Juan Herreros: "The current architect is a DJ. The myth of the orchestra conductor has fallen"
Imatge:
© Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC)
Madrid-based architect Juan Herreros opened the closing session of the Architecture Congress, and did so with a lecture on architecture’s general interest and its values to improve cities, the land and people’s lives.
The architect was in awe of the works at the Sant Antoni Market, where the event took place: “when something is under construction, this becomes a worrying moment which consumes many people’s energy to be able to make something new, something which will remain over time and was built with a lot of effort”. According to Herreros, this is architecture’s complexity: moving a project forward. A complexity which, nowadays, in times of change, demands the full attention of architects. To Herreros, the complexity of new technologies lies not on the physical side of them (software, hardware…), but on how these act upon society and transform it in a way which was completely unknown up to now.
“The future of the practice of architecture is without drawings, without physical presence and without full control of the project” he stated. There are real-time production systems which allow instant decision-making, even without physically being in the office or the construction site. “We now have a global way of thinking which allows us to work in different contexts, and remotely manage local teams”. According to Herreros, the position of the architect who wants to control everything is now outdated. There is currently the opportunity to develop projects with experimental contents, which involve sharing grounds with other teams.
Herreros used the International Convention Centre of Bogota or the Torre Banco Panama as examples. They are buildings planned amongst various architecture studios and professionals from other disciplines, each of them focussing on their own section but, at the same time, adapting to the new times and evolving with the necessities of the moment. He explained that, in the projects developed in his practice, they now only draw a couple of floors, elevations and sections. Afterwards, distance allows for shape customization, as was done in Panama. At the CICB they got rid of ramps, stages, seats… to repurpose it to be more versatile than the classical convention centre. This way, the building got to integrate with the city and its people. “The contrast between a globalised vision and local knowledge, allows the environment to be read from different perspectives”, Herreros highlighted.
“The essential purpose of the architect is not convincing others that their project is the best, but listening and offering an analysis of what a city needs”. This is why, to Herreros, teamwork is essential instead of “as it used to be, when the architect was surrounded by helpers who would solve his problems”. “Architects are currently more like a DJ, they do what they can with what they have. They are not at the top anymore, but on the side. The myth of the architect as a one-man-band has fallen”.
To Herreros, global thought is one of the main strategies to explore the future of cities. “We need to understand that, when we do something around the corner, this is part of the world. And when we do something at the other end of the world, this says a lot about that place and about us”. Hence, he asks for reconnecting with the small efforts of any architect. “We have to tell society what our job consists of so they understand what we can do for them. Architecture must be essential in the construction of the future: a future that we know is going to be complicated. This is why we need our profession to be aware of what we can do for everyone else”.
Career
Doctor Juan Herreros is a professor at ETSAM, professor at the GSAPP Columbia University and founding partner of Estudio Herreros. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Princeton, ITT in Chicago and the Architectural Association in London, amongst other. His works have been widely published, awarded and exhibited in both individual and collective exhibitions including the Spanish and Latin American Biennial of Architecture; MACBA; MOMA; and several Venice Biennale. His most outstanding works are the Munch Museum in Oslo; the Agora International Convention Centre in Bogota; the Art Gallery Carreras Múgica in Bilbao; the Torre Banco in Panama; the installation “Dialogue Architecture” at the Venice Biennale; or the public space “Communication Hut” in South Korea, amongst many other.
The architect was in awe of the works at the Sant Antoni Market, where the event took place: “when something is under construction, this becomes a worrying moment which consumes many people’s energy to be able to make something new, something which will remain over time and was built with a lot of effort”. According to Herreros, this is architecture’s complexity: moving a project forward. A complexity which, nowadays, in times of change, demands the full attention of architects. To Herreros, the complexity of new technologies lies not on the physical side of them (software, hardware…), but on how these act upon society and transform it in a way which was completely unknown up to now.
“The future of the practice of architecture is without drawings, without physical presence and without full control of the project” he stated. There are real-time production systems which allow instant decision-making, even without physically being in the office or the construction site. “We now have a global way of thinking which allows us to work in different contexts, and remotely manage local teams”. According to Herreros, the position of the architect who wants to control everything is now outdated. There is currently the opportunity to develop projects with experimental contents, which involve sharing grounds with other teams.
