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Terra Ignota: a new material protocol for ageing city centres
In conversation with Miguel González, we talk about a potential future for Zagreb’s historic urban fabric and the possibilities that might be laying on the ground.

On March 22, 2020, Zagreb was struck by a destructive earthquake which greatly affected the city's historic centre. Mainly developed during the 19th Century, the historic quarter of Zagreb consists of big blocks with magnificent facades, inside of which a network of poorly maintained and under-used courtyards and buildings calmly sit, awaiting for a better future. In this interview, Miguel González shares his view on the materiality of reconstruction, on the significance of preservation in face of contemporary urban problems and on the stance of reuse as a radical and political experiment.

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KOOZ What prompted the project and your interest in the city of Zagreb?

MG The project was developed within the framework of an itinerant design studio that every year, in a quest to challenge the relationship towards historical urban fabrics, selects a different city. In that sense, Zagreb was a precondition, a rather unknown place to me. Visiting the city for the first time, I was able to appreciate how diverse the city actually is and how remarkably easy it is to read its historical and social circumstances in its layout—from the mediaeval settlement to a 19th century bourgeois central district or the socialist city south of the Sava River. Those were my first impressions.

Once I came back from the trip, and before defining a clear direction for my project, I realised I was completely enchanted by the central district. Due to financial constraints at the time it was conceived, the city centre features gigantic city blocks with magnificent façades and, behind them, a network of courtyards and small buildings—which are still reeling from the devastating earthquake the city suffered in 2020. The odd layout of this area, its political significance, and the sense of urgency derived from the catastrophic events were the elements that captivated me from the beginning.

The project inquiries into new ways of conceiving our built environmental and radical material practices through a highly experimental exercise.

KOOZ What questions does the project raise and which does it address?

MG When confronted with the task of proposing any kind of project within an existing urban fabric, the number of topics to address can become quite intimidating. Should we opt for a prudent approach, trying to intervene as little as possible, we may soon be overcome by the myriad implications of our actions, unable to make a political impact with our designs. Yet, should we aim at radical solutions, we may end up insisting on the same grandiose gestures of the past, in a mercantilist and environmentally unsustainable way of thinking.

It is by all means a radical proposal—to re-densify a decaying district by means of building.

These questions moved me to launch a research project—Preserve?, Decrease, Substract—on the three verbs that articulate the very disparate contemporary responses to such a problem. And I like to think of Terra Ignota as the continuation of the project. It is by all means a radical proposal—to re-densify a decaying district by means of building. Although it leaves the most visible parts of the city intact, it aims to dramatically change them from the inside, without paying much attention to the preservation of historical elements. And it attempts to do so in a contemporary and sustainable way, repurposing materials from within the city.

In this sense, the project inquiries into new ways of conceiving our built environmental and radical material practices through a highly experimental exercise.

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KOOZ Besides designing/proposing a building, Terra Ignota is a protocol aimed at re-densifying Zagreb through innovative material practices. Could you expand a bit more on this ambition and the relationship of the project to the geophysical and historical context of the city?

MG The city of Zagreb features a beautifully designed yet decaying city centre, dating back to the 19th century. From the outset, Terra Ignota aims to solve some of the problems of this area, notably its setback in terms of population, the lack of maintenance of the courtyards and of buildings inside the city blocks and the state of the district following the earthquake.

In this sense, the earthquake provided an opportunity for the project. Some buildings are still in a dire state and rubble can be found all over the city. Terra Ignota is conceived as a protocol that starts by collecting the rubble in one focal point—the city block most affected by the earthquake, which is partly dismantled to make room for The Machine. This device is tasked with the sorting of the rubble, breaking it into different components, each with their particular uses—ceramic tiling might be used as it is, while bricks or wood beams will be repurposed.

I discovered that Zagreb sits atop vast clay deposits, which were extensively used for centuries in brick constructions.

But rubble is not enough to rethink an entire district through means of new constructions. While researching traditional building practices in the city, I discovered that Zagreb sits atop vast clay deposits, which were extensively used for centuries in brick constructions. This clay—coming today from earth moving works, or local deposits—is the other ingredient of the protocol.

