A metro is a great investment in the infrastructure of the city, but it is just one part of many. Walking needs to be an option in order for the metro to be successful. I need to be able to walk from my house to a metro station, and a metro station to my destination. If not, then I need a car, and there will be no relief of traffic congestion. Investment is needed to make the streets livable!

courtesy of http://www.examiner.com/panama-travel-in-houston/omar-best

This is a type of project that makes me feel really guilty about being an architect. A great architecture firm; Elemental of Chile, who is responsible for some amazing work, has decided to drop a big stinky turd on Panama. Their design for Resort Playa Onda (which I doubt will ever be built) is completely out of place in this environment.

The beauty of the Islas de las Perlas in Panama is completely ignored in this design. I just don’t see why a man made concrete 3-storey waterfall is needed here. Or why one massive bar building must completely block off access to the water for anyone but the residents and visitors to the “uber chic apartments”.

This design out of context would be pretty hot. I love the facade, and I really love the work of Elemental in general, so I trust that this would be architecturally a beautiful building. But when building in Panama, in a location like this, there is so much beauty around that we architects should not need to go through such great efforts to create beauty. We should create buildings which are designed to appreciate the beauty which already exists.

I hope that if this building ever gets built, Elemental will go visit the Pearl Islands first, appreciate the location, and revisit their design.
Here is a great website, documenting my favorite Elemental project,

Panatropolis is a new planned development near Panama’s Tocumen International Airport.  I just recently heard news of this development, so I do need some time to digest it before I post any analysis, but here is the video proposal as well as a few images from the Panatropolis website.

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Airport cities seek to build off of the airport, and create places away from the urban core. Typical airport cities house residential areas, convention centers, hotels, and industry. For more information on airport cities, please read this.

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My initial reaction is hopeful. This type of planned development which creates density, and provides necessary amenities and institutions for the residents, is a good example of urban planning and walkable community creation. I would like to read more into the plan because I am skeptical about the connection to the existing Tocumen neighborhood. I fear that Panatropolis will be a gated city, with no connection to Tocumen, and no benefit to existing residents. Stay tuned for a follow-up which will be posted once I do some research.

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Giro Urbano is a team of architects and designers, composed of José Isturaín, Alfredo  Martiz, and Héctor Saavedra. I first became aware of Giro Urbano through their Pecha Kucha Panama 3 presentation, which can be seen here.

Giro Urbano’s projects focus on solving the urban problems which Panama City is facing. Their designs seek to inform the public of possible solutions to common problems.  This type of thinking is refreshing in a profession where the public is often ignored in favor of clients with deep pockets.  A few of their projects are highlighted below, but please visit their website for more information. While visiting their site, please take time to sign the “Ley de Concursos de Arquitectura”, which seeks to increase architectural competition for public work in Panama, rather than giving authority to the government to hand out commissions to whoever they choose.

Giro Urbano’s creation of true public spaces, with an emphasis on the pedestrian, shows that Panama City has a bright future. Giro Urbano is just one example of young designers and students fighting for a more sustainable and humanistic city.

Jardines y Huertos Urbanos

Senderos Urbanos

“The project of “Senderos Urbanos” aims at the revitalization of urban passages common in housing neighborhoods of the city. The current state of most of these paths is that of abandonment, degradation, lack of accessibility and lack of security. This proposal aims at turning these urban passages into linear parks mixing accessibility with urban art, greenery, lightning and resting spaces for people.”

Cine en tu Barrio

“Panamanian “architects” have developed a building typology in which the parking space requirements have been solved by containing them in a “box” or “shoe box” of multiple stories resulting from the common practice of maximum occupation of the plot. As a result of this, it is usual to find massive walls built over the property limits, visible until another building is constructed in the adjacent plots.

“Cine en tu Barrio” is a proposal for using the urban voids adjoining buildings in the city, by temporarily occupying them to foster the social and cultural interaction of individuals or communities, with the creation of pavilions, the reinterpretation of urban art and the projection of audio-visual content in the walls.”

Revitalization of Via España

I really love this proposal for the revitalization of Via España because it addresses a major issue which seems to be ignored in Panama. Even though the design is not in depth, it points out the problem and opens up public debate to possible solutions to the disorganized and chaotic beast which is Via España. I have recently become temporarily disabled because of a futbol injury, and I can’t imagine navigating myself through Via España, as it currently stands, a mess of automobile dominated spaces. The creation of public space, with a true organized circulation plan, will hopefully create a rejuvenated Via España which acts as the center of modern Panama City.

