New York: June 15-18, 2017
Amsterdam: June 19-20, 2017
Paris: June 21-22, 2017
Barcelona: June 23-24, 2017
Madrid: June 25-30, 2017
Led by Alejandro de Castro Mazarro
This workshop is conceived as a continuation of the research study “The costs of urbanization” developed at GSAPP in Spring 2016 that investigates which metrics translate between environmental, social and economic costs associated with urbanization. The workshop will use these metrics to test design-policy solutions for public spaces aimed to become flagship sustainable development areas of the city of Madrid. After an unprecedented shift towards sustainable development, the city of Madrid is developing an ambitious plan to shift its car and tourist dominated city center into a pedestrian, resident centered region. As part of this plan the municipality aims to reconvert five centrally located underground parking lots into green areas. However, the “greening” of these areas risks entering into social, economic, and environmental contradictions: it may require producing a great amount of demolition and waste, the disruption of residents’ life for a long time period, and huge economic costs for the city. In this context, the summer workshop will explore what design and policy interventions minimize costs and maximize benefits of the “greening.” While in New York, students will meet with leading design and policy groups working on sustainable urban development to discuss and learn about the environmental dilemmas that architects and planners face in renovating city fabrics. While in Europe, students will visit world renowned urban retrofitting offices and projects, and meet local representatives and urban rehabilitation experts applying solutions in Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona and Madrid. Based on their field work and previous findings, students will create a design-policy proposal that minimizes the costs of urbanization, and present it as part of a public call for proposals made by the municipality of Madrid to renovate its public spaces.