Architecture as Cultural Revitalization

A R C H I T E C T U R E A S

C U L T U R A L R E V I T A L I Z A T I O N

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1. Abstract

2. Thesis Statement

3. Research

4. Site and Context

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

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5. Program

6. Design Studies

7. Conclusions

8. Bibliography

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T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

Panama’s geographical location made it global before globalization Panama has a history of oppression, it has been claimed by Spain,

Columbia, and partially the United States. Workers from different parts of the world arrived to help in the construction of a massive

engineering feat that would bridge two oceans. Because of this, the city has swiftly expanded economically and vertically but has forgotten the infrastructural and cultural necessities that come with a cumulating population claims ciudadMULTIPLEcity. At the turn of the millennium it

finally became a truly independent country, though, with many flaws. Even though the city boasts to be a melting pot of cultures, there is no

‘melting’ going on, only isolated bubbles of different ethnicities living independent lives according to Eduardo Teijera. The culture has ‘sold-

out’ and does not aspire to be creative. The performing arts sub-culture has a chance to promote cultural exchange and be constructive to the lives of many. Panama City’s first urban plaza can be used as a place to cultivate cultural and creative exchange through the use of the Arts,

aspiring the community to create its own stars. Storytelling has no ethnicity and creating a place to share them can help make the locale a

true melting pot that it claims to be.

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A b s t r a c t

The small country of Panama, due to its geographical location has al-ways been a global locale. With the upcoming multi-million dollar ex-pansion of the canal and recent free trade laws passed, it is evident that Panama’s leaders are prioritizing business and profit above infra-structure, resulting in a city that expanded too quickly and devoid of any proper zoning planning and programmatic diversity. It has become condominium-dependent and ignorant to pedestrians. It boasts to be multi-cultural but as any citizen would tell you, this city is no melting pot. It consists of different ethnicities living mostly isolated lives. The culture has sold out. In the heart of the new development, Panama City’s first urban plaza incorporated with performing arts programs would serve as a breath of fresh air in a car dominated city while also bringing the arts to a wider audience. The open urban space will serve to facilitate collisions of different cultures and bring people together through storytelling. Ar-chitecture would be used as a tool to resurrect cultural creation, helping Panama City truly become the first-class international city it wants to be.

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Thesis Statement

Public space is an essential part of the human condition. Everytime we step out we become exposed to different experiences and unpredictable encoun-ters. This risk and constant unexpected stimuli activate the mind and allows opportunities to come to you. One also plays the role of an actor, we assume roles that are socially acceptable because we have an inherit need to belong. These ground rules are established by our parents, our influences, media, and entertainment. They make encounters with strangers easier, and help us feel indifferent even when we are in a crowd full of differences. Gathering in a crowd creates more chances to collide with differences and open people’s minds to new perspectives. Panama City presents a great environment to ex-periment with these theories and explore how architecture can promote cultur-al conversation. The city boasts to be multi-cultural but the truth is that these cultures live in isolation from one another. How can architecture encourage one to let differences in their lives. What is the role of the Performing Arts in our lives? Through this investigation, I hope to reveal why people are attracted to the feeling of community and what is the importance of entertainment to our happiness.

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R e s e a r c h

a r e a o f f o c u s

The small country of Panama has, and still is going through a rapid metamorphoses. It boasts to be a very multi-cultural city that and has a forward-thinking population that is welcoming the change and technology that is being brought to it. Businesses and retirees are moving in from all over to discover its culture and enjoy its tropic weather, its unique tourism and favorable policies for foreigners, and its biodiversity. In ten minutes one can get from the sky-scraping financial district to the humid, native-Indian occupied rain forests. The country quickly became the fastest growing economic capital in Central America. Capitalism dominates and its the cen-ter of transportation for trade between oceans, all of this is turning Panama into a culture of ‘selling-out’. Pan-ama is devoid of any architectural identity, evident by the Miami beach style condominiums that are spreading out from the financial district, and the highways that are eating up pedestrian spaces. The culture has focused on selling out as well, Panama has not created a single piece of entertainment or star worth noting since the salsa star Ruben Blades. This proposal will help Panama create a culture again by encouraging creation, not imitation, and giving the city its first successful public space where people can assemble and have cultural ex-change. This open space will be a breath of fresh air in the midst of a increasingly suffocating, pedestrian dead city while also being used as an area for local performers to showcase their work, reinforcing the importance of imagination.

To understand how such a small country became so culturally diverse, one needs to dive into its geography and its history. Before it was even a country, the isthmus of what would be Panama made it an a strategic tar-get for many countries.

The extreme narrowness of the isthmus and its strategic location between two oceans made Panama a global city before globalization

-Gerado Mosquera & Adrienne Samos

Everyone had their eyes on it since the early days, and like many other countries in the Caribbean, Panama’s history can also be explained by European conquest. Balboa, sent from Spain, was the first European to dis-

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S t a t e o f c u l t u r e

cover the land of Panama. By 1519, Spain built Europe’s first foreign capital in the land of the Americas and called it Panama, only to be destroyed by the infamous pirate, Henry Morgan, in 1671. Nowadays, the ruins of the first Panama are called Panama Viejo and is deemed a UNESCO world heritage site. The new city, which is still standing today, would be grow into a lovely neighborhood known as Casco Viejo which means the Old Quarter. That is the oldest, still functioning, part of the city today which is adored due to its mix of Spanish and French colonial architecture; complimented by pedestrian streets. Panama remained a colony of Spain until it deemed no longer useful to them. In 1821, 302 years later, Panama finally got its independence and joined the Republic of Gran Columbia, which was a union of Nueva Granada, Ecuador, and Venezuela. The union even-tually broke down and tensions between Panama and Columbia were steadily increasing. During this time the French have been attempting to build the Panama Canal but with great struggle. Panama’s intense topology, dense rain forests, malaria carrying mosquitoes, and hot, humid climate made the task incredibly difficult. Many workers from all over came to work on it, including Irish, Chinese, and other Caribbeans. Many workers were also dying from the job as well. Eventually the French went bankrupt from it and decided to pull out from the job. That’s when the United States decided to capitalize on these situations. Seeing that the French were bank-rupt and the Panamanians were growing hostile toward the Columbians, Theodore Roosevelt made a deal with both parties. In a set of swift political moves, he decided to help the Panamanians secede from Columbia in exchange, the U.S. will gain several favorable rights to the future Panama Canal that he planned on finishing. When the Colombians sailed over and saw the U.S. ships blockading them from reaching Panamanian ports, they turned around and recognized Panama as a country in 1903. It was clean and bloodless. The very next year, Roosevelt bought the ownership of the Panama Canal Railroad from the recently bankrupted French and used it as a supply chain for the construction of the Panama Canal. Roosevelt’s engineers had then modified the French plan of the canal to integrate a lock system in response to the changing water levels of when cross-ing the isthmus. In 1914 the Panama Canal was completed and remained tightly under American control. The area around the canal would be named the Canal Zone which was segregated from the rest of the Panamani-ans. Ever since, there has been a strong American influence on the country. Relationships had been okay until the ‘Just Cause’ incident of 1989, when American soldiers raided Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian dictator, and arrested him. It was a violent raid that leveled some sections of Panama City including the neighborhood of ‘El Chorillo’. This neighborhood now is the poor, dangerous part of the city that seems to have never recov-ered from that incident. The next several years served as a cool down as the Panamanian government found

