portfolioMatilde Igual Capdevilaarchitect ETSA- UPVmatilde.igual@gmail.com

01arts laboratory ValenciaDiploma Project

In the outskirts of the city, nearby the soon to be demolished former main hospital, this urban proposal of-fers a new active center to act as a substitute.At the urbacn scale, there’s a reinter-pretation of block housing in order to densify and to give some homogeneity to this very chaotic neighbourhood.The research center I designed is de-voted to both production and research in the Arts field. Its situation, periph-eric albeit just a short walk from the Modern Art Museum (IVAM) was key in deciding its use and purpose and in defining its volume.It works mainly as a cultural container, the interiors are structured by function-al strips in which installation systems, restrooms and other auxiliar uses are included. A series of thin columns fol-lowing a strictly gridded plan are used both for structural reasons and as a way to create different spaces.The volume, carved to generate three different pieces, responding to three different uses (library and ateliers, con-ference venue and cafeteria and of-fices), opens up to a central patio which acts as an open air lobby.

design market Valencia4 year

On this project we were asked to develop a new program based on the idea of a “cultural market”.

I choose industrial design as a theme because it fits the city: Valen-cia has excellent design schools and a strong tradition in producing furni-ture; albeit it lacks a proper distribu-tion network and promotion.

On the given territory there’s an old gas-meter to preserve, and the council’s urban plan allowed only underground space to be built on the spot.

A very simple geometry is proposed in order to shape functional spaces; the materials highly transparent try to allow as much light as possible into the -1 level, and the whole market articulates itself around an excavated street.

On the north side of this open air corridor are the administrative func-tions and other private facilities; on the opposite side, I located the commercial area and a small res-taurant. The diverse sized shops are designed so as to be communicated by patios which provide natural light and ventilation, as well as showroom space. The goal was to allow diver-sity, from big distribution sellers to small coops.

Special attention was focused on the accesses, the market entrance should be easy and accessible.

02

primary schoolGenevaCompetitionwith: garcía-floquet arquitectos

On Geneva’s green corridor the Council wants to build a school and a kinder-garten, while keeping the atmosphere of a park.We proposed to create a street,as a real open door to the park, where the pedestrian areas become larger and act as a landscape in this particular spot.On the street side the volume gives up space to the city, so as to gain presence.Our priority on the building was to work on the gemoetry and the solar orientations, give a series of proper, suitable and daylight filled classrooms.

03

04elderly housingChilly Mazarin(france)competitionat: MCBAD (Colomer Dumont ar-chitectes)

The office was invited to a restricted competition.The brief was to design a social housing complex, adressed to cover the needs of the aging population, in the outskirts of Chilly Mazarin a town just by Orly Airport.This specific residential type (known as EHPA) is aimed at the independ-ent elder persons, who need smaller, cheaper appartments, while remaining in their local environment and benefit-ing of a series of in-site services tailored to their needs: hairdresser, restaurant, nurse, social activities, library, gym...The envisaged capacity is of 100 residents, with highly standarized pa-rameters for the housing cells.The main purpose of the design was to be able to offer a maximum of well-oriented studios, while creating a simple typology with a twist within the strict regulations.The public areas find their place in the groundfloor, which works quite in-dependently from the residential floors. A series of open spaces and shared gardens go through the whole build-ing, allowing all the common areas to have views on the greenery.

05residential andcultural centerTrondheimEuropan10 competitionwith: Guillermo Guimaraens/ Antonio Altar-riba/Carlos Maeso

The area on Trondheim’s harbour needed to be re-designed in order to improve its conditions. Due to its dif-ficult location (by the railway line and the industrial coastline).

There is also a ww2 german bunker which needs to be refurbished as an arts and culture center.

We created a surprise park, wooden paths link the city to the bunker. Playgrounds, picnic areas, a swiming pool... are placed close nearby these new pedestrian fluxus.

The housing unit is to be found on a narrow plot between previously built spaces and its design allows a pe-destrian corridor on greound level. The wooden façade is used as a filter for privacy.

06the red floodValenciaurban installationwith:Javier Ors/ José Zermeño/

We were asked to develop a urban intervention in the Turia’s old river bed (now a park).

The first idea came up from a simple observation while walking around the park’s central area.

In this part, one of the first to be designed, every function envisaged has its space,closed, gated. There are places for sports, places for temporary events, a cafeteria sur-rounded by bushes, a cycling path, several pedestrian ways and a play-ground; all of them strictly kept appart from the others.

To a larger scale, and much more theoretical approach, we realized that there’s a constant lack of freedom com-ing from the way cities are planned, public space tends to be incerdibly fragmented and organized in an unflex-ible way, there’s no a fluid connection between zones and every activity is enclosed in its own ghetto. Living under these conditions can prove to be very alienating.