“Vía España is an important avenue located in a commercial area of Panama City. Through the years this avenue has changed because of the increasing vehicular traffic in the city, forcing the decision of the authorities to change it from a bidirectional traffic to an unidirectional traffic avenue since the 90’s.

Despite its importance in the city it has a series of direct and indirect problems affecting its daily users, such as environmental pollution, visual pollution, lack of public spaces, lack of parking spaces, lack of accessibility, among other problems.”

“The new project for the Metro of Panama City will pass under Vía España and will have two stations along that avenue, presenting us with the opportunity to renew its urban space.

This proposal aims at the revitalization of Vía España from the intersection with Vía Brasil until the intersection where Iglesia del Carmen is located.

By considering a spatial reorganization and incorporation of new public spaces, the surface is liberated from the invasive presence of cars and the existing parking spaces are relocated to new parking buildings or underground parkings around the sector.

This liberated space will allow the generation of new plazas connected with a better and accessible pedestrian network that will change the character of Vía España to a lineal urban and commercial park.”

]]> http://www.panamarq.com/2010/11/giro-urbano/feed/ 1 http://www.panamarq.com/2010/09/bnp-tower-the-panama-city-waterfront-initiative/ http://www.panamarq.com/2010/09/bnp-tower-the-panama-city-waterfront-initiative/#comments Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:20:37 +0000 Daniel http://www.panamarq.com/?p=196

The news that the Panamanian government is investing in a new financial tower designed by world famous Skidmore, Owings and Merrill in downtown Panama City has created much controversy; which is why I love being an architect, because I can just talk about the building and forget about all of the politics! First, the Financial Tower is just one project in a larger group known as the Panama City Waterfront Initiative, which is described in the proposal as-

…a group of projects designed in concert to build value along the coastline of Panama City, strengthening the position of the city as a worldwide business and tourism destination.

The expansion of the Cinta Costera between the Old City and the Amador District will establish continuous public access to the waterfront, organizing a string of important civic, business and tourism sites along the coastline, culminating with the Museo de la Biodiversidad on the causeway. The development of these public amenities and catalyst projects will add value and vitality to the government controlled lands of the Amador district.

The tower itself will be one of the largest in Panama, at 69-storeys, and in my opinion, one of the most architecturally appealing in the Panama skyline. The unique design of the tower will allow for a very efficient open floor plate, with post-tensioned floor plates and a cable perimeter wall.

The facade is designed to be energy efficient and reduce energy consumption (though there are no details yet on how). The open floor plate will allow for natural day-lighting which reduces the need for artificial lighting while providing a better working environment. I can imagine the amazing views as well!!

The tower will also be connected to parking garage via a pedestrian bridge.  The parking structure will also house a new Government Conference Center which will provide meeting spaces and public presentation venues. In addition to the parking garage, there will be a below grade parking garage located in the adjacent property which will feature a new public park.

New public amenities will include the new park, as well as an observation level and restaurant at the top of the tower.  The innovative design allows for the top of the tower to be unobstructed by mechanical rooms, creating what will be one of the most amazing spaces in Panama City and the world. Surely, a view of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans from this vantage point will be on all tourist itineraries.

There is not much information regarding the convention center or what plans are in the works for the waterfront.  It appears from this image that a massive redevelopment of Casco Viejo and Amador will be coming.  Adjacent to the new Convention Center, there are new, medium density structures.  I will keep you posted if I come across more information, but for now I am very happy with the design quality of this proposal which is in the early stages. SOM is one of the largest architectural firms in the world and responsible for some of the tallest.

There are many people angry with the design of this tower because according to them, it resembles a penis. In my opinion, a penis is part of human anatomy, and in designing more humanistic spaces, designers often mimic what is found in nature. So why is it bad if a building looks like a penis?  Would you rather it look like this…….

]]> http://www.panamarq.com/2010/09/bnp-tower-the-panama-city-waterfront-initiative/feed/ 5 http://www.panamarq.com/2010/08/a-canal-design-competition/ http://www.panamarq.com/2010/08/a-canal-design-competition/#comments Thu, 26 Aug 2010 02:38:37 +0000 Daniel http://www.panamarq.com/?p=189

I noticed this competition link and thought that I would share it with all of you. It seems like a fun ideas based challenge. Basically any idea you have for the Panama Canal is legit, you just need to photoshop it onto this image. Here is the official brief from the organizers.

