prologue by ven

"What pressures specific to the twentieth century does the

combination of program impose on architectural form? Concentration
of many social activities within an architectural form distend and
warp a pure building type. Certain previously neglected forms of
associations have been wrenched together in the modern city so
as to generate buildings which might stand as an anti-typology,
if examined under current theoretical preoccupations. Building
functions are mixed, disparate uses combined ; structures collected
here are 'Hybrid Buildings' with respect to use. Although there are
examples of combined function buildings throughout history (the
house over the shop is prevalent in many ages and cultures), Hybrid
Buildings developed most rapidly in the twentieth century. The
modern city has acted as fertilizer for the growth of architectures
from the homogeneous to the heterogeneous in regard to use.
*Steven Holl and
Joseph Fenton, Urban densities and evolving building techniques have affected
Hybrid Buildings,
Pamphlet the mixing of functions, piling one atop another, defying critics
Architecture 1 1,
1984 who contend that a building should 'look like what it is."' *

In the 21 '' century, what is the potential of Hybrid Buildings? Certainly

the hyper-urbanization of cities in China, such as Shenzhen, Beijing
and Chengdu, can act as catalyst incubators for new and experimental
architectural types. These urban circumstances provoke unorthodox
combinations and particular ideas related to specific places. In the first
decades of the 21 " century, China is experiencing the most radical
migration from rural to urban sites in human history. Six hundred
million people are in the process of moving into urban places. Instead
of developers building huge, bland apartment buildings without
service programs or public space, new building types are needed.

ThisisHybrid 7
I , k y In n Ion for I r hy rl uil In · with th ,,lm
p d strl n ori nt d urb n p i c s. E eh n w public p c
formed by hybrid buildings co ntain s living, working , recreation
and cultural facilities . These new pedestrian sectors eliminate
the need for automobile transfer across the city. They become
localized 'social condensers' for new communities.

Sections of Hybrid buildings take precedent over the planimetric.

As urbanists and architects of metropolitan densities we must
think first of building sections for the qualities of sunlight and the
dynamics of diagonal sectional movement. The old conditions of linear
perspective (from planimetric projections) disappear behind us as
modern urban life presents multiple horizons and multiple vanishing
points. The further affirmation of the diagonal and the vertical in new
spatial experience is the challenge of 21 ' 1 century metropolitan density.
Hybrid Buildings may be super green architecture utilizing geothermal
and solar energy water recycling and micro climate vegetation .

Freedom of invention is a particular potential of hybrid buildings.

Unprecedented ideas may drive the design of new building
types. In certain ways, these new buildings might illuminate
the unique character of the site and city they arise in.
In summary, Hybrid Buildings today have the following potentials:
1. 21 ' 1 century cities as incubators
2. Public space formation
3. Programmatic juxtapositions

4. Living/working/recreating and cultural social condensers

s. Dynamics of section
6. Super green architecture

7. Freedom of new concepts

All these aspects characterize the positive path of Hybrid types

in the creation of inspiring and active new urban spaces .

SH, January 4, 2011

ThistSHybrid 9
ThisB8Hybrid
JAVIER MOZAS
La construc ci6n, en 1915, de los
cuarenta pisos de l Equitabl e
Bu i lding en Nueva Yor k supu so un
Equitable Building e scandalo pUblico, porque i mpedia
el s oleamiento natural de Cedar
street , una calle que, a partir
de ese momento .. s e oscureci 6
para siempre . Arias antes, lo
normal era construir tan alto
c ome fue r a posible, s in t e ner
e n consideraci6n a l os vecinos .
La ley era l a del mas fu erte y
l os edif i ci os c recia n unos sabr e
otros. la situaci 6n se estaba
convirtiendo en insostenible,
l leg6 un memento en que las
c ondic iones de iluminaci6n fue r on
empeorando y las vias urbanas
acabaron siendo sur cos profundos
y tene brosos adonde no lle gaba
e l sol.
The construction of the 48-
storey Equitable Building in -
York in 1915 caused a public
scandal as it blocked sunlight
reaching Cedar Street, a street
that fi'OII that _ ,nt would
be forever dark. 5olle years
earlier, it was typi cal to build
as high as possible, without
consi dering the surrounding
buildings.
It was the survival of the
fittest and building grew over
each other. The situation was
bec011ing unsustainable and
ttle ....nt ca.ne when lighting
conditions worsened and urban
streets bee- deep, dark
trenches that never saw the sun.
12 ThisisHybrid
El hfbrido metropolitano
La historia de Ios hibridos comienza a fina les del siglo XIX, cuando la ciudad densa ·ad mite
como inevitable la superposici6n de funciones. Es en e l interior de la metr6poli donde nacen
estos organ ismos mixtos, ayudados fu ndam enta lmente por el poder cat alizador de la centra-
lidad. Su origen esta en el incremento desprop orcionado del valor del suelo yen la rig idez de
la trama urbana. Se pueden seleccionar ejemp los anteriores provenientes de la arq uitectura
clasica, ode situaciones t rad icionales ligad as con infraest ructuras, pe ro sera en la pragmatica
metr6poli norteamericana donde e l edificio hibrido, devorando Ios t ipos t radicionales, va a
cont ener en su interior tantas f unciones como sean rentables. El edificio hib rido g usta, por
tant o, de entornos densos y fecundos, favorables a la natural aparici6n de inesperadas acti-
vidades.
En 1916, se aprob6 la Ordenanza de Zonificaci6n de N ueva Yo rk, que regulaba Ios usos, la
altura y e l volum ~n de Ios nuevos edificios. En e lla se est ableci6 la incl inaci6 n aprop iada del
rayo de luz solar hasta e l eje de la calle. Est a linea coincid ia con la oblicua de m ini mo retran-
q ueo al que quedaban obligados Ios rascacielos neoyorquinos. Desde entonces, el volumen
edificado se tenia que retrasar esca lonadamente a med ida que ascendia, lo que p lante6 nue-
vos ret os compositivos a Ios arqu itectos de aquella epoca, educados t odavia en Ios esquemas
de la Ecole des Beaux A rts. La crisis de esti lo tuvo que ser notable, porq ue se cambiaron Ios
va lores esteticos de Ios ismos porI as imposicio nes p ragmaticas de la estructura y la econom ia
de la obra. El arquit ecto se vio obligado a realizar una interpretaci6n literal de las nuevas
ordenanzas para traslad arlas al edificio y o lvidarse de las tradiciones d el pasado. Los m etros
cuadrados bien iluminados pasaro n a tener mas valo r q ue una cornisa de est ilo Renacim iento
frances cu id adosamente d ibujada.
The metropolitan hybrid
The history of hybrids begins at the end of the 19'h century, w hen the dense cit y st arted t o
accept the overlapping of functions as inevitable. lt is inside t he metropo lises where t hese
mixed organisms arise, helped mainly by centrality's power as a catalyst . lt orig inates with
the disproportio nate increase of the price of land and t he rigidity of the urban weft, both of
these being the limitations that t he plot imposes. Previous examples can be found , exam-
p les based on classical architecture or traditional situations linked to inf rastructures, but it is
in the pragmatic North American met ropolis where the hybrid b uilding housed any function
that could be profitable, devouring tradit ional types. The hybrid building t hus enjoys dense
and fruitful atmospheres, which favour the natural appearance of unexpected activit ies.
In 1916, the New York Zoning Resolution was approved. lt regulated uses, height and vo l-
ume of the new buildings. In it , the appropriat e inclination of the sun's rays to t he cent re
of the street was established. This line coincided with the oblique of the minimum setback
required of New York skyscrapers. From that moment, t he built vo lum e had t o be set back
from the street at a dist ance relative to its height , which creat ed new challenges f or ar-
chitects of the period, those educat ed in the ideas of t he Ecole des Beaux Arts. This style
crisis was remarkab le, as the aesthet ic values of current tendencies were changed by t he
pragmatic requirements of building structure and economy. The architect was required t o
create a literal interpretation of t he new Resolut ions to apply t hem t o the building and f or-
get traditions of the past. Well-lit space b ecame more valuable t han an intricately designed
French renaissance cornice.
Thisis Hybrid 13
 Con el Equitab le y e l Downtown, se pone de manifiesto e l caracter plenamente urbana del
edificio hibrido vertical compacta, pues surge de la ciudad densa y evoluciona con e lla.
Si n embargo, Ios ini cios de la mezcla de fu nciones no fueron sencil los. Tenia que bat al lar
Downtown Athletic Club
contra Ios segregacio nistas pri mero y contra Ios defensores del tipo d espues. Los primeros
El Downtown At hletic Club 1 1930,
trataban de desmembra r Ios usos en partes separadas impulsados por principios higienistas de Starret y Van Vlec k 1 coetaneo
del Rockefeller (enter, va
-se comprob6 m as ta rde que esta actitud produciria la muerte del org anismo por inanici6n- . disminuyendo su plant a a medid a
Los segundos, defensores del ti po a ultranza, se empenaban en mantener formas asociadas que asciende 1 en una adaptaci6n
16gic a a l programa que contiene .
a funciones con la malvada intenci6n de que la tipo logia t rascend iera a epocas y e stilos como Los r etranqueos de sus fachadas
r e sponden estrictamente a l a The Downtown Athletic Club,
una persistencia descarnada, pero constante. Ordenanza de Zonif i caci6n de 1930, by Starret and Van
1916, aunque a grupa par usos , en Vleck, a contemporary of the
vol Umenes di feren ciados , todas Rockefelle r Center, reduces
With the Equitable and the Downtown Athletic the urban character of the vertical com- las funciones internas . El alto its floor plan as it goes up,
valor del terreno empuj6 las in a logical adaptation to the
pact hybrid building becomes clear, as it arises from the dense city and evolves with it. Ultimas plantas de este edific i o progr amme it contains . The
hasta e l ni vel 35 . Ori ginalmente setbacks of its fa~ades stri ctly
Nevertheless, starting to mix functions was not easy. First, there was a battle against the contaba con un acceso pUblico a respond to the 1916 Zoning
segregationists and later against type defenders. The segregationists tried to split up uses pie de calle, con el vestibula y Resolution, although it groups
las oficinas del club. internal functions by use in
in separate parts, driven by hygienist principles. Later it was demonstrated that this atti- En la t e rce ra planta, sa las different volumes .
tude would lead to the death of the organism by starvation. Staunch type defenders were pa ra juegos de mesa. Encima, The high cost of l and led to
pistas deportivas y bolera, un build 35 floors. It originally
determined to maintain forms associated to functions with the evil intention of typology's mini-golf, un gimna sio, una had a public entrance at street
transcendence of era and style in a persistence that was brutal but constant. piscina y vestuarios. Mas arriba level, with a hall and club
se si tuaban las coc i nas y el offices. on the third floor
restaur a nte principal. Tambien it had rooms for board games.
cont aba con un invernader o en Higher up, there were sports
la planta quince . En los pisos areas, a bowling alley, mini-
16 a 19 estaban emplazadas golf, a gym, pool and changing
las i nstalaciones mecan1cas y rooms . And above this, kitchens
Rockefeller Center Ai'ios mas tarde y ya con la Years later, with the fully
enforced Zoning Resolution,
algunos comedores pri vados. and the main restaurant were
Ordenanza de Zonificaci6n De l a planta 20 a la 35, located. I t also had a green
plenamente vigente 1 justo amid the Great Depression, the
un hotel con habitaciones house on the f i fteenth floor.
en plena depresi6n de los Rockefeller Center (Raymond
i ndividuales. El edif icio On the sixteenth and nineteenth
aiios treinta, se levant6 el Hood et al. 1930-39) was s ufri6 importantes daiios e n el floors , mechanical instal lations
Rockefeller Center (Raymond Hood built. ataque del 11 de septiembre and private di ning rooms were
et al. 1930-39 ), uno de l os It was one of the largest
de 2ee1. Actual mente es una located. From the twentieth
complejos edificados privados private building complexes
terre residenci a l de 45 pisos, floor to the thirty-fifth, there
mas grandes del mundo 1 formado in the world, made up of despues de l a reconversiOn was a hotel with i ndividual
par diecinueve edificios, nineteen buildings, geared
que padeci 6 en e l aiio 2005 . rooms . The building suffered
engranados coma un conjunto as a multi-functional complex
Refor mado par The Moinian Group, significant damage in the
pluri fun cional que combina combining offices, businesses,
ha perdido gran parte del September 11 attacks.
oficinas, centra comercial, auditorium and areas for
caracter hi brido que ca r acteriz6 It is currently a 45-storey
auditoria y espacios para el leisure and recreation. Its
el inicio de su actividad, la residential tower, after its
ocio y esparcimiento. El exito success was a slap in the cual se ha redi r igido hacia una renovation in 2005 by the Moinan
supuso una bofetada en plenos face to Modernism, as the
opt imi zaci6n de l a inversiOn en Group. With that renovation,
morros a la Modernidad, porque combination of uses was
el sector residencial, con mucho it lost most of its hybrid
la mezcla de uses se produce con produced without prejudice
mayor valor anadido en esta zona character that it was noted for
una total falta de prejuicios and the floor plan respected
de Manhattan . Mantiene, pero when it opened . It has now been
y porque la planta respeta la the traditional idea of
s6lo t estimonialmente, a l gunos r edirected towards investment
idea tradicional de la calle the street, proscribed by
usos comunes, desvi rtuando con optimisation in the residential
-pros crita par el Movimiento Modernism.
ello uno de los objetivos del sector, with a much higher
Moderno- 1 que se muestra viva y It was alive and active, with
grupo promotor: crtransformar value due to its locati on in
activa, con una plaza ent errada an underground plaza and
areas desaprovechadas en cent r es Manhattan. It doe s maintain,
y una galeria comercial a commercial gallery connected
urbanos que integre n una though only in testimony, some
conectada a traves de pa sos by pedestrian walkways and
mezcla de usos residencial es, c0rr1110n uses, distorting one of
peatonales c on ac ceso directo a with direct access to subway
comer ciales, cultur ales y de the main goals of the Group: ' to
la red del metro. lines . The Rockefeller
ocio" 1. transform long-underutil i zed
El Roc kefe ller Center 1 con esta Center, with this diversity
a reas into dynamic , transit~
diversidad de funciones actUa of functions, acts as a true Downtown Athletic oriented urban centers by
coma un verdadero "city complex'' city complex, which takes the Club. The Moinian integrating a mix of medi um
que di fumina la mezcla mas allil influence of the mixed uses
Group. Developer. and high density residential,
del edificio Unico y e xtiende su of the single building beyond
http://www. conwnercial entertainment and
influenc ia a t oda la c iudad. itself and into the entire
downtownclubny. cultural uses .,l
city.
com

