One of the ''lowest habitat'' levels of cities is the spot under bridges, generally associated with desperation and totally broken.
But little imagination and skilled hands may rebuild the broken things.
Fernando Abellanas designer from Spain has built working studio hanging under a bridge in Valencia.
On one “wall” – the concrete pillar that supports the highway above – a detachable structure of plywood boards and metal tubes serve as a desk, chair and shelves. Using the bridge’s beams as rails, Abellanas’ structure can slide on rollers from one side to the other.
City authorities are yet to react. “I think they haven’t discovered it yet,” Abellanas says. When they do, he assumes they’ll order him to dismantle it – or that someone will break it or steal its materials. “It’s surviving a lot longer than I thought,” he says. “It’s really well hidden.”
This hidden studio under a bridge in Valencia is what known as parasite architecture – buildings that cling, perch or sprout from others. The studio took Abellanas, a furniture designer and plumber, just two weeks to build after he discovered the space.
Parasite architecture is a growing trend, such as residential wooden pots installed on Toronto’s CN tower, to makeshift structures – such as Tadashi Kawamata’s artistic tree houses, which he scatters everywhere from New York parks to the Paris Pompidou centre, or the entire illegal “villa” one man built on top of a Beijing condo over the course of six years.
The new “parasite” phenomenon is partly due to how difficult it has become for many architects to realize their designs for public buildings.
Abellanas sees his project as part of a series looking at Valencia’s disused spaces, and despite the obvious opportunity for social commentary, he says he’s not trying to make a statement about the lack of affordable space in the city.
Rents in Spain have grown by 20.9% in the last year, but Abellanas’ ingenuity – and his willingness to work under a busy bridge – he has his own workspace and home.
Abellanas says he’s not trying to make a statement about the lack of affordable space in the city or he wasn’t looking for “a feeling of total silence or peace, but rather that sensation you get as a kid of being able to sit and peek at what’s happening around you without being seen – be it in a cabin or a cardboard box in your own house”.
Source: Parasite architecture: inside the self-built studio hanging under a bridge in Valencia- Marta Bausells
But little imagination and skilled hands may rebuild the broken things.
Fernando Abellanas designer from Spain has built working studio hanging under a bridge in Valencia.
On one “wall” – the concrete pillar that supports the highway above – a detachable structure of plywood boards and metal tubes serve as a desk, chair and shelves. Using the bridge’s beams as rails, Abellanas’ structure can slide on rollers from one side to the other.
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| Far from the crowds of Valencia, Fernando Abellanas is enjoying the solitude of his studio. |
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| ''Keep staying low if you want to move farther''. Well hidden studio of Abellanas. |
This hidden studio under a bridge in Valencia is what known as parasite architecture – buildings that cling, perch or sprout from others. The studio took Abellanas, a furniture designer and plumber, just two weeks to build after he discovered the space.
Parasite architecture is a growing trend, such as residential wooden pots installed on Toronto’s CN tower, to makeshift structures – such as Tadashi Kawamata’s artistic tree houses, which he scatters everywhere from New York parks to the Paris Pompidou centre, or the entire illegal “villa” one man built on top of a Beijing condo over the course of six years.
The new “parasite” phenomenon is partly due to how difficult it has become for many architects to realize their designs for public buildings.
Abellanas sees his project as part of a series looking at Valencia’s disused spaces, and despite the obvious opportunity for social commentary, he says he’s not trying to make a statement about the lack of affordable space in the city.
Rents in Spain have grown by 20.9% in the last year, but Abellanas’ ingenuity – and his willingness to work under a busy bridge – he has his own workspace and home.
Abellanas says he’s not trying to make a statement about the lack of affordable space in the city or he wasn’t looking for “a feeling of total silence or peace, but rather that sensation you get as a kid of being able to sit and peek at what’s happening around you without being seen – be it in a cabin or a cardboard box in your own house”.
Source: Parasite architecture: inside the self-built studio hanging under a bridge in Valencia- Marta Bausells
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