Bio
Claudia Azalde is a senior at NYU Gallatin, as well as an artist, designer, and musician. Her concentration at Gallatin is titled Critical Spatial Practice: The intersection of urban design, art, and ecology. She is interested in challenging notions of what urban space should be and look like, on aesthetic, social and ecological terms. Previously, she has worked for several spatial practitioners; including landscape architects, artists, and a public art planning firm. She is also fascinated by exploring alternative material futures, and received a grant from Gallatin to research and fabricate biomaterials.This summer, she will be working with Ecosistema Urbano in Madrid, researching the social dynamics of public space.
Mission Statement
This summer I want to research the social dynamics of public space in Madrid. Ever since arriving here, I have been fascinated by the lively street life, especially that which occurs at night. I want to learn how the social and political elements of society here might lead to different manifestations of street life. I am curious about the experience and perception of different demographics of people in public space. I want to know how the interplay of Spain’s colonial past might function with current immigrant populations. Another important factor of nocturnal public space that interests me is safety. How can urban public spaces be designed in a way that increases safety and comfort of ALL users? How can we make public spaces more safe for women, LGBT+, and other minority communities? Obviously there are deeper social issues involved in this that design cannot address, but I want to see if there is a manner in which design can maximize the safety of users of a space. I know that two important factors in this are lighting and visibility, as well as having sufficient users and activation of the space. Through my research, I want to pinpoint what specific factors seem to make a difference in feelings of safety in a space. I think that I am very eager to try and understand how space makes people feel. I hope that through this research, I can gain a better understanding of this, so I can apply this knowledge to the spaces that I design. Furthermore, I want to find out what makes a space feel equitable, enjoyable, and organic.
Project Summary
This summer I researched the social dynamics of public spaces in Madrid, specifically looking at how design might influence these dynamics and how these spaces are occupied at night. I created a schedule of parks and plazas to visit almost every night. I went to some of these only once, and some of them many times. While there, I took notes about the physical characteristics of the spaces, as well as how many people were there. At the end of the summer, I put all of this information together to come to some conclusions about the public spaces in Madrid.
The work I did for Ecosistema Urbano was related to this project, but not necessarily directly. They are currently in the beginning stages of designing a park in Baranquilla, Colombia, which has both cultural and ecological components. They asked me to research what vegetation could be utilized in different sections of the park, which are being designed to host different activities. I also collected images that I thought would give them ideas for seating, incorporation of vegetation, and the overall layout of the park.
Though this work wasn’t directly related to my project, it did give me a good framework through which to think about my own work. I began thinking about providing climatic comfort in public spaces, designing for specific uses, and using appropriate vegetation in spaces. Many public plazas in Madrid lack shade and vegetation, making them difficult places to hang out on hot summer days. As part of my project, I would like to figure out what changes could be made to make the public spaces of Madrid more inhabitable as climate change continually causes temperatures to increase.
