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Vague Terrain
01-22
Proposal {unawarded}

Lisbon Architecture Triennale 2022: Terra


Location: Sunset Room at Palácio Sinel de Cordes
Type: Exhibition Proposal
Status: unawarded
People: Amy Evans


www.trienaldelisboa.com
Due to fluctuating political, social, and economic conditions, our cities exist in a constant state of physical transformation. One consequence of these transformations is a residue of left-over spaces – neglected voids within the urban fabric which Ignasi de Solà-Morales has termed terrain vague. This global phenomenon results in a trail of inequalities but also possibilities for recycling, reusing, rewilding and reactivating.

‘Vague Terrain’ is an interactive installation where visitors are encouraged to shift and relocate sculptural elements, emulating the physical fluctuations on the earth’s surface. Instead of consuming more untouched terrain, how can we make better use of terrain vague?

The installation is a series of sculptures and gridded amorphous plinths. The grid, a common tool for organising cities, represents a simple field condition. The amorphous plinth arrangements represent terrain and its unruly growth. The sculptures are abstract depictions of urban wasteland features – arranged in a grid within the field. To represent ‘terra fluxus’, visitors are encouraged to shift and relocate the lightweight sculptures within the gridded field condition. Like a game of chess, there are specific ‘moves’ that each sculpture can make, commenting on planning policy constraints and the mathematical condition of the systems and structures which dictate our built environment. As the sculptures are shifted by the visitors, new voids are revealed in the grid, expressing our individual impact on the urban fabric of our cities. 

To bring awareness to the continual fluctuations of the urban fabric, this exhibition asks its audience to interact with the installation, to recreate these fluctuations in an abstract way. The exhibition also showcases a taxonomy of terrain vague conditions from six different cities, presenting the condition and its surroundings in a series of models, drawings, and video footage.


Urban Platforms
01-22
Competition

TerraViva:Tactical Urbanism Now 2022


Location: Brunswick, Melbourne, Australia
Type: Urban Proposal
Status: Honorable Mention
People: Amy Evans

www.terravivacompetitions.com
This project aims to enrich the community of Brunswick, Melbourne by utilising disused sites and former industrial areas as temporary Urban Platforms for exhibiting art. Through an adaptable set of modular elements, the project will migrate from site to site, transforming each host site into a temporary public space and cultural forum.

Brunswick once attracted artists from around Australia for its affordable rent. With rapid densification and gentrification, affordability has declined – jeopardising the rich artistic community that is central to Brunswick’s identity.

Urban Platforms simultaneously addresses two problems; the lack of accessible and affordable spaces to exhibit art, and the plethora of vacant industrial sites left behind by socio-economic fluctuations. The project proposes to transform such sites into temporary public spaces. As property developers move in, Urban Platforms will migrate, packing up and adapting to the next host site.

The initial host site for Urban Platforms is the former Brunswick Liquorice Factory site. Located adjacent to Brunswick Station, this site acts as a gateway to Brunswick, guiding pedestrians through a linear outdoor gallery and public space. The project consists of a series of modular elements; platforms, ramps, lights, seats, walls, and plinths. The platforms become the new ground, allowing the existing ecology to thrive; they can be levelled to suit any terrain; and ramps provide accessibility. Remaining elements slot into the platforms and can be reconfigured to suit each event.

Ultimately, the project aims to become a catalyst, to utilise these sites for cultural outcomes rather than solely economic investments.

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