ThisisHyb rid 15
14 ThisisHybrid
 La premonici6n de Hood The Unit Building
"EL Edificio Unitario, que abarca tres manzanas de terreno, - aLbergarti una i ndus tria campLeta y sus
servicias asociados . 56Lo Los torres de ascensares y escaLer as LLegardn aL niveL de caLLe. Los diez El Edificio Unitario, concebido
primeros pisos contendrdn aLmacenes, teatras y cLubes. Sabre eLLas estard La industria a La que se por Raymond Hood en 1931 , que se
cansagra eL edifici.a. Los trabajadares vivirdn en Los pisas superi.ares''. extiende a tres manzanas de la
Rem Koolhaa s. DeL iria de Nueva York sob re Raymond Hood. 1 978 reticula de Manhattan, absorbe e
interioriza el trafico urbane,
La depuraci6n del modelo hfbrido se estaba produciendo por la evoluci6n de la t orre multiu- esponjandolo. Los sistemas
con torres i ndividuales de
sos. Fue necesario que se alterara la rig idez de la tram ay q ue se dieran combinaciones y agru- rascacielos, come estructuras
paciones de manzanas para optar a soluciones hfbridas horizontales con mas posibilidades. Unicas, lo que producen es un
aumento de la congestiOn .
Koolhaas denomina a est a intu ici6n, la premon ici6n de Hood: "Todos Ios hombres d e ne- La extensiOn en dos dimensiones
del programa potencia y amplia
gocio de la ciudad deben de haberse percatado de lo ventajoso que serfa vivir en e l edificio la condiciOn horizontal de
donde esta instalada su oficina. Hacia este ideal deberfa orientarse el trabajo de las empresas edificio hibrido. Hood pone asi
en marcha el concepto de nciudad
inmobiliarias y de Ios arquitectos" 2 Esto es, hacia la construcci6n del ed ificio plurifuncional, bajo un solo techo" de fuerte
hacia la const rucci6n de una ciudad dentro de otra ciudad. Raymond Hood, en Ios anos trein- componente horizontal, come una
superaciOn de su anterior y mas
ta, desarrolla la idea de combinar oficinas, apartamentos, comercios, hoteles y teat ros en un simple propuesta teOrica de la
volumen masivo, de manera que todas las actividades de la vida d iaria p uedan tener lugar en nciudad de torres" de componente
eminentement e vertical .
un unico edificio. Esta fue una idea avanzada p ara una epoca, en la q ue Le Corbusier estaba La ciudad de torres, anterior en
su concepci 6n, tiene e l riesgo
empeiiado en esquemas mucho mas rfgidos de volumenes escu lt6ricos, que arrancaban de de convertirse en un conjunto de
Rem Koolhaas. un tablero horizont al y despejado, sin limitaciones espaciales, ni econ6micas. La mixtura del rascacielos monofuncionales, que
Delirio de Nueva no producen la sacudida ur bana
York.Gustavo Gili.
Edificio Unitario de Hood antecede, por tanto, a la mezcla de funciones del complejo hfbrido caracteristica de los procesos
2004. p 174 que aparecera aiios mas tarde. de hibridaci6n. El edi ficio-
unitario, evolucionando en su
extensiOn sabre la trama hacia The Unit Building, conceived by
el edificio hi bride horizontal, Raymond Hood in 1931 and which
absorbera come una esponja la extends over three blocks on the
variedad y la dive rsidad de uses grid of Manhattan, absorbs and
Hood's premonition que forma n parte de la actividad interiorises urban traffic.
urbana. As it does this, it frees space .
'The Unit BuiLding, covering three bLocks of ground space, wiLL house a whoLe industry Systi!IIIS with individually
and its auxiLiary bus inesses . OnLy eLevator shafts and stairways reach the street acting skyscrapers produce an
Leve L. The first ten fLoors house stores, theatres and cLubs. Above them is the increase in congestion . The
industry to which the BuiLding is devoted. Workers Live on the upper fLoors_ -' two-dillensional extension of
Rem Koolhaas . DeLiri ous New York on Raymond Hood. 1978 the prograone strengthens and
extends the horizontal condition
of the hybrid building . Hood
The purification of the hybrid model was produced by the evolution of the multi-functional thus sets in motion the concept
of a City under a Single Roof,
tower. lt was necessary to alter the rigidity of the grid and to create bundle of blocks and with a strong horizontal
combinations to be able to take on horizontal hybrid solutions with more possibilities. component as a solution to
the former more simple theory
Koolhaas called this intuition Hood's premonition: 'Every businessman in the city must have of a City of Towers, which
realized what an advantage it would be to live in the Building where his office is located. was etninently vertical. The
city of towers , the concept
lt is t ow ard this ideal that real estate firms and architects should work.'2 This means the of which caooe first, carries
construction of the multi-functional building, the building of a City under a Single Roof. the risk of bec011ing a set of
mono-functional skyscrapers
Raymond Hood, in t he 1930s, developed the idea of combining offices, apartments, busi- that do not produce the urban
shock characteri stic of hybrid
nesses, hotels and theatres in a massive volume, in a way t hat all daily activities can take processes. The Unit Building,
place in one building . This was an advanced idea for the times, in which Le Corbusier insist- evolving in extension over the
2 Rem Koolhaas. grid towards the horizontal
ed on much more rigid outlines of sculpture-like buildings, which arose from a tabu/a rasa, hybrid building, will absorb
Delirious New York.
without spatial or economical limitations. The mixture of Hood's Unit Building thus comes var! ety and diversity of uses
The Monacelli Press.
that onake up urban activity like
1978 . p 174 before the mixing of functions of the hybrid complex that would appear years later. a sponge.

16 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 17
 La segregaci6n de funci o nes
uEL coos de Los ci udodes de Los sigLos XIX y XX ha fa Lsifi t;ado Los condiciones de vida deL En Chica~oJ Le CorbusierJ
ciudadano . EL modeLo de soLuci6n que propane eL pLaneamiento que se enfrenta a este probLema se durante una conferenc i a,
conoce en IngLaterra coma rzoning 1 y en Francia como rzonage 1 • Sin embargo1 La definici6n de dibujaria un croquis de su Plan
zonas especificas 1 que se correspondan con Las compLejas funciones de una ciudad necesita ser mds Obus para Argel, un gran gesto
horizontal~ con la forma de un
estudiada 1 J.
Le Corbusier . Concerning Town PLanning3 • rascacielos tumbado y ondulante,
que recorria la bahia, salvando
la kasba y sin ningUn tipo de
dialogo con la ciudad existente .
Despues de su visita a Nueva York en 1935, Le Corbusier no ces6 en sus criticas a la ciudad Por encimaJ una autopista
americana. Los rascacielos le parecieron poco modernos, amont onados y opresivos para el confirmaba el advenimiento de la
era del autom6vil. Verticalidad
peat6n. En su libro Urbanisme, publico una foto de Manhattan y otra de su Ciudad Contempo- americana contra horizontalidad
ranea idea l, una allado de la otra, intentando contraponer desorden con orden. lecorbuseriana . El momentum
contra la grandeur. Dos impulses
La socied ad que p retendia Le Corbusier era la de un hombre nuevo, que debia desarrollar su Plan Obus grandiosos para aumentar la
existencia en una ciudad nueva, una ciudad radiante para tres millones de personas, en donde densidad urbana .

la residencia, la industria, las oficinas y el transporte se desperdigab an como Ios patrones de Days later, at a conference in
una m isma pieza, tejida con diferentes diser'ios, pero sin li gaz6n entre si. Las armas mediaticas Chicago} Le Corbusier drew an
outline of his Plan Obus for
de Le Corbusier se pusieron en marcha para conmocionar al gran publico. Utiliz6 sus propias Algiers, a great horizontal
publicaciones, construy6 pabellones de muestra, sedujo a industriales y confabul6 con politi- gesture in the shape of a
horizontal and waving skyscraper
cos. Lleg6 a decir en la inauguraci6n del Pabell6n de /'Esprit Nouveau: "Mediante la recons- that ran along the bay, saving
the kasbah and with no type
trucci6n de nuestras ciudades nos salvaremos del caos"4 • Tambien escribi6 en L'/ntransigeant: of dialogue whatsoever with
"La ca lle no volvera a existir nunca mas" 5 the existing city . OVer it, a
motorway confirmed the advent of
the era of the automobile .
It was American verticality
against Le Corbusier' s
The segregation of functions horizontal ity, momentum versus
grandeur" two great impulses to
~'The chaos of towns of the ninetee nth and twentieth centuries has faLsified the conditions of Life increase urban density .
for the townsman. The type of pLanning soLution evoked by this probLem is known in EngLand as
Le Corbusier. zoning and in France os ~'zonage " . In foct 1 however.~ the determination of precise speciaLized zones
corresponding to the compLex functions of the town stiLL remains to be studied. J
Concerning Town
Le Corbusier. Concerning Town PLanning. J
Planning. Yale
Univesity Press.
New Heaven.1948. Once he visited New York in 1935, Le Corbusier never stopped criticising the American
p 59. city. He thought the skyscrapers were old-fashioned, piled-up and oppressive to the
4 Marybeth Shaw.
pedestrian. In his book, Urbanisme, he published a picture of M anhattan and another of his
Promoting an
urban vision: Le ideal Contemporary City, one next to the other, looking to compare order and disorder.
Corbusier and The The society that Le Corbusie r wished for was that of a new man, who must develop his
Plan Voisin. MIT.
1991 . p 50. Quoted
existence in a new city, a radiant city for three mi llion people, where residence, industry,
from Le Corbusier. offices and transport were scattered as one of the same piece, made of d iffere nt fabrics but
L'Aimanach. p 135 not linked directly among themselves. Le Corbusier's media weapons started out to shake
Le Corbusier
"L'avis de up the public. He used his own publications, built trade fair pavilions, seduced industrialists
l'architecte ... and confabulated with politicians. He even said at the inauguration of the Pavilion of /'Esprit
La rue".
Nouveau: 'We shall escape from chaos throughout the reconstruction of our cities.' 4 He also
L'intransigeant.
20 May 1929 p 4 wrote in L'/ntransigeant: 'Streets will no longer exist.' 5

18 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 19
 AI mismo tiempo que se excomulg6 a la cal le y a la manzana tradicional de las ciudades
europeas, la mezcla de usos fue considerada como un imatema por Ios Congresos lnternacio-
Le Corbusier pudo constatar la
nales de Arquitectura M oderna (C lAM). Hasta entonces, la manzana de Ios centres hist6ricos degradaci6n, la superpoblaci6n
habia conjugado, en buena armonia, viviendas, teatros, bares, cafes y comercios dentro de y l a i nsalubridad del centro
de Paris despues de la Primera
una porci6n cuadrangular de terreno rodeado por calles. El conjunto edificado solia incluir Guerra Mundial. No concebi a
pequenos talleres e incluso museos en sus patios de manzana y podia ser atravesado por otra forma de sanear los
tejidos degradados si no era
pasajes y galerias comerciales. Toda esta vitalidad desordenada y ca6tica estuvo a punto de adoptando medidas extremas que
plantearan soluciones nuevas
ser desventrada en el viejo Paris con un plan con torres de vidrio cruciformes situadas sobre con un espiritu nuevo. En sus
una alfo mbra d e cesped y separadas por vias rapidas. El antiguo barrio d e Le Marais habria grandes proyectos urbanos, los
usos estaban, o estratificados,
sido borrado de l mapa, en nombre de l fabricante de autom6viles y aviones Gabriel Voisin o segregados unos de otros coma
que financiaba la operaci6n p ublicitaria, si no llega a ser por el p recipitado hundimiento del en el Plan Voisin, adaptaci6n
parisina con el bisturi de
paquebote racion al moderno. Haussmann a su pr oyecto de
Anos despues, cuando Ios criticos mas desp iertos comenzaron a agitar la b andera de sus con- Ciudad Contemporanea.

vicciones, ningun disciplinado ac61ito d e l Movimiento Moderno estaba entendiendo t odavia Le Corbusier could affirm the
nada. En Ios anos cincuenta, Ios ciudadanos, aunque se notaban algo inc6modos dentro de degradation, the overpopulation
and the unhealthy conditions
aquellos edificios hormigonados, frios, racionales y sin decoraci6n que se levantaban en las of the centre of Paris after
WOrld War I. He saw no way of
afueras de Ios nucleos habitados, no eran capaces de reaccionar ante las imposiciones que renovating the illpoverished
separaban las funcio nes de vivir, trabajar y divertirse en compartiment os estancos y que les Plan Voisin fabric other than adopting
extreme measures that gave new
empujaban a tener q ue usa r grandes cajas metalicas con ruedas. Con la intelectualidad ar- solutions with a new spirit.
quitect6nica infectada, era muy dificil luchar contra el virus de la segregaci6n funciona l que In his large-scale urban
projects, uses were either
p ropag6 1a Carta de A t enas en 1933. stratified or segregated, as
in the Plan Voisin, a Parisian
adaptation under Haussntann' s
same scalpel to his project for
the Contetnporary City.

At the same time the street and traditional European city block was excommunicated, the
mixing of uses was considered to be an anathema by the International Congress of Modern
Architecture (ClAM). Up to that time, the city block in historic centres had harmoniously
conjugated housing, theatres, bars, cafes and businesses on a single square portion of land
surrounded by streets. The building included small workshops and even museums on its
inner patios and could be crossed through passages and commercial g alleries. All of this
disorderly and chaotic vitality was about to be ripped out of the old Paris with a plan of cru-
ciform glass towers on a grass carpet, separated by motorways. The old Le Marais quarter
would have been erased from the map in the name of car and plane manufacturer Gabriel
Voisin , who financed the publicity operation, had had the modern rational paquebot not
been quickly sunk.
Years later, when alert critics began to raise the flag of their convictions, none of the dis-
ciplined minions of Modernism understood a thing. In the 1950s, citizens, though they did
feel a bit uncomfortable inside those cold, rational, undecorated concrete buildings outside
inhabited areas, they were not capable of reacting to the impositions that separated func-
tions of living, working and leisure in isolated compartments that fo rced them to drive. W ith
this infected architectural intelligentsia, it was hard to fight against the virus of functional
segregation that the 1933 Athens Charter propagated.

