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    • CONCURSO INTERNACIONAL PARQUE LINEAL FERROCARRIL DE CUERNAVACA: TEJIDO CONECTIVO/ Groundlab & Territorios Taller de Arquitectura
    • L A N D script _ data S C A P E
    • The Moorside Tarn & Pike Project
    • Groundlab present: Territorial Formations at BGS, 15th February 2016
    • Groundlab wins competition to redevelop Alameda/Providencia Urban Corridor in Santiago de Chile
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    CONCURSO INTERNACIONAL PARQUE LINEAL FERROCARRIL DE CUERNAVACA: TEJIDO CONECTIVO/ Groundlab & Territorios Taller de Arquitectura

    alfredo, December 16, 2016, 7:01 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Competition, Design, Projects,

    Estos son los detalles de nuestra propuesta para el Concurso Internacional Parque Lineal Ferrocarril de Cuernava:

    El “Parque Lineal Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca” representa la posibilidad de suturar e integrar socialmente parte del territorio metropolitano a través de la construcción de una infraestructura social y ambiental que permitirá integrar y reducir las condiciones de desigualdad, consolidando y ampliando espacios públicos, conectando equipamientos (nuevos y existentes), integrando redes de movilidad y construyendo un paisaje hídrico que fomente el manejo responsable del agua de lluvia. Se propone un modelo replicable en otras áreas de la Ciudad con condiciones similares que puede generar espacios de calidad, redes continuas de movilidad y la reinyección de agua de lluvia al manto acuífero, recuperando espacios en desuso mediante su transformación en áreas verdes y zonas de esparcimiento.

    La propuesta establece un “Tejido Conectivo” cuyo principio unificador define una estructura transversal que busca invertir el carácter segregador de las vías del tren, vinculando los diferentes barrios, colonias, equipamientos, espacios públicos y zonas productivas presentes a lo largo de la vía, reforzando la identidad lineal del parque y manteniendo el funcionamiento del tren.

    La intervención extiende las líneas transversales de los durmientes de las vías del tren. Su disposición perpendicular permite enfatizar las potenciales conexiones locales, generando un marco material a partir del cual se consolidan las actividades existentes, se acomodan nuevos programas y se integran edificios y equipamientos singulares. Dicha transversalidad se conforma por paseos peatonales y ciclistas, movimientos vehiculares, áreas verdes, áreas de infiltración de aguas, y equipamiento deportivo y recreativo entretejidos en las redes urbanas adyacentes al parque. Se generan a su vez una variedad de ritmos diferenciales, a partir de las vías del tren, que dan carácter a las diferentes áreas: áreas más suaves (arboledas, paseos y jardines de sombra y agua) y áreas pavimentadas de diversos usos (juegos infantiles, arte urbano, tianguis temático, etc.), como respuesta al contexto existente.

    El estudio y manejo del agua de lluvia es fundamental en el parque y las áreas aledañas. Se localizan áreas naturales de acumulación y posible infiltración al subsuelo para generar un ritmo constante a lo largo del proyecto y establecer un sistema infraestructural local capaz de conectar por su extensión a las calles transversales, convirtiendose así en un elemento que da carácter al espacio urbano desde y hacia el parque lineal.

    El ‘Tejido Conectivo’ se consolida a través de la utilización de distintos materiales, partiendo de la estructura de los durmientes y resaltando el reciclamiento de materiales existentes en el lugar. Los pavimentos transversales se materializan a través de durmientes reciclados, gravas, escombros procesados provenientes de remodelaciones, nuevas edificaciones aledañas e intervenciones en plantas bajas que reconfiguren su relación con el parque. Este ritmo y la extensión de las vías del tren también se traduce en la estructura de elementos verticales que se adaptan al carácter de los diferentes tramos y adquieren diversas funciones desde iluminación, sombras, jardines colgantes, juegos de niños, áreas de convivencia, instalaciones de arte urbano, soportes para el crecimiento de vegetación y espacios escultóricos que los vecinos.

     

     

    Equipo: José  Hesner Sánchez García, José Alfredo Ramírez Galindo, Clara Olóriz San Juán, Miguel Fermín Andrade Jiménez, Juan Felipe Ordóñez Cervantes, Liam Mouritz, Raúl Bielsa, Eugenia Cia,  Juan Raúl Ríos Rojo, Alejandro Guevara Resenos, Ana Paulina Roldán Maya.