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its footing again and control of the Panama Canal was slowly being transferred to Panama. At the start of the new millennium, the transfer was officially complete and the leaders of the country got to work right away. Pull-ing money from anywhere they could get it, the beginnings of the canal’s expansion were on their way. This history, in brief, explains why Panama has always been in the middle of everything. As a result, Panama city’s has fostered a very diverse population, and as new projects are proposed, new cultures will come in still, mak-ing Panama City, like the U.S., a melting pot of cultures. According to Discovering Central America: Panama’s current population has a mix of cultures, Today 70 percent of Panamanians are mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white), 14 percent are mixed Amerindian, Asian and African; 10 percent are white; and 6 percent are Amerindi-an.

As it stands today, Panama City is starting to look and feel like the Dubai of the Americas. New policies have made the city very attractive for business owners, retirees, and tourists. Some of these incentives include dis-counts, duty free goods, and free healthcare for tourists for 30 days. According to Prensa.com, a notable news source in Panama, there has been a 63% growth vs. 2010 for Panamanian banks in 2011. According to the Superintendency of Banks,

Despite the volatility of international markets and the uncertainty posed by global economic difficul-ties in the U.S. and European debt problems, the banking sector is maximizing the economic boom in Panama, which closed 2011 with a 10.5% growth.

The rise of banking in Panama has made this city a business and capitalist dominated culture. All this business does increase the economy of the country and helps it fund solutions for its infrastructural issues that have been enhanced by the population and economic boom of the city. An excerpt from ciudadMULTIPLEcity elaborates,

...due to money laundering and a corrupt judicial system, the urban fabric seems to have been built by accident, in a swift, spontaneous, forceful and arbitrary way. Buildings and superhighways swallow up the sidewalks and green areas, alienating pedestrians, who are becoming increasingly intimidated by an environment they feel less and less related to.

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The first population boom came from the construction of the Panama Canal, between 1904 and 1914, when the population of the city doubled. As of right now, they are engaging in their biggest projects since those times which is rapidly increasing the populace of the city once again. Now under the control of the Panamanians, the canal is going through a huge expansion, costing $5.25 billion dollars while creating 35,000 new jobs in the process. Shovels are also going into the ground of the city as well, due to the first metro system in Central America being constructed. ‘Linea Uno’ the first out of three planned subway routes, is going to connect the north side of the city to the south, going both above and below ground through its journey. The Panama City Metro international tender, according to Prensa.com, was awarded to the consortium Linea Uno, made up of Brazil’s Odebrecht and the Spain-based construction company FCC, in a contract worth $1.45 billion. The proj-ect is being partly funded by the Brazilian government. Prensa.com also reports that the costs of road realign-ment works on Via Brasil will be $12.1 million more than the $385.5 million originally approved in the contract between the Ministry of Public Works (MOP) and the Spanish company FCC Construction. In addition, a new hospital is also being built in Clayton, a southern neighborhood of the city, Panamaamerica.com.pa reported in 2012,

...FCC Construction SA and FCC Construction Centroamerica SA signed a contract for the design and construction of ‘Hospital City’ to be located in Clayton. The work, with a total investment of $587.5 million will be built in two stages, with a duration of two years for the first stage and a year for the second. The Hospital City project is the largest work on a health care structure in the Cen-tral American region, said Guillermo Saez Llorens, director of the CSS.

All these simultaneous projects are strong efforts for the city to ‘catch-up’ to its now, world-class status as a va-cation and business spot. These massive endeavors should help alleviate many of the current issues of the city while also increasing its diversity even more. One issue they are overlooking however is its architectural identi-ty problem. According to Eduardo Teijera, a professor of Architecture in the University of Panama, and author of Panama: an architectural record, the city has been mimicking Miami Beach. Walking down a street in the finan-cial district, San Francisco or Marbella, will give you almost no diversity in building program, scale, or style. The

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downtown parts of the city have been swarmed by an army of condominiums for the young elites and retirees. These condominiums look almost identical at times, all featuring stacked balconies and grand windows for views, painted in all white. This, according to Mr. Teijera, was a missed opportunity by developers to create a truly distinctive place through style emerged by the unique climate conditions and culture of the people. One thing possibly contributing to the problem is the lack of a strong urban planning department in the governing organizations of the city. Corruption wins over regulations and therefore, even though there are some zoning regulations, private companies and corporations are basically in charge of designing the city. These developers turn their back on beauty and design, and more often than not, prioritize efficiency and profit. Panamanians are slowly losing their sense of creativity, instead they look for a ‘big brother’ to mimic. Panama has the money, the incentive, and the land to create a truly first-class city. There is hope for good design however, according to a report by Martesfinanciero.com in March of 2012,

The construction of buildings with sustainable and environmentally friendly features has a long way to go in Panama, although the development of this type of construction has made progress in the last 10 years and the capital has several buildings that have been constructed with improved regulations.

