Nowadays, 80% of street space is occupied by cars, leaving only 20% available for pedestrians. Causing safety and mental health issues for citizens.
The issue is accentuated at the gates of educational centers, where many people are crowded in very narrow sidewalks at the entrance and exit of students.
Therefore, the +BEING structure's purpose is to widen the sidewalk, taking up the parking spaces near the school gates.Creating safe and livable public spaces through distinctive urban furniture
Local
Spain
Madrid
Mainly urban
It refers to other types of transformations (soft investment)
Observing the streets of our neighborhoods like this, our spaces of transition, commerce and socialization... Is the public thoroughfare really ours? You will only be able to use this space if you are able to pay or rent a private vehicle or temporarily transport yourself in some public transport. In the urban centers of Madrid and many other similar cities in Europe, 20% of the pavement that remains available are pavements of less than 1 meter and a half.
How is it possible that this radical and harmful urban plan for pedestrians has become the rule? It is harmful due to the stress and overwhelming situations that can cause. It is polluting for citizens due to the constant inhalation of toxic gases produced by automobiles. In addition, the streets have become unsafe places and require greater attention and constant visual stimulation for any pedestrian. Also other problems like; traffic jams in the streets due to crashes or breakdowns that generate more noise and consequently noise pollution.
Within all the problems involved in the current urban design of the streets, the problem is accentuated around certain buildings. Among them, entrance of educational centers. Many people crowd during rush hour for student departures and entrances, generating situations of overwhelm and insecurity.
This project focuses on the problem at the doors of educational centers, but it is true that this problem can also be found at the doors of public and private centers such as the Employment Office, Health Centers and Sports Centers.
Public utility
Car-free zones
Localised production
Widened sidewalks
Parametric design
The proposal of this project is through modular construction structures that are easy to build, transport and install, turning them into transformation instruments for entire communities. Some of the concepts on which the proposal is based are the following:
-Resilient design: +BEING proposes to be one of the seeds of change. Physically it is capable of adapting to the current available space, relieving areas of spatial conflict between cars and people. It is a project directly for the benefit of the citizens of urban centers.
-Participatory design: Citizens have the possibility of proposing which streets to modify, which streets need more space for pedestrians through its web platform, turning this project into a decision-making tool for citizen expansion. This web platform helps to generate community and awareness about the care of our own neighborhoods, to improve the quality of life in the streets and public environments.
-Regenerative design: Putting controversial issues on the table such as the massive occupation of space by automobiles, and the dependence that car use entails for many citizens, both from the periphery and from the center, forces us to think about a regenerative design for the cities. In the case of this project, the intention is to be able to re-inhabit streets that are now overwhelming and not very spacious for human beings. The intention is to restore and recover the public space so necessary for the inhabitants.
I insist, +BEING tries to be a beginning for change, hardly overnight all the problems that surround urban centers are solved. It is an initiative to promote the use of public transport, and consequently reduce current pollution levels. In addition to directly improving the experience on the streets at peak times when people congregate on the sidewalks.
The design of the structures follows modular shapes to obtain a greater variety of structures. The possibility of having several shapes was sought for different reasons.
-Less generic streets with more personality: Greater distinction in the sidewalks, both in terms of color and shape provided by the structures.
-Needs adapted to each area: For example, if it is a Montessori school, it is better to have seats at the height of adults and children. On the other hand, at the exit of a high school it is more necessary a bicycle parking or a comfortable area in which to stay talking with friends at the exit of the center.
Sun and shade. Depending on the area to be placed and the conditions of the street (shady street, sunny street, etc.) it is preferable to have a roof or not. There may be trees around that already provide sufficient shade.
Ergonomic measures. For human scale, and for the scale of a car. According to the municipal regulations of Madrid a median parking space must have a minimum size of 2.25 cm wide by 4.50 cm long.
There are 4 measures of tube length, and 3 types of radius of circumference of the tubes that are ¼ of circle. Only with these measures it is possible to manufacture all the structures proposed and investigated so far. The rectangle that collects them is the size of a parking space (2x4 meters).
It must not affect the functioning of the road or the public highway. Therefore, it does not go outside the perimeter that a car would occupy. The bright colors are intended to give the structure a value as a meeting and safety point at school exits. Greater visibility for cars to warn that they are near an area where many people congregate.
The key concepts of the project are the modular design and the collective nature of the structures.
Modular design opens the window for local entities to adjust the project to their manufacturing capabilities.
The collective nature of the structures refers to the possibility for local communities to gather and decide on what design could benefit more their neighbourhood.
