calibration Table negotiating safe passage at the point of The Warehouse.
152
A TRIPTYCH OF CONSTRUCTS
The Archipelago of Reconstruction and The Coral Muelle form a reciprocal relationship with The Island of Reciprocity at the scale of the Studio. The constructs are arranged to reflect their geographical locations. They share commonalities, in terms of their the palette of materials and tectonic language and their heights reflecting the water datum level.
153
RECIPROCITY
The three devices situated in the Studio environment 154
AQ U A // T E R R A
The City of Shadows / The Dissolution of the Hierarchy between Land and Sea considers the water as a landscape equal to that of the city; a place for foregrounding the notion of ‘the solid sea.’ The boundary between Sea and Land; Aqua and Terra, has intentionally been obscured. This harks back to the densely populated harbour of 19th century Havana. 155
RECIPROCITY
The City of Shadows / The Dissolution of the Hierarchy between Land and Sea
156
Islands from The Archipelago dock alongside The Island of Reciprocity forming stages, while citizen’s dock their boats between walkways to watch the performance. The Guardian of the City facilitates the event providing lighting, while buoyant barges offer platforms for firework displays. 157
THE CHOREOGRAPHY OF ISLANDS
The Archipelago of Reconstruction and The Island of Reciprocity work together during events and festivals to provide the city with additional public space for performance and gathering
RECIPROCITY
of people.
158
08.
STUDIO / TESTING
S T U D I O (noun) It is a place for the application of exploratory techniques, where ideas are ever evolving. Modes of inquiry within the testing ground, of the studio, are strengthened by the three way dialogue between allied theses. T E S T I N G (verb) + A working method that utilises small architectural interventions to understand and explore wider implications.
159
The Guardian of the City : Testing Station, models and drawings interwoven
160
7. SCALE LOCK + MECHANISM ARMS ACCORDINGLY 8. ROTATE TO INHABIT SPINE OF BUILIDNG FOOTPRINT
11. UNDERSTAND MOVEMENT OF ARMS OVER SITE + THROUGH OR OVER BUILDINGS 12. SUGGESTION OF TRACK IN BUILDING SPINE - EXPLORING REQUIRED DEMOLITION PATH
23. EXPLORING ARM MOVEMENT EXTENTS EITHER SIDE OF LOCK IN ITS CURRENT POSITION 24. PROGRAMMATIC UNDERSTANDING OF SITE: 1. CLAY ARRIVAL 2. CLAY STORAGE 3. TILE FORMING 4. AIR DRYING 4a. ADJUSTABLE LOURVES 5. PAINT AND GLAZE 6. KILN 6a. KILN TUNNEL 7. TILE STOREHOUSES 8. TILES EXPORTD 9. CRANE AND OPERATER 10. DWELLING / GATEHOUSE
13. SHIFT ACROSS SPINE POSSIBILITY OF MOVING LOCK MECHANISM UP AND DOWN TRACK
TESTING
How does using the lock as a testing device aid the design process?
14. OPTIMUM POSITIONING FOR SHORTEST ARM LENGTHS TO REACH DOCKING POINTS
161
Testing the lock in a new context, while considering the programmatic concerns and the climatic conditions of Cuba and adjusting the new architecture accordingly
The lock
STUDIO / TESTING
LO C K A S T E ST I N G D E V I C E
The Archipelago of Reconstruction has always maintained the use of the lock architecture as a testing piece. Its language of a juxtaposition of heavy cast elements with lighter aspects has driven the architecture throughout, while its animate crane arms, continued to influence narratives of motion and productivity. This process of testing facilitates the design and mapping process, which as James Corner says, should be less about: “tracing and re-tracing already known worlds, and more…
TESTING
Offering this familiar architecture to an unknown territory, allowed for the potentials of the newly established programme and context to be given parameters, from which to work, thus uncovering new and unexpected outcomes.
[about] inaugurating new worlds out of old.”1
162
M AT E R I A L FA B R I C
The micro-architectures of
the macro-territory were
developed at different scales and at varying levels of intensity, within the bay. The material fabric and structural and environmental details gained progressive relevance and were considered and tested against the climatic conditions of Cuba and the geographical location of the proposal. 163
Buoyant dock detail, allowing wave energy to be produced while still functioning as a docking point
STUDIO / TESTING
Double hinge detail allowing dock to function efficiently while responding to tidal changes
164
165
REFLECTION
Working Methodologies
Aqua // Terra : The Archipelago of Reconstruction maintains a common ground throughout, which is primarily driven by the acts of dismantling and doubling.
which is haunted by the city itself. This was established through a number of processes; the first of which is a direct graphic process of compressing the figure ground plan of the city and drawing it into the warehouse. The second is more analytical, which involved studying the processes of reconstruction and how they take place within the city and thus providing a programmatic proposal that can handle the reconstruction. The third process focuses on
STUDIO / TESTING
The biggest act; the doubling of the city; is fascinated with the architecture
dismantling the cultural fabric of the city, in the search for aspects that go beyond the formal and into stranger, less tangibly quantifiable aspects of the city. This comes about through the biographies of characters that have visited and been drawn in from the city. The architecture is always inextricably linked to the city from which it has been developing.
