A new Language of the diagram

The diagrams done by OMA for their proposition of the La Villette are distinctive in the way they portray the different layers of programme, a sequence of abstract symbols that determine the hierarchy as well as the complexity of the project. The materiality and its specificity helps one to gain an in-depth knowledge of the kind of landscape and unbuilt aesthetic that would be developed once it turns into reality. The diagrams in their technical sense are drawn from a parallel projection, using the depth of the block to show the layering of environments, thresholds and textures all coming together in one to resonate the wider idea of superimposition. The grain of the diagram and the various hatches, line-weights and specific use of color that keeps it minimal create a visual vocabulary that runs helps us understand the different elements in a detailed manner

The way in which the diagrams portray the landscape, the various typologies of plantation and their organization is both informative as well as indicative of the thought given behind the positioning of the same Activities juxtaposed with the soft-scape and the hardscape create a harmony in the diagram without giving too much away yet keeping it crisp and clear of their intentions

The projects mark the vision of an era and addresses the question of time in a sense that it acts upon the future demands of the economic and cultural development of a key area in Paris The proposals by both Tschumi and OMA give us a rich understanding of the change in the methodologies of research and design strategies while developing new typologies and setting a source of inspiration for a multitude of projects irrespective of the geography The fact that it functions as a discontinuous building while being a single structure while overlapping and superimposing the existing elements with the new activities makes it a unique project in history. Opposing Olmsted’s notions of the landscape in 19th century, which stipulate that, ‘In the park, the city is not supposed to exist’, the Park of La Villette proposed a new version of the social and the cultural park that could hold a programmatic diversity that ranged from workshops, gymnasium, bath facilities to playgrounds, exhibitions, concerts, science experiments, games and competitions in addition to the existing museums. It became a place of intense gathering and collaboration harboring intensive activities. It was thus regarded as one of the most important public spaces designed in the recent decades and achieved the role of being a reference model of the conformation of the 21st century urban space. The proposal by OMA and Tschumi both leave us with a rich understanding of design methodologies through their strategies of dealing with a revolutionary project that created a new typology of Parks. Thus, in a world that demands programmatic indeterminacy and rigorous urban ideology, the Parc de la Villette with its design strategies still holds a strong influence over the design thinking