Herreros used the International Convention Centre of Bogota or the Torre Banco Panama as examples. They are buildings planned amongst various architecture studios and professionals from other disciplines, each of them focussing on their own section but, at the same time, adapting to the new times and evolving with the necessities of the moment. He explained that, in the projects developed in his practice, they now only draw a couple of floors, elevations and sections. Afterwards, distance allows for shape customization, as was done in Panama. At the CICB they got rid of ramps, stages, seats… to repurpose it to be more versatile than the classical convention centre. This way, the building got to integrate with the city and its people. “The contrast between a globalised vision and local knowledge, allows the environment to be read from different perspectives”, Herreros highlighted.
“The essential purpose of the architect is not convincing others that their project is the best, but listening and offering an analysis of what a city needs”. This is why, to Herreros, teamwork is essential instead of “as it used to be, when the architect was surrounded by helpers who would solve his problems”. “Architects are currently more like a DJ, they do what they can with what they have. They are not at the top anymore, but on the side. The myth of the architect as a one-man-band has fallen”.
To Herreros, global thought is one of the main strategies to explore the future of cities. “We need to understand that, when we do something around the corner, this is part of the world. And when we do something at the other end of the world, this says a lot about that place and about us”. Hence, he asks for reconnecting with the small efforts of any architect. “We have to tell society what our job consists of so they understand what we can do for them. Architecture must be essential in the construction of the future: a future that we know is going to be complicated. This is why we need our profession to be aware of what we can do for everyone else”.
Career
Doctor Juan Herreros is a professor at ETSAM, professor at the GSAPP Columbia University and founding partner of Estudio Herreros. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Princeton, ITT in Chicago and the Architectural Association in London, amongst other. His works have been widely published, awarded and exhibited in both individual and collective exhibitions including the Spanish and Latin American Biennial of Architecture; MACBA; MOMA; and several Venice Biennale. His most outstanding works are the Munch Museum in Oslo; the Agora International Convention Centre in Bogota; the Art Gallery Carreras Múgica in Bilbao; the Torre Banco in Panama; the installation “Dialogue Architecture” at the Venice Biennale; or the public space “Communication Hut” in South Korea, amongst many other.
10/01/2017
Enric Batlle: "We have the ability to recover all the spaces in the world”
Imatge:
© Col·legi d'Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC)
Land development and public space was the main theme of the conference of Catalan architect Enric Batlle. It revolved around three main aspects: ecology, leisure and production. “The will to preserve existing spaces must be a priority, we need to bring life back to places often forgotten by the general public”, he claimed. Batlle spoke about the need to act on degraded landscapes, not only on green and agricultural land. The architect used the project of photographer Sebastiao Salgado as an example: he planted two million trees on his father’s land, which had been hit by draught, and brought hundreds of plant and tree species, which also allowed animals back in the area. “We have the ability to change back every space in the world”, Batlle stressed. According to the architect from Barcelona, any excuse, “like a balcony”, is appropriate to grow some green.
The metropolitan area of Barcelona has an extension of 636 sq. km, which are occupied by a large number of urban settlements and a dense network of infrastructures and services. However, in this highly-populated area there is still a system of open spaces which occupies 52% of the total surface. It is, therefore, one of the metropolis with the most green spaces of Europe. This green metropolitan infrastructure, containing huge environmental and social wealth, consists of Collserola, el Garraf, the Marina mountain range, the rivers Llobregat and Besós, streams and watercourses, the Agricultural Park of Baix Llobregat, or the metropolitan park network. Moreover, there are other areas with a more urban type of nature such as streets, squares, landscaped decks or balconies. All these spaces conform an interconnected green infrastructure, with more than 60 different habitats where more than 5,300 species live, and which is extremely relevant to ecology, leisure, and the production of the metropolis.
Batlle stressed the need to recover green spaces and get them closer to the city. “There is now the possibility to create energy with green roofing, or having and allotment; everyone wants to eat proximity food. It may be a fad, but this is a very positive fad. We must eat what is produced in Catalonia. Our country won’t be saved via regulations. It will be saved if we eat it”, he stated. Enric Batlle highlighted the need to buy proximity food, furniture designed with materials from Collserola… “Everything can be made with local materials”, he said. Batlle also talked about the strategic limits of his projects, those where two situations convey, such as the city and the type of spaces we want. “It is not about being in the place: one must be on the edges”.
Along these same lines, Enric Batlle has curated the exhibition Green Metropolis, which shows the diversity of said metropolitan open spaces and explores the challenges posed to a metropolis striving for a more accessible, healthier and habitable land. The aim of the exhibition - which is part of the Architecture Congress’ events - is divulging this new gaze on free spaces: not as residual, but rather as providing the backbone to the metropolis, as well as being spaces full of life, leisure, nature and production.
