The Futurist Infrastructure is a critique on the functionality of urban planning, which drives urban regeneration and re-densification by introducing new public spaces. This new typology of vertical urban fabric combines transportation nodes, types of open spaces, built volumes and circulatory branching models to exploit the layered growth of future cities that are prone to extreme flooding. The strategy used to re-densify an existing city is to create centralized public spaces by stealing corner spaces that will re-introduce new public activities. The circulatory network has a reversed hierarchy, where pedestrians are placed before vehicles and transportation. The local roads will reflect the 'Traditional High Street' by being of a greater width with no boundaries between pedestrians and vehicles, and the extreme curvature of roads will create constricting sightlines for drivers so as to naturally control vehicle speed limits. Within the city plan, certain tiles will be selected based on the differentiation of spaces  and the complexity of social network that can reside. These tiles will then be the bases of new landmarks that can be further captured and contained by inducing structural elements to form a massive glass inclosure. The result of this treatment to each selected space will be a series of buildings that will reflect the area and the public activity of each community.

(A brief history of horizontality, Kazys Varnelis, 29 May, 2005. http://varnelis.net/articles/horizontality)

All major high rise developments have come to an end. The government will inject $63 billion into the economy because of the pullouts in developments and the money will be used to renew the city's infrastructure. In Obama's inaugural address, he states that we are now in the age of infrastructure.

(Goodbye, icons; hello, infrastructure: Obama inaugurates a new era of architecture, Blair Kamin, 24, Jan, 2009. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/theskyline/2009/01/goodbye-icons-hello-infrastructure-obama-inaugurates-a-new-era-of-architecture-.html)

Capitalism has devoured the arts, the culture and the life in which we have been living so naively. It sits to exploit our desires by stating false rebellions in music, fashion and design, so as to re-fashion its own exsistance. It has merged into our cultural industry for limitless production and ravaged with late capitalism to produce postmodernism.

Praise the Enragès!

Viva La Revolution!

The skylines ripped the heavens with new symbols of economy, only to be punished by planes of retribution.  Where are these vertical impediments of communication that monumentalize our economy with office planning?  The sense of unmistakeable change quivers the metropolis as the insurance company ventures below the fifteenth floor, forcing the facades of postmodernism out to suburban realms.

Death to the towers!

Death to the architectural icon!

Disrupted by intimidation, capitalism congregates its losses and resumes with invisibility. Hidden under the networks and databases of the economy, it sustains as recession.  Our new president cries "hope," to lay new foundations for growth and announce "The age of infrastructure" with the faith of $63 billion.

The prophecy rings true, on "Fluidity" and programming, the "No-Stop-City" can now serve under the neutral field of identity and amoralism.  The era of the architectural spectacle has passed, for the new monument is now in infrastructure.

Death to Form!

Death to the Façade!

The new avant-garde is in the immaterial; objects turn to programs and the private becomes public.  Spatial circuits negotiate rhythm between the connections of industry, finance and design, and the global economy will be networked into cities that will reflect both interactions and dependencies. The topographic representation of these new networks might not be the best solution to encourage its global relationship but it will satisfy certain aspects of distribution and transport routes.

Death to the rigid grid!

Death to block planning!

Latent between the internal and the external, capitalism redefines itself by taking new forms of urbanization, spreading with density and linking itself with real estate, the new spatial organization of both structure and infrastructure will be merged with existing buildings. Class segregation will continue to accommodate the expanding professional class, but visually the buildings will reconcile in the past and the future. This plague of homogeneous structures will weave in and out of buildings to impose ecological principles into space, and will be devoted to material systems.

This new infrastructural building will erect within the existing city as a second grid, layering itself vertically to provide mediation between the new and the old, the soft and hard spaces. It is structurally independent in nature, yet it will provide structural support to existing buildings. Its task is not only to preserve the existing façade and maintain the integrity of the city's cultural heritage, but also to redefine the gridded network to a new soft city. Like Capitalism, it hides tamely within the urban social network, only to peak through the gaps of transitional space to reveal as the bonding agent of time.