As a celebration of our school´s 10th anniversary and in commemoration of the 200 years of the independence movement  in most Latin American countries, ISTHMUS (Escuela de Arquitectura y Diseño de América Latina y el Caribe),  is sponsoring a competition to submit, through creative far-fetched proposals, new images for the Panama Canal.
This construction is one of the modern wonders of the world and one of the most important symbols of our continent. The crossing between the oceans is an exceptional and unforgettable experience.
How can it be enhanced? What can be done to make it even more memorable?
The competition is open to all and has no inscription fees. Up to three proposals of the intervened image of one of the Canal Locks (Miraflores) can be submitted. The image should be accompanied by a short explanatory text. There are no cash prizes, but an effort is being done to include all the submissions in a final publication, and to obtain funding for awards which will be announced as available.
Deadline is October 1st, 2010.
More information: http://disenoentremares.wordpress.com

I can’t wait to see the results! Thanks to Alvaro Hernandez for sending along the info. Here are some of my favorite submissions so far.

Check back after the submission date, I will be posting the winning designs here.

I noticed this initiative by The National Complete Streets Coalition (via Wired Magazine) which seeks to create guidelines for more livable urban streets. The definition of “livable” in this case is that the streets are accommodating to all modes of transportation; autos, pedestrians, bicycles, and public transportation.
This is something which I believe should be adopted by Panama in order to fix the increasing problems of traffic, pollution, and an unlivable urban environment.

The beauty of this plan is that there are no huge infrastructure costs. It makes use of the existing roadways and simply reorganizes the lanes of travel to safely accommodate all modes of transportation. The studies in other reports show that the reduction of travel lanes for automobiles does not increase congestion. Rather, by optimizing the design of the roadways and providing alternate modes of travel, traffic congestion actually decreases. In addition to creating a larger scale rapid transit metro line running the length of the region, smaller scale street cars and bus rapid transit could be added to the existing street network using this livable streets framework. In many cases the streets of Panama City are much larger than they really need to be.

Under-utilized space on Panama's streets

If the center lane of main avenues were converted into street car or bus lanes, a much more efficient and less congested transportation network would be created. Residents would have options in their daily transportation needs rather than being forced to rely on the automobile or the “red devils” which share the congested roadways with regular traffic.

No pedestrian zone between cars and buildings

Another interesting feature of this plan is that pedestrian uses are placed so that they front the street. Currently the pedestrian areas are setback and the buildings are separated from the roadways by parking lots. This creates an environment that is not walkable or friendly to the pedestrian because they are in constant fear of a maniac driver. By providing a well defined pedestrian only zone, a sidewalk, and pulling the buildings closer to the roadway, the drivers will become more aware that they are sharing the road, and the area will become more friendly to pedestrians and bicyclists. This has the possibility of increasing business in the area because people are more likely to browse the stores if they feel safe walking. Watch this video to see this theory put to use in Peru.

Cinta Costera is the most recent transportation and land reclamation project in Panama City. The goal of the project was to  expand the existing roadway and improve traffc organization while creating new recreational areas by reclaiming land from the bay. As anyone who has traveled to Panama will tell you, traffic is an immediate crisis.  Gridlock paralyzes the city for hours everyday as well as providing constant deafening noise and danger to anyone who dares walk in the city.

The proposed plan for Cinta Costera was not very revolutionary.  Provide more lanes for travel, add more land to create much needed open space and then wait for the reward of increased propoerty values along the bay which is already going through a major transformation with the cnstruction of numerous luxury residential towers and hotels.

The problem with Cinta Costera is that the plan is still automobile centric. A pedestrian environment has not been created.  Cinta Costera is populated by parking lots, and at some points 8 lanes of traffic.  Along the Cinta Costera are intermittent bridges which provide a crossing point for pedestrians.  Though there are too few bridges to create a sense of connection between the city and the bay.

Panama is in desperate need of a metro system.  I wish that the planners had taken the opportunity of Cinta Costera to provide a street car system along the waterfront.  This would have created a vibrant waterfront for residents and tourists to enjoy and would have provided a startng point for a real metro system for Panama City to build on. It is a myth that by creating new roadways and increasing capacity for automobile traffic, congestion will be eliminated.  More capacity simply means that more people will drive.  Alternatives to the car must be provided for Panama City and Cinta Costera would have been a great oppurtunity to start fresh.  As it is now, Cinta Costera is no more than a glorified median strip, similar to Boston’s Kennedy Greenway.

