QT8 is a district in Milan, Italy which stands for Quartiere Triennale 8, was developed as an experimental urbanization project during 8th edition of Triennale di Milano design exhibition held in 1947. This area contains a big artificial hill, Montastella (Star mountain) made from debris of buildings that had collapsed during the war (Wikipedia).
Continuing the discourse raised before about infrastructure we have, this project and its site have the situation of being embraced by high speed roads and hyper distribution of green infrastructure all around it. That brought to me the impression of dullness and stagnation that I had imagined in my mind even before the site visit. This feeling of emptiness and insecurity had been explored by Jane Jacobs in her book The Death And Life Of Great American Cities (1961), that because it lacks of activities, facilities and many other elements to attract people to use it properly. From the very obvious glance, it is situated outside city center which is referred as border vacuums (Jane Jacobs, 1961) by its big and easily recognizable Montastella, QT8 is suffering problem of one single primary use, it looks plenty but empty which means it has abundant greenery but without adequate number of users. This dullness is also formed by the fragmentation of the area with its adjacent neighborhoods and inside the area itself. The system of high-speed and wide roads cut QT8 from its surrounding and generate the feeling of an island. Unarguably, this convenient system of transportation helps people to have more choice to come and stay but again in the other hand, it is just friendly with cars and brought more troubles for pedestrians. Surprisingly when the local people have been interviewed, they said not problematic at all to go back and forth between QT8 and Gallaratese by the one and only bridge that pedestrians can use simultaneously with vehicles. But this opinion was from the one who actually come to this area for jogging around its huge green areas that the burden of going a long way to the crossing point doesn’t bother them, it really narrows down the pool of use of this area for the small community of athleticism.
In her book, Jane Jacobs described very clear the relationship between liveliness, safety and diversity in context of many cities in America in 50s and 60s that I used as theoretical tool to apply to this project. Obviously the scale and context between American and European city are different, also this project and the context of the book but the thing she explained in general was profound for urban planning and could be apply to any context where the liveliness is needed, some of her ideas could be controversial but still undeniable. According to Jane Jacobs, the diversity is the prerequisite to range the surveillance, eye on the street, which will keep it safe from morning until midnight and therefore will flourish a healthy neighborhood that can handle strange birds (people from outside neighborhood) and be ready to be lively. I totally agree and keep the diversity in mind as the starting point to apply for this project. Return to the problem of poor range of users that QT8 has, a suggestion from Jan Gehl “something happens because something happens” (life between buildings, 1936) was described that no area or neighborhood is simply enjoyable without a proper design. One area could be developed gradually after time to be lively by appropriate design for its beginning which is the question mark for this area because of the problems discussed before. Beside the monumental Montastella in QT8, Gallaratese contains a big skate park that is the only place crowded by people (from all over Milan, interviewed) in this entire area. Because they, skaters, are young and dynamic to be willing to go anywhere promising them a real skate ring and they have ability to spread the reputation around in their small community, they are considered as the key factor for the project to design a truly interesting place that start from skaters to put the first “something happens” to the place serving as connection and to the chain of other following activities. This bigger scale of a skate park will therefore encourage other sport activities and thrive its promising diversity. These all activities are not randomly situated in any place in QT8 but one designated point on the system of slow mobility formed by municipality. A man can say still that sport activities, but he will see it more concentrated and better equipped.
From aerial view, this project serves as a knot that connect two seperated green areas together by an undulated piece of landscape in body of a building. Functioning as a bridge, this work of infrastructure transforms one part of the ground and shapes it into building, simultaneously runs gently from the roof top into the ground and dissolve. This hybridization architecture replicates the organic form of nature and collects them into its different parts against the idea of rigid highway, the image of mountains in wavy curves, the secret valleys are embraced into courtyards and open coves as the ampitheatre to the hustled fluid on street. The bad villian actor of highspeed transportation, induced by technolofical burst, is exposed to the audiences as something a bit noisy but interesting due to its volatile quality, people will watch it by choice when they’d love to see something moving, this involvement expressed the equal treatment for pedestrians and autommobile which should be considered as maximizing public resources (Jacqueline Tatom, 2005).
To Jane Jacobs, children assembling and stranger birds are important but the shopkeeper, the butchers, the newspaper men are even more crucial. They are natural guardians who will keep eyes on street and activities happening out there, the key factor that would guarantee the safety for the neighborhood. That is why the indoor facilities such as stores, restaurants, child cares etc are equipped underneath the covering where other sport activities running. Otherwise, this area of QT8 and Gallaratese seriously lacks of basic services that makes the residents drive their cars to other neighborhoods or city center for everything even the most simple need. It is just typical issue happening in the border of a city that was explained by Jane Jacobs and many other authors.
This scenarios for QT8 and Gallaratese is based on a theory that diffuses between opinion about authentic city and a very modern point of view about design. This expressionism personality bring life and opportunity to this public space where culture would be put into consideration and politic should be get involved that brings together other conditions to assure its liveliness and long term life.
Title: Rhythm of ground
Catalogue: Academic project - Landscape design
Institution: Politecnico di Milano (Polimi, Milan, Italy)
Evaluation: 30/30 (by professors)
Function: Complexity
Project area: 95000 m2
Project year: 2014
Catalogue: Academic project - Landscape design
Institution: Politecnico di Milano (Polimi, Milan, Italy)
Evaluation: 30/30 (by professors)
Function: Complexity
Project area: 95000 m2
Project year: 2014