20 ThisisHybrid
ThisisHybrid 21
 El hibrido indeterminado La Hciudad espacial,, 196e, de
Vena Friedman, no fue mas que
uTeniendo pr esent e eL hecho de que., hoy en di a., La ciudad s igue siendo foco de atenci6n.~ es una utopia tubular que reposaba The ' Spatial City' by Yona
necesari o dotarLa deL mayor nUmero posibLe de viviendas. Median te La apL icaci6n de La tecnica de La en torre s de ho rmig6n, par Friedman in 1968., was nothing
superpos i ci6n .~ se podr6n anadir nuevas viviendas.~ industria y agricuLtura., adem6s de conservar.~ donde discurrian los nUcleos more than a tubular utopia that
todo Lo que sea posibLe de La c iudad existente.~.~. Spatial City de comunicaci6n vertical. Las sat in concrete towers, where
Vena Friedman. The Par i s Spatia L project 6 • superficies elevadas que flotaban vertical conrnunication flowed.
a 2e met ros del suelo servian Elevated surfaces that floated
para actividades humanas, como 28 metres over the ground served
El desarrollo de la tecnologia y la confianza en la p ref abricaci6n fueron la causa d e que la for human activities., such as
habitar, o aquellas relacionadas
ciencia f icci6 n y la planificaci6n urbana encontraran amigos comunes. Con e l desarrollo de con el esparcimiento., la cultura, l i ving, or those related to
o l a circulac i6n de peatones; recreation, culture or pedestrian
las estructuras espaciales de barras se empezaron a dibujar, todavia en el papel, ciudades las inferiores., pa ra trabajo circulation . The lower levels
modu lares industria lizadas forma d as por sistemas t ridimensionales. y servi cios, coma comercio, were for work and services, such
producci6n , alimentaci6n, as business., production, vehicle
A p rincip ios de Ios sesenta, Yona Friedman empez6 a hablar de una p lan ificaci6n urbana circulaci6n rodada y evacuaci6n. circulation and evacuation.
" indetermi nada" basada en la superposici6n y en las capas multip les. La indeterminaci6n Se trataba de una mixtura de It was a mixing of uses .,
usos, estratificados en dos strati fied into two levels., an
consistia en hacer intervenir la deriva situacionista y evitar Ios flujos prefijados. niveles: uno espiritual, elevado, elevated spiritual level in
en relaci6n con lo divino y otro relation to the divine, and a
mas mundane a ras de s ue la. mundane level on the ground .
The indeterminate hybrid
~"In view of the fact that the present-day c i ty wiLL aLways remain the f ocus of attraction., it
has to be provided with t he Largest poss ibLe number of dwe LLings. By appLying the technique of
Si la movilidad era una de las caracteristicas de aquel periodo, las infraestructuras eran sus ca-
6 Yona Friedman.
The Paris Spatial s uperposition., new housi ng., industry., and agricuLture wiLL be added., aLL the whiL e cons erving as nales de distribuci6n y se ocupaban de ligar las diferentes capas ent re si. La movilidad como
project. Exit Utopia.
much of today"s city as possibLe."
Vona Friedman. The Paris SpatiaL project. 6 ciencia apareci6 por aquellos aiios y tuvo que atender, ademas de al predominio del vehiculo
Architectural
Provocations
autom6vil, a otros medios, velocidades e intenciones. Por ello, se plant earon sistemas de
1956-1976. The development of technology and trust in prefabrication caused science fiction and urban redes separadas, con conexiones y posibilidades, incluso para circulaciones aleatorias, que
Prestel. 2005 planning to find common friends. With the development of spatial bar structures, industrial armaban Ios edificios con unas ma llas interiores de mayor o menor relevancia, segun Ios d is-
pp 13-29
Andrea Branzi.
modular cities made up of three-dimensional systems were starting to be drawn, though tintos t raficos. Friedman estaba mas interesado en la ciudad que en la arquitectura, t odo lo
No-Stop-City: still only on paper. contrario que Ios miembros de Ios ClAM que se embelesaban con Ios obj etos construidos.
Archizoom
At the beginning of the 1960s, Yona Friedman started talking about an indeterminate urban Hace unos aiios comentaba: "( .. .) Ias ciudades son siempre bel las. No asi la arquitectura.
Associates. 1969-
1972 planning, based on superposition and multiple layers. Indeterminacy required the interven- Porque una ciudad es una cosa viva, con variedad y t odo eso. Una ciudad no t iene fachada
Exit Utopia. p 181 tion of the situationalist trend and the avoidance of predetermined movement. ni alzado. Solo tiene interior. Casi ningun objeto es preponderante "s. Friedman concibe 1~
ciudad como un mecanismo continue que se transforma . Le interesan Ios procesos y la muta-
La Ciudad-sin-Interrupci6n la Andrea Branzi, member of b ilid ad del programa De est a ma nera, las funciones no estan sep aradas en el nivel fisico, sino
piensa Andrea Branzi, miembro de Archizoom, however, thinks of
Archizoom., coma un sistema hibrido the No-Stop-City as a continuous
en el nivel de las ideas, p orque sus estructuras son mentales, son procesos que construyen
continua, coma nun autentico hybrid system, as 'a genuine el mundo.
bosque res idencial., donde un residential wood, where a shopping
centra comercial podria ser usado mall might be used as housing,
coma un edificio de viviendas, where a house is an empty Mobility was one of the characteristics of that period, and infrastructures were its channels
donde la casa seria un incubador incubator, a theatre for as yet
vacio., un teatro para una serie unspecified activities, an arena of distri~ution and linked d ifferent layers to each other. Mobility as a science appeared
no especificada de actividades, open to individual creativity,
una sala de espectaculos abierta residential parking lots for
at that t1me and had to attend, in addition to the p redominance of t he automob ile, t o
a la creatividad i ndividual, metropolitan nomads., 7 other means, speeds and intentions. To do this, they were established systems of separate
parcelas de estacionamientos The metropolis imagined by
residenciales para n6madas Archiz0011 were huge containers ne~w~rks, ":'ith_con~ections and possibilities, even f or random circulat ion, which supplied
metropolitanos"7. La metr6poli liberated frOII'I architecture., buddmgs With 1ntenor meshes of greater or less relevance, according to d iversity in traffic.
era imaginada par Archizoom coma artificially air-conditioned
un contenedor enorme liberado and illumi nated, with unlimited However, Friedman was more interested in the city than in architecture, unlike the members
No-Stop-City de la arquitectura., iluminado y growth possibilities. This project of the ClAM, who were captivat ed by built objects. A few years ago, he said 'cities are al-
climatizado artificialmente y could be called the first generic
con posibilidades de crecimiento hybrid, where functions are ways beautiful. A rchitecture is not . Because a city is a living thing, w it h the variety and so on.
ilimitadas . Puede llamarse a brought together to be immediately
este proyecto el primer hibrido dissolved in the immensity of the
A city has no facade, no elevation. You have only an inside. There is nearly no object that
8
generico, en el que las funciones neutrality of form. is p reponderant.' Friedman conceives the city to be a continuous mechanism that is t rans-
son concitadas para seguidamente
disolverse en la inmens idad de la Martin van Schaik formed. He is interested in processes and the mutabilit y of t he programme. In this way,
neutralidad de la forma . Interview with Yona f unctions are not separated on a physical level, but on a level of ideas, as their str uctures
Friedman. Ibid. p 34 are mental, they are processes which build the w orld .

22 ThisisHybrid
ThisisHybrid 23
 De s de que Candili s, Josic, Woods
El hfbrido alfombra y Schiedhelm, en 1963, ganaron
e l concu r so de l a Universida d
"La mov iL idad es La c Love deL pLoneami ento., t anto desde eL pun to de vista sociaL, coma Libre de Berl i n hasta 1973, se
organi.zativo . La moviL idad no estd soLo reL ac i onada con cami nos y carr eteras, s i no con eL proyectaron muchos recintos
desp Lazamiento en generaL que ataile a una comunidad fragmentada y m6viL. Los caminos f orman parte universita rios horizont ales
de La e senciaL infraestructur a f i s i c a de La comun idad-'~. con calles inte riores, que
Al ison y Pet e r Smit hson. Upper case 9 . intentaban r ecrear de ntro de
la extensiOn edif i c ada , l a
comple jidad de f unc i ones de
una ciudad e nt e r a. El diseiio
En Ios aiios sesenta, se comprendio que si se q uerfa obtener un ed ifi cio con sus funciones de est a uni ver sidad de Ber li n
p lenamente integrad as, ten fa q ue interiorizar tambien las circulaciones y las infraestructuras. es en r e alidad l a adaptaci6n,
por los mi smos autores, de su
Los planteamient os, q ue deja b an fuera de Ios vol umenes construid os Ias vias, calles y paseos, proyecto urbana para Francfort,
perdfan el caracter de organismo unico que se p retend fa para la ciudad. En aquellos aiios, se conf irma ndo as i que edificio,
univer s idad y ciudad conj ugan las
otorgo la impo rtancia suf iciente a la circulacion y al t ransporte, para que se t uviera que consi- mi sma s f unc i ones. En su i nt e r i or
dera r imprescindible su int egraci on como un subsistema m as dentro d el conjunto de usos. cont i e ne un sistema de r ecorr idos
de dos pisos que recuadran e l
Los edifici os est era, o m at buildings, surgiero n al hilo de est os p lanteami entos y alfombraron programa: auditori a , ofi c i nas ,
a ulas y patios son eleme ntos que
campus universitario s, con p equeiios organismos, verdaderos experimentos de ciud ades en act Uan a s u vez coma pequeilos
miniat ura. trozos de ca mpus introduci dos en
Free University of Berlin e l edificio .
Estas construcciones se ad apt aban al t erre no como alfombras, evitab an la imposicion forma l y
la monumentalidad y basaban su composicion en ret fculas estructurales y en redes d e circula-
cion. Rechazaba n, por su concepcion, la funcion unica y excluyente y son la b ase de partida d e
Ios conjuntos p lurifuncio nales con fluj os integrados, que asumen interiorm ente circulacio nes
y reco rrid os. El p aso adelant e q ue supone el edificio este ra es que t uvo en cuenta la movil i-
dad . A partir d e entonces, las infraestructura s y la movilidad quedaron incluid as dentro de Ios
p ro cesos de hibridacion.

9 Alison and Pet er

The mat hybrid
Smithson. Team 10 "Mobi Lity is the key both sociaLLy and organizationaLLy to town pLanning, f or mobiLity i s not onLy
Primer.
Fr0111 1963, when Candilis,
concerned with roads_, but with the whoLe concept of a mobiL e.~ f ragme nted communi t y . The roads form losic, WOOds and Scheidhebl won
The M!T Press. 1974 the e ssentiaL physicaL infra -structure of the community. ,~
the competition at the Free
p 51 Alison y Peter Smithson . Uppercase.'
University of Berlin, to 1973,
many hor izontal university
campuses were designed with
In the 1960s, it was understood that if a building with completely integrated functions was interior streets, which sought
desired, it was necessary to interiorise circulations and infrastructures. Proposals that left to recreate the c0111plexity of
f unctions of an entire city
out streets, roads and pavements lost that character of a single organism that was desired within the extension of a
for the city. At that time, enough importance was given to circulation and transport to have building. The design of the
Berlin university is actually
to conside r their integration as a subsystem inside the whole of uses necessary. the authors' adaptation of their
urban project for Frankfurt,
Mat buildings aro se from these proposals and covered university campuses with small or- thus confinning tha't building,
ganisms, real ex periments of miniature cities university and city combine
the same functions . Insi de, it
These buildings were adapted to the land like carpets, avoided formal imposition and gran- contains a systeno of two-storey
deur, and based t heir composition on structural grids and circulation networks. They re- paths that border the progr- .
Auditori111, offices, classr00111s
jected, as a concept, single and excluding functions and are the base for multi-functional and patios are elements that also
buildings with integrated flows that assume indoor circulation and p assages. The ste p f or- act as Sllall pieces of CiiiiiJ>US
placed inside the building.
ward that these m at buildings took was that they included mobility in their agenda. From
that mome nt on, infrastructures and mobility were added to hybrid processes.

24 ThisisHybrid ThisisHyb rid 25

 Claridad laberfntica Team 18
uLa decLaraci6n 'gran casa-pequena ciudad" (es a que dice que una casa es una ciudad en miniatura
y que una ciudad es una cas a inmensa) es deL iberadamente ambigua. De hecho_. su ambigiiedad
es de una naturaLeza que me gustaria ver trasLadada a La arquitectura . Indica_. ademds_. un
tipo de cLaridad de La que ni La cas a_, ni La c i udad pueden prescindir_, una cuaL idad que
nunca manifiesta La bastant e su compLeto significado. LLamemosLa CLaridad Laberintican.
Al do van Eyck . Team 1€1 Primer19 .

Este si que es un concepto preiiado de mezcolanza. jCuan claro p uede ser un laberinto, si en
la esencia misma de la construccion de Dedalo esta la confus ion y el embrollo! La excesiva
luminosidad de la ciudad moderna se fue apagando a partir de la reun ion de Otterlo, en
1959, con el fracaso del urbanismo funcionalista . Aldo van Eyck hablo de cuatro llaves que no
entraban en la cerradura. Las cuatro fu nciones de la Carta de Atenas estaban oxidadas desde
su planteamiento y el sistema de va lores moderno no fue capaz de abrir la puerta del cora-
zon humano. En Otterlo, una nueva generacion de arqu itectos, el Team 10, d io un revolcon
a Ios viejos modernos. De Ios ocho dfas que duro la reunion, el octavo fue el de la abolicion
defin itiva de Ios congresos. A partir de entonces, nunca mas se vo lvio a uti lizar el nombre de
ClAM. El cisma que produjo el Team 10 resucito la calle, esta vez elevada en su reaparicion,
e introduj o term inos como ce lula, enlace, malla, tronco, espina y conexion, pero su victoria
mas importante fue la de liquidar la d ivisio n de actividades que venfan proclamando aque llas
ordenanzas basadas en la zonificacion y la segregacion.

