aaaaah, the final hand in's...

isn't it gorgeous? that cathartic feeling of sleeplessness, caffeine overdose and shaky hands?
c'mon, you love it...

anyway, i deceded to take a break to update the blog a bit.

A word on the Metropolitan as the year draws to a close? well, unless there is a unit that captures your immagination, it's only as good as the people you will meet, just like every other place. I was lucky to meet some great people. tim, louis, you guys made this thing a lot better than it could have been, thanks!

and if there is a unit that captures you, well, think about it...i mean, be judgemental, highly critical and a bit of an asshole, it always helps. just try and do the same with yourself and your work every once in a while.

Now, the important stuff:
the final project!

the concept:
along a proposed train line, to develop each station as a piece of a shopping centre, as if it was split into sections and distributed alond the railway line. The idea being that if you make a shopping mall accessible through public transport (for both consumers and deliveries) you can cut the road dependedncy of the area, and also recuperate some of the "outgoing economy" back into the local economical system.

Also, on a more urban level, a smaller shopping centre with a reduced need for car parking, can be better integrated in the existing urban fabric and act as a catalist for interest/investment/development, instead of being yet another box in the valley.

The method:
the whole thing is based on the programatic analysis of the different functions (retail, transport, public space) put in relation to each site/station along the railway line. some sites are already developed, some need improvement, some others are greenfields planned for development (the area taken into consideration will undergo a 750.000 dwelling development in the hext ten years). The final product is a prototypical system of rules on how the local conditions (both actual and predicted) will inform the built form, both formally and programmatically, and the development of a (aesthetic) language that could cope with the widest possible range of situations, while still giving some kind of unity to the various "pieces" of the mall.

where am i at:
uhm, developing two sites, the buildings are pretty much there and are undergoing a series of development stages based on scenario games. the final presentation will show how the building has been shaped by the site's conditions (populations, movemente through the site, catchment areas, required typologies of retail, etc)

so, if you have enought time to read the whole thing, you've earned yourself the right to rip it to pieces!