166
The worktable; reliefs of buildings within the city that sit along the axial trajectory
T H E C A L I B R AT I O N TA B L E
Intrinsic to The Archipelago of Reconstruction is the creation of tools which facilitate the creation of other things, based absolutely on the calibration of the existing thing. In response to reflecting on this mode of practice,The Calibration Table was fabricated. This acts as a device and worktable on which to configure the micro and macro territories against both each other and the analysis of the material and cultural fabrics of the city. 169
The doubling of the city into Bahia de la Habana, forming islands, which are populated by Memory Houses
STUDIO / TESTING
The Warehouse of Materials as the pivot point from which actions of doubling and dismantling are initiated
170
09.
CONFIGURING
+
171
A setting and adjusting of new architectures in relation to an existing set of conditions.
CONFIGURING
The Calibration Table is a working tool that allows the continuation of the identified modes of practice to take place. Everything is calibrated to the city, not only as a proposition, but also as a tool.
172
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
173
A.
B.
C.
C.
A. Moments of ingress mapped along the facade of the Sierra Maestra terminal, scaled to the rotation extents allowed by the worktable B. A section through the Archipelago to the scale of the table C. Moments of ingress mapped along the facade of the Sierra Maestra terminal, scaled to the table D. Metric scale at 1:1 and 1:500
1. A doubling of the arm movement of the lock - offering a place to draw calibrated curves 2. Reliefs of city buildings along the axis of the striations 3. Routed housings for reference cards with stories of characters and maquetry paper 4. Vertical guide for cutting against 5. The cutting area; the grid of The Warehouse scaled to the size of The Calibration Table 6. Routed housings for model making tools pens, knives, spare blades 7. Routed channels for the most frequently used tools, with a stepped detail for easy removal.
TOOLS A series of calibration rulers were designed and fabricated by actively remembering moments of calibration throughout
The
Archipelago
of
Industry. These were then used as tools to aid in the configuring of the macro and micro territories along the axis of The Calibration Table. 1 74
Marquetry of colour caught in the landscape, suggestive of the build up of materials on the islands
175
Shadow and depth
176
177
THE ARCHIPELAGO OF RECONSTRUCTION
The Archipelago of Reconstruction lies in a position where testing at a micro and macro scale is continuous and the research inquiry is left open and ongoing. The Calibration Table, together with the curation method used for the exhibition in the Studio allows for the thesis to remain ever-in-flux, developing and shifting to reflect changes in the city, which itself lies in a state of transition.
178
ENDNOTES
G LOS S A RY O F T E R M S All definitions without
or + are from <www.dictionary.com> [Accessed on 02.05.18].
H AVA N A A S H AV E N 1. UNESCO, A Singular Experience: Appraisals of the Integral, Management Model of Old Havana (2006), 155. 2. Jessica Baralt, Housing La Habana Vieja : Reframing the Formal & Informal Vernacular (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2017).
MUELLE 1. Thirdeyemom, “A Brief Look at Old Havana’s Glorious Architecture,”<https://thirdeyemom.com/2014/04/13/a-brief-look-at-oldhavanas-glorious-architecture/> [Accessed 02.05.18].
DISMANTLING 1. “José Martín Félix de Arrate y Acosta”, <http://www.wikiwand.com/es/Jos%C3%A9_Mart%C3%ADn_F%C3%A9lix_de_ Arrate_y_Acosta> [Accessed 14.02.18] 2. José Quiroga, “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989, translated by Elisabeth Enenbach (Duke University Press Books, 2011). 3. John James Clune, The Island of Cuba: A Political Essay Review, Cuban Studies, Volume 34 (2003), 204-205 4. José Quiroga, “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins, 273-274. 5. “El Caballero de París”, <http://www.cubagenweb.org/misc/paris.htm> [Accessed 14.02.18] 6. Velia Cecilia Bobes,“Visits to a Non-Place: Havana and Its Representation(s),” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989, translated by Elisabeth Enenbach (Duke University Press Books, 2011). 7. “Ana Mendieta”, <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ana-mendieta-11167> [Accessed 14.02.18] 8. José Quiroga, “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989, translated by Elisabeth Enenbach (Duke University Press Books, 2011). 9. “Ecclesiastical & Secular Sources for Slave Societies”, <https://www.vanderbilt.edu/esss/resources/church.php> [Accessed 14.02.18] 10. Antonio José Ponte, “La Habana: City and Archive,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989, translated by Elisabeth Enenbach (Duke University Press Books, 2011). 11. “Cuban Contemporary Ceramics”, <https://www.cubatreasure.com/cuban-contemporary-ceramics/> [Accessed 14.02.18] 12. Ibid. 13. José Quiroga, Cuban Palimpsests (University of Minnesota Press, 2005).