The metropolitan area of Barcelona has an extension of 636 sq. km, which are occupied by a large number of urban settlements and a dense network of infrastructures and services. However, in this highly-populated area there is still a system of open spaces which occupies 52% of the total surface. It is, therefore, one of the metropolis with the most green spaces of Europe. This green metropolitan infrastructure, containing huge environmental and social wealth, consists of Collserola, el Garraf, the Marina mountain range, the rivers Llobregat and Besós, streams and watercourses, the Agricultural Park of Baix Llobregat, or the metropolitan park network. Moreover, there are other areas with a more urban type of nature such as streets, squares, landscaped decks or balconies. All these spaces conform an interconnected green infrastructure, with more than 60 different habitats where more than 5,300 species live, and which is extremely relevant to ecology, leisure, and the production of the metropolis.
Batlle stressed the need to recover green spaces and get them closer to the city. “There is now the possibility to create energy with green roofing, or having and allotment; everyone wants to eat proximity food. It may be a fad, but this is a very positive fad. We must eat what is produced in Catalonia. Our country won’t be saved via regulations. It will be saved if we eat it”, he stated. Enric Batlle highlighted the need to buy proximity food, furniture designed with materials from Collserola… “Everything can be made with local materials”, he said. Batlle also talked about the strategic limits of his projects, those where two situations convey, such as the city and the type of spaces we want. “It is not about being in the place: one must be on the edges”.
Along these same lines, Enric Batlle has curated the exhibition Green Metropolis, which shows the diversity of said metropolitan open spaces and explores the challenges posed to a metropolis striving for a more accessible, healthier and habitable land. The aim of the exhibition - which is part of the Architecture Congress’ events - is divulging this new gaze on free spaces: not as residual, but rather as providing the backbone to the metropolis, as well as being spaces full of life, leisure, nature and production.
10/01/2017
Acto de entrega de premios del Concurso de Carteles y Dípticos sobre la Mediación
Imatge:
© AAEPFMC
La Agrupación de Arquitectos Expertos, Periciales, Forenses y Mediadores del COAC ha organizado un acto, el próximo lunes 16 de enero, con ocasión de la Semana Europea de la Mediación.
Yago Pico de Coaña, embajador español, interviniente en las conversaciones de paz en El Salvador, Guatemala y Colombia, realizará una conferencia magistral explicando su experiencia de mediación en grandes procesos mundiales. Posteriormente se procederá a la entrega de premios del I Concurso de Carteles y Dípticos sobre la Mediación.
Contaremos con la asistencia de Carles Mundó, consejero de Justicia de la Generalitat de Catalunya, y Lluís Comerón, decano del COAC.
Clica aquí para más información sobre el acto.
Se requiere inscripción previa.
The Catalan Prime Minister at the closing ceremony of the Architecture Congress
Imatge:
El president de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Carles Puigdemont, a la cloenda del Congrés d'Arquitectura 2016
Putting an end to six months of a participatory process was a challenge, to say the least. The chosen venue was Sant Antoni Market... under (re)construction. A privileged venue, because few people had accessed it before. In the underground space, where the closing ceremony of the Congress was held, archaeological remains from several eras could be observed in plain sight; such as the wall of the bastion of Sant Antoni - part of the old city walls - and, at the same time, part of the retaining wall - belonging to the second city walls-, both lit throughout the night.
November 25th will be remembered as the closing date of the 2016 Architecture Congress but, above all, because it laid the foundations for architecture in the coming years. The Dean of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, Lluís Comeron, presented the conclusions of the Congress to 800 attendees.
Comeron celebrated the fact that the Law on Architecture, currently being processed at the Parliament of Catalonia, makes it clear that “architecture involves general interest”, conveying its necessary social role in improving social good. Architects “are committed with the development of a sustainable, equitable and inclusive urban environment”, Comeron said.
The Dean of the Architects’ Association reviewed all the conclusions reached during the last week of synthesis, as a result of the events held and papers received during the past six months: the future of architecture. Thus, the Dean spoke about the quality of architecture contests, which demand “transparent processes, and the presence of qualified juries”. He also highlighted the global challenge faced by climate change, the New Urban Agenda and the right to housing. Comeron closed his statement and gave way to the Generalitat’s Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister, Carles Puigdemont, made the institutional closure speech. “At this Congress, you resolved not to avoid problems, some of them deeply transcendent, but also did not avoid the challenges and opportunities approaching”, the PM pointed out, and “you did it with courage and determination, which is what countries need in order to move forward, and what Catalonia needs to grow and progress as a country”.
