Building collapse at Piazza Garraffello

On the 5th February part of the facade of a derelict building collapsed into Piazza Garraffello that forms part of the Vucciria market. Firefighters and police cordoned off the square. Nobody was hurt.
In the days after a number of walls have been erected in the narrow streets leading to the square that are now entirely blocking access to it. Residents and local businesses are heavily affected by those closures.

Those actions have suddenly transformed the former social node into an urban void (similar to Piazza Magione). A no go area. A suspended public space. Interesting to see what will happen next?

LINK to repubblica newspaper article
LINK to repubblica newspaper article (google translate)

LINK to other photos

Tue 25 and Fri 28 Feb Tutorials

Please continue working hard on your sectional models (further on from Friday's workshop) exploring various threshold conditions between your building's "interior space" and the surrounding spaces / public realm / street. 

For the individual 1:1 design tutorials we will hold this week, please bring all your working models to date (including the sketch models made in December), all sections (from section workshop) and a new A3 page containing three images (and a bit of text explanation):
1 image showing a key quality of your project site. (photograph)
1 image representing your idea for the Brief & Programme of your building.
1 image showing existing activities / programmes in the study area.

Please have also your entire portfolio with you.
We expect that you work in the studio on both days anyway...
Let us know in case you can't make your tutorial-slots a day in advance (or swap with colleague).

(for the people that missed any of two workshop-days and lectures we held last week, it is essential that you catch up on those (see dropbox folder uploaded lectures No. 06 & 07), speak to your colleagues to find out what the tasks were and essentially to produce the missing work. Please understand that we will not give you a tutorial if you have no new work. Make sure you are organised and prepare for your tutorials, with all relevant drawings, models, site analysis and  research at hand and your work printed out.)

Tue 25 Feb
10.00 Arifah
10.30 Aslihan
11.00 Ilianna
11.30 Ivan
12.00 Beatrice, Natalia, Shiduo
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Azizul
14.30 Isabella
15.00 Dani R
15.30 Shakirin
16.00 Andreas
16.30 Ping
17.00 Chido
17.30 Anastasia



Fri 28 Feb
10.00 Marija
10.45 Puja
11.30 Tiffany
12.15 Ruta
13.00 Lunch
14.00 Group session about site model (everybody to attend)
15.00 Vasilia
15.45 Irena
16.30 Vasilieos
17.15 Sonia
18.00 Dani B.

sections sections sections

Further on from yesterday's start with the 1:100 sections in context, please continue this work and further push the discourse about spatial qualities of that key-space of your proposal. We want to see a series of sections, not only cross-section but also longitudinal sections. We need to see beautiful drawings. Use bigger sheets of paper and give your sections space! Use the entire palette of prepresentation techinques. Keep at producting sections for now, please! add annotations, etc.

You will need to take the initial ideas to the next level and pour considerable time into this now.

You will have noticed we are entering the design phase of your project. Make sure you stay up to date with tasks, as the overall pace will be picking up.

Fri 21 Feb - Threshold Workshop start 10.00 sharp

We will run another workshop on Friday.
Start at 10.00 sharp.

Bring model making material (cardboard / grey card, recycled stuff, etc.) + your 1:100 section drawings and generic model making tools, e.g. cutter / masking tape / glue, etc.

This workshop will run the full day: 10.00 - 17.00
Full attendance required.

Tue 18 Feb - Cross Section workshop

We are doing a cross section workshop tomorrow.
Start with short studio lecture / introduction at 10.00 am sharp.

Please bring with you:

1. your individual Palermo project site section printed at 1:100 zoomed in into an area relevant to your brief / programme, with a bit of city context / surrounding buildings. Can be A3s/A4s  - only for underlay to get going..

2. bring your existing section drawings of your mould ( from sem1 / casting experiments)

3. A1 cartridge papers or tracing paper etc. / detail paper, etc. + pens and all drawing equipment, ruler, etc.


Tomorrow is a full studio working day / workshop day. Tutorials about your individual project will be made during the day through your section drawings / initial spatial ideas put on paper. I'll be around all day.

The introduction with examples of section drawings is uploaded to the dropbox / lecture folder / no 6.

Semester B - Swipe Cards

regarding swipe-cards: from 10th February, Tuesdays and Fridays will be timetabled as an all-day studio, but you only have to swipe in once a week, any time between 10am and 6pm.

Apparently this has now changed to the requiremet to swipe on both days!
So any time on between 10am and 6pm Tue and Friday. 

Fri 14 Feb tutorials & unit A meeting

We hope you had a good time writing your essays and hope most of that work was completed.
I think it would be useful for us to know what you wrote about as your theoretical position you elaborated, should inform design decision and your strategies for your design project. You choose what is best to keep us in the loop. verbal / copy of essay / in tutorials, etc.

So for this weeks tutorials, we want to pin down and agree with you the theme you wish to engage with in terms of the city and your responses in form of a small programme for Palermo, that complements / taps into the existing context.

1
Please have a good think about the "essence" of what your Smithfield observations and findings were about.
What is it about? A spatial quality? A material condition? A social incident? an awkward moment? the passage of time?
Try to focus on that core aspect of what you observed and were interested in and try to describe this very personal observation in a more conceptual / strategic from. 100-200 words? (yet staying factual). Remember this year is all about narrative.

2
Palermo project site and Kalsa study area:
In terms of observed activities and incidents that happened in the area surrounding your project site, pin down what of those activities are relevant to your previous work, interest you and draw them in relation to your project site. This - of course - will extend out form your project site and will define your 'personal' study area. You can do this as a line drawing overlay using one of the maps, or an aerial photograph using photoshop and masking things off that are irrelevant, or an axonometric.

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Please REMEMBER to bring your entire portfolio with you.



FRIDAY 14 FEB TUTORIALS:

10.00 Sonia,

10.30 Daniella R,

11.00 Anastasia, Andreas

11.30 Chido, Vaselieos

12.00 Aslihan, Irena

12.30 Ilianna, Isabella


13.00 lunch

14.00 Unit A meeting (everybody to attend)

15.00 Ruta, Akin, 

15.30 Ivan, Tiffany

16.00 Shakirin,  Ping,

16.30 .....

17.00 Beatriz, Natalie, Shiduo