My work focuses on the connection of both thinking about our community life being part of the environment where architecture grows from the natural local conditions and traditions.
Moj rad se fokusira na povezanost razmišljanja o našem životu u zajednici, gdje smo dio okruženja, u kojem arhitektura raste iz prirodnih lokalnih uvjeta i tradicija.
Today I brought two recent projects as an example of this. Both projects are in emerging countries, one in Ethiopia and another one in Tunisia. And also they have in common that the different analyses from different perspectives becomes an essential part of the final piece of architecture.
Danas sam donio dva nedavna projekta kao primjer za ovo. Oba projekta su u zemljama u razvoju, jedan u Etiopiji, a drugi u Tunisu. Također im je zajedničko i to da različite analize iz različitih perspektiva postaju ključni dio konačnog arhitektonskog projekta.
The first example started with an invitation to design a multistory shopping mall in Ethiopia's capital city Addis Ababa. And this is the type of building we were shown as an example, to my team and myself, of what we had to design. At first, the first thing I thought was, I want to run away.
Prvi projekt počeo je pozivom za dizajn trgovačkog centra na više katova u glavnom gradu Etiopije, Adis Abebi. Ovo je tip zgrade koju su meni i mom timu pokazali kao primjer onoga što trebamo dizajnirati. Prva stvar koju sam pomislio na početku je da želim pobjeći.
(Laughter)
(Smijeh)
After seeing a few of these buildings -- there are many in the city -- we realized that they have three very big points. First, these buildings, they are almost empty because they have very large shops where people cannot afford to buy things. Second, they need tons of energy to perform because of the skin treatment with glass that creates heat in the inside, and then you need a lot of cooling. In a city where this shouldn't happen because they have really mild weather that ranges from 20 to 25 degrees the whole year. And third is that their image has nothing to do with Africa and with Ethiopia. It is a pity in a place that has such rich culture and traditions.
Nakon što smo vidjeli nekoliko ovakvih zgrada, a ima ih mnogo u gradu, shvatili smo da imaju tri važne osobine. Prvo, ove zgrade su skoro prazne jer imaju vrlo velike trgovine, u kojima si ljudi ne mogu priuštiti kupovinu. Drugo, treba im dosta energije za održavanje zbog staklenog omotača koji unutra stvara toplinu pa trebate puno rashlađivanja. U ovom gradu se to ne bi trebalo dešavati, jer je tamo vrlo umjerena klima, s temperaturama od 20 do 25 stupnjeva tijekom cijele godine. I treće je to da njihova vizija nema nikakve veze s Afrikom i Etiopijom. To je šteta za mjesto koje ima tako bogatu kulturu i tradiciju.
Also during our first visit to Ethiopia, I was really captivated by the old merkato that is this open-air structure where thousands of people, they go and buy things every day from small vendors. And also it has this idea of the public space that uses the outdoors to create activity. So I thought, this is what I really want to design, not a shopping mall. But the question was how we could do a multistory, contemporary building with these principles.
Također, tijekom naše prve posjete Etiopiji, jako mi se svidjela stara tržnica na otvorenom, gdje tisuće ljudi dolazi i kupuje svakog dana, od malih trgovaca. Tu postoji i ideja o javnom prostoru, gdje se koristi otvoren prostor za stvaranje aktivnosti. Stoga sam pomislio kako je to ono što, u stvari, želim dizajnirati, a ne veliki trgovački centar. No, pitanje je bilo kako bismo mogli napraviti objekt na više katova, modernu zgradu prema ovim načelima.
The next challenge was when we looked at the site, that is, in a really growing area of the city, where most of these buildings that you see in the image, they were not there. And it's also between two parallel streets that don't have any connection for hundreds of meters.
Sljedeći izazov bio je, kada smo vidjeli gradilište, koje se nalazi u dijelu grada koji ubrzano raste, većina ovih zgrada koje vidite na slici još nije postojala. Isto tako, nalazi se između dvije paralelne ulice, koje uopće nisu povezane stotinama metara.
So the first thing we did was to create a connection between these two streets, putting all the entrances of the building. And this extends with an inclined atrium that creates an open-air space in the building that self-protects itself with its own shape from the sun and the rain. And around this void we placed this idea of the market with small shops, that change in each floor because of the shape of the void.
