Who are we? We are Big Arch Theory. We are are a practice of young - PDF document

Who are we? • We are Big Arch Theory. We are are a practice of young architects, engaged with the environment and the city Philosophy • We work hard to develop a better place for everyone, being always respectful to mother nature. • Our philosophy doesn't reject the idea of the city. In fact we heavily support it. But we don't like how the city is currently spreading all around the world. • We work towards an alive city. Where the resources, the nature and the cosmopolitan culture can coexist .Where the citizen feel proud of where they live. • Citizens don't appreciate their closest environment. They don't feel they belong to the city. Why? Why don't you feel that your city is yours? Now I ask to the public - Nacho : 1lacked of green spaces You nailed it! - Persona 2:Slums Great job! - Persona 3: Degraded urban areas Awesome! - Persona 4: High demand of energy Well done! - As Professor Ubeda told me, I see you are intellectually brilliant . Introduction to the topics • Now I would like to explain briefly the 4 problems of our cities: LACK OF GREEN SPACES • Nowadays building have become the most important part of the cities. It's true that our home should be an important place for us. But what does it happen, when we want to stroll, to meet a friend, to lie on the grass and read a book? • Parks and green spaces are necessary for the society. They don't only help avoiding pollution, but also they create a nice atmosphere where citizen can relax.

SLUMS AND SHANTY TOWNS • It's well known that Spain is an economically developed country. That's why people want to come here to work and to live- • But when they arrive, they find the reality. It's not that easy to get a proper job in order to rent a good house. So they decide to set in slums and shanty houses as they are cheap and illegal • The solution was easy: building social housing. But actually it turns out to be not as adequate as it should be. • That's why we have created new slums, where the quality of the building is not the most important thing. • We have created endless flashy brick neighborhoods, where the aesthetic is always the same and there's no side for ecology. URBAN AREAS IN DERELICTION • While we build fabulous new building, old parts of the cities stay neglected. These buildings are in risk of collapse and have a strongly bad visual impact on the city. • .Many people think that the best solution for these parts of the cities is the bulldozer. • But that's not true. Conservation and area enhancing are two ways of improving the cit. HIGH DEMAND OF ENERGY • Our cities require many electricity in order to be efficient. Street lights, traffic lights underground trains are indispensable for our cosmopolitan way of living. • The 70% of the electricity we consume, are produced by non renewable and polluting energies. These generates CO2 pollution and other wastes such as radioactive wastes or radical catalysts that destroy the ozone layer. • We should promote the use of green energies that help to reduce the greenhouse effect and comes from renewable sources. In order to reduce pollution, we highly recommend to use the public transport or riding bicycles. Every small steps it counts. Lack of Green spaces As my colleague Guillermo said, I am going to talk about the first problem we have found in the city.

The lack of Green Spaces. To start with, We have to have a knowledge about the meaning of a Green area. “Green spaces” are the trees and grass and shrubs in yards, parks, medians, anywhere intermingled throughout the built environment. Green space is any piece of land covered with vegetation. Usually refers to parks, golf courses, sports fields and other open land within the built ‐ up area, whether publicly accessible or not. Guillermo has explained the main problems of not having enough Green areas and vegetation within the cities. And I am going to follow his discourse, concerning the main risks of that lack of vegetation. What is the risk I am going to be classifying the risks in three groups: the ones that affect the environment, the ones related with health and human life, and the last but not least, economy problems. Environment: Trees, grass and other green vegetation provide wildlife habitat, prevent soil erosion, absorb air pollutants, and lower surface temperatures. Lack of green spaces leads to higher air temperatures and more ground level ozone, with fewer trees and plants to clean the air and provide oxygen. Without soil to receive the rainfall and filter the water, sewers become overloaded, causing neighborhood flooding problems as well as polluted water problems which is harmful to aquatic ecosystems. Health: Green space has a positive impact on mental health. People living in areas with green spaces are less likely to have anxiety disorders or depression, and they are more likely to be physically active, which leads to reductions in respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, and upper respiratory infections. Some studies suggest that green spaces reduce common health conditions including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. Economy: Use of green space for bike trails and recreation may lead to reduced use of automobiles and transportation systems, thus reducing the use of fossil fuels and energy expenses. Additional tree and vegetative growth provides shade and lowers urban temperatures reducing the demand for air ‐ conditioning and energy costs. Solutions We are able to solve this issues in many ways, here I am going to be classifying them attending to the number of people involved

In our practice we are aware of the lack of Green spaces and the significance of them in order to keep our cities alive. That is why, we worked on it and made a Project in Vitoria, called Vitoria’s Green Ring. Vitoria’s Green Ring Vitoria's Green Ring is a set of urban parks with high ecological value, strategically linked by eco-recreational corridors. It is the result of an ambitious project with the main objective of restoring and recovering the periphery of Vitoria-Gasteiz, both environmentally and socially, to create a large green area for recreational use around town. Currently, it has 5 parks already established: Armentia, Olarizu, Salburua, Zabalgana and Zadorra. Since the itinerary is circular we could start anywhere, the park serves as an example of the recovery of a natural setting threatened by impoverishment. Meadows, pools and a gall-oak forest-island mix together in this pleasant place. Living inside a Green belt sounds great but… how does it contribute to By reducing the pollution and improving the quality of the air, moderating the climate and… more climate facts. But…. What is really interesting about introducing more Green areas is the life that generates inside it and around it. I am not just talking about the biodiversity and the animals, which is essential, but talking about the activities that unconditionally are taking part in a city with Green spaces. And I am refering to a wide range of age, since the new born, where you can wander among the parks, and relax when there is a good weather, until the elders, where they just can scape from the stress of the city and the quick rythm of worker’s life. I don’t know about you, but I have never imagined a pleaseant life in a city, with no Green spots. What do ‘shanty towns’ refer to? Shanty towns are slums on the outskirts of many cities – especially in third world countries. Normally there are not many shanty towns in more economically developed countries but we can still find some. It was at the end of last century when we had serious problems with this issue in Spain. Here in Spain we can see them settled in empty plots or waste grounds close to rubbish dumps, banks of rivers, etc. and as a result the residents suffer the effect from industrial toxines in the water and in the air. All of them are built on land without a permit and have no roads, electricity or telephone lines.