Context & Building (pt. 2)
The context plays an important role in influencing contemporary architecture. The Influence of this tradition has evolved since the last century ago and even becomes more important in today. In the sense that, the global population raised nearly overcrowded by century, which means to have more demands on inhabitant living shelter and more complex of the building’s environment.
Thus, this circumstance may lead to many issues in humanities, meaning to say:
“As long as a place for human living,
there is always have problems.”
A false example as “Pruitt–Igoe”, which was a large urban housing project occupied in 1954 in the U.S city of St. Louis; designed by architect Minoru Yamasaki who later also designed the first World Trade Center towers in New York. This project was praised as "the best high apartment" of the year, and "vertical neighborhoods for poor people".
However the city experienced dramatic demographic changes during the 1950s and 1960s, was losing half of its population due to insufficient access for transportation, jobs, and food and sort of policies which made many residents in a difficult position who were there. In that time being was already in the modern era with the living rules that “No job may cause no income, no income would makes no food”.
Therefore, the complex’s crime rate begins to raising, the vacancy rate rose, and living conditions dramatically declined. And later on this project has been admitted defeat and demolished by 1972. Since of this failure, it has been known as the "death of modernism" within its urban context in history.
“…selecting a neighborhood that can supply plenty of food stuffs to maintain the community,
with good roads or else convenient rivers or seaports affording easy means of transport to the city.” Quoted by Marcus Vitruvius
A good example of contemporary work is “Fallow land Project” by PLAY studio and YES studio, Located in Wien, Austria. Built on a triangular plot placed in the outskirts of the city where surrounded by a heavy traffic way, an elevated underground line across with a middle tension power line, it was typically a leftover waste ground made up by the infrastructures surrounding it. Many developers and designers that arrived before had already giving up this project, rather just left the land waiting for another opportunity.
However, the design team manage to transformed this waste land into a sustainable new neighborhood that offers the residents opportunities to live near where they work and to experience high-quality healthy living in an affordable, safe environment downtown. Below there are a few points which found as interesting solution in matter to solve this difficult position.
Nature - Topography / Ground
The roof becomes the base for an artificial patchwork of planted areas where used to be a wasteland,
the ideal green conditions of the plot gave an new image to the context.
There are four towers are designed with a profile that moves away from the power line, is for those who wish to live in the heights, staring at the sky through their patios and observe the city landscape.
Transportation & Access
The development is conveniently located from the public transportation system, from a short walk is able to take bus or reach the “Perfektastrasse U-bahnas” Transit Station.
These are also the advantages and location factors to increase the housing density, potentially in bringing more people and life into the area.
Housing & Community
The coexistence of two housing typologies – the towers and a clod like lower house which creates an urban gravity field whose vertical development subtly responds to the local and territorial context.
Where in the lower level of project presents a clear public vocation where different common uses are placed surrounded by commercial activities. A place where improve social relations between neighbors and pedestrians in their way to the underground stop.
Shared spaces - Intensification by Superposition
The project proposes a stratification of three, mutually interacting different layers. At the street level,public area or a semi-public layer encourages social relations between neighbors based around musical activities. The exterior green space and pedestrian are accessible by residents.
Conclusion
Based on the relevant experimental fail of architecture from past century and example of successful contemporary design works, these have proven the definite of respond to the surrounding contexts are necessary. It may determine the live or dead of a buildings’ design. There’s a word in morality says:
“Treat people with respect, and you deserve to be respected.”
The same theory goes to the design; people would only appreciate the architecture, if designers appreciate their living needs and cultural values. In success of response to the contexts, it will consequently encourage a healthful relationship between buildings and people around.