In another report by capital.com.pa

Panama has one building that has been certified, while 25 are in the process of obtaining a green seal and 12 have sustainable features, but are not attempting to be included in the category, using the standards of LEED. Among the existing buildings, the U.S. embassy stands out as the only building in the capital that is LEED certified. In addition there is, the future Morgan&Morgan tower, the Business Park in Costa del Este, and an office building in Santa Maria Business District, in Juan Diaz which are among the projects being built with green features and seeking certification.

These projects are all taking a step in the right direction, there is one project however that is causing contro-versy. The Cinta Costera is arguably one of the best designed and walkable spaces in the city. It essentially is a highway with a elongated park attached to it on the coastal side that facilitates bike and pedestrian traffic. It

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has four phases to it, and the third one, which is being built right now, is the one most troubling. It proposes to turn the highway out into the sea and surround Casco Viejo on the outside, with about a 500 foot distance from it, which would then reconnect at the south side of the city in the ‘Chorillo’ neighborhood. The intentions are right, the goal is to connect the major highway, Avenue Balboa which runs along the coast of the city, to Avenue de los Poetas which brings people out into the Amador islands. These linked islands serve as a major tourist destination because it holds many attractive venues and cultural event spaces. The Figali Convention Center, arguably the primary event space of the city, can be found there. When in use to capacity, it holds up to 10,700 people and has been known to host many concerts, pageants, and sometimes federal functions. Past that, one will see the conspicuous and flamboyant BioDiversity Museum. This building, designed by Frank Gehry, has the starchitect’s typical gestures, with a splash of color as well. It is small in scale but very loud aestheti-cally and sure to be a point of interest when it opens in the near future. Beyond, there is a small archipelago, made up of the Naos, Perico, and Flamenco islands that host many tourist centric programs. Many retirees come here to try its assortment of ocean-view hotels, gourmet restaurants, small duty-free malls, and to ride yachts from the Flamenco marina. The archipelago is ‘tethered’ to the main land by the Amador Causeway, which also includes a bike and pedestrian trail. The planners having recognized the potential of this southern tip of the city, is one of the primary goals of the Cinta Costera plan. These attractive islands are isolated from where the center of the activity is in the city. Between these tourist islands and the financial district stands the poor, slightly dangerous neighborhood of ‘El Chorillo’ and Ancon Hill, a small park with spectacular views of the skyline which is all just west of Casco Viejo. Getting from inner city to the Amador islands is a traffic-challenged journey. The intention to connect these points of activity makes the Cinta Costera a viable project but the third phase seems to be ‘chocking’ the purity of Casco Viejo and the people are not happy with it. A 2012 article by Fred Bernstein explains,

More than 300 years after it was settled, Casco Viejo, the oldest section of Panama City, is a pic-turesque, if sometimes slummy, neighborhood protected by UNESCO World Heritage status.But the limits of that protection are unclear. Residents of Casco Viejo, including several American property owners, have been sounding the alarm about plans to build a road around the peninsula, which until now has culminated in a historic seawall. The road—three lanes in each direction—would link the center of Panama City to outlying suburbs by connecting sections of a highway,

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called the Cinta Costera, that already flank Casco Viejo.To the government, the ring road, a viaduct several hundred feet offshore, is a way to solve a traf-fic nightmare without disturbing the historic neighborhood. Indeed, according to the government, the viaduct might give tourists a new reason to visit, since it will include “observatory platforms” from which to “contemplate” Casco Viejo. The road will also shorten the drive to Frank Gehry’s Mu-seum of Biodiversity, which is scheduled to open next year on a site just west of the peninsula. But opponents of the highway say that building a road around the tiny neighborhood will bring it, jarringly, into the 21st century—the equivalent of bridging the Grand Canyon or putting a roof over Machu Picchu. Edwina von Gal, a New York landscape designer who lives part-time in Panama, where she is involved in a number of conservation projects, is disturbed by the plan. “Why,” she asked, “is Panama determined to kill the things that make it special?”K.C. Hardin, a former New York attorney who now owns several properties in the neighborhood, sees the road as a noose tightening around Casco Viejo’s neck.

Before the project, views from the Casco Viejo presented tourists with beautiful panoramas of the city, now blocked by a horizontal line of construction out in the water. The proposed highway path does not elegantly peel out from the coast, instead opting to pivot abruptly out into the waters and ungracefully circle around the UNESCO world heritage site. Understandably, the city does not want to cut a highway through it, but circling it like a shark does with his prey is not saving its character either. UNESCO knows this and is now deliberating whether to revoke Casco Viejo’s world heritage status. Now Eduardo Teijera is put in a difficult position, de-fending something he opposes, due to the fact that it is his job to convince UNESCO to reconsider. This issue demonstrates the oppression of voice in the country. Even though many people and architects were against it, the government went ahead and proceeded with construction, not taking the time to design a better solution. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise however, due to Panama’s history of over bearers. This rushed, capitalistic type of mindset is dominating the region and oppressing the people’s creatively.

There are few places in the world centered so exclusively on business, and where the dominant classes and the State have so little interest in culture.

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Jorge Fransisco Liernur’s notes on contemporary metropolitan spaces named Privacy, Publicity, Uncertain-ty, describes that the exercise of power in today’s world deem public space unnecessary, due to the ability to communicate to a wide audience with modern mass media technologies. The first priority for today’s leaders is usually efficiency and speed of process, from production to distribution followed by consumption of goods. Lier-nur believes this model for city expansion is outdated and diminishes the interactive and multicultural character of human creative action. There is a growing awareness of the ‘sell-out’ mentality the Panamanians are getting accustomed to and there are certain cultural leaders working towards countering it. Lead by curators, Gerar-do Mosquera and Adrienne Samos, a massive art project was put together in the city of Panama that worked within its context and called together artists form different regions. The project however, had no true home since Panama City lacks proper support for culture. It does have a museum for contemporary art with a small budget, and the small theatre named Teatro Nacional in Casco Viejo, however, these venues can only hold a limited amount of people. Panama City’s star gem for theater, Teatro Nacional, can only hold about 850 people, and in a city that has over a million citizens, this does not suffice. The artist group figured the best way to do art is by weaving it into its urban fabric. What turned out to be arguably the single most important event of visual arts in Panama City was done with no museum, theater, or organized space. It was a compilation of events that resorted to guerrilla tactics of showcasing art ranging from screening films on old dilapidated buildings to using unrented advertising billboards. The controversial event ended up a success and documented in a book called ciudadMULTIPLEcity, Urban Art and Global Cities: an Experiment in Context.

