Flows

DESCRIPTION

This project started with a prescribed zone in Medellin where a new tram line has finished construction, connecting the outskirts of the city to the city center. There is a parallel flow of the main creek and the axis of the tram line, which was used to determine the specific location of the intervention. The creek acts as a physical and social divider; the area to the south is comprised of new, organized construction and the north side is predominantly informal settlements. From there, the focus was narrowed down by a more thorough analysis of the creek systems in the area. There is space left untouched by the residents where creeks exist or have been covered up. This space often coincides with areas of more extreme topography. Due to these vacancies formed by the creeks and topography, the site features a lack of connection to other development on both sides. The title Flows references the intervention’s focus on connecting the site’s truncated circulation paths with program and infrastructure. The project is broken up into three zones; a commercial corridor, a recreation center, and a library/education facility, programs which are all missing in this informal area North of the divisive river. These connections and structures all play off of the externality of personal interaction that the climate and culture emphasizes to revitalize the area within the citizen’s acceptable framework. The interventions are therefore positioned to not only provide program, but also infrastructural connections that continue pedestrian paths through to the edges of the site, creating a more porous and effective public space.

SCOPE

Recreation & Education Facilities, Commercial Corridor

LOCATION

Medellin, Colombia

INSTRUCTOR

Francisco Sanin

TEAM

Timothy Attanasio, Ryan Oeckinghaus, Brandon Zirzow