Fragments of Memory

Harry Mantilla, Colombia

MEMORIES OF A PLACE I HAVE NEVER BEEN. CONCEPT FOR THE PODIUM, THE STREET AND THE COURTYARD.

“Memory is what I have instead of a view.”

The current growth of cities is debated between two contradictory situations: the urgency of infrastructure for a growing population and the conservation of the identity that defines a place in time. The rapid urbanization of Chinese cities where the traditional landscape, both natural and cultural, has been replaced by generic urbanism at a high environmental cost is not an exclusive phenomenon of China; it also happens in different places around the world like India, Latin America, Africa etc. Given this situation, is it possible to reconcile development with the identity of the place through sustainable urban design?

This proposal for the urban reorganization for a central area in Dujiangyan in China aims to reconcile two topics: The generic place and memory. Without the possibility of travel to recognize the context, the idea of the place is presented as an abstraction, a longing for a distant place built by memory fragments based on the following questions: What does China mean? What does a reference mean? What is the identity of a place? How should be the relationship between man and nature?

As a result, a large and rational urban structure is proposed to response to the physical context by reorganizing, re-densifying and reconnecting the intervention area using generic elements: the block, the podium, the street, and the courtyard. In contrast, the way these same generic elements are organized relates to the memory of the place from the reinterpretation of traditional Chinese public spaces and the relationship with landscape and urban elements such as the Dujiangyan irrigation system, the mount Qincheng and the Xijie Historic District. This abstract proposal for Dujiangyan shall be considered as a critical reflection on the role of contemporary sustainable Urban Design.

GENERAL PLAN

SECTION - LANDSCAPE CONNECTIONS