The Human Factor
The most difficult factor to consider, that of rebellion, appropriation, exploration, surprise and spontaneity.
Why do we sit where we sit?
A chair is not good for sitting, a planter is.
A ladder, what is its purpose?
Go up, go down or stay to talk.
An inclination on the ground, a ramp that is an inclined square, a bed in the city.
The body is about moving in the shade, on the roofs under a sidewalk, on the edge of a treetop or under a flag.
You can't swim in a fountain, but you can dip your feet in wine.
In a square you can play, run, do whatever, hide in the shadows of the poles or among the people. Behind the kiosk, in the distance, getting smaller and losing proportion.
In a square you can go to have fun day and night and even in some cases drink and eat. In Rome, the square is a party, the hidden end of an alley, the reward of a walk between trees and houses until you reach a courtyard, which belongs to everyone. Drink out of a paper bag and meet people; the music is played by the first one who arrives. The life that is given thanks to plants and old facades. Between stucco and grass Italy is present. The broken windows and the clotheslines with clothes. On stairs without rest, between towns separated by the sea or by mountains; one walks and enjoys them, views and terraces. Manarola, Cinque Terre, the overlapping, local and improvised architecture.
Mannerist paintings and comparative reality. Life in a square. Summer in Europe.
How is a tile related to the contemporary? The stucco, old and dirty from the water on the stained wall. A city that is curved, whose streets slide, undulating between floors and roofs of clay, changing its dimensions, widening, thinning, going straight, turning; one gets lost in oneself, walking in these streets. Views from above to the forms that take you, to the streets that are patterns, a drawing, experiences that are born from the Renaissance, from art. An aesthetic experience, a trip, a vacation. One remembers having read about Rome, Florence, Italy in general, but visiting it in person is very different, each street is a tribute: El Greco, Venetian, etc. The dream and the test. New possibilities of the same architecture.
In Budapest one looks out over the river. Of course you can't swim, just observe its width, which is disproportionate to the size of the city. On one side, simulating the shore of a beach, there are steps, stairs that lead you to wet your feet and feel the water.
An elevated median that functions as a linear park. A park that grew naturally in the city. As in the straps of the bridges, which end up being a piece of furniture, an extension of an activity, where you can climb, sit and even lie down – as far as the inclination gives you – to drink a wine. The greatest expression of public space, appropriation, improvisation, rebellion. A bridge is a park, which not only works to cross but to stay to eat and drink, lie down or rest.
Skating a city is always an example of cultural freedom. I remember a raised boardwalk in Rome where we played foosball.
