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 vezu između razmišljanja o našem životu u zajednici gde ćemo biti deo okruženja u kome arhitektura raste iz prirodnih lokalnih uslova 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 doneo dva skorašnja projekta kao primer za ovo. Oba projekta su u zemljama u razvoju, jedan u Etiopiji, a drugi u Tunisu. Takođe im je zajedničko to da različite analize iz različitih perspektiva postaju ključni deo 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 projekat je počeo sa pozivom da se dizajnira tržni centar sa puno radnji u glavnom gradu Etiopije, Adis Abebi. Ovo je vrsta zgrade koju su meni i mom timu pokazali kao primer onoga što treba da dizajniramo. Prva stvar koju sam pomislio na početku je da želim da pobegnem.
(Laughter)
(Smeh)
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.
Pošto smo videli nekoliko ovih zgrada - ima ih puno u gradu - shvatili smo da imaju tri važne karakteristike. Prvo, ove zgrade su skoro prazne jer imaju veoma velike prodavnice gde ljudi ne mogu da priušte sebi kupovinu. Drugo, treba im dosta energije da bi funkcionisale, zbog staklenog omotača koji stvara toplotu unutra i onda vam treba puno hlađenja. U gradu u kom ovo ne bi trebalo da se dešava jer oni imaju vrlo umerenu klimu sa temperaturama od 20 do 25 stepeni tokom cele godine. I treće je to da njihov izgled nema nikakve veze sa Afrikom i Etiopijom. To je šteta na mestu 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.
Takođe, tokom naše prve posete Etiopiji, veoma mi se svideo stari merkato, struktura na otvorenom gde hiljade ljudi odlazi i kupuje svakog dana, od sitnih prodavaca. Takođe ima tu ideju javnog prostora koja koristi otvoren prostor da stvori aktivnost. Pa sam pomislio da je to ono što u stvari želim da dizajniram, a ne veliki tržni centar. Ali pitanje je bilo kako bismo mogli da napravimo objekat sa puno radnji, savremenu zgradu po ovim principima.
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.
Sledeći izazov je bio kad smo videli mesto predviđeno za gradnju koje se nalazi u delu grada koji brzo raste, gde većina ovih zgrada koje vidite na slici nije bila tamo. Takođe se nalazi između dve paralelne ulice koje nisu uopšte povezane duž stotina 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.
Tako da smo prvo napravili vezu između ove dve ulice tako što smo stavili sve ulaze u zgradu. I ovo se produžava sa predvorjem pod nagibom čime se stvara otvoren prostor u zgradi koji se svojim oblikom štiti od sunca i kiše. Oko ove praznine smo ubacili ideju tržnice sa malim radnjama, koja se menja na svakom spratu zbog oblika 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.
Takođe sam razmišljao kako da zatvorimo zgradu. Želeo sam da nađem rešenje koje bi odgovorilo na lokalne klimatske uslove. I počeo sam da razmišljam o tekstilu kao školjki od betona sa šupljinama koje bi propuštale vazduh i svetlost, samo filtrirane. I inspiracija je došla od ovih divnih dugmadi sa etiopljanskih ženskih haljina. One imaju osobine fraktalne geometrije i to mi je pomoglo da oblikujem celu fasadu. To gradimo pomoću ovih malih montažnih delova koji predstavljaju prozore koji na kontrolisan način propuštaju vazduh i svetlost u zgradu. Ovo je dopunjeno ovim malim staklima u boji koja koriste svetlo iz unutrašnjosti zgrade da osvetle zgradu 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.
Sa ovim idejama u startu nije bilo lako ubediti finansijere koji su mislili: "Ovo nije tržni centar. Nismo to tražili." Ali onda smo shvatili da je ova ideja tržnice u stvari mnogo profitabilnija od ideje velikog tržnog centra jer u suštini ima više prodavnica za prodaju. I takođe, ideja fasade je bila mnogo jeftinija, ne samo zbog materijala u poređenju sa staklom, već i zato što više nismo morali da imamo klima uređaje. Tako da smo višak od budžeta iskoristili da primenimo ovaj projekat.
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 primena je bila da razmišljamo kako bismo mogli da napravimo energetski samoodrživu zgradu, u gradu gde struja nestaje skoro svakog dana. i stvorili smo ogromnu pogodnost postavljanjem solarnih ploča na krov. A ispod ovih ploča, razmišljali smo o novom javnom prostoru sa mestima za okupljanje i barovima što bi stvorilo urbanu oazu. I ove verande na krovu bi skupljale vodu koja bi se ponovo koristila za sanitarije unutar zgrade. Nadamo se početkom sledeće godine, jer smo već stigli do petog sprata sa 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 primer je veliki plan za 2.000 stanova i objekata u gradu Tunisu. I da bih ostvario tako veliki projekat, najveći koji sam ikada dizajnirao, trebalo je da stvarno shvatim 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.
Tokom te analize obratio sam posebnu pažnju na Medinu, 1000 godina staru građevinu koja je ranije bila okružena zidom sa dvanaest različitih kapija, povezanih skoro pravim linijama. Kad smo otišli na lokaciju za gradnju, prvo što smo uradili bilo je da produžimo postojeće ulice i napravimo 12 početnih blokova, sličnih po veličini i karakteristikama onima u Barseloni i drugim gradovima Evrope sa ovakvim dvorištima. Povrh toga, izabrali smo neke strateške tačke setivši se ideje kapija povezanih pravim linijama i to je modifikovalo početnu šemu.
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.
Poslednja operacija je bila razmišljanje o ćeliji, maloj ćeliji projekta, kao što je stan, osnovnom elementu velikog plana. Razmišljao sam koja bi bila najbolja orijentacija stana u mediteranskoj klimi? I to je sever-jug, jer to stvara toplotnu razliku između dve strane kuće i time i prirodnu ventilaciju. Tako pokrivamo šemu, što obezbeđuje da većina stanova bude savršeno okrenuta u tom smeru.
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 koji je skoro kao kombinacija evropskog bloka i arapskog grada. Ima ove blokove sa dvorištima, a u prizemlju imate sve ove veze za pešake. I takođe, to odgovara lokalnim propisima koji propisuju veću gustinu na višim spratovima i manju gustinu u prizemlju. Takođe učvršćuje i ovu ideju kapija.
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.
Zapremina ima ovaj povezujući oblik koji se sam zaklanja od svetla sa tri različite vrste stanova i takođe, propušta svetlost u prizemlje u vrlo gusto naseljenom kraju. A u dvorištima ima raznih objekata kao što su teretana i vrtić, a pored su komercijalni prostori koji donose aktivnost u prizemlje. Krov, koji je moj omiljeni prostor u projektu, skoro da vraća zajednici prostor koji je oduzet građevinom. Tu svi stanari mogu da se popnu i druže i bave se aktivnostima kao što je trčanje od dva kilometra ujutru, 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 primera imaju isti pristup u procesu dizajniranja. Takođe, nalaze se u zemljama u razvoju, gde možete videti da gradovi bukvalno rastu. U ovim gradovima, uticaj arhitekture u životima ljudi danas i sutra menja lokalne zajednice i ekonomije istom brzinom kojom rastu i zgrade. Zbog toga, vidim još veću važnost u tome da arhitektura nalazi jednostavna i ekonomična rešenja koja produbljuju vezu između zajednice i okruženja i imaju za cilj da povežu prirodu i ljude.
Thank you very much.
Hvala vam mnogo.
(Applause)
(Aplauz)