Hungary based studio Atelier Architects recently received a special mention for their Artist’s Colony Market design in a “market of the future” competition organized by Spanish architectural network Opengap. Details of the competition can be seen HERE and additional images and a description of Atelier Architects proposal can be found after the break.
Markets are elemental forms of social interaction. We believe that the market is the event itself. It is able to diffuse art, quality and evolution. Our market proposal analyzes the characteristics of markets. Markets are reflections of our society, of our environment, of the structure of the social and spatial hub.
We created a market that reflects community, shows randomness and logic in structure at the same time, it is temporarily permanent. A market, that is inspiring to the urban surroundings, to the participants. It acts as a community, a colony of will, change, art and inspiration.
Our market is a bazaar, an urban artist’s colony. We use the market as an event for rehabilitation, vitality and growth. Our long term pop up market is a tool of rehabilitation, revitalization.
The Artist ‘s Colony is a settler. It annexes empty building areas, rust zones, squares in existing urban structure and expands to parking areas, empty streets, etc. Moves in as a traveler, like a caravan. Therefore we used the traditional trunk, as a symbol of commerce and trade, and as a logo for traveling and quality. Our aim was to create the atmosphere of the traditional markets. We wanted the market to stay on the urban areas, streets and squares. The design evokes tradition, and serves as a choice, a counterpoint to malls and plazas.
For markets there is a great need for logic and system. But also, traditional markets seem random, muddled. We created a raster, that is more like the base of the modular system, then distorted this raster, as the net of the city is distorted as well. We created 5 ‘trunks ‘, or modules, they have different heights and areas. This way it creates the mood of a re-scaled urban street silhouette. Each trunk can be used as desired, can be rotated, revolved, mirrored, according to the raster, therefore can be adopted to any site.
Our market uses the infrastructure of the city it is placed in. The concept is, that it develops certain areas, therefore it uses the extant parking spaces, the loading systems, it behaves like a chain of urban shops. This way this market does not interrupt the structure of the urban net. Our aim was to create a highly adaptable market system, that complies with any city, any structure.
The basic element is designed with different densities, adopted from basic forms and nets of cities. The details, framing and shaping recalls the arts and crafts handmade feeling of the trunk. After the intervention, the Artist’s Colony leaves the site, and leaves behind its cast. Sometimes an urban park, sometimes just infrastructure. This market gently imprints its qualities on the site and real permanent urban character remains. To scale our design, we chose a site in Hungary, Budapest. This narrow path of empty sites is located in the 7th district of Budapest. This is a highly neglected area with lots of empty building sites, though it is in the very center of the city. Our site for this close-up is surrounded by firewalls of adjoining residential and industrial buildings. Our market uses the transit-like part of the site as main location, but also it appears on singular sites around, or on parking spaces as well.
The module is a folded trunk, that has transparent and solid sides, they have differences in height, and the solid parts of the trunk is always has a certain thickness. In these areas, there is space for wiring and for other services, but also it strengthens the structure. The transparent parts of the trunk can be opened.
The other conceptual element of this market is the potency of communities. We believe, that arts and crafts exists in societies, where there are communities, and public spirit. We are aware, that the artists and craftsmen, who inhabit these trunks will always compete each other, but what is really productive in this contest, is the inspiration, that you get from working with other artists or talking about your work and believes. This market shapes communities, creative communes. The artist share their workshop spaces, and have a common space to use as creative environment, and the costumer can be a part of this by watching this creative work flow. In the modules we only created the sales stalls, the storage spaces and the closet. The common workshop space has a common roof, that comes from the shading system of the public areas. Each colony has its own restroom module, that is used from both sides.