There was also a recent event held in Teatro Nacional directed by Jorge Ledezma Bradley. It hosted the ‘Orquesta Juvenil Centroamericana’, an orchestra made up of students from Panama, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. Although considered a public event, there was very little propaganda for it. The theater actually had many reserved seats for invited patrons which included professors from Panama, United States, and Germany as well as the embassies of China and Taiwan. After a successful showing, they announced that future plans involve creating an exchange program with Ger-man students. This should entice Panamanians to get more involved in the education of classical music. Pan-amanians are also devoted moviegoers as well. In 2012, more than 4.7 million movie tickets were sold, which

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is quite substantial considering this tiny country only holds 3.5 million people. These conditions attracted the developers of the Toronto International Film Festival to Panama City. A HuffingtonPost article from Andrea R. Vaucher explains,

Given the enthusiasm for film here, it seems a no-brainer that when the founders of the wildly suc-cessful Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) retired to Panama City, they’d start a festival in

their new hometown. Wisely, they chose the brilliant Diana Sanchez, TIFF’s international program-mer, to curate the films for the Panama Fest and handed the administrative reins to U.S.-educated,

local documentary producer/director, Pituka Ortega Heilbron, who is smart and savvy and very well connected. The second edition of the Festival Internacional de Cine de Panama wrapped last week and for seven days offered Panamanians a taste of what is available cinematically besides

Cruise and Cameron, Pirates and Potter. Audiences were treated to a plethora of international films -- and film personalities -- and they turned out to see them to the tune of 22,000 admissions.

This festival gave Panamanians views into different parts of the world. Citizens got to see famous directors and films including Everado Gonzalez’s Drought which won Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festi-val. Films came from France, Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Italy, Hollywood, and even Bollywood. This filmmakers’ festival also cultivated conversation between directors and screenwriters as they shared stories and notes over mojitos during dinner parties. These types of events help facilitate cultural exchange by providing opportunities for collision between different creators that impact each other’s lives. This event, though successful, doesn’t have a true home either, and because of that screenings were spread all over the city and latently created a segregation of audiences. The privileged were able to view film screenings in the elegant Teatro Nacional with comfortable seating, while others waited in line at the Cinepolis in the Multiplex mall to get a viewing, while oth-ers watched the films in a temporary, makeshift outdoor auditorium on the Cinta Costera with plastic seating. This proves that the demand is there, but the facilities to hold such an event are not. This diminishes chances for the creators to collide with audiences informally and get a type of feedback not available in a professionally set-up environment. Missing out on something possibly more authentic and constructive. All these events how-ever are finally turning eyes on the state of culture in Panama. Maria Herrera, the director of the INAC (Instituto Nacional de Cultura), has recognizing this and has backed a massive project of culture value for almost two

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years that is finally being realized.

The ‘Ciudad de las Artes’ as it is currently named is a massive campus, by Panamanian standards, that promis-es to preserve the study of the arts by updating its infrastructural facilities. It takes up 13 acres at the edge of the city not far from the ‘Universidad de Panama’. It boasts to have a school for each aspect of the arts consolidat-ed in a elongated building that frames a park in front of it. The programs include a school for dance and ballet, music, theatre, visual arts, and a small multi-functional theatre holding about 715 seats depending on the set-up. The single most impressive result that has come from this proposal is that it has convinced the government to partly fund it. This act marks the first time in recent history that the Panamanian government decided to invest in something of cultural value rather than profit. It marks a shift in priority. Awareness is growing on the idea that Panama can become a cultural hot spot as well as a place to do business, helping it truly become an indepen-dent nation. The performing arts, historically, never serve to directly create profit since by nature, they are finan-cially unsustainable business and constantly need donors to keep going. The book Lincoln Center explains that in the United States, performing art events are usually partially funded by private enterprises because the cost of production is so high. To truly be self-sustainable, ticket prices for these shows would have to sky-rocket, mean-ing only the elite would be able to enjoy them. To have a self-sustaining performing arts business model in Pan-ama would result in exacerbating the already great disparities of social classes there. To do the performing arts right in Panama City, one should look into a successful precedent.

The Lincoln Center of Performing Arts was a massive undertaking which needed an established team to become a reality. The team consisted of many parties including business men, architects, and directors of existing per-forming arts establishments. Rockefeller III and friends were able to pull enough funding together to materialize the dream. By taking business greed out of the picture, the project was able to be a success by a mission per-spective. The mission being that the Lincoln Center was always intended to bring the performing arts to a wider audience so everyone had the opportunity to experience them. This is what the cultural leaders of Panama are steadily realizing and are approaching to achieve. People of significant positions are finally asking the right ques-tion; what would be constructive to life in Panama City? The ‘Ciudad of las Artes’ will provide opportunities for creatives to flourish and possibly generate its own celebrities instead of mimicking others while bringing people together in the name of art.

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As Panama City’s diversity increases there will eventually be a mixing of the melting pot. As of right now, Pan-ama City boasts to be a multicultural city, however, these different cultures live in their own bubbles of isolation according to Eduardo Teijera. The arts, and the act of storytelling have no ethnicity, therefore having a proper establishment to share these stories will provide opportunities for people of any background to step into dif-ferent worlds together. But the question has to be asked, how can architecture encourage cultural exchange and hold a conversation between these different ‘bubbles’ of the city? Georg Simmel’s work about the contem-porary metropolis explains that the nature of public space creates a ‘clash of differences’. Georg claims that the infinite amount of possibilities of movement in the physical layout of a plaza or street is something every inhabitant of metropolitan areas face everyday. There is always a state of uncertainty, a clash between citizens of constantly varying qualities and unexpected stimuli. For Simmel, public space paradoxically enhances indif-ference with difference. The state of being in the unexpected requires a certain amount of courage, it involves risk, as well as a sense of adventure to creative opportunities. Increasing indifference, in turn, provides a soli-tude and comfort that enhances one’s sense of freedom.