Stoga smo prvo povezali ove dvije ulice, tako što smo tamo postavili sve ulaze u zgradu. A to se produžuje atrijem pod nagibom te se stvara otvoren prostor unutar zgrade koji se svojim oblikom štiti od sunca i kiše. Oko ove praznine ubacili smo ideju tržnice s malim radnjama, koja se mijenja na svakom katu prema obliku praznine.
I also thought, how to close the building? And I really wanted to find a solution that would respond to the local climate conditions. And I started thinking about the textile like a shell made of concrete with perforations that would let the air in, and also the light, but in a filtered way. And then the inspiration came from these beautiful patterns of the Ethiopian women's dresses. That they have fractal geometry properties and this helped me to shape the whole facade. And we are building that with these small prefabricated pieces that are the windows that let the air and the light in a controlled way inside the building. And this is complemented by these small colored glasses that use the light from the inside of the building to light up the building at night.
Također sam razmišljao kako zatvoriti zgradu. Zaista sam želio naći rješenje koje bi odgovorilo na lokalne klimatske uvjete. I počeo sam razmišljati o tekstilu kao o školjki od betona sa šupljinama koje bi propuštale zrak i svjetlost, ali filtrirano. A inspiracija je došla od ovih divnih uzoraka s haljina Etiopljanki. One imaju te sitne geometrijske oblike, što mi je pomoglo oblikovati cijelo pročelje. To gradimo pomoću ovih malih montažnih dijelova koji služe kao prozori, koji na kontrolirani način propuštaju zrak i svjetlost u zgradu. Ovo je dopunjeno malim staklima u boji, koja koriste svjetlo iz unutrašnjosti zgrade za osvjetljavanje zgrade noću.
With these ideas it was not easy first to convince the developers because they were like, "This is not a shopping mall. We didn't ask for that." But then we all realized that this idea of the market happened to be a lot more profitable than the idea of the shopping mall because basically they had more shops to sell. And also that the idea of the facade was much, much cheaper, not only because of the material compared with the glass, but also because we didn't need to have air conditioning anymore. So we created some budget savings that we used to implement the project.
S ovim idejama, u početku nije bilo lako uvjeriti investitore, koji su mislili: "Ovo nije trgovački centar. Nismo to tražili." Ali onda smo shvatili da je ova ideja tržnice zapravo, mnogo profitabilnija od ideje trgovačkog centra, jer, u biti, ima više trgovina za prodaju. Također, ideja pročelja bila je mnogo jeftinija, ne samo zbog materijala u usporedbi sa staklom, već i zato što više nismo morali imati klima uređaje. Tako smo uštedjeli nešto na budžetu i to iskoristili za sami projekt.
And the first implementation was to think about how we could make the building self-sufficient in terms of energy in a city that has electricity cuts almost every day. So we created a huge asset by placing photovoltaics there on the roof. And then under those panels we thought about the roof like a new public space with gathering areas and bars that would create this urban oasis. And these porches on the roof, all together they collect the water to reuse for sanitation on the inside. Hopefully by the beginning of next year, because we are already on the fifth floor of the construction.
Prva stvar bila je osmisliti kako bismo mogli napraviti energetski samoodrživu zgradu, u gradu gdje su nestanci struje svakodnevna pojava. Stoga smo na krov postavili solarne ploče. A ispod tih ploča, krov bi bio novi javni prostor s mjestima za okupljanje te barovima, što bi stvorilo urbanu oazu. I ti trijemovi na krovu skupljali bi vodu koja bi se ponovo koristila za sanitarije unutar zgrade. Nadamo se početku sljedeće godine, jer smo već stigli do petog kata s gradnjom.
The second example is a master plan of 2,000 apartments and facilities in the city of Tunis. And for doing such a big project, the biggest project I've ever designed, I really needed to understand the city of Tunis, but also its surroundings and the tradition and culture.
Drugi primjer veliki je projekt gradnje 2000 stanova i objekata u gradu Tunisu. I kako bih ostvario tako veliki projekt, najveći koji sam ikada dizajnirao, zaista sam trebao shvatiti grad Tunis, ali i njegovo okruženje, tradiciju i kulturu.
During that analysis I paid special attention to the medina that is this 1,000-year-old structure that used to be closed by a wall, opened by twelve different gates, connected by almost straight lines. When I went to the site, the first design operation we did was to extend the existing streets, creating 12 initial blocks similar in size and characteristics to the ones we have in Barcelona and other cities in Europe with these courtyards. On top of that, we selected some strategic points reminded of this idea of the gates and connecting them by straight lines, and this modified this initial pattern.
