URBAN DESIGN
THE ONLY WAY IS UP
Hubert Klumpner (left) and Alfredo Brillembourg (right) of U-TT
Kate Cracknell talks to professors Alfredo Brillembourg and Hubert Klumpner of Urban- Think Tank, the team behind the revolutionary Vertical Gym concept
Q
What sort of company is Urban-Think Tank (U-TT)?
U-TT is an interdisciplinary design practice dedicated to high-level research and design in architecture and urbanism. It’s partnered with ETH Zurich, the university where we both lecture on architecture and urban design. The point of departure for our
research is architecture’s failure to define informal urban settlements (shantytowns) and their effects on the city. Our current research and our work over the past decade aim to increase understanding of the informal city from three perspectives. Firstly, from a humanitarian
standpoint, urban shantytowns are wracked with problems, not least of which are poverty and a lack of support
68
The Vertical Gym is a kit model adaptable to many environments
from professionals. Secondly is the theoretical standpoint. What defi nes an urban environment? Who are the actors at work in determining what draws people to urban areas? What are the different sectors within a city and which demographics have settled in each? All of these are questions we ask ourselves before engaging with projects on the ground. Finally, from a design standpoint, informality allows for innovation: while there are set rules governing much of the formal realm of design, there’s no such rulebook in the informal sector. We operate under an experimental
research and teaching methodology that rethinks the former physical limitations of contemporary architecture, shifting the emphasis from form-driven to purpose-orientated social architecture.
Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital We aim to merge the methodologies
and the expertise of previously separated fi elds with the ultimate goal of improved urbanism: politics, design, research, education, NGOs, community leaders, international fi nance groups. These actors are all at play within the city and have a hand in its successes or its failings, and we seek to integrate them all the way through the decision- making process.
Q
What sort of projects does U-TT get involved with?
We close ourselves off to nothing. That said, we specialise in designs particularly for urban slums. Our most extensive work has been focused in Latin America, but we also have projects in the US, Netherlands,
October 2013 © Cybertrek 2013
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92