As of right now, Panama City is headed toward becoming a very segregated community. The current fabric is creating social containers, where each container has their own set of functions and social customs. The poor and the rich (and many other) live isolated from each other, avoiding contact, exchange, and conflict. These ‘bubbles’, so determined to not let anything change within them, are part of the cause of globalization accord-ing to Simmel. It is part of the reason why we see repeated forms and styles from one end to the other end of the earth. The new urban formula has diminished a vital richness a place could have. Simmel believes these ‘bubbles’ within the urban fabric behave like the islands of an archipelago and that public space can help bridge them together.Public space is the common ground for everyone, both figuratively and literally. It is the space that which both everyone owns, and nobody at the same time. It is the space that creates a common denominator for every-one no matter what your occupation, status, or background you are. It is the great equalizer, but what makes a space ‘public’? According to Lienur, all public spaces have two elements in common: some form of “order” or physical structure and a presence of people.

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Construction of a public space is part of the very human condition, which I believe to be convivial par excellence: we exist in our own intimacy and in others.

-Jorge Lieneur

Scale is not the decisive factor to whether a space is public or not; what is vital is the presence of a form where people can gather for shared activities, explains Lienur. Ground is an essential building component of public space, and it needs to be treated right. The collection of street, paths, and sidewalks have turned to a no-man’s land due to the lack of supervision held to it. Some citizens might complain to their government upon seeing a crack on the sidewalk, while others simply disregard and spit their gum in it. It reinforces the idea that both no one and everyone is responsible of public space.

With the increasing awareness of the value of the Performing Arts in Panama, coupled with Simmel’s the-ories of public space, one can consolidate these ideas to form a space where cultural exchange occurs. Richard Sennet touched on both of these concepts in The Fall of Public Man. In this book, Sennet elaborates on the effects the performing arts have with one’s ‘public’ life on the street. He claims that when associating perform-ing arts and social relations, one has to be open to the idea that serious art can help in understanding a social condition widespread in society. When out in public, we play both audience and actor. We are audience due to our observant nature. We watch and we listen involuntarily to those around us at all times, and judging, giving either praise or disapproval in our minds. Yet, we play actor due to the social norms and roles we assume. There are unwritten laws that we abide to in the presence of a stranger. We act in a model behavior that is written by what we see in the media, be it TV, internet, or theater. These rules help social transactions between strangers, as each party can meet under an already understood set of agreements. In a place like Panama City, where the diverse, but isolated population are kept in their separate islands of the urban environment, a public space is needed for people to participate in activities together and foster a bridge between differences; enhancing the human condition of Panamanian life.

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How can architecture facilitate cultural exchange?

How do the performing arts affect a culture and its people?

Why are the performing arts neccessary?

How and why design for interaction?

Can architecture inspire creativity in others?

Will the elite social class over bear on the performing arts center?

Will the elite social class approve of a unprofitable business of cultural value?

What is constructive to Panamanian life?

Why should a community strive to blend cultures?

What are the pros/cons of globalization?

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c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l i s s u e s

How does one design an open plaza for a tropical climate?

What is the significance and effects of public spaces?

What issues/advantages are there for performing arts facilities in a tropical climate?

Is it worth referencing the past in Panama’s new architecture?

How does one find an architectural identity in a city with mosques, Shinto shrines, Spanish churches, Spanish colonial, and Miami beach-like condominiums?

What are the roles of public space?

Why should a city have programmatic diversity within its neighborhoods?

How does one provide parking for a car-less space?

How does the enclosed vs. exposed spacial relationship change in a tropical environment?

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c o n s i d e r a t i o n s a n d a r c h i t e c t u r a l i s s u e s

The Lincoln Center of Performing Arts presents a successful example of public space. It required everyone involved in its conception to explore possibilities beyond the initial needs. Built in the late 60’s, the original purpose of the Lincoln Cen-ter was to be the new home of the Philharmonic Society as well at the Metropolitan Opera House. Once they decided to relocate into the same block, questions arose about what else would be beneficial in the block? How can this bring the per-forming arts to a wider audience? What would be beneficial to NY life? The initial relocation of two performing arts associ-ations eventually grew into a world-class plaza. Now, people from around the world come by to enjoy what Lincoln Cen-ter has to offer. The schools and theaters work in tandem to foster a place of creation and showcase. The theaters frame a public space where pedestrians can gather and collide ideas with others.

LINCOLN CENTER FOR PERFORMING ARTSNew York City, NY

22 a r c h i t e c t u r a l p r e c e d e n t s

23a r c h i t e c t u r a l p r e c e d e n t s

KILDEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTERDesigned by Finnish architects ALA, the Kilden Performing arts center opened in January 2012 and serves to group the ‘Agder Theater’, the ‘Kristiansand Philharmonic’ and the ‘Op-era South’ together. It features a sprawling entrance lobby that spans the length of the building and 1200-seat audito-rium,750-seat theatre, and two smaller halls. The architect explains, ‘The public foyer zone is the expressive, free flowing area of improvisation where the public meet each other. Tem-porary exhibitions and performances are presented. Parties and congresses are held within the foyer. The building creates elegant public and performing spaces and rough, functional production facilities. All this is combined into a shape of an elegant machine –a building as an instrument’.

Kristiansand, Norway

24

PARCO DELLA MUSICARome, Italy

Parco della Musica is a public music-hall complex that opened in December 2002 designed by Renzo Piano. It houses three theaters of increasing scales; Sala Pe-trassi is the 700-seat theater, Sala Sinopoli holds 1200 seats, and Sala Santa Celina is a massive 2800-seat theater. The three theaters are acoustically isolated by their structure and physical separation, but joined at the base by a long lobby space. An outdoor theater is formed through the lobby’s continuous curved form and references the ancient Roman and Greek theaters of the past. Once opened, it became one of the most popular music destinations in the world.

26

Balboa from Spain discovered and

colonized Panama

Panama gains Independence from

Spain

1538 1821

US �nish Panama Railway connecting

Atlantic to Paci�c

1855

Roosevelt helps Panama gains

Independence from Columbia

1903

U.S. continues Panama Canal

construction

1904

US handover control of

Panama Canal

1999

US invasion of Panama

code-named ‘Just Cause’

1989

First metro system to be

completed in Panama City

2014

Trump Ocean Plaza Hotel

opens

2011

French attempt to construct Panama

Canal

1881

Chinese workers come to help

1885???

