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

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

Exploring Bilbao : The City

My trip to Bilbao, Spain; also known as Pais Vasco, was one of the most interesting trips I took in Spain. The city streets were of a new typology to me unlike anything I had ever seen before, these streets connected buildings and plazas like the veins of the human body connect our organs. There was a sense of appreciation for the natural landscape and even more so of human adaptation and empathy for an idea of "home". The architecture of Bilbao did not try to overwhelm the geography but instead embrace it, clenching on to the landscape like ants foraging for food. I tried to capture this concept through my sketches. The plan showing the different zones of the city grappling to the sloping terrain like a spider running through its web and the section shows the way that buildings are squeezed together, creating retaining walls for their neighbor.

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Streets drawn in section

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Images of the "Old City" : El Casco

Categories: architecture, bilbao, frank ghery, guggenheim, spain