martes, 27 de abril de 2010

An aspiration for a greener Havana

Concepts and Strategies for the Master Plan for Havana

Concepts and Strategies for the Master Plan for Havana

Waterfront Revitalization

Reinforcement of Polycentric Structure

New Public Transport System

A new image that shows the city’s regeneration and vitality

Infrastructure Upgrading according to modern technology

New Urban Image showing the city’s regeneration and vitality

Increase of Public Space that allows for a greater human exchange

Mixed -Use as for continuing the city’s tradition

Social and Cultural integration

Increase of green areas as an environmental must

domingo, 25 de abril de 2010

(1) A Master Plan for XXI Century Havana is a comprehensive urban project conceived and developed by Professor Architect Julio César Pérez Hernández and his team. It is not an official plan but an individual reflection on the city, its history and its urban evolution and at the same time a proposal for preserving its urban and architectural legacy while creating new economic and urban values for the future.
(2) Julio César Pérez started to think about it and work on it during his year as a Loeb Fellow at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design and continued to develop it upon his return to Cuba in 2002 with the subsequent collaboration of several former students of his at the University of Havana who asked to join the project and participate in its development.
(3) For the first time in history the Master Plan for Havana provides a vision for a comprehensive plan and spans from urban planning to urban design. This is demonstrated along the introduction of the present document- as the city’s growth was always based on partial projects- and with the proposal.
(4) This project also takes into account former projects along history and learns from its virtues and failures thus it summarizes not only our own ideas but other professionals’ ideas as well.
(5) This project was not commissioned by anyone, it is a work of love, a professional and human endeavor for the salvation of the city and it has been done for free.
(6) The urban plan expresses the team’s vision for the future - neither the state’s nor the official planning agencies’ - and is not compromised by any foreign institution.
Author: Julio César Pérez Hernández
Ave. 37 No. 6611 San Antonio de los Baños 32500, La Habana, Cuba
e-mail: jcaesar_2002@yahoo.co.uk
website: www.cigarclub.lu/perez
Ownership status:
This document is copyright of the author Julio César Pérez Hernández and may be used only with permission of the author for the following purposes:
By the Council for European Urbanism – Cuba Chapter (CEU – Cuba), under the supervision of Julio César Pérez Hernández (founding Chairman), and by the Council for European Urbanism (CEU), under the supervision of Audun Engh, for specific purposes that should be discussed and agreed between the author and the CEU.

sábado, 24 de abril de 2010

Why a Master Plan for Havana?


Havana, a Caribbean Metropolis with a European influence, was spared the damage of the global urban renewal and overdevelopment of the second half of the 20th century. Even today, it keeps intact its traditional urban fabric. Its unique and appealing spirit stems not only from the well-known quality of its music and rhythms, its vibrant street life and its friendly ambience, but also from its built environment. However, the city’s harmonious juxtaposition of different architectural styles, displayed by an impressive collection of buildings authored by world famous local and international architects, is currently threatened by overdevelopment, sprawl and neglect. A comprehensive Master Plan aimed at preserving the city’s spirit and its historic, urban and architectural legacy has been devised. It is intended to encourage Havana’s future urban and economic development, while respecting its spirit and remaining true to its history, its people’s idiosyncrasies and its landscapes. The plan acknowledges Havana’s readiness for a sensitive change and renovation according to sustainable principles that reconcile human needs with ecological imperatives. It envisions Havana’s survival as an urban place with a strong cultural identity. For the first time, it supplies a comprehensive and long term vision that guarantees total connectivity and a seamless urban layout. The plan deals with the oldest areas by creating buffer zones that grant urban continuity, as well as social and cultural integration.