Infrastructure Museum
Semester Project by Gabriele Arba Severin Spรถrri
Studio Antonas | Museum Format | SS20 | ETH Zurich
Infrastructure Museum Analysis The capital city of Cyprus “Nicosia” is the last divided city in the whole world. The Island consists of two parts: a northern part which identifies itself with Turkey, and the southern part which identifies itself with Greece. By analysing the baroque city circle of the old town, we observed several main axes from North to South. All of them generated a vivid and dense city, but they lost their logic after the division and the establishment of the Buffer-Zone in 1974. The Buffer-Zone is a neutral abandoned stripe between the North and the South. It is guarded by the UN since the division. The baroque city center of Nicosia has a massive lack of public transport and yet, the narrow streets are overfilled with cars. Moving in the city in the direction of the Buffer Zone or from North to South is therefore very restricted. Concept In relation to the analysis of the city we discovered, that the Buffer Zone has the potential of being an area of movement. Our goal is to normalize the status of the Buffer-Zone for the everyday life of the citizens. We reach this goal by implementing a public infrastructure in form of a cable car system within the Buffer-Zone. This public infrastructure contains a museum and a city shortcut for the everyday use. The project has its influence on the whole Buffer Zone in the baroque circle. The cable car line has an expansion of approximately 2.4 km while it takes its way from the Ledra Palace checkpoint to the east end of the baroque fortress. We distribute six stations which are localized in the Buffer-Zone in and around the baroque city circle. We use the existing two checkpoints by the Ledra Palace and the Ledra Street and create in addition four checkpoints. We detected the following six stops as hotspots of the city: • The first station is by the Ledra Palace Checkpoint • The second station connects the Line to the Bus-Station in the South • The third station is by the Ledra Street Checkpoint • The fourth station is near the market and the main church in the north • The fifth station connects the Line with the museums and cultural part of the city in the North and South • The last station combines the big circular street and the sport centres
But why do we create a cable car system? This cable car system results from the idea of being fast and cheap not only in building but also in the operation in comparison to many other transport systems. It has the advantage of transporting more people continuously. In our case the cable car does not act like a manifestation of the border because the ground level stays mainly untouched. In the end the system has a minimal impact on the existing Buffer-Zone and creates a new perspective on the Zone and the city itself from above. Station You are able to enter the building by crossing the checkpoint. Once you are in the neutral zone you can go to the entrance for the public infrastructure and the café in the loggia. If you want to enter the cable car system you decide in which direction you want to travel, take the stairs or the lift and buy your ticket at the ticket shop on each platform. After the purchasing, you can enter the gondola and move to the next stations. Museum Our museum is implemented in the stations of the infrastructure. There are three main exhibition spaces. The curator has the choice within the station between an exhibition on the wall or an exhibition on the platform. This could create a slightly different character in each station. As a third option, the curator can also have an exhibition on the cable car string (where the exhibits come hanged to the resting visitor). In our understanding the viewer will engage in a different way with the moving art piece. In every situation, the mind tries to locate the movement by fixing an infinite amount of points. In doing so, the mind will always destroy the movement itself. Therefore, it’s a given paradoxical existence because the mind tries to determine something that is not exactly determinable. As a second thought, you always get a restricted view on the whole. That means by viewing cutouts, you are able to conclude to the given (but irrational) space. For example, every limited room is a cutout of the fully comprehensive room and can only exist as a part of the whole, which can never be experienced in its entity. Expression We think about the ground floor in concrete for its massiveness that should be anchoring in the city context. Above the massive plinth there is a light steel structure, that should be the connection between the cable car system and the city anchor point. The light structure on the upper level should act like a skin that is made in steel and in addition provides shadow. We chose transparent polycarbonate panels between the slats on the second floor to show the movement inside the station and make a permeable façade.
Main Axes
Overview
Siteplan
Ground Floor
Platform
Museum Format
Hanging String
Acrobatics
Exhibition in Station
Museum
Infrastructure
Hanging Arm
Cable Car
Hanging Wall
Music Box
Picture
Hanging Platform
Projection
Dancing
Exhibition on String
Hanging Cabin
Lecture
Sculpture
Light Show
South Facade
East Facade
Perspective Longitudinal Section
Perspective Cross Section
Construction Details
Protocol of Users Status The primarily user and profiteers of our project is the city and its citizens. The Project provides an infrastructure that should change the citizen’s perception of the Buffer-Zone. Nevertheless, the cable car system is not based on a presence of the Buffer Zone. It works as well when Nicosia or even Cyprus in its entity will be united again. Possibilities The public transport users have the possibility of travelling continuously through the city for a little amount of money and time. The users also have the possibility to stay on the North or the South side while travelling. That means that they can enter and leave the infrastructure on the same side. Yet, it is possible to cross the border by entering at one checkpoint and leaving at another. Organisation The stations can turn from being a part of the public transportation to an exhibition surface that is changing over time. The cable car string is intended to be temporary used as an exhibition on string. These events take regularly place during the year and increase the value of the Buffer-Zone.
Board of References Téléferico de Gaya Porto, Portugal 2011 Menos e Mais Architectos Proportion Expression Structure
Loggia Palace Koper, Slovenia 1698 Venetian Gothic Town Hall Café Publicity Interaction
Philosophical Text Münster, Deutschland 2009 Friedrich Kaulbach Moving Exhibition Framing Punctualize
Métrocable Caracas Caracas, Venezuela 2010 Urban Think Tank Cable Car Organisation City Context
Copyright Cover Photo
Picture
Téléferico de Gaya
Picture
© Roman Robroek
© Menos e Mais Architectos
Information
© Menos e Mais Architectos
Loggia Palace
Picture
© Travelvoice
Information © Wikipedia
Philosophical Text
Text
Metrocable Caracas
Picture
© De Gruyter
©Urban Think Tank
Information
©Urban Think Tank
Studio Antonas | Museum Format | SS20 | ETH Zurich