Developing a Thesis Project : Granada Spain

I will be graduating from college in June 2014 and for my architectural thesis project I have decided to site my project in Granada Spain. I have taken a request for proposals [rfp] for a Alzheimer's Center competition. The location for this project is in a munincipality of Granada called Armilla which is situated 7-10 minutes away from the city center by car. 

Google Map of Area

Upon visiting Armilla in Granada, Spain; one of the things that captivated me to study the architecture of the city was the texture and life that occurred beyond the facade of the buildings. The streets were very lonely and often seemingly solemn but there were always people in their balconies and often you could "peer" into back yards and see that these houses all shared open space. This "play space" as I call it is special, being that Granada is warm for most of the year. I think that by mapping out the proportions and uncovering these spaces I can learn more about the people of Granada and the things that are familiar to them. This has become the first step in developing my thesis project.

Exploring Open Space

Taking stips of the city and manipulating to obtain new possibilities in city structure using the embedded city rules.

City Mapping

Elevations from Armilla

Images of  Armilla

Cityscape 

Granada City Life

Categories: architecture, cityscape, days, density, exploration of mass, gra, granada, guggenheim, sagrada familia, spain, sun, thesis, time, watercolors, work

Mapping Barcelona

"Life can change in a split second and it is because of that, that architecture changed in a day"

I traveled to Barcelona and stayed for four days. During these four days I took different "hikes" through different areas of the city. As I did my daily hike, I would add to this drawing the experience and surrounding condition of these spaces. This drawing became a composite of these four days and my hikes through the city. Through  line, color and stroke I attempt to emphasize how these different zones create a city that references the landscape of an architectural collage. 

Four Days in Barcelona, Spain

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Images Of Barcelona

Categories: acrylic, Antonio Gaudi, architecture, Barcelona, change, cities, cityscape, days, form, light, pastels, sagrada familia, space, spain, spray paint, sun, time, watercolors, work

Bilbao : Exploring form, The Guggenheim Museum,

Sketch-Blog: 

 Photo-Blog:

Atrium Spaces of the Guggenheim museum by Frank Ghery

    

Categories: acrylic, architecture, bilbao, change, cities, cityscape, days, exploration of mass, form, frank ghery, guggenheim, light, pastels, space, spain, spray paint, sun, time, watercolors

City Streets - The City Center of Madrid ; Gran Via Studies

The city of Madrid has a unique texture of narrow streets and manzanas or city blocks that are very compact and dense. Each manzana is composed of  low rise buildings, most of which do not exceed four to five stories. This "street type" is repeated across the terrain and cut through with larger avenues such as the Gran Via. 

The Gran Via today is an icon of Spanish consumerism. Although it  hosts a space for consumerism this busy avenue is a container of Spanish history. Alot of the buildings along this street identify with other European styles such as German Expressionism, international styles such as Chicago style, and early archi-types of the  Madrid Baroque style. 

Upon my visit, I was taken by the historical richness of each street in madrid. But when I visited the Gran Via what captivated me the most was how the historical container accepted what was modern. I began to map out the extensive forms of appropriation that took place in this area. Appropriation that took place through sound, movement, modern commerce, street art and graphiti. To me the area surrounding the Gran Via as an example of parasitic perfection that punctured through the historic fabric of the city, creating an avenue that encompassed both the new current modern state and the history of the city. These drawings and photographs explore this condition, experiencing how these new modern forms of expression begin to break through the historical container they have come to inhabit.

Gran Via Leading into off avenue commercial streets : Calle Fuencarral

Photo-Blog: Images of FuenCarral

 Residential appropriation, Grafiti Street art and noise from commercial grounds

Images of The Gran Via

Categories: acrylic, architecture, cities, cityscape, exploration of mass, light, mardrid, spain, spray paint, sun, time, watercolors