In this respect, Puigdemont made a call to “reflecting and sharing where we need to move towards” as a country, taking into consideration every transformation occurred around us. “We know the crisis is not only financial: it is a crisis of the model, but we are still “groping” the way to the future”, he said. In his speech, Puigdemont asserted that “the success of architecture is being able to relate to change in a positive way, and doing it without losing its vocation towards future and making it available to the whole of society”. “The gaze of architecture determines the collective gaze of the country”, Puigdemont pointed out, and drinks “from the natural, geographical, patrimonial and social past” at the same time as it is expressed in the present and aims at “projection into the future”.
Facing numerous representatives of the sector, who congregated at the Sant Antoni Market to listen to the conclusions of the participatory project opened by the Architects’ Association of Catalunya, the Head of the Executive also stressed that Catalonia has passed several laws “along the same lines” as those suggested during the Congress. Amongst these, he highlighted the law on climate change, which “not coincidentally, was the first law that the Government I preside over passed”.
The event was conducted by presenter - and architecture lover- Oscar Dalmau, who stressed the progress made by the Congress by including citizens in the debate on architecture: “there was a need to remove it from the bunker and taking it closer to the people”. According to Dalmau, architecture is the only art you cannot disengage from: “everything is architecture, since we are born in a hospital until we die in a cemetery, all throughout going to school, our homes, our workplaces…” and, therefore, we all must get involved in the spaces we inhabit.
November 25th will be remembered as the closing date of the 2016 Architecture Congress but, above all, because it laid the foundations for architecture in the coming years. The Dean of the Architects’ Association of Catalonia, Lluís Comeron, presented the conclusions of the Congress to 800 attendees.
Comeron celebrated the fact that the Law on Architecture, currently being processed at the Parliament of Catalonia, makes it clear that “architecture involves general interest”, conveying its necessary social role in improving social good. Architects “are committed with the development of a sustainable, equitable and inclusive urban environment”, Comeron said.
The Dean of the Architects’ Association reviewed all the conclusions reached during the last week of synthesis, as a result of the events held and papers received during the past six months: the future of architecture. Thus, the Dean spoke about the quality of architecture contests, which demand “transparent processes, and the presence of qualified juries”. He also highlighted the global challenge faced by climate change, the New Urban Agenda and the right to housing. Comeron closed his statement and gave way to the Generalitat’s Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister, Carles Puigdemont, made the institutional closure speech. “At this Congress, you resolved not to avoid problems, some of them deeply transcendent, but also did not avoid the challenges and opportunities approaching”, the PM pointed out, and “you did it with courage and determination, which is what countries need in order to move forward, and what Catalonia needs to grow and progress as a country”.
In this respect, Puigdemont made a call to “reflecting and sharing where we need to move towards” as a country, taking into consideration every transformation occurred around us. “We know the crisis is not only financial: it is a crisis of the model, but we are still “groping” the way to the future”, he said. In his speech, Puigdemont asserted that “the success of architecture is being able to relate to change in a positive way, and doing it without losing its vocation towards future and making it available to the whole of society”. “The gaze of architecture determines the collective gaze of the country”, Puigdemont pointed out, and drinks “from the natural, geographical, patrimonial and social past” at the same time as it is expressed in the present and aims at “projection into the future”.
Facing numerous representatives of the sector, who congregated at the Sant Antoni Market to listen to the conclusions of the participatory project opened by the Architects’ Association of Catalunya, the Head of the Executive also stressed that Catalonia has passed several laws “along the same lines” as those suggested during the Congress. Amongst these, he highlighted the law on climate change, which “not coincidentally, was the first law that the Government I preside over passed”.
The event was conducted by presenter - and architecture lover- Oscar Dalmau, who stressed the progress made by the Congress by including citizens in the debate on architecture: “there was a need to remove it from the bunker and taking it closer to the people”. According to Dalmau, architecture is the only art you cannot disengage from: “everything is architecture, since we are born in a hospital until we die in a cemetery, all throughout going to school, our homes, our workplaces…” and, therefore, we all must get involved in the spaces we inhabit.
29/11/2016