We proposed to use and subvert the existing element in the playground: the piramyds. Prolonging the ropes outside the delimited area, the other spaces would be transformed into a playground and its festive ideals would conquer everything.

(a research on urban boundaries)

The basic idea of the project comes from a urban accident. Sometime ago I noticed one of the streets in my neighbourhood had no end, it ended where the city did, the perspective was clean and no building interfered. This means I could actually see a blank space at the end of the street and the horizon line.

Valencia´s urban fabric is complex ,it’s not the result of a single plan but rather a mix of contradictory plans, informal growth and former independent villages. This is the only street that goes straight from the center to the outskirts, to the end of the city.

Another particularity of the city: its flat-ness makes disorientation very easy, it’s hard to comprehend its size, at its limits. From inside, Valencia could be unlimited and eternal, giving an opres-sive feeling, like if there were no way out, no evidence of the external.

There’s something peculiar in straight ahead walks, like standing on a mov-ing walkway, the surroundings just scroll and keep on changing while the direction remains the same. The walker traces a section through the city and percieves the urban layers in their whole complexity.

07city limitsValenciaresearch

08encountersworkshop : alter + actionValenciawith: Jakob Simonsen/ David Steen Hansen/ Andrea Ronzino

The purpose of the international work-shop ALTER+ACTION. Mediterranean follies is to work and create propos-als to alter specific urban nodes in the Mediterranean city with architectural designs and actions.

Teams of four students (a mixture of nationalities) have to prepare an AC-TION PROJECT in a place of the city centre in order to answer questions such as:

Where am I? What do I need?How can I distort this urban node? What is my sense of alteration? What is my architectural proposal? How I can communicate it? What movement explains my action project?

The corner assumes a key role in the Mediterranean city. Its configuration talks about transit confluence, meet-ings, relax, dynamism…In the city of Valencia, and especially in its historical center we can find several approaches of urban corners. Students will register those singular meeting points and study the pos-sibilities of the corner and also its conflicts, and then propose a micro-architectural project aiming not only to solve those conflicts but enriching the corner possibilities as well.

09streethouseculburb competitionViennewith: Yoana Milián

Project Culburb aims to activate a public realm in the suburbs of cen-tral European capital cities, by minimal means, and to start the cityfication of suburbia. A first step in such a process is the improvement of public spaces in the suburbs. We start this process through acu-puncture interventions in six localities around Central European capitals.

Streethouse, a one day event.

The whole neighborhood is invited. Bringing together different generations and social classes, new and old neigh-bors, through daily activities. Cooking, playing, reading, listening to music, sleeping or just relaxing; take it to the streets!

Private gated gardens become public domestic spaces. Raising up questions on privacy, community, difference, fear and respect.

Involving people from Ottakring in the quest for old, discarded furniture; ask-ing local amateur musicians to play or music lovers from different origins to play their own favourite tunes; pre-paring together our best meals and enjoying the food together; organizing sports tournaments…

A chance to get to know the strangers that live just across the street.

10hernesaariHelsinkiurban furniture competitionwith: Mar Vicens/ Rocío ConesaThe brief for this project was to design five different pieces of furni-ture for Hernasaari harbour area in Helsinki.

Using a single shape, a triangle measuring 60x60x60cm, as a genera-tor for multiple volumes, we managed to create a system, allowing growth at any point, while maintaining the required needs of stability.Having a unique pattern is also a way to standardize the building pro-cedure which is key to accomplish the construction deadline aim: less than two weeks.

We propose a few possible exten-sions of this particular project: all of the furniture pieces designed can be expanded and enlarged, they can also be combined.It is possible as well to interact with other workshops, offering the chance to improve the finishings by, for instance, making a colour study and painting the surfaces. Another option would be to re-use salvaged wood pieces instead of new boards.

Every structure is designed to en-able different uses, even though their forms suggest certain actions they are flexible enough to allow unex-pected interactions.Basically, some of them are meant as spaces to sit down and relax or play, while the info-point offers surfaces to check or glue posters, maps, and other information.

11easa kitchenHelsinkiworkshop tutoringwith: Ümit Mesci

easa kitchen workshop was held as a part of the Wastelands festival during Helsinki World Design Capital year.

Two tutors, nine participants, all architects, from nine different nations around Europe.

easa kitchen aims to work on both local and international cuisines and also traditions and notions related to it.

the contributions of the participants from different backgrounds and cul-tures were crucial for the workshop in a concrete sense. the history and the theory of culinary habits was also examined.Helsinki was experienced for its own ‘food scene’ and the outcomes of the workshop were used to have interac-tions with the city…”cooking and eating are activities who bring people together, enhancing conversations and discussions on the most diverse topics, from education, to gossips, architecture, traditions, politics and grandmothers.

We aknowledge our differences and similarities.

We learn from exiting our comfort zone, taking the kitchen outside its usual domestic surroundings, to the open air, the process visible to eve-ryone.