Labyrinthian Clarity
'The Large house-LittLe city statement (the one says: ua house is a tiny city.. a city is a huge
house,,) is ambiguous and consciousLy so. In fact its ambiguity is of a kind I shouLd Like to see
10 A ldo van Eyck. Team
transposed to architecture. It points, moreover) towards a particuLar kind of cLarity neither
10Primer. house nor city can do withoutj a kind which never quite reLinquishes its fuLL meaning. CaL L it
The MIT Press. 1974 Labyrinthian CLarity. J
p41 Aldo van Eyck. Team 18 Primer. 19

This is certainly a hodgepodge of a concept . How clear can a labyrinth be, when the very
essence of Daedalus's construction was a maze of confusion? The excessive lighting of the
modern city was switched off starting with the Otterlo meeting in 1959, with the f ailure
of functionalist urban p lanning. Aldo van Eyck spoke of four keys that would not fit in the
lock. The four functions of the Athens Charter were rusty from the start and modern value
systems were not capable of opening the door of the human heart. In Otterlo, a new gene-
ration of architects, Team 10, turned the o ld modernists around. Of the eight days t hat the
meeting lasted, the last was the definite abolition of the congress. From then on, the name
ClAM was not to be used again. The schism that Team 10 caused brought the street back to
life, now aerial in its reappearance. lt also brought back terms like cell, link, mesh, trunk, spi-
ne and connection, but its most important victory was in liquidating the divisio n of activities
that those ordinances b ased on zoning and segregation had proclaimed.

26 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 27
 En Ios anos ci ncue nta, empezaro n a palpitar nucleos de ciud ades, a b rotar racimos de ed if i-
The Barbican Complex
cios, a florecer ram illetes de bloques, que cada vez col)t enian programas mas variados, con
patent es mezclas de usos, con plantas bajas dedicad as a lugares de trabajo, estacionamiento ,
almacenes, centros comunitarios, t iendas, t odo rodeado par vegetaci6 n. Encima, las vi vien-
das se agrupaban b ajo una cubierta urbana transit able. Jaap Bakema, miembro del Team 10,
lleg6 a decir que a la socied ad le fa ltaba un poco d e coraz6n y que sin ese 6rgano no se podia
ser realment e lib re ni fe liz. Sus companeros de equipo, A lison y Peter Smithson intentaron
hacer latir a ese 6 rgano esencial, mediante invent os coma la calle e levada a varios niveles, en
conj untas sin soluci6n de contin uidad, q ue querian representar " la verdadera complejidad de
las asociaciones humanas""- Se empezaba a intuir, que e l urbanismo no podia ut il izar unica-
m ente las herram ientas de la ciudad jardin, p o r un lad o y las de la ci udad racio nal, par otro, y
que las agrupacio nes urbanas eran o rganismos mas complejos. El cambio generacional que
p ro pici6 e l Team 10 renov6 jerarquias e introdujo la indeterm inaci6n en el pl aneamiento. Se
concluy6 q ue la vida en la ciudad, p or sus mecanismos ocultos y por sus lentas transformacio-
nes, era m as enriqueced ora q ue la suma de sus p artes. AI mismo t iempo, la ci udad ant igua y
El Barbi c an Complex The Barbi can Complex (Chamberlin,
su complejidad funciona l dejaron de estar mald itas, hasta el punto de que Urbi no, pequena (Chamberlin, Powell y Bon . Powell y Bon . London, 1969-1982)
ciudad d el cent ro-este de lta li a, pas6 a fo rm ar pa rte d el imaginario de aque llos anos. Todo Lo nd r es, 1969- 1982) s e situ6 was placed over 148, 808 m' which
sob re 140. eee m2 que fuero n were bombed in WOrld War II.
g racias al t rabaj o m et6dico, casi arqueol6gico, de G iancarlo de Carlo, miembro del Team bombardeados en l a Segunda The complex i ncludes thirt een
10, q uien desentran6 el lab erint o medieval y anadi6 claridad al panorama con unas interven- Gue rra Mundial . blocks of flats, among them
El compl ejo compre nde 13 t hree 42-storey t owers, grouped
ciones que mostraba n el debid o respeto, el cuidado que se necesitaba para enfrentarse a la bl oques de vi vienda s -t res around a l ake and green spaces
ciud ad hist6rica. t orre s de 42 pi s os entre ellas- on the i nterior. There i s an
agrupada s e n t or no a un lago y elevated street t hat connects the
a l os espaci os verdes s i t uados public services of the Barbican.
en el i nt e r i or. Existe una Vehicles are not allowed ins i de .
ca lle e l evada que conecta todos Chamberlin, Powe ll and Bon
In the 1950's, cities cores began to thrive, growing clusters of buildings and flowering were also the designer s of the
l os equi pami ent os del Bar bic an .
bunches of blocks, which contained programmes that were more and more varied, with Los vehiculos no t ienen acceso sixteen floor block called Golden
al interior . Lane, located to t he north of
strong mixes in use, with ground floors dedicated to work space, parking, storage, commu- Chamber l in , Powe l l y Bon fue ron t he Barbi can. This case was a
nity centres and shops, all this surrounded by vegetation. In addition, housing was g rouped t ambi en los aut ores del bl oque model for the reconstruction of
de diec i se i s pl anta s denominado central urban areas by means
under a passable urban roof. Jaap Bakema, member of Team 10, said: 'we feel a lack of core Golden Lane, 1952-1981 1 s i t uado of large r esi dential complexes
in society, and we know, that without this we can never be really free and happy'. His team al norte del Barbic an . whi c h mix business, yout h hostels
Este caso fu e ej empla r par a and leisure, wi th educational,
mates, Alison and Peter Smithson, tried to make that essential organ beat, with inventions reconstruir zona s urbana s sports and cultura l activities.
cent r i ca s me diante gr a nde s The Barbi can Centre is i nside the
like the streets-in-t he-air on several levels, which were meant to represent 'the true com- complex and i s dedi cated t o a rt,
conj untos res i de nciales, que
plexity of human associations.'" They started to feel that urban p lanning could not just use, mezcla ran comerci os, a lbe rgues theatre and business events .
juve ni les y ocio, con pr ogramas
on the one hand, the tools of the garden city, and on the other hand, those of a rational city educ ativos 1 deport i vos y
and that urban conglomerates were more complex organisms. The generational change that c ul t ur a les. De ntr o del
complej o 1 se i ncluye
Team 10 brought on renewed hierarchies and introduced indeterminacy in planning . They e l Ba rbi can Ce ntre que e st a
concluded that city life, because of its hidden mechanisms and slow transformation, was dedi cado a l a rt e , al teatro y a
eventos comerciales .
more enriching than the sum of its parts. At the same time, the o ld city and its functional
complexity gained a new respect. This could be seen in Urbino, a small city in east ern central
Italy, which became part of the imaginary world of that period. Team 10 member G iancarlo
11 A lison Smithson . de Carlo's methodical, almost archaeological work is to be thanked, as he got through the
Team 10 prim er.
The MIT Press. 1968.
medieval labyrinth and added clarity to the panorama with interventions that showed the
p 78 due respect and care that was needed to stand up to the historical city.

ThisisHybrid 29
28 ThisisHybrid
 Aquellas monumentales locuras Plug-in City
uEL verdadero nombre de La Ciudad-sin-Interrupci6n surge de .La idea de un drea construida
de manera continua) Libre de f ronteras internas y externas) una metr6poL is que encajaria
perfectamente en eL mercado) sin ninguna divisiOn en zonas o funciones)l.
Andrea Branzi . No-stop city: Archizoom Associates. 1969-1972 12 •

Reyner Banham llego a calificar 1964 como el "mega-a iio". Fue el aiio de la explosion de la
ciudad enchufada de Arch igram, de Ios proyectos de portaviones hundidos en e l paisaje de
Hans Hollein, de las megaestructuras de Fumihiko Maki, y de toda esa serie de col/ages que
prepararian Ios argumentos graficos de Mayo del 68.
Sin embargo, habia algunos arquitectos que no lo veian del todo claro. Denise Scott-Brown,
que por entonces daba clase en la Universidad de California en Los Angeles, cuna del hip-
pismo, IIego a comentar ironicamente: "L Oue hacen todos alia arriba, en aquellas megaes-
tructuras7"'3 Y no le faltaba razon. Banham respondio ironicamente: "Vuelven a ordenar el
material para el proximo juego" 14· dando a entender que, ento nces, el componente ludico era
importante para el urbanismo y que, en cualqu ier actividad, la d iversion debia tomarse como
una cuestion muy seria, casi como una necesidad biologica . El ambiente libertario de aquel los
aiios era propicio para propuestas sueltas y desacomplejadas, que se habian apropiado de
la grafica del Submarino Amarillo y que se j actaban de no tener ningun interes en la econo-
mia productiva. Aquellas monumentales locuras imag inaron edificios en el agua, helicoides,
puentes en el espacio, estructuras suspendidas y ciudades ambulantes, cuyos edificios, como
escarabajos gigantescos, podian desplazarse de un lugar a otro para buscar un clima mas
agradable o para huir de un desastre natural. o-
o-
o-

Monumental follies
~'The very name No -Stop-City arose from the idea of a contiuous buiLt - up area
fr ee of externaL and internaL borders) a metropoLis that wouLd correspond
directLy with the market) without any division into zones or functions/
Andrea Branzi. No-Stop-City : Archizoom Associates. 1969-1972 . 12
I
Reyner Banham called 1964 the mega-year. lt was the year of the explosion of Archigram's /If:/'
Plug-in City, of Hans Hollein's projects of aircraft carriers sunken into the landscape, of Fu-
12 Andrea Branzi.
No-Stop-City:
Archizoom
mihiko Maki's megastructures, and of the entire series of collages as a release of the May ft!.'
,: I ,;
1968 graphic representation .
..
0
Associates. 1969- 0
u
1972. Exit Utopia. Nevertheless, t here were some architects who did not see things so clearly. Denise Scott-
Architectural Brown, who then taught at UCLA, a centre of the hippy movement, ironically commented I a.
Provocations
1956-1976. 'What do they all d o up t here in those megastructures?' 13 And she was right. Banham ironi-
Prest el. 2005. cally responded,'they reorganise the material for the next play' 14, implying that then, the
p 181
recreational component was important fo r urban planning and, in any activity, fun should
13 Denise Scott-Brown.
Journal o f the actually be t aken very seriously, almost as a biological necessity. The libertarian atmosphere
American Institu te of the times was perfect for open proposals, not given to complexes, which had t aken on
of Planners. July
the image of the Yellow Submarine and claimed to be disinterested in productive economy.
1968. p 230
14 Reyner Banham. These examples of monumental follies imagined buildings in the water, helicoids, bridges
M egastructure. in space, hanging structures, and walking cities, whose buildings could be moved from one
Urban futures of the
recent past. T hames
place to another like giant beet les in search of a more agreeab le climate or to escape a
and Hudson. 1976 natural d isaster.

