Rio de Janeiro

The first trip I took to Rio de Janeiro in 2009, it struck me how the city and the rain forest burst and overlap each other, complementary entities of opposite natures.

For those arriving from Europe, even from my Mediterranean Europe, the word “exotic” gains new references. Colours, sounds, aromas, dimensions, temperature and humidity, all that makes the site for us is exotic. For example while strolling the Aterro do Flamengo Park, designed by Burle Marx, I found palm trees that seemed to have a blonde hairdo. Someone explained to me after that it were flowers. Those palm trees flourish once for about one year, and then the trees die. Curiously coinciding with the celebration of the centenary of the birth of the landscape architect that designed the park.

The apparent natural flora in that context is, of course, artificial. A large number of trees that identify with tropical Brazil are actually from other tropics. Since King João the VI boosted the introduction of African, Indian and Asian species in Brazil, when the court of Portugal moved to the city of São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, the unique conditions of the site catalysed its development and multiplication.

In other words, King João VI and the removal of the court of Portugal face to the invasion of Napoleon “created” much of the raw material that Burle Marx had to work with in Rio.

Two thoughts occur almost simultaneously at the moment. The first about the globalization, the one that occurred then and the contemporary. And the eternal necessity of “creolization” of global influences in order not to lose or to create an identifiable identity. The second concerning the nature, or rather the almost complete absence of natural, as opposed to what is humane, in most of our habitable world.

Our search for individuality and identity is not new. A way to recognize people, places and things at the same time that it is an affirmation of freedom. Nor is new the invention of a more natural nature by man, the search for a more perfect or flawless creation. The action of time is a common factor that first dilutes and then harmonizes what we today might see as aberrant. In this process, perhaps our main role is to help Time.

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Na primeira viagem que fiz ao Rio de Janeiro, em 2009, impressionou-me o modo como a cidade e a floresta tropical se sobrepõem e irrompem uma na outra, entidades complementares de naturezas opostas.

Para quem chega da Europa, mesmo da minha Europa mediterrânica, a palavra “exótico” ganha novas referências. As cores, os sons, os aromas, as dimensões, a temperatura e a humidade, tudo o que faz o sítio é, para nós, exótico. Por exemplo ao percorrer o Parque do Aterro do Flamengo, concebido por Burle Marx, encontrei palmeiras que pareciam ter uma cabeleira loura. Explicaram-me depois que eram flores, as palmeiras floresciam uma vez durante cerca de um ano, para depois morrerem, curiosamente coincidindo a ocasião com a celebração do centenário do nascimento do paisagista.

A aparente naturalidade da flora naquele contexto é, naturalmente, artificial. Um grande número das árvores que identificamos com o Brasil tropical são, na verdade, originárias de outros trópicos. Desde que D. João VI impulsionou a introdução de espécies africanas, indianas e asiáticas no Brasil, quando a corte teve a sua sede na cidade de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, as condições ímpares do sítio catalisaram o seu desenvolvimento e multiplicação.

Ou seja, grande parte da matéria prima que Burle Marx teve para trabalhar no Rio foi “criada” por D. João VI e pela retirada de Portugal da corte perante a invasão de Napoleão.

Dois pensamentos surgem quase em simultâneo neste momento. O primeiro a propósito de globalização, a de então e a contemporânea, e a eterna necessidade de “crioulização” das influências globais para não perder ou para criar uma identidade própria e identificável. O segundo a propósito da natureza, ou melhor da quase completa ausência do natural, por oposição ao que é humanizado, na maior parte do nosso mundo habitável.

Não é nova a nossa busca por individualidade e identidade, uma forma de reconhecermos pessoas, sítios e coisas, ao mesmo tempo que é uma afirmação de liberdade. Nem é nova a invenção da natureza mais natural pelo homem, a procura da natureza mais perfeita ou da criação sem falhas. A acção do tempo é um factor comum que primeiro dilui e depois harmoniza o que nos pode parecer hoje aberrante. Neste processo, talvez o nosso principal papel seja o de ajudarmos o Tempo.

Sérgio Proença, researcher urbanism

Doubled streets

A significant part of our urban structures result from the sum of consecutive real estate developments. However, some mechanisms of mediation that could assure the integration of each development in its surroundings seem to be missing. Many times, the outcome is a collection of fragments incapable of constructing any kind of intelligible structure.