STUDIO / TESTING
1. James Corner, “The Agency of Mapping,” in Mappings, edited by Denis Cosgrove (Reaktion Books, 1999), 213-252.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Ana Mendieta.” <http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/ana-mendieta-11167> [Accessed 14.02.18]. Baralt, Jessica. Housing La Habana Vieja : Reframing the Formal & Informal Vernacular. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2017. Bobes, Velia Cecilia. “Visits to a Non-Place: Havana and Its Representation(s),” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989. Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach. Duke University Press Books, 2011. Clune, John James.The Island of Cuba: A Political Essay Review.Cuban Studies, Volume 34, 2003. Corner, James. “The Agency of Mapping.” In Mappings. Edited by Denis Cosgrove. Reaktion Books, 1999. “Cuban Contemporary Ceramics.” <https://www.cubatreasure.com/cuban-contemporary-ceramics/> [Accessed 14.02.18]. “Ecclesiastical & Secular Sources for Slave Societies.” <https://www.vanderbilt.edu/esss/resources/church. php> [Accessed 14.02.18]. “El Caballero de París”. <http://www.cubagenweb.org/misc/paris.htm> [Accessed 14.02.18]. “José Martín Félix de Arrate y Acosta”.<http://www.wikiwand.com/es/Jos%C3%A9_ Mart%C3%ADn_F%C3%A9lix_de_Arrate_y_Acosta> [Accessed 14.02.18]. Ponte, Antonio José. “La Habana: City and Archive,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989. Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach. Duke University Press Books, 2011. Quiroga, José. “Bitter Daiquiris: A Crystal Chronicle,” in Havana Beyond the Ruins: Cultural Mappings After 1989. Translated by Elisabeth Enenbach. Duke University Press Books, 2011. Quiroga, José. Cuban Palimpsests. University of Minnesota Press, 2005. Thirdeyemom. “A Brief Look at Old Havana’s Glorious Architecture.” <https://thirdeyemom.com/2014/04/13/a-brief-look-at-old-havanas-glorious-architecture/> [Accessed 02.05.18]. UNESCO. A Singular Experience: Appraisals of the Integral, Management Model of Old Havana. 2006.
IMAGE REFERENCES
FRONT COVER 1. Author’s own image PREFACE 1. Author’s own image SYNOPSIS 1-2. Author’s own images, in collaboration with Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett 3- 5. Author’s own images G LOS S A RY 1. Author’s own image H AVA N A A S H AV E N 1-11. Author’s own images F I LT E R I N G 1-2. Author’s own images 3. Antonio Canal detto il Canaletto, La Chiesa del Redentore e il ponte votivo <https://www.invenicetoday.com/ eventi/redentore.htm> [Accessed 17.04.18] 4-13.Author’s own images MUELLE 1. Goods unpacked on the Muelle <https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Muelle_San_Francisco,_Havana,_ Cuba,_1904.jpg> [Accessed 02.05.2018] 2-4. Author’s own images 5. Log pile <https://www.shutterstock.com/video/clip-17162008-stock-footage-logging-industry-truck-haulingwood-to-saw-mill.html> [Accessed 02.05.2018] 6. Clement Guillaume, Wang Shu Projects <https://www.archdaily.com/215678/photography-wang-shu-projects/ ningbo_10> [Accessed 02.05.18] 7-12. Author’s own images 13. Le Corbusier, Unité de Habitation <greatbuildings.com> [Accessed 04.04.17] 14-17. Author’s own images
QUARRYING 1 Author’s own image 2. Author’s own image, in collaboration with Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett 3-5. Author’s own images 6. Author’s own image, in collaboration with Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett 7-8. Author’s own images DOUBLING 1-2. Author’s own images 3. Author’s own image, in collaboration with Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett 4-16. Author’s own images DISMANTLING 1-5. Author’s own images 6. José Martín Félix de Arrate Acosta <https://www.ecured.cu/F%C3%A9lix_de_Arrate> [Accessed 20.04.18] 7-8. Author’s own images 9. Alexander von Humboldt <https://www.hu-berlin.de/de/ueberblick/geschichte/bilder/avh.jpg, https://www.huberlin.de/en/about/history/alex_html> [Accessed 20.04.18] 10-11. Author’s own images 12. El Caballero de Paris <https://cubanisms.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/1-_caballeroparis03.jpg, https://cubanisms. wordpress.com/2011/01/03/hello-world/> [Accessed 20.04.18] 13-14. Author’s own images 15. Ana Mendieta <http://bi.gazeta.pl/im/65/25/15/z22172773IER,Ana-Mendieta----ur--1948----amerykanskaartystka-k.jpg> [Accessed 20.04.18] 16-17. Author’s own images 18. Yemoja <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8c/Yemoja_Abayomi_Barber.jpg> [Accessed 20.04.18] 19-20. Author’s own images 21. Carlos Ramirez Corria <https://www.ecured.cu/images/8/84/CarlosRCorria.jpg> [Accessed 20.04.18] 22-24. Author’s own images STUDIO / TESTING 1. Author’s own image 2. Author’s own image, in collaboration with Henri Lacoste and Ellie Sillett 3-9. Author’s own images CONFIGURING 1-12. Author’s own images
APPENDIX
Oak teeth reverse cast using GelFlex. The grain of the oak is maintained.
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