Rubble and earth are transported to the interior of the rest of the city blocks, where they are assembled into a series of earthen blocks, resulting in a series of buildings that reach up to 21 metres in height and which are meant to house new inhabitants.

KOOZ Although Terra Incognita is both site specific to the city of Zagreb and the earthquake of 2020, how can the protocol be applied to other cities whose ageing urban fabric coupled with an increasing frequency of natural disasters represents a major challenge?

MG While the earthquake in Zagreb can be understood as an opportunity—or the starting point—for the protocol, it is also present throughout the project: for example, the construction method devised for the execution of the 21 metre-tall blocks is both pre- and post-stressed, so as to avoid structural damage in the case of a new earthquake.

We need increased urban density, innovative material processes, sustainable approaches to building and ambitious intervention strategies in our cities in order to answer to the new political and social challenges that lie ahead of us.

Yet, nearing the end of the project, the earthquake made me reflect on further implications. In a not-so-distant future, as the climate crisis deepens, all of our cities will have to adapt in one way or another to the effects of emergencies.

We need increased urban density, innovative material processes, sustainable approaches to building and ambitious intervention strategies in our cities in order to answer to the new political and social challenges that lie ahead of us. Terra Ignota deals with these main topics in Zagreb and I believe its concepts can very well be exported to other latitudes.

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KOOZ How does the project explore a different way of approaching our built environment and the relationship to our natural landscape? What are the opportunities offered by rethinking the discipline of architecture so as for it to be more respectful of our planet and its ecosystem?

MG Terra Ignota opens with a series of drawings in which the city of Zagreb is compared against its material context. Following the earthquake, the Croatian government released a list of contractors and material providers that could help during the reconstruction of the capital. Whilst, during centuries, the city had fed on its own soil and resources, now steel, wood and plastics are expected to travel for hundreds—if not thousands—of miles, as shown by that list.

Paying closer attention to the origin of the materials we work with is not a new idea; both the repurposing of rubble and the use of earthen construction techniques have gained traction for years now; and the idea of re-densifying our cities to make them more resilient is widespread. I like to think that Terra Ignota feeds itself with these discourses, while posing some additional—albeit controversial—questions: once we start taking these issues into account, what will happen to our cities? After decades of preservation, will we be forced to change our paradigm towards our built environment?

And, given that Terra Ignota develops one building, specifically devoted to housing, there is yet another question left: how will our new lives be amongst the reconfigured remnants of our old material cultures?

The architectural imaginary will remain un-built, that is true, but it will continue to serve as an inspiration for real life cases—as a testament of hope even in the direst of situations.

KOOZ What is for you the power of the architectural imaginary?

MG From the outset, I always thought of Terra Ignota as a radical and political experiment—in other words, a manifesto. While it is technically founded, from the detailed construction methods to its thorough structural calculations, its intention is of a provocative nature.

The pulse for architectural manifestos has never truly faded. Some may argue that, confronted with the menacing reality of a discipline dealing with so many restraints, manifestos represent a retreat into a safe space, in which trade-offs do not exist, and where no one can be held accountable for unforeseen situations. Yet, I do believe they are essential for architecture, as their far-fetched scenarios and eccentric solutions are extremely useful to anticipate the challenges lying ahead. The architectural imaginary will remain un-built, that is true, but it will continue to serve as an inspiration for real life cases—as a testament of hope even in the direst of situations.

Bio

Miguel González (Oviedo, 1997) is a Madrid-based architect, curator and researcher, exploring the intersection between the built environment, fiction and criticism, as a means to an accessible and socially committed architectural communication. He studied at ETSAM Madrid (UPM) – where he graduated with honours from the Master in 2022 – and the Universidad Católica de Chile. Currently working in IDOM in a wide breadth of environmental projects, he has previously worked as an architect in S&Aa, and in the Architecture department of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, where he assisted in the delivery of the exhibition Light Lines: The Architectural Photographs of Hélène Binet (2021). At the moment, he stands as finalist alongside Federico Soriano and Dolores Palacios in the competition for the curation of the XVI Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennial.

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Published
04 Mar 2023
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8 minutes
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