Infrastructure is the New Bilbao
In the age of branding, image is everything. Even cities are having to brand themselves as destinations to garner foreign tourism. Some cities, such as Paris with it’s Eiffel Tower, luckily already have global icons and established tourism. Other cities, not so much. Have you ever heard of Millau, France? (If not, find out after the jump) What, then, are these unknown cities supposed to do in order to become a household name to the likes of Rome or London?
Courtesy of Hans van Reenen.
In 1997, the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao answered that question. Step 1. Hire starchitect to design radical building. Step 2. Release shiny pictures of said building. Poof. Last year’s industrial port is next year’s top destination. This boost in publicity and tourism to the city created what is now known as the “Bilbao effect,” which many cities have tried to emulate since. None, however, have achieved the same success as Bilbao.
As cities look to other effective means of improving imageability, many have turned to revamping their infrastructure. The scale and public nature of these new projects produce a level of accessibility that cannot be achieved by a museum or other cultural center. This difference is precisely why cities are beginning to define themselves around infrastructure.
Which of these projects do you think has the potential to produce the next “Bilbao effect?”
I’m going to spotlight one project from three different forms of infrastructural intervention - public parks, waterways, and bridges. Whereas, I’m not so much interested in the highway expansion to a potential 23 lanes in Atlanta.
Public Park
Perspective rendering from deck level. Courtesy of Field Operations.
High Line, the reuse of an elevated rail line on Manhattan’s West Side.
Many of you are probably very familiar with this project by Field Operations and Diller Scofidio + Renfro, which is already under construction. Many of you will also argue that New York already has global icons and no fears of a slowing tourism industry. Agreed. However, New York is always redefining itself, and this is no exception. In order to be a world leader in architecture, sustainability, and as a defining factor in culture, New York must continually jockey to position itself as a compelling megalopolis.
Images of the elevated rail during its original use and after being abandoned. Courtesy of Field Operations.
High Line site plan and scope. Courtesy of Field Operations.
Sectional and vegetation variations experienced along the elevated park. Courtesy of Field Operations.
When the High Line is converted to public open space, you will be able to rise up from the streets and step into a place apart, tranquil and green. You will see the Hudson River, the Manhattan skyline, and secret gardens inside city blocks as you’ve never seen them before. You will move between Penn Station and the Hudson River Park, from the convention center to the Gansevoort Market Historic District, without meeting a car or truck. The High Line will be a promenade—a linear public place where you will see and be seen. You will sense New York’s industrial past in the rivets and girders. You will perceive the future unrolling before you in an artfully designed environment of unprecedented innovation. It will be yours—public in the truest sense of the word.
- Friends of the High Line
Bridge
Millau Viaduct at sunset. Courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Viaduc de Millau, a bridge in Millau, France intended to connect France and Spain created a more direct route between Paris and Barcelona.
This project, designed by Foster + Partners in association with Michel Virlogeux, is one that is already complete. Having opened to the public in 2004, it boasts the kind of stats that originally made the Eiffel Tower and the Empire State Building famous. In fact, the bridge’s tallest mast is taller than the Eiffel Tower and only slightly shorter than the Empire State Building. It set records in pylon height, mast height, and road bridge deck height. At 2.46 km long, with the road bridge deck 270m above the valley, this bridge is an icon to be reckoned with.
Aerial photo capturing the full span of the Millau Viaduct. Courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Elevation of the Millau Viaduct seen from the valley below. Courtesy of Foster + Partners.
View of the Millau Viaduct as seen from bridge level. Courtesy of Foster + Partners.
Bridges are often considered to belong to the realm of the engineer rather than that of the architect. But the architecture of infrastructure has a powerful impact on the environment and the Millau Viaduct, designed in close collaboration with structural engineers, illustrates how the architect can play an integral role in the design of bridges… The bridge not only has a dramatic silhouette, but crucially, it also makes the minimum intervention in the landscape. Lit at night, it will trace a slender ribbon of light across the valley.
- Foster + Partners
Waterways
An art installation at CheonggyeCheon. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
CheonggyeCheon, formerly covered in concrete, was a project to uncover and restore the CheonggyeCheon stream in Seoul, Korea by former mayor Lee Myung-bak.
The largest of these three projects, the CheonggyeCheon waterway is 5.8 km long. It is a controversial, urban-revitalization effort that opened to the public in 2005. This happens to only be one of a dozen projects under development in the metropolis of Seoul, but is the largest and most nationally recognized. Furthermore, this project has initiated investments in the billions for development in adjacent areas, a move that should certainly boost tourism. Most importantly, though, it brings a strong element of nature through the heart of downtown Seoul, a gesture that has mass appeal.
An aerial view of CheonggyeCheon as it passes through downtown Seoul. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
A site plan rendering of CheonggyeCheon. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The CheonggyeCheon waterway at pedestrian level. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government.
The restoration project of Cheonggyecheon is not just a part of Seoul’s urban planning but a greater task that the entire nation is interested in as a symbolic project to revive an important part of Korea’s historical and natural heritage at the start of the 21st century. When the project is successfully completed, the capital will turn into a city friendly to both the environment and people. The project is also expected to set a new paradigm for urban management in the new century and contribute to renewing the image of Seoul.
Once the historical site is restored, Seoul will regain its 600-year history as the capital of Korea by turning itself into a city where the modern era is wonderfully amalgamated with tradition. The restored Cheonggyecheon area is expected to become a Seoul’s major tourist attraction for both Korean and overseas tourists.
-Seoul Metropolitan Government
So, is this merely a question of man-made marvels? Maybe. Is it a question of who can perform the biggest intervention? Unlikely, Dubai has that spotlight right now. The effectiveness of these projects comes down to image and people.
The Millau Viaduct has the most iconic image, but addresses traffic more than it does people. The High Line and CheonggyeCheon are more difficult to differentiate. Both add new public space to already active cities, and both have spurred tremendous additional development. The High Line adds a natural element to New York City, while CheonggyeCheon restores one. The difference may not lie in perceived accessibility, but in physical accessibility. The High Line is elevated, requiring the consideration of vertical transportation to be experienced beyond its profile. CheonggyeCheon is sunken as a stream allowing it to be experienced from street level.
In the end, though, they may all be equally successful with respect to their intended purposes. Only time will tell.
Do you see a clear-cut winner?
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Comments
I think, and we hope, that these projects always have an economic stimulus. Many cities already struggle enough to receive and allocate the funds in a progressive manner. As large public projects, I think these also have a great chance to succeed in a functional manner as well. If the process is public and transparent, then the interests of the public realm should be met.
However, as an architect I also understand that grand visions can also become watered down through this process. I think this is where your last question is really aimed.
It is my sense that at least for the three projects above, the solution was the appropriate one.
As a final thought, I would like to add an additional means of city transformation to the larger question of infrastructure, civic responsibilities, and appropriate solutions. The process of hosting the olympic games can often offer cities the opportunity for an instant makeover. I think Beijing and Vancouver, cities currently being transformed, offer a glimpse into this discussion performed in a much shorter time span than usual.
1. Something about that bridge still frightens me.
2. An article from a little while back on Gehry’s reaction to the “Bilbao effect”: http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/visual_arts/architecture_and_design/article4304855.ece
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Great article. I think this opens up a great discussion on what is appropriate for public funding. I mean what is the motivation for these projects - is it functional or economic? Does it really provide the best solution to a problem?