PROTOTYPE OF URBANITY
From an entire block to a single foodstand Taipei shows the different scales of the dynamics of XXI’s century city. A multiple layerment of mobility constructs an unique grid in its core.
400x400m superblocks functioning as a solid structure with a big scale of activities, transportation and buildings in its peripheria, building up a typical orthogonal grid which becomes a flexible one
inside of it: small alleys with smaller uses functioning as a residential neighborhood just a few meters far from the metropolitan city. These superblocks are one of the expressions of what Taipei means: dynamics, flexibility and mobility, big masses changing during the time allowing multiple activities to happen: night markets, weekend markets and day markets inhabiting streets and infrastructures.
The Institute of Advanced Architecture of Catalonia (IaaC) directed by Vicente Guallart in collaboration with The Observer Design Group directed by JM Lin, started in 2006 this research work with the students of the 2005-2006 master of advanced architecture, 10 days at Taipei measuring and reading the city in order to get the primary information for the following workshop at Barcelona; this publication is the result of the entire research. IaaC wants to map cities over the world to have a picture of this moment of the history of urbanism and architecture development that will allow to understand what our cities are, how they are functioning and whose are the possible facts that will lead urbanity on the future.
The publication of this book will be on charge of Actar Publications and will be released on march 2007.