Urban Movement
The process of investigating urban space began with modeling a series of spaces and observing their relationships. As it was thought that the urban traveler moves through their sur-roundings on the way to a destination, and that the space that they move through becomes transition space, or simply a means of transfer to the next space, the investigation focused on transitions. The ultimate passage would enable multiple options, as well as ease and direction.
The tubular shapes encouraged horizontal movement, yet could be arranged to capture a variety of visual relationships in a procession or sequence. For example, being in one tube, while at the same time projecting visually through an exterior space, into another tube. Under, beside, within, near and over were other explorations. Vertical penetrations, both spatially and in terms of light penetration, interrupted horizontal sequences. Elongated slots of light were both vertical and horizontal.
As a reference to Calgary’s prairie landscape, where subtle variations of planar movement create interest, levels or shifts in the ground planes were manipulated. In addition, as one would move over the landscape, movement over the forms was encouraged. Public space could be created on the forms, since the structure was never exceeded more than one and one half levels in height, usually much less, and spread over a large area.
It was an exploration of what it means to be under and in the ground. This was more than the investigation of another spatial relationship; it emphasized the land and our relationship to it.
The traditional earthen pit houses of the Kamchadal tribe of Siberia provided inspiration. It was an exploration of a potential relationship between the grounding, earthly aspects of these traditional structures and our present distracted movements through urban space.
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Wanda Dalla Costa is an MArch student at the University of Calgary.