    L A N D script _ data S C A P E

    alfredo, August 19, 2016, 2:04 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Uncategorized,

    L A N D script _ data S C A P E | ‘Digital’ Agency within Manufactured Territories

    New technologies constantly change and re-shape the way we think, design and produce our environments and territories. Our impulse to control the surroundings in which we are immersed and live has triggered many of the innovations in technologies and methods that are now widely available to designers today. The invention of geometry, for instance, was triggered by the necessity to provide certainty to the distribution, property and taxation of productive land around the Nile that shifted with every annual flooding – fact on which the fertility of the land and thus, their living also depended (Gardner 2009). More recently, the development of contemporary cartography, concomitant of the emergence of innovative surveying tools, provides a reliable technical tool for states and governments to ensure the control and delimitation of land, resources and management of territories within and beyond their frontiers.

    Along these lines, digital cartographic tools provide precise and accurate readings of the world based on their capacity to seamlessly handle and assemble vast amounts of information from multiple fields in the generation of territorial datascapes. Methodologies based on these innovative tools imply abstract systems of organization that provide frameworks to develop and script concrete interventions and management schemes into given territories. However, the processing capabilities of digital technologies have stressed the accuracy and objectiveness of information. The apparent objectiveness, efficiency and pragmatism of these methodological approaches have detached these technologies from its purpose, while the procedural rigour has accentuated the scientific claims of design in the validation of management decisions. On this basis, we argue that this operative framework blurs and questions the role of the designer, and its capacity to engage with territories and the dynamics that shape them. In these conditions, digital tools can exacerbate designer’s detachment from contemporary conditions (as a mere observer) whilst diminishing its direct participation and implication from reality.

    This essay attempts to put forward alternative and novel ways to handle the potential of digital tools, both from the point of view of analysis and intervention, addressing the question of the designer’s agency within the scope of what we define as  landscape and territorial projects. In order to do that, it proposes the re-engagement of designers in the idea of land-script and datas-capes, as a way forward to acknowledge the power of digital tools in the hands of the creative and critical stance of the designer. Both land-script and data-scapes share common etymological roots with landscape. From a broader understanding of the latter, as a social and cultural construct, we intend to re-articulate our relation to the former terms.

     Excerpt from: L A N D script _ data S C A P E | ‘Digital’ Agency within Manufactured Territories, in ‘Innovations in Landscape Architecture’ J. Anderson and D. Ortega, eds., Routledge, 2016

    The Moorside Tarn & Pike Project

    alfredo, August 17, 2016, 11:14 am, Leave a comment, Posted in Design, Projects, Tagged earthworks, Landscape, landscape design, Mounds, territory,

    The Moorside Tarn & Pike was our proposal for the Nuclear Power Screening Mounds in North Cumbria UK. Here are the details:

    Moorside sits strategically between two fundamental landscape features, the majestic peaks of the Lake District and the vast blue mass of the Irish Sea. Our proposal reflects both physically and visually on the sublime qualities of these landscapes and that of the Cumbrian territory in general, in the production of an awe-inspiring, sustainable and ecologically restorative terrain utilising the spoil accumulated from the power station.

    We propose the organisation of the mounds to create a central valley which emphasises views across the site, towards the Lake District highest peaks and the sunset landscapes of the seaside. Through the inversion of the existing hydrology network, water runoff is redistributed centrally to reproduce a mountain lake locally known as Tarns. The Tarn is a distinctive feature acting as the hinge of the project, managing the water volume on site, choreographing the astonishing views and organising the mounded landforms that are brought to life through rainfall. While the main publicly accessible site involves the creation of the Moorside Tarn, the south mounds site could be used to create the Moorside Pike.

    This single hill stands in direct contrast to the tarn formation in order to provide a clear identity to both landforms. Whilst the Moorside Tarn welcomes visitors and choreographs its movements and visuals in and around the water body, the pike directs views and provides a singular viewing spot that witnesses the transformation of waste material into a sustainable landscape and distinctive landmark.

    Lake District Context Plan Moorside Site Plan

    Moorside Site Plan stage 01Moorside Site Plan stage 02Moorside Site Plan stage 03Moorside Site Plan stage 04

    Moorside Tarn View towards the coast

    Moorside Mound evolution stage 01Moorside Mound evolution stage 02Moorside Mound evolution stage 03Moorside Mound evolution stage 04

    At the outset, we were interested in the various patterns and features evident in the mountainous landscape of the Lake District which have contributed to its unique identity and attraction as a popular tourist destination. We noted the series of linear ridges, arranged in a broadly radial formation existing alongside a complex pattern of water run-off directed across the mounds forming not only the elongated lakes which give the place its name, but also the many smaller mountainous Tarns, streams and cascades which provide one of the unique qualities of the region; the ability to view vast expanses of landscape with water in the foreground. The clear water provides a mirrored reflection, further emphasising the scale of the surroundings.

