Parisian Knees

There is little doubt that density is reshaping our cities, at a furious pace and with vast implications for urban life. As far-reaching as these transformations are, this studio will focus on a particular pressure point: the base of the density cross-section, where density (life that goes up) and public space (life that spreads outward) have no choice but to meet. This is the city’s urban knee, its horizontal-to-vertical bending point, out of which the public spaces of tomorrow will spring.

This studio has three aims:
   • Researching spatial typologies of public space in high-density contexts, with a focus on those transformations of public life and the human condition that arise with increased density.
   • Investigating structure and horizontal/vertical circulation as they relate to new forms of public space.
   • Exploring alternative programming modes (as public space, as private space, and as hybrids of both) that result from more intertwined public and private Program

Program: Types
The studio program will have two parts: housing (50%) and strategic programming (totaling 50%) that will be determined by each of you. ‘Strategic programming’ means uses selected by you that will enable you to develop your thesis about public life in light of your specific architectural/urban model. This could be office space, cultural space, institutional space, additional housing, or some other program that you frame as significant for the ambitions of your project.

Program: Size
The total program area is anticipated to be approximately 15,000-25,000m2. Please note: Much of this program area will be allocated to the upper reaches of your projects, which will be treated more schematically than the first few floors.

Site
Everyone in the studio will work on the same site, the new La Courneuve Six-Routes station in Paris, one of the metro stations that are currently being designed and built as part of the Grand Paris Express project. The GPE project is among the most ambitious urban propositions in the world today, with broad implications for Paris’s legacy, present, and future.

TThe first day of GSD classes, Tuesday, September 5th, is held as a MONDAY schedule at the GSD. As this course meets on Tuesday, the first meeting of this course will be on Thursday, September 7th. It will meet regularly thereafter.