First Steps into Fabrication
In the first phase of the discipline of Collaborative Design Studio, our group reimagined the rooftop playground of the primary school of Colegi Mare De Deu dels Angels in Barcelona, focusing on enhancing the children’s well-being. Through site visits, movement mapping, and participatory workshops with students, parents, and teachers, we identified key needs such as … Read more
ILLA DE RAVAL
This project focuses on establishing a community-centered public space in Santa Coloma. Situated at Block Illa de Raval, a designated “green finger” of the Pinta Verde initiative, the project seeks to improve accessibility, enhance social engagement, and address infrastructural needs based on local context and community input. HUMAN Research and analysis The research highlighted several … Read more
Ecological Intelligence 1. Trimester 2024/25
In our seminar with Michael Salka and Mariano Gomez Luque, we explored the meaning of ecology and the multifaceted challenges of sustainability, materiality and humanity’s relationship with the planet. Over eight weeks, we delved into two distinct but deeply connected approaches to build with ecological thinking and addressing climate change as well as envisioning a … Read more
Redefining the Urban
MICRO-ESSAY BY REUBEN DIAMOND “ A new conceptual lexicon must be created for identifying the wide variety of urbanisation processes that are currently reshaping the urban world” (“Planetary Urbanization,” Brenner, N., & Schmid, C., p. 13) BOUNDARIES DISSOLVED As planetary urbanization reconfigures social, economic, and spatial relations, the traditional frameworks of urban studies encounter profound … Read more
Innovative Urban Planning in Singapore: The Urban Playground Project
In the rapidly urbanizing landscape of Singapore, the demand for innovative urban planning solutions is paramount to accommodating the growing population while preserving the city-state’s unique cultural and environmental heritage. This project proposes an exploration of a playful design methodology to devise novel urban block typologies tailored to Singapore’s specific needs and constraints. This research … Read more
THE PLANETARY GUIDEBOOK: (IN)COMPLETE URBANIZATION NARRATIVE
“ Critical theory is thus not intended to serve as a formula for any particular course of social change; it is not a strategic map for social change; and it is not a ‘how to’-style guidebook for social movements.”Neil Brenner (2009) What is critical urban theory? THE STATEMENT …settlement – rural/urban – city – megalopolis … Read more
Human-Technology Entanglements, Urban Evolution, and Capitalist Forces
“We have lost fear of getting lost in the urban environment. New entanglements with artificial systems mean our experience of the urban is changing.” – Mariano Gomez-Luque I’m learning that the ways in which humans engage with artificial systems and urban environments are far more intricate than I had imagined. These entanglements redefine how we … Read more
Transhistorical Urbanization
Key words: Neoliberalism/ Critical Urban Theory/ Spatiotemporality/ Planetary Urbanization The accelerated development of communication and technological systems, and more precisely of intelligent technologies, has significantly changed the ways in which human and non-human coevolution is shaping. Implications for theoretical frameworks include broadening definitions of consciousness beyond the human, reshaping cognitive boundaries in an assemblage between … Read more
Urban Complexity: Rethinking Space & Knowledge
01 Reading as Urban InsightIn a rapidly urbanizing world, the ability to read critically across diverse mediums—both digital and print—serves as an indispensable tool for interpreting the complexities of urban theory. Techniques like HYPERREADING, which facilitates navigation through vast digital information, and CLOSE READING, which emphasizes deep textual analysis, are crucial for decoding the nuanced … Read more
Designed Realities
“The artificial refers not to the fake, but to what is deliberately created, designed with purpose, and capable of reshaping both human and planetary futures.” Benjamin Bratton In recent years, the notion of artificiality has evolved from being seen as an imitation of the natural, to an integral part of planetary and urban systems. Benjamin … Read more
Community Haven
This project focuses on establishing a community-centered public space in Santa Coloma. Situated at Block Illa de Raval, a designated “green finger” of the Pinta Verde initiative, the project seeks to improve accessibility, enhance social engagement, and address infrastructural needs based on local context and community input. At the project start, several assumptions guided the … Read more
FLOWS 4 SANTA COLOMA
Abstract Flows 4 Santa Coloma is a project in the city of Santa Coloma, taking into consideration the Pla Pinta Verde proposed by the municipality of Santa Coloma. The project aims are aligned with the aims of the Pla Pinta Verde of connecting the existing green spaces to bridge the gap created because of the … Read more
The Gòtic Quarter: A Sustainable Economic Model or Not?