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

Panama was settled by Bolivar around 1513 and Panama City was founded by Pedro Avila in 1519. Vasco Nunez de Balboa was the first European to realize that the isthmus of Pana-ma is truly the crossroads between the seas. The Spanish started hauling all their treasures through Panama afterwards calling it the Royal Road. After the destruction of the first Pan-ama City in 1671 by the English Captain Henry Morgan, the new capital relocated further south. The first construction of the new capital, Casco Viejo, is now a hot tourist spot due to the mix of Spanish and French colonial architecture that is going through an extensive renovation. The district has plenty of up-scale bars, hotels, restaurants, and real estate. From there, the city expanded northward, hugging the coast. Future expansion is split now, headed more north and west sue to the relinquishment of the canal zone the United States previously occupied. When the IFF came, they had to split the festival between the Teatro Nacional, an outdoor plaza next to a smelly fish market, and the Cinepolis theater at the Multiplex mall. The state has slowly let go of urban planning responsibilities over the years.

The current population is about 1.2 million.

28

S i t e a n d C o n t e x t A n a l y s i sc i t y h i s t o r y

Figali Convention Center

Teatro Nacional

Cineplex

Estadio Nacional de Panama

ATLAPAAtlantic and Paci�c Convention Center

Gehry’s Biodiversity MuseumBalboa from Spain

discovered and colonized Panama

Panama gains Independence from

Spain

1538 1821

US �nish Panama Railway connecting

Atlantic to Paci�c

1855

Roosevelt helps Panama gains

Independence from Columbia

1903

U.S. continues Panama Canal

construction

1904

US handover control of

Panama Canal

1999

US invasion of Panama

code-named ‘Just Cause’

1989

First metro system to be

completed in Panama City

2014

Trump Ocean Plaza Hotel

opens

2011

French attempt to construct Panama

Canal

1881

Chinese workers come to help

1885???

1800 1850 1900 1950 2000

29

S i t e a n d C o n t e x t A n a l y s i s

m a p s

e v e n t v e n u e s

Amador Causeway

Casco Viejo

La E

xpos

icion

MarbellaPunta Pacifica

Parque Omar

Torrijos

Punta Patilla

El C

angr

ejo

Panama Viejo

Albrook

30

The Amador is a man-made peninsula that holds alot of popular tourism due its variety of restaurants, views of the skyline hotels, and chilling winds over the water in hot days.

Punta Pacifica, Punta Patilla, and Marbella are where most of the high-rise residential towers with views of the ocean can be found. These are where the elites go to retire.

El Cangrejo is a friendly neighborhood inland from the coast that has a great variety of trendy restau-rants and middle-class lodging options. According to Eduardo Teijera, its one of the few areas of the city where different cultures actually live together.

Panama Viejo is all that’s left from the ‘first’ settle-ment. These ruins host many guided-tours and a self-guided jogging/biking trail through them.

Parque Omar Torrijos is the largest park in the city. Since its inception in 1986 it has facilitated activities such as biking, jogging, baseball, soccer, and even swimming. There’s also a library and several food stands sprinkled around the park.

Albrook has a collection of residential neigh-borhoods that is tucked away from the noisy coastal parts of the city. It also holds the do-mestic airport that was once a U.S. Air Force base. Panoramic views of the city can be found in Cerro Ancon hill.

La Exposicion was Panama City’s first grid planned neighborhood. Future high-rise condo-miniums are planned to be planted there.

Casco Viejo, also known as San Felipe, is a UNESCO World Heritage site at the moment and one of the most popular tourist destina-tions of the city. It is the longest lasting neigh-borhood, being constructed after the sacking of Pirate Henry Morgan in 1673. Casco Viejo is composed of primarily Spanish colonial archi-tecture.

31

n o t a b l e n e i g h b o r h o o d s

The proposed site for the new plaza for the performing arts is where Panama City’s convention center, ATLA-PA, is at the moment. The land is currently out to bid right now, with plans to build even more condomini-ums. There is a new convention center proposed in the Amador section of the city south of this site, behind the Figali Center. ATLAPA, as its called, was constructed in the 1970’s and housed many events. Whenever it is being used, the building becomes surrounded by the waves of cars parked at three sides of it. It is currently surrounded by condominiums and hotels on the north and west and cut off from the coast on the east and south side by highways.

Total available area:

590,158ft2

A T L A P A

32 s i t e d o c u m e n t a t i o n

ATLAPA has been Panama City’s convention center since 1974. It hosts many events such as international car shows, fashion week, artesian fairs, food fairs, pageants, congresses, and many others. It holds two theaters and a exhibition hall that takes a total of 56,356 square feet on an 8 hectare lot. Its being sold to make room for more high-rise residences, with construction of the new convention center beginning in the Amador Peninsula.

33s i t e d o c u m e n t a t i o n

40

C o n v e n t i o n C e n t e r 2 0 1 3

C o n v e n t i o n C e n t e r 2 0 1 5

41

BRASIL

FERNANDEZ DE CORDOBA

EL IGENIO

12 DE OCTUBRE

ARGENTINA

IGLESIA DE CARMEN

BELLA VISTA

HOSPITALES

SITE

Panama Metro : Linea Uno Opening early 2014

42 s i t e s t u d i e s

Atlapa

Motores JaponesRey Calle 50

Tapas y Vinos

Ancla

Grupo Silaba

Edificio Inteligente

Plaza New York

HSBC

Avenida 4a Sur

Jimmy

From Brasil : 9 min

From Brasil : 35 min

Brasil

Fernandez de Cordoba

Argentina

Bella Vista

Iglesia de Carmen

SITE

Public Transportation

43s i t e s t u d i e s

C i u d a d d e l a s A r t e s

Ciudad de las Artes is a new campus for the performing arts. It will be housing the School of dance and Ballet, the school of theater, the school of orchestral music, the school of visual arts, and a small theater space. It is designed by AICEQUIP, a Barcelona based firm.


