Publication: Re-presentar la ciudad. Urban Re-Identification Grid. Aproximaciones al espacio como acontecimiento
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2019
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Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
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Abstract
Tal como es planteado por Nelson Goodman, el ejercicio arquitectónico puede ser
definido como una acción indirecta. Es decir, un quehacer que para ejecutar sus
intervenciones requiere de mecanismos de mediación capaces de comunicar y transmitir
sus propuestas. Asumiendo esta función mediadora, la representación gráfica se ha
consolidado como un canal expresivo recurrente –por momentos imprescindible– del
trabajo del arquitecto. Las estrategias de representación tienen la capacidad de vincular
aspectos discursivos (teoría) con aspectos operativos (práctica) de la arquitectura,
guiando el proceso que transcurre entre la ideación y la ejecución de la obra. Sin embargo,
la importancia de estas técnicas de representación no se restringe a su uso instrumental.
La representación arquitectónica forma parte de la producción de sentido(s) que orienta a
la disciplina, y su análisis implica considerar los límites de acción de la propia
arquitectura, el vínculo que se produce entre ésta y la realidad que intenta intervenir. En
este contexto, la presente investigación plantea una lectura crítica en torno al rol asumido
por la representación gráfica en el contexto de la modernidad. Se trata de un rol
directamente vinculado con la idea de proyecto y su carácter anticipatorio, que entiende
a las estrategias de representación como un espacio simbólico de operación a distancia,
desvinculándose de la realidad y sus contingencias. Cuestionando esta posición asignada
a la representación, analizaremos la propuesta gráfica Urban Re-Identification Grid,
desarrollada por los arquitectos Alison y Peter Smithson en colaboración con el fotógrafo
Nigel Henderson. Una propuesta que puede ser entendida como un manifiesto visual, una
aproximación a la ciudad que evita el control y la anticipación que definen al proyecto
moderno. Por el contrario, a través de la combinación de esquemas, diagramas y
fotografías, Urban Re-Identification Grid plantea una mirada ampliada en torno a la
ciudad, incorporando en su registro a las actividades espontáneas y no previstas, a los
usos y acontecimientos que se apropian del espacio público. Así, la expresión gráfica de
Urban Re-Identification Grid cuestiona el prefijo “re” de la palabra representación, pues
más que una repetición o sustitución de lo observado, propone una nueva lectura de la
ciudad y sus cualidades. ¿Es posible reconsiderar los alcances de la idea de proyecto en
función de las estrategias de representación utilizadas?; ¿podemos pensar la
representación gráfica como ámbito de interacción entre las inquietudes disciplinares y
las contingencias de la realidad? Son las principales interrogantes que dan origen a una
discusión propuesta como relevante para entender el ámbito de acción de la arquitectura
y sus procedimientos.
The philosopher Nelson Goodman proposes that Architecture can be defined as an indirect action. That is to say, Architecture is a work that, in order to execute its interventions, needs mediation procedures. These procedures permit to express the architectural proposals. Accepting this approach, the graphic representation is an expressive channel that is inseparable –sometimes indispensable– from the work of Architecture and Urban Design themselves. Representational strategies have the capacity to link discursive issues (theory) with operating issues (practice). In other words, architectural representation guides the communication process between thought and building. However, the importance of representational techniques is not only this instrumental capacity. Representation is an important part of the process by which the meaning in Architecture is produced. For these reasons, this discussing sphere implies a reflection about the limits of discipline and its links to reality. In this context, the following research proposes a reflection about the role of architectural representation in the context of Modernity. Specifically, this role will be directly linked to the project idea. This conception of the project understands representational strategies as a symbolic field that implies to work from the long distance, far from the reality and its contingencies. Questioning the modern view about representation, we are going to explore the graphic propose Urban Re-Identification Grid, by the architects Alison and Peter Smithson and the photographer Nigel Henderson. The proposal can be understood as a visual manifest, an approach to the city that avoids the control of modern project. Through the combination of schemes, diagrams and pictures, Urban Re-Identification Grid suggests a different point of view about the city. This view considers the spontaneous activities and the events in the space. In this way, Urban Re-Identification Grid changes the meaning of the prefix “re” in the word “representation”. For the Smithson, representation is not a replacement; it is indeed a new reading about the city and its qualities. Is it possible to rethink the notion of project taking into account the different representational strategies? Can representation itself be set as an interaction field where the disciplinary concerns and the contingencies of reality are discussed? These are the main questions of this research about the representation idea and its role in architecture.
The philosopher Nelson Goodman proposes that Architecture can be defined as an indirect action. That is to say, Architecture is a work that, in order to execute its interventions, needs mediation procedures. These procedures permit to express the architectural proposals. Accepting this approach, the graphic representation is an expressive channel that is inseparable –sometimes indispensable– from the work of Architecture and Urban Design themselves. Representational strategies have the capacity to link discursive issues (theory) with operating issues (practice). In other words, architectural representation guides the communication process between thought and building. However, the importance of representational techniques is not only this instrumental capacity. Representation is an important part of the process by which the meaning in Architecture is produced. For these reasons, this discussing sphere implies a reflection about the limits of discipline and its links to reality. In this context, the following research proposes a reflection about the role of architectural representation in the context of Modernity. Specifically, this role will be directly linked to the project idea. This conception of the project understands representational strategies as a symbolic field that implies to work from the long distance, far from the reality and its contingencies. Questioning the modern view about representation, we are going to explore the graphic propose Urban Re-Identification Grid, by the architects Alison and Peter Smithson and the photographer Nigel Henderson. The proposal can be understood as a visual manifest, an approach to the city that avoids the control of modern project. Through the combination of schemes, diagrams and pictures, Urban Re-Identification Grid suggests a different point of view about the city. This view considers the spontaneous activities and the events in the space. In this way, Urban Re-Identification Grid changes the meaning of the prefix “re” in the word “representation”. For the Smithson, representation is not a replacement; it is indeed a new reading about the city and its qualities. Is it possible to rethink the notion of project taking into account the different representational strategies? Can representation itself be set as an interaction field where the disciplinary concerns and the contingencies of reality are discussed? These are the main questions of this research about the representation idea and its role in architecture.
Description
Comunicación presentada en el Congreso Internacional Interdisciplinar "La ciudad: imágenes e imaginarios" celebrado en la Facultad de Humanidades, Comunicación y Documentación, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid del 12 al 15 marzo de 2018.
Keywords
Representación arquitectónica, Proyecto, Acontecimiento, Teoría, Práctica, Architectural representation, Projec, Event, Theory, Practice
Bibliographic citation
Congreso Internacional Interdisciplinar: La ciudad: imágenes e imaginarios. (2018, Getafe). Ana Mejón, Farshad Zahedi, David Conte Imbert (eds.). Getafe: Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, 2019, pp. 535-545