the ring  barcelona 

The Ring was a design challenge presented to a partner and I in Barcelona. Located in Port Vell the cultural context and views of the city along with connections to the historic Gothic Quarters as well as Barceloneta became driving forces behind the intervention. Public space is an important part of life in Barcelona, which is famous for its parks, markets, and streets like Las Ramblas. The intervention is a public market that soars over the waters of Port Vell while connecting a park, docks, and sidewalks of the port. Focusing views outwards towards the historic waterfront and sail boat masts of the port. 

The intervention began as an intense mapping exercise, we stood in a spot on la Placa l'Ictineo and mapped everything we could possibly see. Later iterations of the map started to account for obstacles and eventually sight-lines. Our map became an operative tool for design that began allowing us to make informed design decisions based on the map, such as which views to highlight and which views to edit out, where to move up in elevation (denoted in green) and where to dip down (denoted in orange). All design decision were a result of the operative map 

The result was a sweeping public market comprised of two interwoven paths and wrapped in a "structural" mesh that edited views and provided shade along with support for the smaller path. The main support is a snake like tubular steel support that runs the length of the main path.