a. Urania site, West Berlin
Crossroad at Urania (West Berlin, 1988)
Crossroad at Urania (West Berlin, 1988)
West Berlin – the city as a context consists of fragments, almost like a text made of partial sentences written in different grammars, languages, styles and slang. The fragments were further damaged or mistreated, so any quest for any “order” could be only a series of alien projections on the face of the city.
West Berlin – the city as a context consists of fragments, almost like a text made of partial sentences written in different grammars, languages, styles and slang. The fragments were further damaged or mistreated, so any quest for any “order” could be only a series of alien projections on the face of the city.
My project was directly related to loose elements of the city. In terms to create an artificial “continuity” I decided to study the existing and continue what was there, on my site, in a “rational” way. Using a technique of close reading of the city fabric I’ve produced a number of flat, two-dimensional studies of the elements of the city. The abstract reading of the site evoked the abstract meaning of some of the urban terms such as “a square”, “a crossroad”, “continuation” or “city-blocking”. I’ve used those terms in my graphic representation of my “project”. Further employing typical architectural representations, like axonometric view, perspective and elevation – those abstract drawings were projected and transformed into third dimension or in orthogonal representations. The mix of “abstract orthogonal” or “elevated abstraction” was a perfect solution for the site, mimicking in its own way a “city in progress”. The city, which has its own urban order destroyed and protected as such. The city, that recalls the language of a traditional urban space such as a square, (which in the project is represented by a suspended object above a former urban square).
My project was directly related to loose elements of the city. In terms to create an artificial “continuity” I decided to study the existing and continue what was there, on my site, in a “rational” way. Using a technique of close reading of the city fabric I’ve produced a number of flat, two-dimensional studies of the elements of the city. The abstract reading of the site evoked the abstract meaning of some of the urban terms such as “a square”, “a crossroad”, “continuation” or “city-blocking”. I’ve used those terms in my graphic representation of my “project”. Further employing typical architectural representations, like axonometric view, perspective and elevation – those abstract drawings were projected and transformed into third dimension or in orthogonal representations. The mix of “abstract orthogonal” or “elevated abstraction” was a perfect solution for the site, mimicking in its own way a “city in progress”. The city, which has its own urban order destroyed and protected as such. The city, that recalls the language of a traditional urban space such as a square, (which in the project is represented by a suspended object above a former urban square).
In the project, the square is not only a traditional meeting place but also a meeting place between working and living.
In the project, the square is not only a traditional meeting place but also a meeting place between working and living.
Because it is elevated it needs and elevated street, a ramp connecting the ground with the square.
Because it is elevated it needs and elevated street, a ramp connecting the ground with the square.
Living/working required to be complemented with a recreational space, a smooth space for discourse and for textually mediated social relations.
Living/working required to be complemented with a recreational space, a smooth space for discourse and for textually mediated social relations.
The crossroad at Urania recreated above the disconnected city represents a fundamental tendency toward unpredictability and discontinuity.
The crossroad at Urania recreated above the disconnected city represents a fundamental tendency toward unpredictability and discontinuity.