As with the Boston Greenway, I look forward to seeing the development of the Cinta Costera.  There is no doubt that what was built is better than what existed before, but that is not acceptable.  A dramatic shift must occur to provide alternatives to the automobile, not simply make it easier to drive in the city.

]]> http://www.panamarq.com/2009/10/cinta-costera-and-car-centric-design/feed/ 1 http://www.panamarq.com/2009/06/emerald-monkey/ http://www.panamarq.com/2009/06/emerald-monkey/#comments Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:47:44 +0000 panamArq http://panamarq.wordpress.com/?p=96

This left me scratching my head for a moment…. in fact as I am writing this I am still very confused.

First. Emerald Monkey Eco-luxe Resort and Residences, claims to be the first 5-star zero-carbon resort in the world…..ummmm sure.  It is very hard to believe this.  Maybe there aren’t any existing 5-star zero-carbon resorts, but I highly doubt the claim that the Emerald Monkey will in fact be zero-carbon.  I will list reasons later.

Second. Emerald Monkey is designing a resort inspired by Bali in PANAMA!  Why?  What connections do Bali and Panama have?  The developers even came up with this really weird story about a Balinese emerald sculptor , Captain Morgan chasing a bishop, and a hidden Buddhist temple in Bocas del Toro.  What is wrong with Panama?  Why not be inspired by the culture of the natives of Bocas del Toro?  I can remember my first trip to Bocas and every island was a different, beautiful culture, the indigenous on Cristobal who first greeted Christopher Colombus, as well as the afro-carribean culture of Bastimento.  For some odd reason the developers thought that tourists would be attracted to a pseudo-Bali resort rather than embracing the culture of Panama.  bad choice!

Read on for more commentary on this criminal resort…..

Greenwash to the nth degree

Emerald Monkey makes the claim that they are “a leader in environmental responsibility”, and here is why they claim it….

• Sustainable building materials by Balinese craftsmen
• energy supplied from the country’s largest hydro-electric power plants
• biomass septic systems
• potable water gravity fed from fresh natural springs in the Panamanian mountains
• solar powered golf carts for on island transportation
• lightly filtered saltwater community pools (not individual villa pools)

YEAH! Thats it!!  are you confused as well?

• How much carbon is used in shipping Balinese craftsmen to work in Bocas?  Also this is unsustainable from a community aspect because income is being taken away from local craftsmen
• According to the marketing staff at Emerald Monkey, the majority of Panama is energy neutral because they are powered by a hydro-electric dam.  Since when were dams good for the natural environment?
• Biomass septic system is good
• Potable water gravity fed from fresh natural springs in the Panamanian Mountains….and then put onto a gas guzzling boat and shipped over to Isla Pastor.  Why not collect the abundant rain waters on site?
• Solar Powered golf carts…on paved roads.  And the transportation to the island? Is that by sail boat?  Where is the carbon off-set for that?  Why golf-carts which will kill the little critters running around and create constant annoying whirring sounds from the motors?  Why not bikes??? What happens to the golf carts at night???
• saltwater community pools….. heavily chlorinated freshwater private pools for individual villas.

That my friends is the definition of Greenwash! “Emerald Monkey, a carbon neautral resort because we get our power from a dam and our golf carts are solar powered!” I thought that carbon neutral had stricter requirements than this.

Balinese Architecture in Panama

Bali is cool, that is understood.  Is it that cool that it must be transported to Panama?  The developers seem to go through so much effort in replicating Bali..why not build the resort IN Bali? 

Panama is never mentioned in the first page of the Emerald Monkey resort website, it is simply “the ecological and spiritual sister” of Bali.

There is nothing Eco about these designs.  They are more Balinese suburban that Balinese Eco.  Below is an example of an eco resort in Bali and a traditional structure in Bocas.  They resemble each other more than Emerald Monkey resembles either.

Bali

Bocas

The Emerald Monkey doesn’t need to be a stick built hut either.  It can still be luxurious, modern, and Panamanian!  It doesn’t need to import culture to be original.  The culture of Panama is beautiful!  Why is Emerald Monkey ignoring it and creating a fake atmosphere?  Below are some final examples of what I believe to be quality tropical, eco design.  Please send me some more that you know of and love!

