Advanced Design Studio, Mangado

The effects of mass tourism pose a significant architectural challenge to a large extent of the Mediterranean coast. The sudden increase in population density has facilitated economic growth, but it has also resulted in a disorderly and visually chaotic urban, environment. Although this growth has enriched the social structure and economy, it has come at the expense of vernacular architecture and planning, which have been displaced by vast areas with a shortage of civic services. This subtraction of urban amenities is best witnessed in the territory between the beach avenues and inland development.

Now that this growth has stabilized, there is an opportunity to confront the disorder of these architectural and urban transformations. In the past few years, Spanish Mediterranean authorities have initiated a large-scale restructuring process. These political initiatives prompt the question of the degree to which architects can influence urban transformations with individual buildings, or should they now address more of the environmental
and infrastructural context. In other words, does the necessity of
circumstance merit a re-envisioning of the architect as generalist?

The studio will develop a project that will first take on a brief urban design project (a public park and network of pedestrian streets) and then a specific architectural intervention (a mixed-use hotel). The chosen site is Gandia, a city of the Spanish Levante (a region located in Valencia), which is committed to the transformation process described. The students will travel to the site during the week of studio travel in September.