DJarquitectura

Non-solid Landscape . Estö

DJarquitectura

The interaction between the ground morphology’s relationship to the sea’s level and to the weather sublimates the city of Nynäshamn into a single landscape that transcends the merely picturesque. Its beauty is inevitably linked to the unpredictiability of Nature’s elements.

At what point will it rain or snow so much that the lower levels will be flooded, submerging a once visible landscape under water? Or what would happen if the wind were to speed up the water’s evaporation, transforming the landscape yet again? Natural processes resist being tamed by urbanization processes. The very elements that make this landscape attractive ironically contribute to creating a temporary discontinuity between the Northeast and Southwest areas due to floods or snow in the valley, thus hampering its habitability.
Non-solid landscape performs a role in reconciling the coexistence of natural processes with urbanization, facilitating connectivity and the use of the valley as a public space. It achieves this by protecting the area’s phenomenological identity from physical encroachment.

Non-solid Landscaping Strategies:
1_ Encourage connectivity
1.1 Implement a network of paths
_Ground Paths; The project intertwines existing roads with new ones, enhancing the network in such a way that it reinforces the territory’s unique singularities – such as its small granite peaks – effectively framing public spaces.
_Footbridges; In the area’s higher elevations a series of footbridges connect the hills to one another.  When the lower levels flood, these elements play a crucial role in stimulating inter-relationships within in this densely populated residential area by offering an alternative path between the NE and SW.
This route emerges from the peaks, highlighting the dense forests and resting on an imaginary topography that extends from the higher elevations down into the valley.
Its morphology is like a cloud of airy bridges consisting of interlocking rings that gravitate over the valley, in effect, creating a map with many different connective options. Each time the user chooses a path, and depending on the chosen path, he becomes an active part in the perception of an ever-changing landscape.
1.2 Location of equipment in the valley’s higher elevations.
The starting point of the runway paths and its proximity to residential areas makes this place well suited for the location of small equipment buildings that could be used throughout Nynäshamn.
2_ The Valley as a Public Space:
The current topography contributes to flooding at the lower altitudes, consequently impeding any functional use of this area. The creation of artificial hollows and their controlled flooding resolves this issue, since the activity simply changes and adapts itself to the situation, opening the door to a diverse range of uses. Variations in the hollows’ dimensions, combined with changing weather patterns and diverse activities, will enrich the landscape and contribute to lending an identity to this new public space.
3_ non-solid Atmosphere
The construction of this non-solid landscape needs to recreate an atmosphere that will complement the climate’s contributions through the following strategies.
The finishing touch to the pavement is obtained through the use of recycled aluminum cobblestones. The pavement’s color, texture, reflective characteristics, and lightness suggest a snow-like state, somewhere between solid and liquid. It perpetuates the memory of a snowy landscape throughout the year. The artificiality of this sensory experience adds a new unique quality to the landscape. It intensifies the weather phenomena in every season: magnifying the presence of water in spring, and snow in winter.
Instability is another atmospheric strategy that, without obstructing functionality, can contribute to the creation of soft differential movements on the runways. This motion is recreated through the use of armed carbon fiber rings that permit such deformation. Behavioral variables are based on weight and speed, two factors that also depend on the user and his choices at any given time.
I didn’t expect so much snow! So that´s why today I decided to cross from above! I thought about going down the path that leads to the florist, but in the end I decided to take the path that leads to the chocolate shop so I could get a hot drink before returning home. From there I could see the children sledding down below where the snow had already covered the hollow in which the Cirque du Soleil was installed last summer!

COMPETITION 2011
Non-solid Landscape
Estö, Nynäshamn - Sverige
DJarquitectura [Diego Jiménez]
Colabora: Juana Sánchez, Gonzalo Roldán