Panama Pacifico is a new mega-development at the former Howard Air Force Base, across the canal from Panama City.  This is actually more of a new city than a new development.  It lists itself as 1,400 hectares of land (650 of which is reserved for open space and parklands) and will create 1 million square meters of commercial space, 20,000 residences, 40,000 new jobs, hotels, retail centers, places of worship, schools, parks, recreation areas and of course….a championship golf course.

My first reaction when seeing the news of Panama Pacifico was complete awe at the scale and scope of work.  This project makes perfect sense though.  Located at the mouth of the canal, it is connected already to existing infrastructure, is only 15 minutes from downtown, but far far away from the hectic atmosphere of Panama City.  There is so much clear land already because of the air base, in fact the developers will actually be planting more trees.  I am really impressed with the ambitions of Panama-Pacifico.  I do not totally agree with some of the non-architectural related ideas of the development, such as private security, and creating a special economic area where country wide worker standards don’t apply…..but lets stick to the architecture and urban design.  Read more on the next page…………..

The Great

Town Center

I really love this idea, a mix of business and housing with the required facilities to support them (the live, work, play neighborhood).  The Town Center will be a high density mix of housing, retail, office space, hotels, and residential neighborhoods.  This is the compact town design of the  future.  All necessities for living are within walking distance eliminating the dependency on the automobile.  It is unclear to me if there is any light rail for transportation within this neighborhood….I hope there is, but all that is mentioned is that there will be bus lines within the town center.

There are a number of different scales throughout the town center.  Housing sizes range from apartments within a large mixed-use building, to townhomes and single family detached homes.  There are several types of parks, the large Central Park where I can immagine all of the festivities taking place.  Finger parks and Plazas are dispersed throughout the town center for a more intimate open space.  These smaller parks are great for the tropical environment because they provide the proper shading to make both the park and the adjacent buildings more comfortable.  Also, there is a greenway running through the town center, providing safe bicycle and walking routes.

The Developer has commited to eco-friendly design in both the master plan and building designs.  Although Panama City has a very high density, there are very few public parks or open spaces to provide relief from the heat and the traffic.  The town center of Panama Pacifico is maintaining a high density while adding safe public spaces at ground level.  The ground level will not be ruled by the automobile as in Panama City and pedestrians will have places to relax and enjoy the city.

Mixed Use Buildings

Mixing housing, office spaces, and retail is vital to creating a livable city.  Also, creating a mix of housing types is vital to attracting residents from various demographics.  The mixed use buildings in the center will have shops, restaurants, and small business on the ground floor, creating a friendly environment for the pedestrian, while the top floors are occupied by apartments and condominiums.  This also creates a vibrant neighborhood at all times of the day and night.  The streets will always be occupied by residents, workers, or shoppers.

The Bad

I understand that cities require manufacturing and business centers in order to maintin a sustainable economy.  I am not going to complain about that.  But I am going to complain about the design of the office and manufacturing buildings!!

It seems that the architects forgot that they were designing buildings for a tropical climate.  Does this image look as if it belongs in Panama, New Jersey, or Berlin???  The developers claim a green design by putting “double pane” windows in these buildings, thus reducing the loss air conditioned environment.  Yet the tropical climates already have solutions to reduce the inside temperature of buildings.  Bris Soleils (sun louvers) could protect the facade from heating by the sun, windows could be operable, vegetation could provide shade. ….  No the developer chose to use a standard north american design without an regard for the climate and environment.  I believe that their claim of an eco-friendly design is green wash in this case.

The Ugly

Again, I could complain about the inclusion of single family homes in this development because they require more land than necessary.  But I will take that as a trade off for the great town center.  I believe that there must be a mix in housing typologies in order to provide housing options for all classes.

I do find the designs of the single family homes to be hideous!  Why are we still immitating Mediterranean designs in Panama?  These homes could be in Italy, Spain, Southern California, Florida, Mexico, Bermuda….etc.   Please show some originality architects!  Look at the homes of the past American military bases in Panama.  I think that these are unique and adapt to the environment well.  They are raised on pilotis to encourage air flow beneath the structure and they have large overhangs to provide shading and protection from the rains.  It is unfortunate that modern houses in Panama must reach to the distant past for inspiration, totally ignoring the more modern (yet still historical) designs of the Canal Zone housing and architecture of the existing Howard Air Base.  Although I still hope for more modern designs, I believe that the architecture of the Canal Zone and Howard Air Base are in fact more Panamanian than these colonial replicas.

Oh well….I am very happy overall with Panama Pacifico, I can not wait to see some built results!