Appearance of proposed structure in relation to existing buildings.

In pertaining to the process of my re-brief, I will continue to re-define modern styling by supplementing it with contemporary culture. My projection on the future of architectural styles will be the result of imposing automotive styling techniques, concepts and ideas of geometry onto architecture.

Formal technique

These techniques are defined in the overall shape definition by structural feature, detail definition by detail feature, analysis of reflection lines, identification and manipulation of Aesthetic Key Lines (AKLs) and phases of semantic modelling which is a mathematical technique to ensure the flow and proportion of shape. These sculpting techniques will be both finishes and structures. The definition of each structure will be based on span, loading and support, and the decorative elements will be fused to the structure adding to the integrity of its performance. These structural elements will flow continuously through column to beam, where partitions will be clad when needed. 

The Aesthetics of Asymmetry

The geometrical design of the car 'cube' was based on the original concept of a pair of sunglasses.  This concept later evolved into a bulldog wearing sunglasses in order to give the design a little more charm.  The odd shape of this iconic car addresses the situation where cars have to frequently back up on tight roads. The designer decided to cut the rear windows asymmetrically to expand the rear view, giving its drivers greater confidence.  Nissan justified this new concept to western cultures by comparing the horse-drawn carriage with the Japanese oxcart. The oxcart was square and was a slower means of transportation but it had the priority of comfort and relaxation. This contemporary interpretation was based on the idea of tension-releasing slow cars from Japan.

I wish to introduce this play in geometry by re-defining the line of site in architecture and discarding the traditional ideals of symmetrical window arrangements that give the façade balance in aesthetics.  

Interior concept

Nissan designers recently conducted an investigation on defining lifestyle in developing their new car 'Teana'. They gave 30 prospective customers disposable cameras and asked them to take pictures of their favourite items in their homes.  When analyzing these pictures, Nissan concluded that consumers were very conscious of modern design and themed their interior modern living.

Unattainable lightness

The idea of 'Unattainable Lightness' was inspired by both Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye with its characteristic combination of steel and glass, and Zaha Hadid whose work originated from the process of structural calculation made possible through technological innovations. Nissan translated these ideas into their interior by;

- using wave-like curves that will add a calming or soothing feeling to its space

- creating an airy feel with their panels by letting pads float above the instrument panels and doors

- achieving lightness through emphasis on giving the interior certain depth

- focusing on eliminating unnecessary elements in the cabin

- extending the armrest and joining it to the seating surface to give the seating cushion and armrest the look and feel of a real sofa

Perceived quality

- providing the same degree of softness regardless of their material; everything that should be hard feels hard and everything which should feel soft is soft.

- reducing dividing lines on panels

Interior colour

- using lighter or darker colours to give interior a free-floating feel and making everything feel lighter

Smart textiles

Smart textiles are able to sense stimuli from the environment, to react to them and to adapt to them by integrating functionalities in the textile structure. The stimulus as well as the response can have an electrical, thermal, chemical, magnetic or other origin. These textiles serve as 5 basic functions, sensors, data processing, actuators, storage and communication. In cars these textiles are usually used in interior spaces. I wish to also incorporate these fabrics in my canopy designs.

Proposal

I propose to design a formula-one race track that is similar in size and in function to that of the new Yas Marina Circuit in Adu Dhabi. The Yas Island is 25kmsq; a manmade Island that was designed to be the dream entertainment destination. The island is a host to exclusive theme parks, hotels, residential areas and beaches. The circuit itself has 21 corners, 4 grand stands, underground pit lanes, team buildings behind pit buildings, media centre, dragster track, VIP tower and Ferrari building.

Seating capacity - 41,093

Area - 161.9 ha

Length - 5.5 km

I wish to design my circuit in the same prestige as the Yas Marina Circuit in India for their 2011 opening race.  The design of this new Circuit will not be culturally influenced by its location and will be a new reflection on modern architecture and a monument to automotive racing.