30 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 31
 La definici6n que Fumihiko Maki hizo en Investigations in Collective Form, 1964, de una me-
gaestructura es la siguiente: "una g ran estructura en la que tienen cabida todas Ias funciones
de una ciudad o parte de ella " 15. Mas t arde, a este concepto se le fueron aiiadiendo capaci-
dades, como la de ser am pli ab le ilimitadam ente y estar formada por m6dulos q ue se pueden
enchufar a una estructura perdurable de escala superior. Estas megaformas se pueden consi-
derar pro tohfbridos, porque aunque la mezcla de usos aiiadla complejidad a las propuestas,
to d avfa algunas de ellas segufan siendo deudoras de la ley mosaica de las cuatro funciones:
trabajo, ocio, vivienda y transporte, separadas cada una en su propia casa.
The definition that Fumihiko Maki gave in Investigations in Collective Form, 1964, for a
megastructure is 'a great estructure capable of hosting all or part of the city functions.' 15
Later on, other capacities were added to this concept, such as unlimited extension and mod-
ular forms that can be plugged into a permanent structure on a superior scale. These mega-
15 Fumihiko Maki. forms could be considered as proto-hybrids. Although the mixing of uses made the propos-
Investigations in
Collective Form. St.
als more complex, some of them were still indebted to the Mosaic law of the four functions, Paolo Soleri, en sus dibujos
sabre Mesa City, 1955-1964,
Louis. 1964. p 8 work, entertainment, dwelling and transport, each separated into its own house. reclama un entorno en a r monia con
l a Humanidad. Esta arquitectura
terrosa .. fruto de sus experiencias
con Frank Lloyd Wri ght en
Tal ies i n, es prolifica en b6vedas
Aircraft-carrier in landscape y ner.vaturas, porque pa r a
Soleri estos son los elementos
arquitect6nicos que mejor enlazan
arquitectura y ecol ogia, los que
mejor anclan l o construido con el
paisaj e . Con su afan de concentrar
usos y su obsesi6n paranoica por
evitar la dispersiOn de la raza
humana, cementa: "El paisaje
artific i al debe ser un paisaje de
mUltiples nivelesJ un s6l ido de
tres dimensiones coherentesJI16.
Est as formaciones de Mesa
Cit y, en forma de cop a J no se
habian liberado completamente
de la compartimentaci6n zonal
de los usosJ pues las torres
residenciales estaban separadas
del centra civico y l os comercios
ocupaban un nivel i nferior) pero
situados sabre las indust rias y
otros servicios. En esto Soleri
16 Paolo Soleri. aparece todavia encorsetado par
Arcology. The City in la segregaci6n y se aparta de
the Image o f Man. la soltura comUn a muchas de
las propuestas coetaneas de l a
Cosanti Press. 2006.
generaci6n beatLeJ representada
p 14 por Archigram .
32 ThisisHybrid
Paolo Soleri calls for an
atmosphere in harmony with
Humanity in his drawings on
Mesa City, 1955-1964. This
earthy architectur e, fruit
of his experience with Frank
Lloyd Wright in Taliesin, is
prolific in vaults and arch ribs
as Soleri believes that these
are the architectural elements
that best link architecture and
ecology, that best anchor it to
what is constructed wi th the
landscape. With his eagerness to
concent r ate uses and his paranoid
obsession with the dispersion
of the human raceJ he mentions
that 'The artifi cial landscape
should be a landscape of 01ultiple
levels, a solid of three coherent
dimensions. J 16 These glass-
shaped formations in Mesa City
were not completely liberated
from the zoning and division of
uses as the residential towers
were separated from the civic
centre and businesses were on a
lower level, though located above
industry and othe r services.
In this respect, SOleri still
see11s closed to segregati on
and stands away from the
freedom coomon to many of the
contemporaries of the Beatle
generation represented by
Archigram.
ThisisHybrid 33
17 Archigram
El hfbrido topografico
Archigram. uun espacio Lo suficientemente gr ande para dar un banquete., . meter eLefantes o carreras
Princeton de karts . Donde puedan existir diferentes maneras de int roducir mUsica de cdmara
Architectural Press. o un par tido de hockey-hieLo. Una arquitectura que surja deL acontecimiento., mds
1999 que de La envoLvente. Entonces, iPOr que no oLvidarnos de La envoLvente?n
p 105 Archigram. The Monte CarLo project . 17
En Ios anos sesenta, muchos proyectos co incidieron en una m isma idea, la del "paisaj e arti-
fici al" que m o delaba la arquitectura como una geografia habit able. El paisaje artificial como
conti nuaci6n del p aisaje natural existente. Desde las "ciudades crateres" de Jean-Louis Rey,
conocido como Chaneac, que imagin6 un tejido urbana continua y extendido por e l paisaje
como si la arquitectura se hu biera transformado en orografia, hasta Ios primeros t rabajos de
Cesar Pelli en California, que combinaron viviendas y espacios publicos en laderas aterrazadas
recordando Ios pob lados medit erraneos, el modelado topografico se introdujo como herra-
mienta de trabajo en la creaci6n de nuevas ciudades. En 1965, Peter Cook de Archigram
pl antea, s i n emplazami ento
The Mound determinado, un proyecto, llamado
The Mound, un monticulo recubierto
de cesped que enti erra, vol cado
The topographic hybrid hacia su interior ., un centra de
uses mUltiples. El aire desenfadado
'"A space Large enough to take the banquet., eLephants or go-karts. Ways of de este contenedor seria apli cado
adapting from chamber music to ice hockey. An architecture that is made of the tambien par Archigram en el
event, rather than the enveLope. So why not forget the enveLope?" concurso del Centra de Ocio de
Archigram. Peter Cook. The Monte CarLo project. 11 Montecarlo, convocado, en 1970,
par el estada monegasco para
In the 1960s, many projects coincided on one idea, that of 'artificial landscape', which mod- revital izar el barde maritima del
principado.
elled architecture as inhabitable geography. The artificial landscape was a continuation of Con Mound, vuelve el cancepto de
the existing natural landscape. From the 'crater cities' of Jean- Louis Rey, known as Chaneac, la uciudad coma edific i a Unico",
esto es, un organisma poliglota
which imagined a continuous urban fabric which extended over the landscape as though y amorfo , coma l a cal ifica su
autor. La combinaci6n del programa
the architecture had become orography, to the first works of Cesar Pelli in California, which sorprende par su vari edad y par la
combined housing and public space on terraced hillsides like Mediterranean towns, the falta de at aduras moral es. Combina
en cuat ro ni veles subterraneos,
topographic model was introduced as a tool in the creation of new cities. un pequefia audit oria, camercios.,
tiendas m6vi les, una oficina, una
plaza y var ias zonas de servicio,
toda s ellas l i gadas par pasarelas
peatonal es y conexi 6n manorrail
con el centra urbana. El espacio
central, coraz6n de la actividad
Villes Crateres comercial, se vacia y se i lumina
con pozos de luz, al mismo tiempo
que todo el terreno que envuelve
al edif i cio es espacio lib re
para esparcimiento. Este proyecto
antici pa l a verti ente topografica
de edi fic i as hibridos, cuya
cubierta vegetal se funde con el
terreno y que ha dado lugar a
numerosos proyectos recientes.
34 ThisisHybrid
In 1965, Peter Cook of Archigram
suggested a project with no
specific place in mind called
The llound, a hilled cover ed
in grass which holds under it
a centre of various uses. The
uninhibited character of this
container would also be applied by
Archigrillll in the 1970 competition
of the entertainment building
in llontecarlo. This competition
was organised by the llonegasque
government to r evitalise the
foreshore .
With llound, the concept of
the City-as-a-Single-Building
returned, meaning an amorphous
and polyglot organis11, as defi ned
by its author. The combination
of the pr ogramme is surprising
due to its variety and lack
of moral hindrances. On four
underground floors, i t combines
a small audi torium, businesses ,
moveable shops, an office, a plaza
and sever al service a reas, all
linked by pedestrian passages
and a monorai l connection to the
urban centre. The central spa ce,
heart of commercial activity,
i s emptied and 11t by wells of
light, while all the land that
surrounds the building i s space
free for recreation . This project
anticipates the topographical
aspect of hybrid buildings' whose
green roof blends in with the
site and has given way to several
recent projects .
ThisisHybrid 35
 Sunset Mountain Park
...
I UU ol
CE!sar Pelli , despues de su
experiencia con Eero Saarinen and
Associates, puso en prcictica lo
que aprendi6 del maestro danes,
esto es, que la arquitectura no
consistia tanto e n desarrollar un
estilo propio, coma en el poder
que proporciona para trabajar
con diferentes programas y
situaciones. Su proyecto Sunset
Mountain Park, 1965_. para la
firma Daniel, Mann, Johnson_, and
Mendenhall (DMJM} de Los Angeles,
le consagr6 coma un creador de
formas alejadas de estilos y
enraizadas con el lugar .
Esa nueva ciudad-montaila de 1. 500
viviendas_. ideada per Pelli para
Santa M6nica, que se desli zaba
por la colina fundiE!ndose
con la ladera, constituy6 la
pr imera propuesta consistente de
desarrollo suburbano dense, como
a lternativa -nunca construida-,
a la dispersiOn de la vivienda
unifamiliar que fue el monocultivo
del desarrollo americano a partir
de aquellos a nos. Pudo ser el
inicio optimista de un nuevo mundo
lleno de buenas intenciones, que
fusionaba ciudad y territorio en
vastos hibridos extendidos por el
paisaje. Pudo haber cambiado la
mentalidad de la gente e iniciado
dif erentes caminos para el sueno
de la vivienda aislada, pero la
idea no fue bien recibida.
36 ThisisHybrid
cesar Pelli, after his experience
with Eero Saarinen and Associates,
put into practice what he had
Alster Centre
learned from the Danish master .
Architecture did not consist so
much of developing a style but
in the ability it gives to work
with different progr_,.,s and
situations. His project Sunset
Mountain Park, 1965, for Daniel,
Mann, Johnson and Mendenhall
(DMJM) of Los Angeles established
hilll as the creator of forms
away fr011 styles and rooted
in their site. This new city·
OIOUntain with its 1, 588 housing
units, designed by Pelli for
Santa Monica, goes up the hill
melting into the hillside. It 11ade
up the first consistent dense
suburban developnoent proposal as
an alternative to the dispersion
of the single fanoily house that
was the single crop of American
development at the time. It could
have been the optilllistic beginning
of a new world fill of good
intentions, which fused land and
city in vast hybrids extending
over the landscape. I t could have
changed the mentality of the
people and started different ways
for the dreano of the isolated
living . The idea, however, was not
well received.
En 1966, la promotora Neue Heimat
intent6 poner en marcha un
proyecto para el Alster Centre
de Hamburgo-St. Georg, que era
un conjunto residencial formado
por un z6calo horizontal de once
plantas en forma de anillo abierto
del que destacaban cinco torres,
alguna con casi doscientos metros
de altura. Este complejo debia
proporcionar vivienda a 2e.eee
personas, oficinas, comercios
y estacionamiento a 16. eee
vehiculos. El concurso habia sido
encargado por la empresa a Hans
Konwiartz en el area urbana de
Hamburgo. Suscit6 tantas criticas
y protestas ciudadanas que acab6
siendo· finalmente abandonado. Fue
uno mas de los proyectos fallidos
de aquellos anos -tampoco todos
pretendian t erminar en objetos
construidos-, y recuerda de
manera fie! a esas maquetas que
representan tridimensionalmente el
valor del suelo e n una ciudad, con
la clara intenci6n de visualizar
d6nde interesa construir mas
dense, porque el coste del terreno
es mayor.
La propuesta modi ficaba la
silueta urbana de Hamburgo con
un nuevo perfil orografico,
una sierra montaiiosa con cinco
cumbres residenciales que hubieran
dado cobijo a una nueva ciudad
contenida en un edificio Unico,
justo lo contrario que el Edificio
Unitario de Raymond Hood, que
era un edificio con actividad de
ciudad. El proyecto de Konwiartz
actUa a escala urbana, a medic
camino entre arqui tectura y
urbanismo , intenta reclamar para
la ciudad intervenciones patentes
que vuelvan a dar confianza e
identidad a sus. habitantes, a
la vez que ancla el concepto de
edificio hibrido con esas imiigenes
patentes, de accide nte geografico
o de hito urbane, de las que, a
partir de ahora, le sera dificil
desprenderse.
In 1966, the developer Neue
Heimat attempted to start a
project for the Alster Centre
in Hamburg-St. Georg, which
was a residential complex
made up of a horizontal open
loop- shaped base. of eleven
floors from which five towers
arose, reaching a height of
up to almost 288 metres . This
complex was to provide housing
for 20,900 people, offices,
businesses and car park for
16,888 vehicles. The competition
was organised by the company
that hired Hans Konwiartz as
architect . It aroused so much
criticism and so many protests
that the idea was eventually
abandoned . I t was yet another
unsuccessful project of the
times, though not all of them
were meant to be built anyway,
and is reminiscent of those
models that represented in
three-dimensions the land value
of a city, with the clear
intention of visualising where
it was of interest to build
more densely as land prices is
higher. The proposal modified
Hamburg's urban profile with a
new orographic icon, a mountain
chain with five residential
peaks that would have housed a
new city contained in a single
building, the opposite of
Raymond Hood's Unit Building,
which was a building with the
activity of a city. Konwiartz's
project acted on an urban scale,
somewhere between architecture
and urban planning . I t looked
to give back to the city strong
interventions that would give
confidence and identity to its
inhabitants, while anchoring
the concept of hybrid building
with those mighty images, of
geographic feature or urban
landmark and which, from now
on, will be difficult to get
rid of.
ThisisHybrid 37
 West Edlnonton Mall, in Edlnonton,
Esto no es un hibrido Alberta, Canada, is the lar sest
West Edmonton Mall • shoppins centre in North Merica .
uAntes Los hombres construian para satisfacer sus propias necesidades y en cierta manera tambifn It bri nss tOBether, in a sinsle
Las de Los otros . ( ... ) Hoy en dia) s6Lo especuLann. constructed vol. - a water park,
H. W. Corbett. Citado en Hybrid buiLdings de Joseph Fenton18 • llini 10lf, shops, depa rtM nt
stores, restaurants, an ice
skati"' rink, a hot el, a non-
Los centros comerciales de Ias periferias urbanas, a partir de· un determinado momento, em- denollinational chapel, concert
p ezaron a acumular actividades complementarias, p rincipalmente de ocio, como modo de hall, cas ino, radio studios, a
shootins centre, pettins zoo,
anadir atractivo al acto de la compra. Posteriormente se sumaron usos hoteleros y de oficinas cinl!lla and nisht clubs.
An extens ion is planned and will
y ampliaron el horario de apertura hasta veint icuatro horas diarias. Se p uede const atar, por
hold a conventi on and conference
tanto, que Ios complejos comerciales, d enominados malls, t ienden a la mezcla de usos y a centre, an office building and an
apart• nt building. one couldn't
converti rse en un foco de activid ad permanente, que mantiene vivo el nucleo sobre el que ask for 110re. But the aoobition to
se asientan, pero Lpueden considerarse edificios hfbridos? Se ha defendido desde Joseph contain an entire world does not
gi ve it the category of hybrid
Fenton q ue "El ti po hfbrido era una respuesta alas p resio nes m etrop olitanas de la espiral del building.
valor del suelo y a la limitacion impuesta por la trama urbana " 19 . En la situacion suburbana
We st Edmonton Mall 1 en Edmonto n .~
la p resio n de l va lo r del suelo no existe, mas bien al contrario, Ios centros comerciales de la Al berta, Ca nadti .. es el centra
comercial mcls grande de
periferia representan el escapismo a esas elevadas condiciones economicas que impone la Nor teamer ica, reUne e n un Unico
centralidad y t ampoco aparece por ning un lado la rigidez de la trama o del parcelario, por vol umen construido: pa r que
acuatico, mini-golf , t iendas ,
lo menos a un nivel que p ueda imponer ataduras fisicas. Parece, por t anto, poco apropiado gr andes almacenes, r estaurantes,
denominar hfbridos a estos centros suburbanos, a p esar de que conciten en to rno al shopping pist a de hielo, hotel, capilla
aconf es iona l , s a l a de concier tos,
una mixtura de actividades. Se podrian definir como complejos multiusos o plurifuncionales casino, est udios de radio,
relacionad os con el consumo, pero estan moralmente alejados del palpito urbano que arras- sala de tiro, zoo de animales
domesticos, cines y c l ube s
tran Ios procesos de hibrid acion. nocturnes. Est a previ sta una
ampliaci6n que contendra centra
de convenci ones y congresos,
18 Joseph Fenton. edi fic i o de of i c i nas y edifici o
de apartamentos. No s e puede
Hybrid Buildings. This is not a hybrid pedir mas . Pero la ambici 6n de
In: Pamphlet
cont ene r al mundo enter o no l e
Architecture 11 . 'FormerLy men buiLt for their own needs and in a Limited way for others. ( ... ) today they specuLate . , ot orga la categoria de edificio
1984. p 6 H. w. Corbett . Quoted in Hy br id buildings by Joseph Fenton". hibrido.