Located in the heart of Barcelona, where the history of the city began, the Gòtic Quarter is an iconic neighborhood, we sought to understand its complex dynamics and whether its economic model could truly be called sustainable. From Roman foundations to bustling contemporary streets, the Gòtic Quarter embodies a story of transformation. But behind its … Read more
CARABASSES
The aim of this workshop was to propose an interview in one of the many farms in Parc Agrari complex. It is understood by local municipality and consortium of the park that the whole Parc Agrari has been suffering pressure from the real state market, in order to give the land up for the construction … Read more
Intro: El Raval
Our research on the El Raval neighborhood explored the tensions and opportunities between residents and tourists, two populations who travel from all over the world to be in El Raval. While tourists and residents can have conflicting priorities and demands of their environment, the two are also dependent on each other and we came upon … Read more
La Barceloneta: A District in Transition
As part of the Master in City & Technology Introductory Workshop, our team was tasked with studying La Barceloneta, a district characterized by its complex layers of social, economic, architectural, and administrative systems. This project aims to explore these dimensions, highlighting the interactions between tourism and the local community in one of Barcelona’s most iconic … Read more
Poblenou | Designing for local or global?
The urban transformation of the Poblenou neighborhood has reached a critical juncture, where the local and global spheres coexist in a contested struggle over territory. The revitalization of old industrial buildings into a technological and creative hub has spurred significant economic growth, attracting a wave of companies, start-ups, investors, and, more recently, digital nomads, displacing … Read more
Urban Insights: Leveraging Open Data for Smart Property Rate Predictions
1.0 Concept In the evolving landscape of urban development, property rates are influenced by numerous factors, including geographical, socio-economic, and infrastructural elements. Our project, “Urban Insights: Leveraging Open Data for Smart Property Rate Predictions,” aims to create an intelligent, data-driven model to forecast property rates. This model utilizes features such as wards, property types, and … Read more
SafeNet: Network-Driven Machine Learning for Urban Safety
Abstract This study examines the pressing problem of violence against women in Mexico City, focusing specifically on strategies to prevent the escalation of violence that can lead to femicides. The persistence of gender-based violence in the city is aggravated by socioeconomic disparities, inadequate urban planning, and a deficiency of safe public spaces. The notable increase … Read more
Corredor AgroEcológico
Una Solución sostenible para frenar la expansión urbana en zonas verdes – Região Metropolitana do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro – Brasil Introducción La Región Metropolitana de Río de Janeiro – RMRJ, con más de 13,4 millones de habitantes, es la segunda mayor economía de Brasil y pionera en gobernanza metropolitana a través de … Read more
VIDA Y MUERTE DE CIUDADES MINERAS. Estrategias territoriales para una nueva imagen del Cerro de Pasco, Perú 2065
El inminente fin de todo proceso extractivo plantea interrogantes sobre el futuro incierto del territorio socio-urbano en el cual se ha emplazado o que ha generado. Por lo general, las operaciones mineras están intrínsecamente ligadas a la degradación y desterritorialización de los sistemas naturales, así como a la violación de los derechos a la salud … Read more
Hacia una ciudad del cuidado
Lineamientos para la implementación del Sistema Público de Cuidados A partir del desempeño profesional en uno de los territorios con mayor rezago social de la Ciudad de México, como lo es la Alcaldía Iztapalapa, he podido constatar durante varios años la acentuación de las desigualdades urbanas que derivan en diversas problemáticas tales como la violencia, … Read more
Infraestructura cíclicas hídrico-sensibles.
Infraestructuras resilientes para el saneamiento y recarga de acuíferos: El caso de Valle de las Palmas El voraz crecimiento de las ciudades ha generado una degradación del medio natural. En este proceso, la participación de actores locales, tales como grupos sociales, asociaciones civiles, institutos y órdenes de gobierno, crea plataformas para la toma de acciones … Read more