Tijekom te analize posebnu pažnju posvetio sam Medini, 1000 godina starom dijelu grada koji je ranije bio zatvoren zidom, s dvanaest različitih vrata, povezanih skoro ravnim linijama. Kada smo otišli na gradilište, prvo smo proširili postojeće ulice i napravili 12 početnih blokova, veličinom i karakteristikama sličnim onima u Barceloni i ostalim europskim gradovima s ovakvim dvorištima. Povrh toga, izabrali smo neke strateške točke sjetivši se ideje vrata povezanih ravnim linijama, što je izmijenilo početni uzorak.
And the last operation was to think about the cell, the small cell of the project, like the apartment, as an essential part of the master plan. And for that I thought, what would be the best orientation in the Mediterranean climate for an apartment? And it's north-south, because it creates a thermal difference between both sides of the house and then a natural ventilation. So we overlap a pattern that makes sure that most of the apartments are perfectly oriented in that direction.
Posljednja operacija bila je razmišljanje o osnovi, maloj jedinici projekta, poput stana, kao osnovnom elementu ovog plana. Razmišljao sam koja bi bila najbolja orijentacija za stan u mediteranskoj klimi? To je sjever-jug, jer stvara toplinsku razliku između dvije strane kuće a time i prirodno prozračivanje. Tako stvaramo uzorak koji osigurava da većina stanova bude savršeno orijentirana u tom smjeru.
And this is the result that is almost like a combination of the European block and the Arab city. It has these blocks with courtyards, and then on the ground floor you have all these connections for the pedestrians. And also it responds to the local regulations that establish a higher density on the upper levels and a lower density on the ground floor. And it also reinforces this idea of the gates.
I ovo je rezultat, skoro poput kombinacije europskog stambenog bloka i arapskog grada. Ima te cjeline s dvorištima, a u prizemlju imate svu tu povezanost za pješake. A ovo također odgovara i lokalnim propisima koji određuju veću gustoću na višim katovima i manju gustoću u prizemlju. Također učvršćuje i ideju ulaznih vrata.
The volume has this connecting shape that shades itself with three different types of apartments and also lets the light go on the ground floor in a very dense neighborhood And in the courtyards there are the different facilities, such as a gym and a kindergarten and close by, a series of commercial [spaces] that bring activity to the ground floor. The roof, which is my favorite space of the project is almost like giving back to the community the space taken by the construction. And it's where all the neighbors, they can go up and socialize, and do activities such as having a two-kilometer run in the morning, jumping from one building to another.
Volumen ima ovaj povezujući oblik, koji se sam zaklanja od svjetla pomoću tri različite vrste stanova te propušta svjetlost u prizemlje u vrlo gusto naseljenom dijelu. A u dvorištima su različiti sadržaji, poput teretane i dječjeg vrtića, a pored toga su komercijalni prostori koji donose aktivnost u prizemlje. Krov, koji je moj omiljeni prostor cijelog projekta, skoro kao da vraća zajednici prostor koji joj je oduzet građevinom. Tu svi stanari mogu doći i družiti se, baviti se aktivnostima kao što je trčati ujutro dva kilometra, prelazeći s jedne zgrade na drugu.
These two examples, they have a common approach in the design process. And also, they are in emerging countries where you can see the cities literally growing. In these cities, the impact of architecture in people's lives of today and tomorrow changes the local communities and economies at the same speed as the buildings grow. For this reason, I see even more importance to look at architecture finding simple but affordable solutions that enhance the relationship between the community and the environment and that aim to connect nature and people.
Ova dva primjera imaju isti pristup u procesu dizajniranja. Također, oba su u zemljama u razvoju, gdje možete vidjeti kako gradovi doslovno rastu. U ovim gradovima, utjecaj arhitekture na živote ljudi danas i sutra mijenja lokalne zajednice i ekonomije istom brzinom kojom rastu i zgrade. Zbog toga, vidim još veću važnost u tome kako arhitektura nalazi jednostavna, ali ekonomična rješenja koja produbljuju vezu između zajednice i okruženja te imaju za cilj povezati prirodu i ljude.
Thank you very much.
Hvala vam.
(Applause)
(Pljesak)