But the main focus is in the combination of these two concepts. Local entities such as governments have in the project a flexible solution to the urban space problem, since the structure adapts to already existing infrastructure, and at the same time the use of said structures can vary depending on specific, immediate needs. Local producers can adapt their craft and resources to the modular design, while, the variety of possible uses and designs the citizens could need, gives option to a wide range of industries to work in the project. The citizens can decide how their day to day space are used, making communities closer trough these new public spaces and the new collective dimension these urban spaces can adquiere.
Citizens would see direct improvements in the routine of their lives. Their places of passage and transition would become not only places of passage, but livable places that would generate points of union among the people of the neighborhood. Beautiful, comfortable and safe places.
Citizens will participate in the project in several ways:
-Through its web platform. Citizens will be able to inform themselves and raise awareness of the problem. They will also be able to propose where the next structure should be placed. Since they are the ones who know their streets best.
-Through customization and personalization of the structures. Perforated sheet metal is a material chosen for two reasons, its technical properties: impermeability and lightness. And the other for the ability to place things in them, perhaps in the vertical plates could be placed pots that give more personality and care to the neighborhood.
The + BEING project proposes a total production of the product close to the installation area. The objective would be to create agreements with municipalities and metal workshops in the area for the construction and installation of the structures.
The municipalities in the area would be contacted to obtain financing from public funds that can hire local and proximity workshops to manufacture the structures. Thus promoting the production and consumption of responsible goods and services, as well as the creation of more local and quality employment.
In the documentation, I attach an outline of the whole process of the product. From the location of a problem area to the operation and maintenance of the structure.
For the identification of the structures and so that they can be transported around the city depending on where they are needed (for example during the summer for a cultural event in Madrid) they carry an identification code. It would be like the license plate for a car. But in this case it indicates different details:
-Name of the district to which this structure belongs at the beginning.
-Model of structure realized (catalog)
-Associated workshop number (e.g. "08"). Workshop where the structure was built.
-Associated workshop number as (e.g. "15"). Workshop in charge of the structure in case of needs such as transport, repair and maintenance.
The project has been structured from the branch of industrial product design. Disciplines such as anthropology, ergonomics, sustainability, urban planning, sociology and architecture have been taken into account.
All of these can be seen in the product.
The product is designed as a result of the study of society in urban areas of central Madrid, more specifically Carabanchel. This study, through interviews and observation in situ, has detected this problem. Reaching a palpable solution in a relatively short period of time and economically viable.
The study of the city, both through urban planning and architecture. It has detected in the city certain places of hostility and stress for the citizens. Places that are very normalized to be like that but should not have to be.
The most innovative point of +BEING is based on the concept of empowering people. The modular design empowers many different people to participate in the project. From the citizens' group that locates the problem, to the construction workshop, to its installation and use, the product passes through many hands that can contribute with ideas and needs.
It is innovative because people can decide about their neighborhood, in a measured and direct way. They have a say in its design, where it should be placed, where it should be moved at certain times of the year. An example: a local music or food festival could use its structures momentarily in an area where they are needed.
The dynamism and movement that the citizens give to the product, with the help of the institutions, generate a feeling of belonging and union among the citizens.
The +BEING structures are initially designed to be placed at the exits of educational centers, as it is a place where many people accumulate at certain times of the day. But there are many other places like this, for example; health centers, sports centers, cultural centers, transport stops (bus, subway, streetcar) and leisure centers.
In fact, one of the most differentiating factors of the structures is that they are easy to move. Therefore, depending on the season of the year, the structure could be moved around the city to meet the needs of the citizens.
The inclusiveness of the structure allows groups of many ages and diverse characteristics to use it. Due to its adjustable heights, and the ergonomics of the seating/support measures, the structures adapt to the group of citizens that will use the structure. The same structure can contain variable and adaptive measures.
Local production is a matter of organization and of giving the right tools to the citizens and producers of the area. It can help to improve the sustainability of products through the connection of entities and citizens.
This project was born with a main idea based on a global challenge. Nowadays, the design of cities and their habitability has been subordinated to the massive use of private vehicles.
This problem affects on a global scale due to many factors. Among them is the pollution of toxic gases that continues to grow in large cities. The project aims to raise awareness about the high occupancy of cars on public land.
The movement of cars also generates a state of alertness in citizens. Especially in areas where the project is focused, areas with large crowds of people and very narrow streets. This state of alertness generates anxiety and discomfort. In addition to endangering the physical integrity of the people.