Shopping centres on the o utskirts of cities, at a certain moment began t o accumulate com-
plementary activities, m ainly leisure activities, as a way of adding an attractive element
t o shopping. Lat er uses as hotels and offices were added and t im etables were extended
even reaching 24-hour openings. lt is thus clear that malls, t end t o mix uses and become a
focus of pe rmanent activity that keeps the nucleus w here they are located alive. But, can
these be considered hybrid buildings? lt has b een d efended fro m Joseph Fenton that 'The
hybrid type was a respo nse to the metro politan pressures of escalating land values and the
constraint of the urban f abric.' 19 In the suburban situat ion, the pressure of land value does E
;E
not exist. On the contrary, m alls represent the escape from the eco no mic conditions that
centrality imposes and the rigidity of the grid does not appear, or at least does not impose
physical restricti ons. Therefore, it does not seem appropriate to call these suburban centres
hybrids in spite of the fact that they bring a variety of activities t o the shopping environ-
ment. They co uld b e defined as multi-use or pluri-functional complexes related with con-
19 Joseph Fenton.
Ibid. p 5
sumption, but are morally sep arated from the urban heartbeat that carry hybrid processes.

ThisisHybrid 39
38 ThisisHvbrid
 En 1931, William J. Re illy esta blecio la Ley de la gravitacion de la compra, segun la cual,
mientras Ios poderes de atraccion de dos cent ros comerciales sean Ios mismos, Ios compra-
dares elegiran preferentemente elm as grande de Ios dos y el que mejor accesib ilidad posea .
La planificacion de Ios malls suburbanos, responde a est as p rem isas, no existe imbricacion, ni
injerto de actividades y las relaciones tampoco estan pensadas para que se multipliquen Ios
contactos personales, ni Ios intercambios entre diferentes. El volumen resultante se obtiene
por la adicion de simples contenedores, que consumen suelo de manera desenfrenada y que
se sienten atraidos entre si exclusivamente por el calor del dinero .
John Portman, el arquitecto de Ios usos m ixtos especulativos par excelencia, contestaba en
una entrevista re ciente: " una vez que uno ha e ntendido coma se financia n Ios proyectos,
para tener exito, se necesita ademas comprender coma funciona una empresa inmobiliaria.
Un edificio es mas que un objeto fisico que se puede contemplar en un determinado em-
plazamiento"20 Obras suyas coma el Peachtree Center de At la nta, el Emba rcadero Center
de San Francisco, o e l Shangai Cent re se han convertido en paradi gmas monetariamente
efectivos de Ios edificios de usos mixtos. Son conj untos donde la firm a de arquitectura ha
cumplido tambien el papel de p romotora inmobi li aria . Estos aglomerados focalizan Ios usos
especulativos que producen beneficios rapidos en localizaciones singulares.
El programa suele ser comun: apartamentos de lujo, oficinas b ien equ ipadas, centra comer-
cia l con primeras marcas, hotel de cinco estrellas, t odo ello barnizado con equ ipamientos
cu lturales, auditorios o teatros y con algunas p iezas d e arte repa rt idas par unos espacios
publicos cuidados con esmero, pero que otorgan a la cultura una fu ncion simplemente deco-
rativa. Esto noes un hibrido.

In 1931, William J. Reilly established the Law of Retail Gravitat ion, which states that while
the power of attraction of two shopping centres are the same, buyers will choose the larger
of the two and the one that has the better accessibility. The planning of suburban malls
responds to these premises. lnterlinking does not exist, nor does the grafting of activities.
Relationships are not meant to increase personal contact or exchange. The resulting volume
is obtained by adding simple containers that with no control take up land and are attracted
among themselves exclusively by the colour of money.
John Portman, the architect of speculative mixed uses par excellence, in a recent interview
answered, 'after understanding how projects are financed, you need to understand how the
real estate must function in order to be successful. A building is more than just a physical
thing that you see in a site.' 20 Some of his works like the Peachtree Center in Atlanta, the
Embarcadero Center in San Francisco or the Shanghai Centre, have become monetarily ef-
fective paradigms of mixed use buildings. They are complexes where the architectural firm
has also played the role of real estate developer. These agglomerates focus specu lative
uses that produce quick profits in unique locations.
20 John Portman.
306090. The programme tends to be common, luxury apartments, well-equipped offices, shopping
Autonomous centre with top brands and five-star hotels, all this varnished with cultural services, aud i-
urbanism. 2005.
toriums or theatres and works of art spread throughout highly cared-for public spaces but
An interview by
Carol ine Kelly. p 45 which give culture a mere decorative function. This is not a hybrid.

ThisisHybrid 41
40 ThisisHybrid
 Richard Sennett ha escrito que un cosmopolita es un hombre que se mueve comodamente
en la diversidad, que se encuentra como en casa en situaciones que no tienen ningun vinculo
o paralelo con aquel lo que lees famil iar21 . Pues asi son Ios edificios hibridos, son edificios
cosmopol itas, asentados en formas fragment arias que no les corresponden, en volumenes
montados a base de retales de anteriores tipologias mezcladas, en Ios que su cuerpo encaj a
con mas o menos fortuna y que p roducen un ser nuevo con una p ersonalidad aglutinadora.
Los siguientes parrafos definen \as caracteristicas y la personalidad de Ios hibridos. Son, cons-
cientemente, sentencias absolutas, agrupadas por temas, que apu ntan a lo categorico y a lo
definitorio, para que Ios rasgo s de su personalidad sean lo mas acusados posible.
Personalidad
La personalidad del hibrido es una celebracion de la complejidad, de la diversidad y de la
variedad de programas. Es el crisol para una mixtura de d iferentes actividades interdepen-
d ientes.
El edificio hibrido es un auto-ho menaje a la crea cion individua l del arquitecto. Cada hibrido es
una creacion unica, sin modelos previos. El propio edificio parte de una idea innovadora, que se
revuelve contra la combinacion establecida de Ios programas habituales y que b asa su propia
razon de exist ir en la novedad del planteamiento y en la inesperada mezcla de funciones.
El hibrido es un ed ificio oportunista, que saca partido a sus multiples habilidades.
El edifi cio hibrido busca relaciones intimas, inesperadas e impredecibles, fomenta la coexis-
tencia de unas con otras, y es conscient e de que \as situaciones no programadas son claves
para su propio futuro.
El hibrido muestra sus muchas facetas y su personalidad propia. Como depende de la natura-
leza individual de su p roceso de creacion, puede ad optar mult ip les representaciones, incluso
contradictorias en su apariencia: hito urbano, escultura, paisaje o volumen anonimo.
El hibrido-hito no esta sujet o a la indiferencia, su sentido es producir impacto en e l obser-
vador. N o pasa desapercibido, sino que manifiest a sus habilidades en publico, su caracter
extravertido y sus dotes de atraccion. El edificio hibrido con ca racter de hito es un actor con
un papel destacado en la escena urbana.
El hibrido-anonimo, por el contra ri o, obliga a que cada parte del programa p ie rda su origina-
lidad. En caso de contener pro grama publico, lo colectivo tend ra que disolver su caracter y
conformarse con ser uno mas dentro de la escena cotid iana de la ciudad.
Sociabilidad
La hibridacion ideal se retroalimenta del encuentro entre la esfera privada y la esfera publi ca.
La intimidad de la vida p rivada y la sociabilidad de la vida p ublica encuentran en el edificio
hibrido anclajes para desarrollarse.
La permeabilidad del hibrido respecto a la ciudad lo hace accesible y la utilizacion privada
de sus equipamientos amplia su horario de utilizacion a \as veinticuatro horas. Esto implica
que la actividad es consta nte y no est a regida ni por Ios ritmos p rivados, ni por Ios p ub licos.
Se crea otra categoria de uso, el ed ificio de jornada continua.
Forma
La moderna insistencia en la correspondencia entre la forma del edificio y su funcion ya no
funciona.
21 Richard Sennett.
La relacion forma-fu ncion en un hibrido puede ser explicita o implicita . En el primer caso se
t iende a la fragm entacion, en el segundo a la integracio n.
Un hibrido generico es un edificio-contenedor que procura un habitat indiferenciado a la d iver-
sidad de funciones que se agrupan e n su interior.
El edificio hibrido luchara siempre cont ra \as morfologias segregacionistas que permiten la hui-
da de alg un uso y tratara de mantener unidas, dentro de su area de influencia, a todas \as acti-
vidades que le puedan p rop orcionar algo de vida.
42 ThisisHybrid
Richard Sennett wrote that a cosm opolitan is someone who moves comfortably in d iversity,
who is at home in situations w hich are not connected or parallel to what is fam iliar to him. 2 '
Just like hybrid buildings. They are cosmopolitan b uildings, placed in fragm ented forms that
do not correspond, in volumes based on remnants of previous mixed t ypologies, where its
body f it s with m ore or less fortune. They produce a new being w ith a unifying personality.
The following paragraphs define the characteristics and p ersonality of hybrids. They are,
consciously, absolute maxims, grouped by themes that point out the categorical and defin-
ing, so that their personality traits are as noticeable as possib le.
Personality .
The personality of the hybrid is a celebration of complexity, diversity and variety of p ro-
grammes. it is the crucible for a mixture of d ifferent interdependent activities.
The hybrid building is a self-tribute to the ind ividual creation of t he architect. Each hybrid
is a unique creation, w ithout previous models. The very building comes from an innovative
idea , which is resolved against the established combination of usual programmes and bases
its reason for existence on the novelty of the approach and the unex pected mixing of f unc-
·-
tions.
The hybrid is an opportunist b uilding , which takes advant ages of its mult ip le skills.
The hybrid building looks for unexpected, unpredictable, intimate relationships, encourages
..c coexistence and is conscious t hat unprogrammed situations are the keys to its own future.
The hybrid shows its many facets and its own personality. As it depends on the individual
nature of its creation process, it can take on multiple representations, even apparently con-
1-
tradictory representations, urban land mark, sculpture, landscape or anonymous volume.
The landmark hybrid is not subject to indifference. it is meant to impact the observer.
it does not go unnoticed, but publicly manifests its skills, its extroverted character and its
attractive points. The hybrid building as a milestone, is an actor in a starring role on the
urban stage.
The anonymous hybrid, on the contrary, requires each part of the p rogramme to lose its
originality. If it holds a public programme, what is collective will have to d issolve its charac-
ter and conform to being another sim ple secondary actor o n the daily stage of t he cit y.
Sociability
The ideal hybrid feeds on t he meeting of the private and public spheres. The intimacy of
private life and the sociability of public life f ind anchors of development in the hybrid b uild-
ing.
The permeability of the hybrid makes it accessib le from t he city and the private use of it s
services extends its t imetab le to 24 hours a day. This means that activity is constant and
is not controlled by private or public rhythms. Another use category is created, a full-time
building.
Form
The Modernism insistence upon correspondence b et ween form and function of a build-
ing no longer works. The form-function relationship in a hybrid can be exp licit or implicit.
The first case leans towards fragmentation, the second towards integration.
A generic hybrid is a b uilding-container that attempts a habitat undifferentiated from the
The Fall of Public diversity of functions that are grouped inside.
Ma n. Alfred A. The hybrid building w ill always f ight against t hose segregationist morphologies t hat allow
Knopff Inc. 1974- the escape from some use and looks to unite, inside their area of inf luence, all of the activi-
1976. Edicions 62 S.
A. 2002. p 49 t ies that can provide life to it.
ThisisHybrid 43
 Tipologfa
El hibrido prim itive, o protohibrido, no ha alcanzado el maxima grado de integraci6n entre
sus funciones y se muestra como un conjunto de tipologias todavia sin fusionar.
No se puede clasificar a Ios edificios hibridos por tipologias, porque en la esencia misma del
hibrido est a la de huir de las categorias.
El hibrido es la consecuencia de un rebate con la tradici6n, de un carte de mangas a la
tipologia.
Procesos
La mezcla de usos es una parte de Ios procesos generales de hibridaci6n. Tambien se p uede
hibridar la prop iedad y el desarrollo del suelo, med iante una combinaci6n de promoci6n
publica y privada. Se puede hibridar la estructura, a base de soluciones mixtas de hormig6n,
acero .. . Se puede hibridar la construcci6n con elementos ensamblados en seco y con j untas
humedas, o lo mismo se puede conseguir a partir de la prefabricaci6n y del montaje tradicio-
nal. Se puede hibridar la gesti6n, con multipropiedades individuales y comu nitarias ..
Programas
La mezcla de usos es una potencia motora que actua como un sistema de vasos comuni-
cantes, favoreciendo a aquellas actividades mas debiles para que todas las partes sa lgan
beneficiadas.
Los edificios hibridos son organismos con mu ltiples programas interconectados, preparados
para acoger, tanto a las actividades previst as, como a las imprevistas de una ciudad.
c Densidad
·-
~cv Entornos densos y con limitaciones para la ocupaci6n de suelo son un buen campo de cultivo
para situaciones hibridas.
El esquema hibrido propane intensos entornos de fecundaci6n cruzados, que mezclan
.Jl Ios genotipos conocidos y crean alianzas geneticas para mejorar las condiciones de vida y
revitalizar Ios entornos en Ios que se encuentran.
E
Escala
...,
Los hibridos tienen el caracter de superedificios, de supermanzanas, de megaestructuras,
ta de edificios-ciudad. Como sugiere alguno de Ios proyectos que integran este numero: son
"monstruos urban os de una raza nueva y gene rosa " 22.
La hibridaci6n se asocia con una cierta forma de grandeur, de esplendor, de g igantismo,
porque la mezcla impone la talla, a su vez, la superposici6n reclama altura y la apropiaci6n
...,0
de superficie por la ampliaci6n del programa consume terreno. Tambien necesita impulso
creador y confianza econ6mica, porque produce situaciones nuevas, inadecuadas para
t iempos de indecision .
La escala de un hibrido y su relaci6n con el entorno se mide por la yuxtaposici6n de las
secciones programaticas. En Ios hibridos verticales, las funciones se unen por superposici6n,
"' en Ios horizontales por adici6n en planta.
Ciudad
A un hibrido, por su escala, se le pueden ap licar estrategias p ropias de la composici6n
urbana. En la defi nici6n de un hibrido interviene la perspectiva, la inserci6n en la trama, el
d ialogo con otros hit os urbanos, la interrelaci6n con el espacio publico circundante ..
22 Short text about the
En ocasiones, lo que es hib ri da es la actuaci6n urbana, compuesta por una serie de edificios
••
monofuncionales, reunidos en torno a una escena comun, q ue representa a la mayor parte
del teatro-mundo ciudadano.
El hibrido supera Ios dominios de la arquitectura y se introduce en el campo del urbanismo.
44 ThisisHybrid
Typology
• The prim itive hybrid , or proto-hybrid, has not reached t he highest p oint of integration
...,
..c
among its f unctions and is seen as a set of t ypologies that have not yet been f used. One
cannot classif y hyb ri d buildings by typologies, because in t he very essence of the hybrid
exists the escape f rom categories.
The hybrid is t he consequence of a rebo und with tradit ion, a two-fingered salute to
typology.
0 Processes
-"'
The mixture of uses is a part of the general processes of 'he hybridation. Property and land
development can also be hybrid, by means of a combination of public and privat e develop-
ing. Structure can be hybrid , based on mixed solutions of concrete and steel. Construction
fa can be hybrid with dry assembled elements w ith wet joints, or the same can be done with
prefabrication and traditional assembly methods. Management can be hybrid, w ith indi-
vidual and community multi-properties.
Programmes
The mixing of uses in a hybrid building generates a potential which is transferred, as in a sys-
tem of connected vessels, to those weaker activities so that all involved are benefited . Hy-
brid buildings are organisms with multiple interconnected programmes, prepared to house
both planned activities as well as those unplanned activities in a city.
•• Density
Dense environments w ith land use limitations are a good field of cultivation fo r hybrid situ-
•
ations. The hybrid scheme proposes intense environments of cross fertilisat ion, which mix
known genotypes and create genetic allies to improve living conditions and revitalise their
surrounding environments .
Scale
Hybrids have the character of super-building s, super-blocks, megastructures o r of Building-
as-a-City. As some of the projects included in this issue suggest, they are 'urban monsters
of a new and generous breed.' 22
Hybrids are associated with a certain form of grandeur, splendor and gigantism, because
mixing implies size and superposition demands height. The t aking over of the surface t o
extend t he programme takes up land. lt also needs a creative impulse and economic conf i-
dence, since it produces new situations inadequate for times of indecision.
The scale of a hybrid and its relationship w ith the environment is measured by the juxtaposi-
tion of programmatic sections. In vertical hybrids, functio ns are joined by superposit ion and
in horizontal hybrids, by on-floor additions.
City
Tra nsformation of
the Ma rcel Saupin
Because of its scale, urban composition strategies can be added to a hyb rid . The d efinition
of a hybrid includes perspective, grid insertion, dialogue with other urban landmarks and
interrelationships with the surrounding public space.
Occasionally, what is hybrid is the urban plan, made up of a series of mono-functional b uild-
ings gathered around a common stage, which represents most of t he citizen theatrical
world.
Stadium in Nantes,
The hybrid goes beyond the d omain of architecture and enters t he realm of urban p lanning.
France, by Jacques
Ferrier, Philippe
Gazeau, Louis
Paillard
ThisisHy brid 45
Social
 Joseph Fenton.
"Hybrid Buildings"
in Pamphlet
En el primer estudio real izado sabre Ios hlbridos, Joseph Fenton est ablece que surgieron en
el p rimer cuarto de l sig lo XX, con elfin de revita lizar las ciudades ame ricanas y rent abilizar la
El edi f i cio de vi viendas
Narkomfin fue con st r uido por
Moi sei Ginzburg e Ignaty Mi l i nis,
e ntre 1928 y 1932, par a los
I Js
I