    In comparison, Moorside exists within a gently undulating topography adjacent to the coast, with the Lake District looming prominently in the background. Using GIS technology we performed a hydrology analysis of the area, which revealed a series of drainage channels funnelling water along a predominantly north to south axis without much conformity to the existing farmland mosaic pattern. It is this network of drainage lines which provided the main basis for the organisation of the mounds on our site.

    In a dual response to prevent further flooding of the surrounding area and with the idea of creating an amenity rich central waterbody we propose to invert the existing direction of water flow, redirecting it towards the centre of the site. Through the organisation of the mounds, rainfall could be directed towards a central valley between the mounds, creating an elongated body of water which we refer to as the Moorside Tarn, picking up on the local naming tradition of these types of landforms within Cumbrian heritage. The mounds would provide a performative function within the surrounding landscapes. Ensuring that water drains predominantly centrally and not into any adjacent towns, agricultural land or into the power station itself, helping to prevent the possibility of flooding issues. At the same time, this opens up great opportunities to reflect on the landscape qualities of the Lake District, providing for a richer human experience of the site while placing emphasis on the views towards the Lake District and the coast.

    It’s important to emphasise that the concept we have illustrated in the panels is one scenario for how the mounds could be formed and is flexible to change. What we intend to emphasise instead is a strategy, in which based on as yet unknown constraints (for example, how the soil will be moved) the resulting formation may be adjusted. For our own proposal we assumed a particular technique of soil redistribution, whereby earth is moved via Giant Dump Trucks along linear corridors in which the truck moves back and forth, creating a teardrop shaped mound, where the slope on one side becomes consolidated by the movement of the truck, and on the other side the soil rests at the angle of repose. This simple mechanism of teardrop formations generated by the truck makes the truck movements more efficient by reducing its turning, minimizing the energy and additional costs of land shaping. The movement of the trucks follows the linear corridors of the existing water network, with the main supply axis running through the central part of the site. In this way, with this adaptable, cheap and sustainable strategy we can redirect and control the hydrology networks towards the Tarn, giving a new identity to the site.

    • Name: The Moorside Tarn & Pike.
    • Location: Moorside.
    • Year of Competition: 2016
    • Brief: Screening Mounds for a Nuclear Power Station in Moorside
    • Design Stages: Competition Submission
    • Client: Nugen
    • Project Implementation Budget: NA.
    • Team: Groundlab with SpaceHub
    • Status: Submitted

    Moorside Tarn View towards the lake district

    Groundlab present: Territorial Formations at BGS, 15th February 2016

    alfredo, February 6, 2016, 1:57 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Design, lecture,

    The lecture will delve into the emergence of concepts such as territory and landscape as the basis for the renewal of design practices in architecture and urbanism. This process is concerned, on the one hand with research on anthropogenically created geomorphological formations or ‘created’ ground, and on the other with social, political and economic forces that drive and choreograph these environments.
    The understanding of territory and landscape is the concern of various disciplines and professionals, such as geologists, sociologists, geographers, political ecologist and environmentalists, but it is the architects and urbanists who see them, though trans-disciplinary collaboration, as the core materials to reimagine the design of future territories. Landscape and territory are understood as cultural or spatial productions, derived from a constant and relentless interplay of human and natural activity – full of conflicts, struggles, alterations, and shifts, within or outside legal or institutional frameworks. This understanding broadens our idea of landscape and territory as intrinsically engaged with design practices and as the result of specific historical processes with political consequences.

     

     

    Groundlab 160118 -front pages 01_Page_4

    Groundlab wins competition to redevelop Alameda/Providencia Urban Corridor in Santiago de Chile

    alfredo, October 9, 2015, 11:46 am, Leave a comment, Posted in Uncategorized,

    Groundlab as part of a consortium made of LyonBosch Architects+Martic, Idom and Sergio Chiquetto hsa won a major competition to redevelop the Alameda/Providencia Urban Corridor in the City of Santiago,Chile.

    http://www.nuevaalamedaprovidencia.cl/

    The project comprises the design of a 12 km transport/urban corridor that enhances the public space and integrates public transport to the civic life of the city by prioritizing pedestrian and bicycle movement. It creates a linear plaza framed by water and tree landscape that brings back the character of the corridor as an ‘Alameda’.

