THE
MALL
Public life,
private space.
- Location
- Altamira, Caracas
- Institution
- Universidad Central de Venezuela
- Tutor
- Ana Lasala
- Author
- Juan Carlos Leal Rojas
What happens when private space begins to perform the role of public space?
Slope.
Box.
Tower.
Theatre.
The historical thesis drawings are the primary record. The website keeps them intact and puts the interpretation around them rather than redrawing the architecture.
A vertical
sequence.
The project changes through level and section. Landscape, commercial space, cultural programme and vertical development are layered rather than treated as separate objects.
The project
level by level.
One drawing at a time. Use the arrows or the level names to move through the project without shrinking the plans into a grid.
Each level is shown twice: the complete plan for orientation and a magnified working view for architectural detail. Drag the detail view to inspect another part of the drawing.
Public ground
as section.
The sections show the thesis more clearly than a rendering can: the relationship between Plaza Francia, the changing ground, lower levels, cultural volume and tower.
The ground is not what is left around the building.
In the thesis, the changing ground condition organizes the relationship among public space, commercial programme and cultural uses. Landscape and architecture are read as one sequence.
When the Mall
Became the Street
The project page stays architectural. The larger argument about Caracas, safety, private space and collective urban life belongs in the essay.
READ ESSAY 01 →