There's always been an attraction to Seville since its Roman origin years ago; and it grows stronger today - with the layers of architecture - the combined influences of two thousand years of artisans. The city itself is an urban pallinsesto. From here, comes the suffocating confrontation between old and new, the need to change and the need of unchanged perception, the urge to grow and the reality of shrinking cities.

 

Using the landform and green stripe as the background, city and nature both reaching out to each-other. Where these contradicting elements meet, the concept of in-between is introduced - through subtle, sensible interventions that make a series of transversal open space.

 

The climax of our urban strategy is the diagonal axis that connects both sides of the river, re-discovering the human traces from the other side to link it with the landscape elements from this side. We continue the axis as a creative garden that leads straight to the re-generated social housing area, which we try to include in this art-and-action process.

 

The concept for social housing site is to purposely keep the familiar feeling when one first approaches the site by the presence of residential towers surrounding the site; then confront him with emotionally charged dramatic "events".

 

A water mirror is created on the ground floor of specific low-rise, inner buildings. The walls are cleared, replaced by partitions, surfaces and walkable routes that lead you to through several spaces and activities placed on top of this water mirror with all its mingling buzzing lively atmosphere. This special area also played as a stage but not a stage for the open spaces in-between the towers.

The mirror is the heart of this neighbourhood. From this heart, grow the aortas and lesser bloodveins - as metaphor for a hierarchy of water streams that flow to the other side of the neighbourhood, enhances the tranquil feeling of peace and quietness. When these small streams get in contact with the residential, we create a crack through buildings where a small communal space is inserted: water garden, artistic space, art exhibition ... A system of social space is thus integrated inside the existing bricks. A slight change in the material of the ground with exact same shape and size of the water mirror to play as the background of the water maze, complementing the harmonious contradiction between excitement and tranquility, positive and negative, movement and static state.

 

The pattern is inspired by the famous Alcazar water garden

 

Less is more. Form follows function. Spaces inside the apartment is shaped by its own use, through designed partitions that also played as furniture. Minimum use of doors. Diffused light and ventilation. The spaces define themselves.

 

We also try to distinguish the existing facade and our new intervention by a small gap between them.