SITECiudad de las Artes

From Ciudad de las Artes : 16 min

Distance from ‘City of the Arts’ to new center of performing arts center.The project should work in conjunction with the new school, where the campus is used as the place to create and practice, and the new center will be used to showcase the school’s work.


precipitation temperatures

Month Lows HighsJan 71 87 Jan 1.89Feb 71 90 Feb 1Mar 73 90 Mar 0.39Apr 73 90 Apr 2.48May 75 86 May 9.4June 75 86 June 7.09July 73 88 July 7.83Aug 75 86 Aug 8.5Sep 75 86 Sep 7.87Oct 73 84 Oct 12Nov 73 86 Nov 10.55Dec 73 88 Dec 5.94

50

60

70

80

90

100

Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

8790 90 90

86 8688

86 8684

8688

71 7173 73

75 7573

75 7573 73 73

Tem

pera

ture

(F)

Lows Highs

0

2

3

5

6

8

9

11

12

14

15


5.9

10.6

12.0

7.98.5

7.87.1

9.4

2.5

0.41.0

1.9

Perc

ipita

tion

(in.)

Month Lows HighsJan 71 87 Jan 1.89Feb 71 90 Feb 1Mar 73 90 Mar 0.39Apr 73 90 Apr 2.48May 75 86 May 9.4June 75 86 June 7.09July 73 88 July 7.83Aug 75 86 Aug 8.5Sep 75 86 Sep 7.87Oct 73 84 Oct 12Nov 73 86 Nov 10.55Dec 73 88 Dec 5.94

50

60

70

80

90

100


8790 90 90

86 8688

86 8684

8688

71 7173 73

75 7573

75 7573 73 73

Tem

pera

ture

(F)

Lows Highs

0

2

3

5

6

8

9

11

12

14

15


5.9

10.6

12.0

7.98.5

7.87.1

9.4

2.5

0.41.0

1.9

Perc

ipita

tion

(in.)

Panama has a noticeably topical climate which is how it cul-tivates its lush forests and jungles. With a 9 month “wet” sea-son and only a 3 month “dry” season, rain becomes a very noticeable part of daily life. The architecture has to take pre-cipitation under a more-serious-than-average consideration. Everything from the material, to the foundation, to the form has to respond to this climate condition. Underestimating this aspect will not only render a building unoccupiable but also weak and exposed to a hasteful rate of erosion.

Being close to the equator, Panama gets alot more sun exposure than other countries. Unlike the precipitation, the temperature generally stays constant throughout the year, with the average high being 88oF and the low 73oF, typically coming during the nightfall. This makes passive cooling strategies imperative to the design of every building, and even with all the techniques, there will still be a need for air conditioning. This change of temperature, overlayed on top of precipitation will yield a cor-responding humidity chart that begs to consider air flow during the rainy season.


The founders of the Toronto film festival had retired to Panama City and were inspired to do another film festival in their new home. In July of 2013, they had their second show with great success, giving many Panamanians screenings of a diverse selection of films. Citizens were treated to many awarded winning films as screenwriters, directors, and producers from all over the world got to enjoy Panama City’s attrac-tions. The festival is still young however and does not have a true home yet.

In te rna t iona l F i lm Fes t iva l

Teatro Nacional

site

1


site

Others had the pleasure of watching some of the films on a temporary outdoor theater in a small plaza next to Casco Viejo. (as long as it wasn’t raining!)

2

Cinta Costera 2 Plaza


site

Many citizens settled with going to the Cinepolis the-ater in the Multiplex mall to view the diverse selection of films brought by the film festival.

3

Cinepolis, Multiplex Mall


P l a z a s2

3

1

4

5

Plaza de la Independecia

Plaza Herrera

Casco Viejo District

Plaza Bolivar

Plaza de Francia

Cinta Costera Plaza

3

2 4

5

1

These are some of the best examples of pub-lic spaces in Panama City. Most of the plazas can be found in Casco Viejo. Interesting thing to note is that most of the pictures are not full of people. This is due to the off-limit grassy areas and small monu-ments in every space, with little room to sit or run, it makes each pla-za just a place to walk through, but not a place

one arrives at.


T h e a t e r s

4

5

2

3

1

siteCiudad de las Artes

This map locates where the main theaters of Panama City are. Even though there are five, most citizens really only know of the Teatro Nacion-al which holds 853 people. The others are very small and don’t get much recognition. This limits the attendance of big profile events like IFF.

Teatro en Circolo

Teatro ABA

Teatro al Quadro

Teatro Balboa

Teatro Nacional

1

2

3

4

5


TheaterAuditorium

Storage Backstage Rehearsal Control Room

Gift Shop

DressingRooms

Ticket

DanceAuditorium Dance

Studios Rehearsal Storage Dressing Rooms Offices Lockers Showers

FoyerRestaurant Bar MechanicalSecurity Info Desk

Theater AuditoriumBackstage

StorageRehearsal

Control Rooms Ticket Booth

Dressing Rooms

Dance AuditoriumDance Studios

OfficesStorage

Dressing RoomsLockers

Showers

RestaurantFoyer

BarMechanical

Gift ShopInfo DeskSecurity

11,160ft2

1800ft2

1000ft2

1000ft2

900ft2

150ft2

600ft2

4650ft2

700ft2

300ft2

800ft2

600ft2

200ft2

200ft2

4000ft2

4000ft2

2000ft2

1500ft2

900ft2

300ft2

500ft2

19,010ft2

7,450ft2

10,800ft2Miscellaneous

Dance

Total 37,260ft2

Theater and Music

THEATERDAILY

DANCE

The total occupiable area the ATLAPA lot al-lows is 590,158ft.2. Out of that total, only about 38,000sq. ft is going to be built architecture and the rest is going to be a mixture of paved walkways and landscape. The landscape is vital to the Panamanian identity due to its diverse flora and fauna. By letting the jungle take over part of the lot, it will bring a more authentic feel to the plaza and become part of the framing of space. The overall program is divided into theater, dance, and daily. The the-ater and dance are intended to be places for production as well as showcase. Meanwhile, the daily aspect facilitates the general, on-go-ing programs that would be open for the public even when there are no events happening.