1E
I
'

ocupacion del sue lo 1. trabajadores de l Comisariado de

Architecture n . 11
Fi na nzas . Es el resul tado de l a s
Princeto n D e manera simultanea, el movimiento constructivista da a luz el condensador social. investigaciones enca r gadas por el
Architectural Press. Est ado a un grupo de a r qu i tectos ,
New York, 1984. p 5 Fue descrito por Moisei G inzburg 2 como un ed ificio diseiiado p ara transform ar las relaciones dir igidos por Gi nzburg, sabre
Leonardo Benevolo. entre Ios hombres en Ios tres ambitos del nuevo estado socialista: la vivienda colectiva, el club t i pologia y e sta nda r izaci6n de
Historia de la vivienda. De las 6 uni dades de
y fabrica. viv iendas c r eadas, de dimensio nes The Narkomfin block of flat s was
arquitectura built by Moise i Ginzburg and
moderna. Gustavo Ambos son hij os del periodo d e vanguardias, cuando Ios acont ecimientos histo ricos prop i- varia bles y con gr ande s
posibilidade s de agregaci6n, Ignaty Mili nis , bet ween 1928
Gili. Barce lo na, 1977. cia ron una t abla rasa f ecunda en nuevos p lanteamientos. El condensado r se desarrolla en la Gin zburg eligi6 pa r a componer and 1932 for the workers of t he
pp 592-600 este edi fi ci o las unidades D, conmissariat of Finance . It i s
Casa comunita ria
recien creada Union Sovietica, donde la disponibilidad del suelo era absoluta y la necesidad de the r es ult of St ate-comnissioned
y K. La F es una ce l ula de 30 m2
vivienda acuciante. Una opo rtunidad de experimentacion que Ios arquitectos co nstructivistas di vidi da en dos nive les , con un r esear ch by a group of architect s
dor mi t orio y una e stancia. En los dir ected by Ginzburg on typology
encuadrados en la OSA (Asociacio n de Arquitectos Cont emporaneos), no dudaron en aprove- pisos inferio res se i ncluia l a and housing standar di sation . Of
char. En el concurso sabre nuevas propuest as residenciales, convocado en 1927 por la revist a versiOn K con dos habit a ci ones , t he six ho using units created,
pe nsada par a f ami l ia s numerosas . wit h their vari ed di mens ions and
d el grupo, Sovremennaya Arkhitektura, aparecen p o r primera vez p royectos con viviendas en El Narkomf i n se compone de dos large aggregation poss i biliti es,
cuer pos de hormigOn unidos por Ginzbur g chose uni ts D, F and K
duplex o trlplex, calles interio res y galerlas de acceso. G inzburg desarrolla algunas de estas t o form part of t his building.
un estrecho puent e . El volumen
p ropuest as, q ue crist alizan en la celula de viviend a m inima (27-30 m 2), con la que compone de viviendas tiene cinco a l turas F is a 30 m' ce ll div i ded into
sobre pilot is. Dos cal l es two leve l s, with one bedroom and
Ios grandes bloques residenciales dom-komuna3 Serviran para alojar a las masas proletarias y l i ving room . on lower levels, K
interio r es, una en el piso
tendran como objet ivo influir en e l comportamiento socia l de sus hab itantes. La mayor parte pr i me ro y ot r a e n e l cua rto dan wa s i ncluded , wi th t wo bedr ooms,
acc es o a l as 54 uni dades . desi gned f or large families ,
de las actividades, hasta entonces p ropias de la vida privada, t ra nscurre en cocinas, ca ntinas, Un estrecho puente l a conecta con Narkomfi n i s made up of two
concrete units j oi ned by a na rrow
lavanderlas o gua rderias comunes. un edif icio pa r alelo, acri sta l ado
y de menor a l t ura donde se bridge, The volume containing
e ncuent ran los servi ci os comunes : housi ng has f ive f loors on
jardin de infan cia, gimnasio, pi loti s. Two i nner str eet s , one
bibl ioteca , cocina, cant ina, on the fi r st f loor and another
l avande ria, y sa l a de encuentro s . on the fourth , provide access t o
the 54 uni ts, A narrow bridge
J oseph Fe nton. In the first study done on hybrids, Jose ph Fenton states that they came about in the f irst quar- Sendos j ardines estaba n
programados e n la cubi erta y en connects i t to a pa r allel glazed
' Hybrid Buildings'
ter of the 20'h century, in order to revitalise American cities and make optimum use of land' . la pl a nta baj a l i bre. buildi ng, of a lowe r he i ght ,
in Pamphlet whe r e corrmon ser vices are
Simultaneously, the constructivist movement brought about the social condenser. lt was des- El di seiio de las vi viendas en
Architecture n located . These services include
dos alturas venia a sort ear
11 Princeton cribed by Moisei Ginzburg 2 as a building designed to transform relationships among citizens in e l mandate estatal por el q ue nursery s chool , gym, l i brary,
Architectural Press. cualquier vi vienda en un ni vel kitchen, cant een, launderette and
New York, 1984. p 5 the three areas of the new socialist state: collective housing, clubs and factories. era s us ce ptibl e de divisi On pa r a me eting r oom. Garden pat hs are
prograrrmed on the roof and on the
2 Leonardo Be nevolo. Both are the fruit of the avant-garde era, when historical events provid ed a clean slate for many acoger a dos fami l ias .
Al desarrol larse en altura y free l ower l evel.
Hist oria de la
new approaches. The condenser was developed in the recently created Soviet Union, where con una anchur a inferior a The design of the t wo -stor e y
arquiteetura housing uni ts was able t o get
there was total land availability and the need f or housing was urgent.This was an opportunity 3,5 metros , la divisiOn e r a
moderna. Gust avo around the State mandate as
imposibl e. Ginzburg i de6 este
Gili. Barce lo na, for expirimentation that the constructivist architects of the OSA (Union of Contemporary Ar- tipo de unidad de spues de ha be r any one-level r esidence was
19 77. pp 592-600 experimentado las di f i cul tades capable of being divided for two
chit ects) t ook full advantage of. In the competition for new residential proposals, organised fami lies .
Communal ho use que pl anteaba la colectivizaci6n
in 1927 by the group's journal, Sovremmennaya Arkhitektura, duplex and triplex housing, in- t ota l de la vida domest ica. As it wa s de vel oped in a
El s i stema de vivienda vertical multi-storey fas hion and l ess
terior streets and entrance galleries appeared in projects. Ginzburg developed so me of these permitia un mini ma e spacio de than 3.5m wide, division was
i mpossi bl e. Ginzburg t hought of
proposals, crystallised in the minimum living cell (27-30 m 2). which made up large residential intimidad, disf rutando de una
t his unit type afte r experiencing
altur a de 3 , 5 met r os e n la zona
blocks called dom-komuna 3• They wou ld serve to house the proletarian masses and aimed to de estancia y 2,3 en l a alcoba. the di ffi culti es that total
Tenia ve ntil aci6n cr uzada y collect i visat i on of domest ic life
influence the social behaviour of its inhabitants. Most of the activities which previously were br ought about .
Chan, 5.0. su s i stema de galerias de
part of private life, took place in common kitchens, canteens, launderettes or nurseries. acceso ahorraba superf i cie de The vertical housing s ystem
Magomedov. Moisej allowed minimal private space,
circulaci6n y r educia co steS4 •
Ginzburg. Franco 3.5m hi gh in the living area and
Angeli Editori. 2 . 3 in the bedroom. It had cr os s
Mi lan, 1975. venti l ati on and its entrance
gallery syst em s aved gr eatl y on
pp 126-127
space and cost . ·

ThisisHybrid 49
48 ThisisHybrid
 Park Avenue en mayo de 1913, pocos meses
Ibidem El condensador era resultado del pensamiento funciona l, que constituia la luz y la guia del despues de la apertura de la nueva terminal
8 «AI igual que Ios
metodo constructivista: "un metodo que indica con determinaci6n al arqu itecto la via a se- de la Central Station. En ambos lados de la
condensadores avenida se obse!Van las vias de ferrocarril,
electricos guir, que sugiere una soluci6n para su problema, teniendo en cuenta las premisas a las que
que pocos aiios mas tarde seran cubiertas
transforman la se enfrenta" 7 . con edificios
naturaleza de
El hibrido era igualmente el resultado de un pensamiento func ional, pero a una escala en la Park Avenue in M ay 1913, few months after
la corriente, Ios t he opening of the Grand Central Terminal.
condensadores que Ios flujos de usuaries tenian tanta importancia como Ios Hujos econ6micos. Mientras el In both sid es of the avenue we can
sociales deben condensador concentra toda su capacidad de transformaci6n sobre Ios integrant es de una appreciate t he railroad ways t hat within few
consegu ir que
years will be cover with b uildings
un individuo comunidad cerrada8 - Ios habitantes de la vivienda comunal, Ios miembros d e club, Ios traba-
preocupado por sus jadores de una fabrica- e l hibrido se abre a la ciudad y favorece el contacto entre descono-
prop ios inte reses
cidos, intensifica el uso del suelo, densificando a la vez las relaciones, y deja margen para la
se convierta en un
hombre complete». indeterminaci6n, frente al control que impone el condensador.
Anatole Kopp. En cuanto a las relaciones, en el hibrido se establecen fuera del espacio domestico, mientras
Vi/le et revolution.
que en el condensador se adent ran en la esfera de lo privado y llegan hasta la p uerta de l
Architecture
et urbanisme dormit o rio .
sovietiques des
annees vingt.
Anthropos. 1967.
p 148 The condenser was the result of functional thinking , w hich was t he guiding light of the
constructivist method: 'a method indicating with determination which path t o follow, and
suggesting a solution to the architect's problems, taking into account the premises he is
confronted to.'7 The hybrid was also the result of functional thinking but on a scale whe re
user flux was just as important as economic flux. While the condenser concentrated all of
Ibid.
8 'Just as capacitors, its t ransformation capacity on the membe rs of a closed community8 , -the inhabitants of
electrical communal housing, club members, factory workers- the hybrid opened up to the city and
cond ensers,
transform the nature encouraged contact among strangers, intensified land use, densifying rel ationships and left
of the electric room for indetermination, as opposed to the control that the condenser imposed .
curre nt, social
As far as relationships are concerned, in the hybrid they are established outside of the
condensers should
cause an individual domestic area, while in the condenser, they go into the private realm up to the bedroom
preoccup ied by his/ door.
her own interest s to
become a complete
human b eing.·
Anatole Kop p.
Vilfe e t revolution.
Architecture
et urbanisme
sovietiques des
anm?es vingt. Park Avenue en junio de 1921. Nuevos
Anthropos. 1967. edificios residenciales en altura aparecen
p 148 construidos sobre las vias, aprovechando Ios
derechos aereos de la estaci6n
Park Avenue in June 1921 . N ew residentia l
high-rise build ing were built on t he air rights
space of Grand Central Terminal's railroads