In the image, the grid proposed by the new development (to the right) runs parallel to the existing street with no connection what so ever. Instead of upgrading the existing infrastructure, it duplicates it with no apparent reason (besides the idea of exclusivity that comes with segregation). Streets coming from the left side will not be continued. In front of the façades of the existing houses, there will only be an anonymous green barrier. No one knows what that sidewalk is there for anymore.

This urban space is the consequence of the overlapping of different and disconnected elements, typologies, regulations, marketing principles, etc. The fact that the image of the new buildings quotes Lisbon downtown – symbol of the idea of a continuous urban grid – is just an ironic detail.

invited guest: Nuno Travasso

 

Cat & Dog cities

One could divide the cities of the world into two categories: in cat and dog cities. The type of animal says a lot about the character of a city. Dog cities are beautiful, social, easy to recognize; if you leave  Amsterdam Central Station the city rolls over you; Paris is easily recognizable by the boulevard structures made by Haussmann.

Cats cities are ugly, have no clear center, lack structure, leading to getting lost. The attitude of a cat city is: “find your way yourself! I won’t tell you!”. However, cat cities do have a strong, tough and obstinate character. Rotterdam, London, Berlin: cats cities. Not coincidentally cities where in the past bombs rain descended.

invited guest: Vincent Kompier

Street art or artificial masks towards a new urban definition?

Lisbon, November 2010, undergoing with the public support of the municipality, a series of artists, such as Brazilians “Gémeos” and Italians “Blu”, have taken the urban renewal theme to a different level.

Not only is it an decontextualized and isolated artistic intervention to perform in a certain area of the city, but it asserts itself as a transient operation of urban renewal because it really introduces a new qualitative element, even temporarily, of strong expression and capable of revitalizing briefly a particular place.

The quality of work as public art gives a new meaning to urban space, by removing the imagery of degradation and giving it new prospects for the use and enjoyment, and may even function as a catalyst and as an affirmative manner to enhance other interventions truly incisive and able to effectively rehabilitate a particular urban complex.

 Given the ineffectiveness of the state to definitely enhance the rehabilitation/reoccupation of expectant city situations, solutions are grounded in art, creativity and reinterpretation of paradigms, resulting in a temporary creative “mask” with high impact.

This ephemeral intervention, almost marginal, and near imaginary underground that resembles, in extreme situations, of occupied buildings – like the case of Berlin, conveys the idea of manipulating architecture/urbanism for other degrees of complexity, since it is not only intervened in a vacant and rundown building, but it is bringing new urban experiences momentary by qualification in public and artistic interventions of great quality.

The loss of the consolidated city population and its consequent degradation, strengthen such attitudes of social disruption, the housing market and the speculation that is inherent, massively contributed to desertification and degradation of life in the city centre, in the particular Portuguese case, driving people away and annihilating the possibility of re-occupy the centers with a socially and culturally balanced occupation, this is a paradigm that has to be forcefully combated.

invited guest: Helder Paiva Coelho, architect at the municipality of Montijo, Portugal

Not Under Construction

View from an elevated expressway in downtown Bangkok. Concrete skeletons of high-rise buildings. Never finished, due to the Asia crisis at the end of the 20th century. There are many projects in a similar status quo.

invited guest: Jack Hoogeboom

Via Gladiola

Silent spectators waiting for the walkers of the event the ´Vierdaagse´ in Nijmegen. Sometimes a road can be transformed into a podium just by adding chairs on the side.

invited guest: Bas Vendrig

Berlin is not about space

 

Berlin is not about space, it’s about gaps, voids, emptiness. Sometimes Berliners succeed in transforming emptiness in space, sometimes not.

 invited guest: Vincent Kompier

volcano city

Auckland lies on a volcanic field of roughly 48 volcanoes. Most of them inactive, and some are dormant. They define the hilly topography which actually means up and down the volcano.

Traditionally the Maori carved terraces and fortifications into them.  Later some of the volcanoes were eaten up/flattened by the commercial dragons to provide easy building lands.

Lada Hrsak, architect, www.ladahrsak.com, picture: view from Mount Eden (volcano)