DESIGN
Relationships between the two skins of the earth
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS, PHASE 1
16/02/19
Medellin sets in the region of Antioquia in Colombia, located in the most northern part of the Andes mountain range. In Antioquia you see mountains all the time. Its always mountain after mountain. Medellin is no exception. Mountains are a central element of the lcoal culture, of the paisa culture and they are element throughout this project.
These mountains are mainly formed by metamorphic rock, mainly granite, with some volcanic intrusions. However they have been very eroded troughout time. From the bedrock of granite with time and erosion clay and allivions have become predominant and they are the materials on which people build, from the old bricks that we see in churches to the widespread cheap brick used in most of medellin. These have become to an extent part of the identity of Medellin.
The Mountain Range of the Andes divides into three as it arrives to Colombia, it is in these three mountain areas were the three most important cities of Colombia can be found. Bogota, Medellin and Cali, each in a different range. And within these mountain areas, most of the original settlements are not at the bottom of valleys, but on folds of the mountains usually formed by erosion or alluvial deposits, and also in the plateaus.
Medellin is not an exception to this, but it also is. Medellin is settled in a valley, the Valley of Aburra, which is itself a big fold in the profile of the river Medellin that crosses it, and wasdd formed mainly by alluvions being deposited here and further erosion. And even though Medellin was founded as a little town, it was thanks to this valley and the railway that came after and connected the area, what encouraged the develoment of the city.
However it is not the same to build a house or a village than a city. And this has an effect on the natural dynamics of the slopes, mainly on water. During the rain season a lot of water falls for a lot of days, and rivers appear were there should be. If the area was not built this water would just run down, but urbanisation blocks the natural water flow, this water accumulates and infiltrates the into the earth, making it very unstable and creating landslides also caused by the weight of the buildings. This is the main risk in the informal settlements of Medellin.
REFLECTION
​
In this first phase of research I realized that one of the main issues I should address in this project is the existance of two flows in the slopes of Medellin: water going down and buildings going up. The fact is that these two collide and are the reason for a lot of the problems that my site faces. This meant that one of the main things I should be focusing on for my design is how to integrate the dynamics of the landscape and those of the city in my design. in a way that they become harmonious and work with each other.
REFLECTIONS ON PRACTICE
​
As designers we tend to map urban areas and green space (including green infrastructure, rural areas, green belts etc.) as separate things. As if landscape or nature and the city were two different entities, black and white, or grey and green. This leads to the wrong assumption that natural processes will not affect the grey, city area, and that urban processes will not affect the green space. Understanding the landscape and the city as overlaying entities encourages an integration of the processes in both layers and a conversation between them.
​
