Badel Block

The proposed vision for the Badel site develops an urban intervention that preserves the local identity and its urban values. Juxtaposing the new and the old in co-existing topological configurations, the site was split functionally in above and below. The design takes place from a deep analysis of the existing urban fabric, and the relationship between functions and speed. We were able to redistribute functions according to a chart were the fastest commercial functions, such as shops, supermarket and retail, would have been relocated on the edge of the site in direct connection with traffic and the rest of the city fabric creating economical tension and reconnecting the site to the existing fabric. Introverted in the new created public plaza within the site other functions were injected to revitalize: restaurants, cafes, and cultural activities with slower pace speed. The urban strategy creates a morphology of a continuous but porous boundary that redefines the site as a city block and at the same time activates the surroundings. The new buildings are conceived as an ascending platform spiraling above the old buildings and touching the ground at specific moments, creating new functions and vertical circulation that allows the user to reach the public areas above the plaza. We created a compression/expansion system where the user perceives the site like a cinematic experience always having the impression of being inside people friendly spaces. The aerial loop and the ground floor will function as social condensers resulting in a special experience of city life to both residents and visitors.