AA/CC ARCHITECTURAL ASSOCIATION / Chey CULTURES RESEARCH CLUSTER 2009/2010 EDD BY MARINA LATHOURI & RYAN DILLONAA City Cultures The “de-construction” of the city during the twentieth century and its conversion into an object due to the megalomaniacal desire of politicians and specu- lators, has given way toa moment of perplexity and uncertainty about the future. The exuberant and diverse amalgam of “Blade Runner” by Ridley Scott is no longer a fiction, it is a reality. Throughout the past decades new urban fragments that are not “city” have aroused and are conditioning the development of future generations. Faced with an intervention that raises the demolition of the problem (starting from zero), there is another way of intervening in the city with an emphasis on optimization, diversification and regeneration of urban space without consuming huge amounts of budget and resources, or producing large amounts of wastes. These actions are capable of sowing the seeds of self-repair that get the citizen involved in an active role with urban space. Ecosistema Urbano believes cities are both the problem and the opportunity for change. The revitalization of urban life is not obtained merely by architecture alone, but by focusing on solutions that encompass all aspects of the city system. Regenerating the networks of social, environmental, and physical elements plants the seed for flourishing liveable urban communities. Last Sep- tember we were invited to the last edition of Venice Biennale as an international experimental team to create a manifesto con- nected to the exhibition title “Architecture beyond building.” As we do not like to be dogmatic at all, we did something more modest, which resulted in: ECOSISTEMA URBANO: Ten Things we Have Learned from the City Ten Things We Have Learned From the City: one TAKE CARE FOR THE PUBLIC since we believe the concept of the city is completely linked to the creation of public space. 38Public space is not just the space in front of our buildings. It’s much more important what happens outside than what happens inside. PUBLIC SPACES ACCUPUNCTURE (Madrid central, 2008. Spain) [review] A row of projects to improve public spaces in central Madrid. Selected points were chosen as catalysts to initiate a broader reconfiguration of the city’s public spaces. two DEVELOP CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM as an optimistic approach to existing reality in order to bring upcreative solutions. We are at a point in which we should not start from zero. ECOBOULEVARD (Madrid periphery, 2004-2007, Spain) [recycle] An Ecoboulevard in Madrid’s periphery as an operation of urban recycling to achieve the reconfiguration of the executed urban development. Three pavilions or artificial trees function like open structures to multiply resident-selected activities. The air tree is a light structure, easily dismantled and energetically self-sufficient. three RELY ON LOW-COST to make big projects with less resources. MATADERO UMBRELLAS (Madrid central, 2008, Spain) [reuse] Create a shadow space of 2.500sqm to hold summer activities. The starting point is a low budget project that covers the whole space with standard means. Citizen participation and the reuse of a standardized object are the tools selected to make it possible. four BRING INSTANT CHANGE THROUGH URBAN ACTIONS we believe everything is architecture, small actions provoke huge reactions and everything is connected. PUBLIC SPACE ACTIONS (2004-2009, different European cities) [react] . Through these actions in public space we have built a park in 39 Positions