Re-conditioning the Urban

Martin Zanolli

Our manners are accustomed to the spaces we are used to. Within the urban framework we act according to known guidelines and predictable situations. The monotony and repetitiveness of the city is experienced by many. As cities become denser, spaces that offer relief from the pressures of city life become more relevant.

This project explores the heightened aspect of feeling amid the urban environment. By introducing spaces that contrast with the urban scene, how might architecture shake us from the familiar and re-introduce us to pleasures such as wind and rain, to the wild aspects of nature. As seasons change, how can space amplify comfort in the cold or warm?

Forces such as wind interact with us, influencing how we move or behave in a space. In the gridded streets of Harlem, there is a low presence of wind. By harnessing wind and bringing it into these open spaces, wind and architecture play with the desires of the inhabitants. In such a space, zones such are created not only physically, but also sensationally.