     

    Groundlab Shorlisted for the Development of the Kaban Lake System Embankments

    alfredo, July 7, 2015, 12:59 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Projects,

    Groundlab has been shorlisted for the Development of the Kaban Lake System Embankments Competition:

    http://www.kazanlakes.com/

    Untitled-3

    The project competition includes full reconstruction of lake embankments in the center of Kazan (Tatarstan, Russia) and seeks ideas for the development of the Kaban lake system embankments.

    It is an initiative of the Temporary Acting President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov. The competition is held under the authority of the Republic of Tatarstan Government.

    The outcome of the competition will be an a architectural planning concept for the embankments for three lakes, which will take the existing urban surroundings into account, and a schematic design of one of the embankmant sections of the first construction phase.

    Russian and foreign architectural and planning bureaus are invited to take part in the competition.

     

    http://www.kazanlakes.com/

    Groundlab in Global Design Book

    alfredo, April 29, 2015, 12:48 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Uncategorized,

    Groundlab project: Flowing Gardens was selected to appear within the Global Design Book edited by Peder Anker, Louis Harpman and Mitchell Joachim. You can see here an extract of our contribution but you should check out the whole book out now!

    Groundlab in Global Design

    Groundlab Wins 2nd Prize in the Antenna Salerno International Competition

    alfredo, February 23, 2015, 2:26 pm, Leave a comment, Posted in Design, Projects,

    The Groundlab team won the second prize in the ideas competition “Bellaria Hill Park and Antenna/Landmark for Salerno”, Italy. The competition focused on the landscaping and redesign of an area currently occupied by a series of telecommunications antennas. Partially owned by the Town of Salerno, the site is situated atop the Bellaria Hill and includes the entrance area, internal paths, parking and a belvedere in a public park. The objective was to recover the use of this panoramic park in the heart of the city and, simultaneously, to ensure maximum safety for residents and visitors through the environmental rehabilitation of the entire area and the realisation of a safe and functional Telecommunications Antenna. The design of the new Antenna must minimise visual and electromagnetic impact and constitute an expression of contemporary design able to represent an urban Landmark that substitutes the numerous, obsolete and disturbing antennas currently situated atop a series of unattractive and intrusive steel structures.

     render 01 - website9

    You can check our project at this page: Weaving Landmark

    Credits
    Team: Clara Oloriz Sanjuan, Groundlab London (Alfredo Ramirez, Mara Reina, Laura Virto, Yunya Tang)
    Structural Engineers: Vincenzo Reale, Giancarlo Torpiano

    Jose Alfredo Ramirez lectures in Mexico City February 2015

    alfredo, February 9, 2015, 10:14 am, Leave a comment, Posted in Uncategorized,

    Afredo @ ibero

    Land-Formations Tectonic-Grounds 


    The lecture will engage with the emerging concepts of landscape and territory as the milieu for the development of a territorial practice. This practice is concerned on the one hand with research on geomorphological formations of relevant landforms (Tectonic Grounds) and on the other with cultural, political and economic forces that drive and choreograph social formations of these landforms (Land Formations).


    The understanding of Land-Formations Tectonic-Grounds as a fundamental concept is not solely the concern of a geologist, sociologist geographers or any other related discipline, but of the Landscape Urbanist who sees them in turn as the core materials for a design practice that can allow the remergence and/or manufacture of future territories. In other words, Land-Formations Tectonic-Grounds are understood as cultural/spatial productions, derived from a constant and relentless human and natural activity full of conflicts, struggles, alterations, and shifts, within or outside legal or institutional frameworks, thus broadening traditional understanding of landscape and territory concepts as the result of specific historical processes with political consequences.


    The lecture will address, through these lenses, the work of Groundlab, the AA Mexico City Visiting School and the Landscape Urbanism Programme at the Architectural Association.

    Eva Castro part of the lecture series @POLI.DESIGN | Master in SUSTAINABLE LAND AND ARCHITECTURE

    alfredo, January 29, 2015, 11:26 am, Leave a comment, Posted in Uncategorized,

     

     

    Territorio-e-architettura-sostenibili-Iscrizioni-ancora-aperte-per-il-Master-del-Politecnico-di-Milano_ADMLecture will take Place on Monday 2nd February 2015 @ POLI.DESIGN | Master in SUSTAINABLE LAND AND ARCHITECTURE

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