The grid

24.07.2011 Sunday

I had a conversation with Mat today.

I started working on trying to draw a scenario for development of a small area of the site according to the percolation to later develop the 'Grid' square of the site of the same area and compare the both.

I kind of don't know what i am doing and why am i doing it. But as i statred talking to Mat we started talking more about the idea behind the grid itself and he encouraged me to question this positions, to add to it my observations and to always draw my observations one way or the other.

The grid, as Mat explained is a counterintuitive exercise for this site. It is the most obvious and well known urban pattern of development however on a hill in Jerusalem it feels alien, The hill cannot be cut sideways in parallel and perpendicular chessboard of streets and block between them. Not the old hill with parapets of stone walls which used to cultivate gardens of olive threes. However the argument to do something counterintuitive to begin with which through development may lead to unexpected results is convincing. I cannot reject it completely. I do however thing as i mentioned it in our conversation that a grid ignores the people for which this development is to take place. It ignored topography and weather conditions. Low rise squares with open spaces inside also creates 'walled' divided spaces rather than conditions ,where accidental congregations may take place. It doesn't encourage interactions. The final argument against the grid is that as became clear because of this exercise, creates low rise 2.75 stories high development through the site. When part of the brief is to give Palestinian people a new 'centre of life'. Show them how to live in a new urbanised way. Show them a way of urbanised living, than this type of development misses to acknowledge this part of brief. There needs to be proximity to create cool space in a hot city, there need to be proximity and moments of med high rise to create urban feel. And there need to be spaces of free interaction. Grid needs to be distorted, intensified in some place and loosened up in others. Greed needs to merge with the site. There is no need for grid. I don't know, maybe this statement is untrue. Still to start from a point of contradiction of one's own intuition is interesting and it does lead us to asking important questions.