MNN

+[Resilient Scenarios] Madrid Nuevo Norte _ 2019

SCI_Arc EDGE + The NOW Institute, Design of Cities Studio 1 

Program Coordinator: Thom Mayne

Instructor: Thom Mayne + Eui-Sung Yi + Daniel Pruske

Assistant INSTRUCTOR: Sasha Tillmann

Partners: Alonso Toledo + Anush Harutyunyan           

MNN’s site has great potential but also great volatility. Any urban planning of this magnitude (25 years) will necessarily face feasibility challenges over alternating -and potentially radicalizing- power structures. Our proposal is an open challenge to all other proposals that by fixing a definite image, jeopardize the chances of it getting built over time. To concentrate as much of a fixed program of buildings that any urban development would need in a high-density spine that provides a continuation of Madrid’s main artery, Paseo La Castellana, towards the growing northern suburbs while preparing the land for future uses which today, are unforeseeable. Because of the site’s particular geometry, we are reshaping a nuclear city core into a linear city core that extends along the train lines, providing accessibility and connectivity to the uneven built environment around the site. Rather than a fixed layout, this proposal is an organizational system that accommodates:

a) the renovated Chamartín Station, as the main point of local/international access to the site;

b) MNN’s core program and emergent buildings through two spines, with one northern half that caters to its residential surroundings and a southern half that does so to its commercial surroundings; and

c) the cities' natural growth nodes and typologies in the immediate surroundings.

Programming

The north spine hosts buildings that are related to the adjacent residential districts, including commercial buildings, a school, a clinic, a museum, and a government agency building. The south spine hosts buildings that are related to the adjacent commercial district, including the renovated Chamartín Station, a large shopping mall, a convention center, hotels, and the totality of MNN’s corporate tower program. Connecting both (from end to end) is a green walkway with the same area as MNN’s new park. This is adaptable to each scenario.

The Scenarios

Multiple scenarios are showing the potential growth of this system. To illustrate the range of applications, we have chosen three differentiated ones:

a) No growth beyond the spine. The urban development ceases after the spine is built and the city grows naturally towards it, using the infrastructure and services it provides.

b) Economic boom. The spine catalyzes a rapid growth of commercial buildings around it, together with unforeseen buildings like stadiums, exhibit halls, and even a bullring. High density around the spine allows for large parks, creating a small Manhattan in Madrid.

c) Population boom. The spine helps order a rapid population growth through mid-scale buildings similar to Madrid's urban development scale. Smaller, more disperse public spaces, help community building, together with an emergent program of public buildings like museums, expo centers, and even a university.