Introduction

The city is perceived from the car, on foot, from the subway, the bus, the train or the tram. Some of these fluxes produce great collective areas which can communicate certain meanings and accommodate all sorts of activities. However, the exclusively functional design approach of most of these spaces hinders the emergence of new uses and accentuates their segregation. At the same time, transportation infrastructure is subject to the requirements of an increasingly efficient mobility. The relentless demand for better performances triggers the creation of new structures and the improvement of the existing ones. This can further aggravate conflicts, as the long planning and construction time spans creates provisional situations that may last for years, even decades. Meanwhile, the city carries on.

To explore the challenges that mobility poses to architects and planners, the workshop employs the Cinemetrics theory. This method, inspired by cinema’s visual treatment of matter-flux, offers an ethnographic approach of closely observing and documenting the movement, gestures and rhythms of everyday life. Students team up with counterparts from other schools of architecture to carefully observe and register the everyday life of these spaces. From the present conditions, they identify opportunities to enhance the urban potentialities of these great collective spaces. Their findings and reflections are the base for an intervention on a few selected sites.

The proposed explorations or localities cover different geographical and historical areas. The selection, which seeks to highlight the transitions and intermediate states, is based on four different temporal phases or situations: in progress, indeterminate, in operation and obsolete. Plaça de les Glòries illustrates the space under construction, the L9 stations serve as an example of uncertainty, the viaduct of the motorway C-31 in Sant Adrià embodies the fully operational structure, while Estació de França represents the out-of-date one. The background is the city of Barcelona, a singular and old city that stands out for its conscious relationship with its landscape.

Cinemetrics 02: Obsolete _ Estació de França

Sebastián Alvarado, Chen Charng Shin, Hu Fang Yu

Cinemetrics 02: In Operation _ C-31 viaduct

Lee Cheng Ju, Chen Yen Jung, Marta Bonet 
[ground floor base plan by Toni Vidal]

Cinemetrics 02: Indeterminate _ L9 stations

Biagio Cardella, Ting-jia Zhang

Cinemetrics 01: Indeterminate _ L9 stations

Biagio Cardella, Ting-jia Zhang

Cinemetrics 01: In Progress _ Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes

Biagio Cardella, Ting-jia Zhang

Cinemetrics 01: In Operation _ C-31 viaduct

Biagio Cardella, Ting-jia Zhang

Cinemetrics 01: Obsolete _ Estació de França 02

Lee Cheng Ju, Chen Yen Jung, Marta Bonet

Cinemetrics 01: Obsolete _ Estació de França 01

Sebastián Alvarado, Chen Charng Shin, Hu Fang Yu

Explorations: In Operation _ C-31 viaduct

The elevated sections of urban expressways can define great roofs for street activities. Under the viaduct of the motorway C-31 in Sant Adrià del Besòs, between the Besòs River and Badalona, near the old town of Sant Adria and its extension, takes place the Mercat del Encants de Sant Adrià, a twenty years old street market with over 900 stalls. In Badalona, next to the official market of Sant Adrià, pops up, like in many other flea markets, the so-called ‘misery market’, where spontaneous vendors exhibit second and third hand items. The space under the viaduct also accommodates a tram stop called Encants de Sant Adrià and functions every day as a public parking area, except Tuesdays morning. The workshop aims at intensifying the use of the space defined by the infrastructure. Students and professors will consider both the improvement of the existing activities and the introduction of new ones related to the neighborhoods around and/or the motorway itself.

Explorations: Obsolete _ Estació de França

Xavier Cervera (La Vanguardia)

Built in 1929, it is the second most important railway station in Barcelona. However, given its scheme in cul-de-sac, it is considered an obsolete structure in the current transportation network. Only a few long and middle distance trains, together with a commuter line, still use the station. Its definitive closure was already planned several years ago with the plans for the Sagrera Station (under construction since 2010). The building consists of two units: the double naves with a metal structure covering the tracks and platforms and the large neoclassical lobby. The façade and the decorative elements of the interior have been designated as being of architectural and historical importance and should be preserved. The edifice is located in the vicinity of other major public buildings. Proposals should focus on the few remaining years till the cessation of the station and its transformation into a new public facility. However, these transitorily projects can also consider and point at a more definitive occupation of the former station.

Explorations: In Progress _ Plaça de les Glòries Catalanes

Adrià Goula

Les Glòries is a complex area due to its scale and central location at the junction of three of the city’s most important thoroughfares. It was first designed by Ildefons Cerdà as a new center and a major public space of the XIX century extension plan for Barcelona, the so called Eixample. During the 1992 Olympic Games it was redesigned as a Park and Ride, a door to the city. But the Olympic roundabout of elevated motorways is currently being demolished to build a great urban park. The works have become an attraction and a meeting point for many who constantly photograph them. The ongoing demolition has opened the views towards some iconic buildings such Sagrada Família and others located around the hub. The workshop focuses on a temporary intervention, restricted to the construction phase, to reinforce the potential of Plaça les Glòries as an urban landmark and public stage.

Explorations: Indeterminate _ L9 stations

Upon completion, the L9 would have been the longest underground metro line in Europe, serving up to five different municipalities, as well as the deepest line in the Barcelona. But although it was originally expected to be ready by 2008, it is still under construction. The works on the so called central section, where L9 shares its route with L10, had been halted since 2011. Its future is uncertain as the construction is not expected to resume. The stations were built from circular pits with an average depth of 70 m and 25 m of diameter. The workshop looks in particular at the stations closed to completion that have not been reurbanized: Lesseps and Sanllehy. These stations do not relate with their context and are like black holes only visible from the air. Proposals aim at their urban integration and at the appropriation of their edges by the local residents. Given the uncertain present and future conditions, both temporary and more definitive interventions are encouraged.