52

P r o g r a m a n d S p a c e

p r o g r a m

TheaterAuditorium

Storage Backstage Rehearsal Control Room

Gift Shop

DressingRooms

Ticket

DanceAuditorium Dance

Studios Rehearsal Storage Dressing Rooms Offices Lockers Showers

FoyerRestaurant Bar MechanicalSecurity Info Desk

Theater AuditoriumBackstage

StorageRehearsal

Control Rooms Ticket Booth

Dressing Rooms

Dance AuditoriumDance Studios

OfficesStorage

Dressing RoomsLockers

Showers

RestaurantFoyer

BarMechanical

Gift ShopInfo DeskSecurity

11,160ft2

1800ft2

1000ft2

1000ft2

900ft2

150ft2

600ft2

4650ft2

700ft2

300ft2

800ft2

600ft2

200ft2

200ft2

4000ft2

4000ft2

2000ft2

1500ft2

900ft2

300ft2

500ft2

19,010ft2

7,450ft2

10,800ft2Miscellaneous

Dance

Total 37,260ft2

Theater and Music

The urban space poses a challenges due to Panama’s tropical climate. With constant rains 9 out of the 12 months, how do you provide a comfortable outdoor space to gather? Awnings and shading are going to be an important component of the project and can be temporary or permanent.

The programs are intended to work together to foster an ap-preciation of the arts to a wid-er audience. Theater shows require spaces for production and spaces for showcase while the audience needs spaces to gather for short breaks and spaces for after-party gather-ings. There is possibility to use the same stages for different functions and is inevitability go-ing to be explored. Mechanical is important to provide thermal comfort, especially in Pana-ma’s relentless climate.

53

P r o g r a m a n d S p a c e

p r o g r a m

Piazza del CampoSiena, Italy

Piazza del Campo is arguably one of the most beautiful urban spaces in the world. It is a grand open space framed by the surrounding urban context, per-fect for events such as the Palio, the famous horse race that is held twice a year.

54 s p a t i a l s t u d i e s

Piazza NavonaRome, Italy

Piazza Navona does not hold sports events anymore, however its shape would clue one to the fact that it used to be a race and track arena in an-cient Rome. Now its a very successful plaza that gathers people with the cen-tral attraction, the Fountain of Four Rivers.

55s p a t i a l s t u d i e s

Part of a enormous redevelopment plan for the upper west side, the Lincoln Center congregates the Philharmon-ic Society and the Metropolitan Op-era House into one complex. The col-lection of theaters create secondary urban spaces be-tween them used for ‘spill-out’ space between shows.

56

Lincoln CenterNew York City, New York

The Panama Per-forming Arts Plaza works most similar-ly to a static type of plaza. The different buildings are con-nected by a long concourse that ca-ters to the tourists from the Sheraton Hotel. The mass and landscape work together to frame spaces between the buildings.

57

Panama Performing Arts PlazaPanama City, Panama

1

1. Sheraton Hotel

5. Fun City Playground

2. Condominium

6. Academia de Musica

3. Iglesia San Fransisco

7. Tecoloco Panama

4. Parillada Jimmy

8. Retail

2

5

6

8

88 8

7

22

2

2

2 2

2 2

2

22

2

34Av

Bel

isar

io P

orra

s

Av 5 B Sur

Corredor Sur

Av 5 B SurAv 5 B Sur

Cal

le 7

7 es

teC

alle

77

este

Cal

le 7

6 es

teC

alle

76

este

Cal

le 7

8 es

te

Vina

del

Mar

Vina del Mar

Vina del Mar

Cal

le 7

9 es

te

Site Plan

58

D r a w i n g s

Pedestrian

Drop-off

Automobile

Shading

59

Theater/Concert Hall

Dance

Storage

Library/Info

Bar/Lounge

Gallery

Gift Shop

Restaurant

N-S Section

Program Layout

60

Ground Plan Second Floor

E-W Section

3

2

1

4

61

1

3

2

462

closed folded

dry seasonShading Device in development

Operable Rainscreen

rainy season

open

63

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C o n c l u s i o n sPublic space is an essential tool for the social well-being of inhabitants. It provides moments for cultural collisions that consequently open people’s minds to different perspectives. It pro-vides breathing room for the pedestrian in an increasingly high-speed society dominated by cars. It provides a moment of equilibrium as everyone steps on the same ground. It invokes a communal spectacle and it can even as a stage for the everyday life. Public space is a tool for union and if used carefully, can be powerful. In a place like Panama City, where not one successful public gathering space exists, one can truly explore the importance and affects of a public space and gain insight on why they are necessary in the urban fabric. What exactly is it that draws people to the Piazza Navona or the Lincoln Center? Why would the absence of built space become the destination?

It is also worth noting what can be done to enhance space, specifically the role of the arts for the human condition. The Arts allow creatives to explore and escape the normal life. They help audiences build their character simply by being exposed to it. It helps people learn some fundamental conditions about their society.

The Arts combined with public space can work in tandem to promote the sharing of ideas and perspectives. The coupling of these two elements provide a point of interest and a place to gather for that common interest. Architecture can be used to promote cultural exchange through the use of form and public pull. Form would be used to entice and frame a space to gather, while the Arts would be used as public pull to join people by common interest or curi-osity. Interaction will sprout naturally from it, helping Panama City be a more unified commu-nity. A true melting pot that it claims to be.

Samos, Adrienne, and Gerardo Mosquera. Ciudadmultiplecity ArtePanama 2003. Amsterdam: KIT, 2004. Print.

Young, Edgar B. Lincoln Center, the Building of an Institution. New York: New York UP, 1980. Print.

Sennett, Richard. The Fall of Public Man: On the Social Psychology of Capitalism. New York: Vintage, 1978. Print.

Sayre, Shay, and Cynthia M. King. Entertainment and Society. London: Routledge, 2009. Print.

Augustin, Byron. Panama. New York: Children’s, 2005. Print.

Shields, Charles J. Panama. Philadelphia: Mason Crest, 2003. Print.

Peters, Bret. “Bret Peters: About Panama.” Personal interview. 27 Sept. 2013.

Davis, Eduardo T. “Is Panama Really Multi-cultural?” Personal interview. 2 Oct. 2013. Images provided by:FlickrGoogleMapBox

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Architecture as Cultural Revitalization

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