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barcelona density. The varying densities of Barcelona’s urban texture serve as a field for speculations on the parametric nature of this historic example. The two-semester project includes an excursion to Barcelona and explores the parametric rules within the various grids of the city. The forensic examination of the historic tissue serves as the base for a contemporary urban design that includes the volatile conditions of simulated environmental pressures.
Barcelona – Barrio Gotico, Barceloneta & masterplan by Ildefons Cerda. One of the main qualities in Barcelona’s urban texture is the dominant presence of density. It represents one of the most interesting examples in terms of the application of compression in an urban agglomeration within the history of the European city, starting with the Barrio Gotic, the mediaeval portion of the city, to Barceloneta, the 18th century working class district, to the vast expansion of the city in the 19th century, planed by Ildefons Cerda in the form of a rigorous grid.
volatile conditions. Considering the rapid growth of urban agglomerations all over the world, one of the main questions arising in the process is how to implement volatile conditions that define the desired quality of dense urban textures within the design process. One possibility to discuss the design methodology is to consider it a procedure that is responsive to a manifold of environmental conditions. In the last years, the application of simulation techniques as well as digital production chains have exploded in an entire universe of possible applications in the planning process to involve sustainable effects.
ecological pressure. Which are those techniques & procedures? What are the cultural implications when a paradigm shift in design is in full effect? What does it mean in terms of ecological pressure? Can this approach help us in designing a more responsive, sustainable urban texture?
The two semester program focuses on two specific aspects:
The first semester focuses on learning all the necessary tools such as Maya, Ecotect and Grasshopper, serving as design tools. As case study we will use Barcelona, serving as a launching pad fort a research on density and computational design techniques. The workshop of the first semester will be teached by Steven Ma (Modeling techniques and rendering in Maya)
After an excursion to Barcelona the second semester will focus on designing a specific portion of the urban design approached in the first semester. This will include programmatic issues as much as the application of contemporary techniques for the definition i.e. subdivision of space.