52 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 53
 (.Par q ue se produce, en la actualidad, ese equivoco entre hibridos y condensadores?
Los hibridos se caracterizan por la mezcla de usos dentro de un mismo proyecto; integran
diferentes programas, que a su vez t ienen diferentes promotores, diferentes gestiones y, por
supuesto, d ife rentes usuaries. Es decir, un hibrido puede ser tan diverso como una ciudad, en
usuaries, en t iempos de uso yen programa.
Po r su parte, Ios condensadores -que han seguido desarro llandose hast a Ios anos 80, debido
a la infl uencia que Ios constructivistas tuvieron en Le Co rbusier yen sus seguidores-, eran en
su mayoria edificios de vivienda minima en donde, por cuestiones econom icas e id eologicas,
se segregaron una serie de fu nciones de la vida privada y se convirtieron en publicas.
La vision maquin ista de la vivienda invitaba a separar Ias funciones como quien separa Ios pro-
cesos productivos. Y de la m ism a manera que Ios procesos productivos se abaratan ajustando
al maximo el espacio, ta mbien la sistemat izacion y compactacio n de las fu nciones vita les
revierten en un ahorro p ara el promotor, en est e caso, el Estado.
La p eculia ridad programatica de estos p rotot ipos -capaces de alojar a mas de 1.000 habitan-
tes-, se despliega en planta y seccion con la variedad de una pequeiia ciudad. Pueden encon-
trarse Ias mismas funciones que en un hibrido, sobre tod~, en las Unites y sus descendientes,
en las que se insertan comercios e incluso oficinas en la denominada calle interior. Sin embar-
go la diferencia estriba en que todas las funciones estan p ensadas, no para crear intensidad y
vitalidad en la ciudad, no para atraer f lujos de usuaries externos, ni tampoco para favorecer la
mezcla ni la indeterminacion, sino para conseguir un edificio autosuficient e y "complete " que
pueda aislarse de la ciudad convenciona l.
Es decir, que la presencia en planta y seccion de varias fu nciones subordinadas no otorga
categoria de hibrido a un edificio de vivienda. De la misma manera que un equipamiento que
incluya un variado programa de uso p ublico no seria un hibrido, sino una ve rsion moderna
del condensador social, en su modalidad club . La hibridacion no es solo de prog rama, sino
tambien de iniciativa, de inversion y de gestion.

So why is there that misunderstanding nowadays between hybrid and condenser?
Hybrids are characterised by a mix of uses in the same project. lt integ rates different p ro-
grammes which also have different developers, different management and, obviously, di-
fferent users. This is to say that a hybrid can be as diverse as a city in users, use times and
programme.
On the other hand, condensers -developed unt il the 1980s due to the influe nce that cons-
tructivists had on Le Corbusier and his followers -were mostly buildings with minimum
housing where, because of economic and ideological reasons, a series of functions of pri-
vate life were segreg ated and converted into public functions. The m achine-like vision of
housing facilitated the separation of f unctions as productive processes. Just as productive
processes become cheaper as space is maximised, systemisation and compression of vital
functions are result in savings for the developer, in this case the State.
The programmatic features of t hese prototypes, capable of housing over 1,000 inhabitants,
spreads out over f loor and section with the variety of a small city. T he same fu nctions that
can be found in a hybrid can be f ound here, especial ly in Unites and those t hat followed,
where businesses and even offices were inserted on t he so-called inner street . Neverthe-
less, the difference rests in the fact that each function is t hought out not to create intensity
and vitality in t he city, no r to att ra ct f lux of outside users o r even to favour mixing and inde-
termination, but to achieve a self-sufficient and 'complet e ' building that can isolate itself
from the conventional city.
This means that t he presence of various subordinate functions on f loor and section does not
make a housing building a hybrid. A long the same lines, a facilit ies b uilding that includes
a varied public use programme would not be a hybrid, but a modern version of the social
condenser, as a club type. Hybridisation is not only in the p rogramme b ut in init iative, in-
vestment and management.

La Unite d'habitation es el
elemento minimo de diseflo de la
Unite d'habitation ciudad., segUn la visi6n de Le
Corbusier. Contiene entre 300
y 400 viviendas, mas servicios
de primera necesidad para uso
interne. Tres unidades agrupadas
formarian una unidad secundaria,
a la que se aiiadirian servicios
y equipamientos de uso pUblico.

The Unite d'habi tation i s ,

according t o Le Corbusier' s
vision, the minimum design
element of the city.
It contains around 398·488
housing units as well as
the essential services for
residents' use. Three of these
units together would ellbody
a secondary unit, t o which
services and public faci lities
are added.

54 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 55
 Leisure Centre
9 Rem Ko olhaas. Rem Koolhaas -un rendido seguidor d e Ios construct ivist as- , durante su recorrido del irante
Delirio de Nueva Ivan Leonidov di seil6 varies Ivan leonidov desi gned several
por la historia de Nueva York, se detiene en el Downtown Athletic Club y lo describe como un prot otipos de club con una club prot otypes wi th a fapacity
York. Gustavo Gili.
edificio en el que por primera vez han t riunfado Ios poderes de transformacion del conden- capacidad que osc i l aba e nte 150 y that ran from 159 to 2S, 999
2004.
25 . eee usua ries . Ninguno de ell os users. None of them was built.
p 158 sador socia l construct ivista. f ue const ruido. Eran cent r es de They were centres for interact i on
10 Joseph Fenton. r elaci 6n en donde l os t r a baj adores where workers spent leisure time
Op. cit. p 20
No se refiere a la version para vivienda comunal, sino a la tipologfa de l club de trabajadores.
pasaban el tiempo de ocio participating in acti vities to
11 Kenneth Frampton. El program a en altura de un edificio dedicado al ocio y al culto del cuerpo, por el que Ios realizando acti vidades t ende nte s a conform a new social behaviour.
Histo ria crftica de confor mar un nuevo compor tamient o Depending on size, they could
solteros del dist rito financiero ascend fan hasta "a lcanzar nuevos est ratos de madurez, trans- social. Dependiendo de l tamaiio., include spaces for open air
la arqu itectura
moderna. Gustavo formimdose para ello en seres nuevos" 9 le p arecio la culm inacion d e Ios ensayos hechos por podian i ncl ui r espac i os pa r a sports activitiesJ auditoriums.,
actividades deportiva s al ai re libraries., parks., stadiums J gyms J
Gili. 1987. Leonidov en Ios anos veinte, con la diferencia de que el D owntown no necesito el visto bueno l i bre., a udi toria., bi blioteca, pools and even areas for parades
p p 176-179 parque, est adio , gimnas i o, piscina or shows . These plans are from
d e Stalin y pudo construirse.
e incluso explanadas par a desf i les. the project Leisure Centre for
Es sintomatico que se d et enga en est e edificio y lo compare con un condensado r porq ue, si Los pl anos pert enecen al proyecto the new social type, model A,
Cent ro de ocio para el nuevo tipo 1928., lower level and elevation.
hacemos caso a Fenton, dicho edificio es un hibrido que se compone de un club deportivo en
social , modelo A, 1928, planta
Ias p lantas inferiores, un hotel en Ias superiores y un restaurante en el cent ro para Ios usuarios ba ja y a lzado .
de ambos p ro gramas' 0 Sin embargo, que de una mism a realidad puedan ext raerse analisis
ta n dispares, es sfntoma d e l potencial que engendraban Ios primeros hibridos y que la seg re-
gacion de usos, que siguio a la Ca rta de Atenas, relego al o lvido durante varias decadas.
El hibrid o ameri cano fue herido d e muerte despues de la Segunda G uerra M undial. Su coeta-
neo, el condensador, habfa sucumb ido mucho antes, no solo en su version club, considerado
por Ios estalinistas un p rototipo demasiado elitista, si no t ambien en su version domestica . uEl Club representa l a conquista
completa del rascacie l os.,
Las dom-kommuna f ueron rechazadas p or Ios propios habit antes, deseosos de m ayor intimi- pl anta a pl anta, por parte
de la act ividad soci a l ;
dad y por sus dirigentes, pues demostraron ser unas estructuras inmanejables con la t ecno- con el Downtown Athletic
logia de la epoca 11 . Club, el modo de vida , los
conoc i mientos y la i niciativa
de l os nor teamericanos
superan definit ivamente las
modi ficaciones te6ri cas del
Downtown esti lo de vi da que las diver sas
9 Rem Koolhaas. During his delirious route along New York history, Rem Koolhaas, a devoted fo llo wer of the vanguardias europeas del siglo
Delirious New York. constructivist s, stops at the Downtown Athletic Club and describes it as a building w here Athletic Club XX han estado proponie ndo con
The Monacelli Press. insi stencia sin lograr nunc a
p 158 the social condenser's powers of transformat ion succeeded for t he f irst t ime. imponerl a s . En el Downt own
Athletic Cl ub, el rascacielos se
10 Jose ph Fent on. He d o es not refer to the communal housing version, but the workers' club typology. usa como un condensador social
Op. cit . p 20
The high-rise programme of a building d edicated to leisure and physica l fitness, whe re fi- const ructi vista : una maquina
11 Kenneth pa r a gene ra r e inte nsi ficar
Frampton. Modern nancial district singles went to 't o reach new strata of maturity by transforming the mselves al gunas modalidades deseabl es de
architecture: into new beings'9 seemed to him to be the culmination of t ests done by Leonidov in the las rela ci ones humanas"12 •
a critical histo ry.
Oxf ord University
1920s, differing in that the Dow ntown Athletic Club did not need Stalin's approval and thus 'The Club represents the
Press. 1980. p 174 co uld be built. coonplete conq uest -floor by
floor- of the Skyscrapers by
lt is symptomat ic that he stops at this building and compare it t o a co ndenser b ecause, if w e social activi ty; with the
p ay attention to Fenton, this building is a hybrid because it is made up of a sports club on Downtown Athletic Club t he
Ameri can way of life., know- how
low er floors, a hot el o n upper flo ors and a restaurant in t he middle, for users of both progra- and i nitiative defini tive ly
overtake the theoretical
m mes10. However, the f act t hat f rom one reality such different analyses can be extracted is lifestyle modifi cations that
symptomatic of the potential that those first hybrid s held and that t he segregatio n of uses, the vari ous 28t~'~- century
Eur opean avant-gardes have been
f o llowing the Athens Charter, pushed into obscurity for d ecad es. insistently proposi ng, without
The Amer ican hybrid was f at ally wounded after World W ar 11. Its co ntemporary, t he con- ever managing to i 11p0se t hem.
I n the Downtown At hl etic Club
denser, had succumbed much earlier, not o nly in its club versio n, considered by Stalinists the Skyscraper is used a s a
t o be too elitist, but also in its d o mestic versio n. The dom-kom m una w ere rejected by t heir Cons truct i vist Social Condenser:
a machi ne to ge ne r ate and
own inhabit ants, desiring m ore p rivacy, and by t heir managers, who showed that w it h the 12 Rem Koolhass. i ntensify desi r able forms of
human intercourse." 1 2
t echnology of t he d ay, they w ere unmanag eable structures" . Op. cit. p 152

56 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 57
13 Rex. Museum Plaza Sin embargo, estas dos vi siones del m undo, representad as en sendos modelos antagonicos, Seaside Hybrid
Louisville, 2005- el hijo d e la ideologia fre nte e l hijo del d inero, han seguido reencarnandose, con mayor o
Hybrids I a+t 31. Steven Holl construy6, en 1988,
pp 80-101 m eno r int ensidad hast a nuest ros dias. En e l cu rso de Ios ult imos 80 anos Ios condensadores un edi f i cio hibrido a l borde
14 Larry Fo rd . Cities han sufrido algunas derrotas, la m ayoria debidas a su d eseo de p rogramar y enclaustrar la del ma r en Fl orida, y escri bi6:
and Buildings: noe ac uerdo con la normativa
vida de sus usuari os - Ios casos de Corviale o Park Hil l han sido Ios mas do lorosos para Ios de planeamiento, el edif icio
Skyscrapers, Skid
defensores del modelo . Mientras, Ios hibridos han tenido una epoca de mutacion en manzana Seaside Hybrid forma una arcada
Rows, and Suburbs pUblica continua alrededor
(Creating the hibrid a, para atraer la inversion y faci litar la g est ion, con result ad os como el Barbican o lhme de l a plaza del pueblo, a l a
North American ve z que func i ona como una
landscape).
Zent rum, q ue, junto con otros ejemp los not ables, se incluyen en el analisis comparative que soc i edad de estraiios, de bi do
The Johns Hopkins acompana a este texto. a sus espacios mul tiuso para
University Press; comerc i os , ofi cinas y viviendas .
En Ios ultimos anos, el balance de mod elos a seguir pareda favorece r al hibrido. Despues del Esta concentraci 6n de programas
Revised edition,
repunte teorico de Ios ochent a, del q ue han qued ado ejemplos en la obra de Steven Ho ll y de desconect ados conforma un
1994 ur ba nismo fortuito. La fo r ma
15 Simon Rawlinson. Abalos & Herreros, entre otros aut ores, reaparecio a principios del siglo XXI, de nuevo como de l edifi cio se di vide en l os
'Cost model: M ixed- ni veles superiores en el tipo
e l salvad or de las ciudad es ame ri canas, a traves de p royect os como el Museum Plaza 13 Des-
use city-centre Este y e l Oeste. Hac i a el oeste,
schemes' in Building p rovisto de carg a id eolog ica y d otado d e una g ran versatilidad , el hibrido est a encontrando enfr entados a l a puesta de sol
n' 49, 2005 y a l a plaza central estan las Iiia ki Abal os y Juan Herreros
t ambien su lugar en Europa, por no hablar de Asia, donde la mezcla de usos ha sido consus- viviendas para l os i ndividuos
proyectaron en 1986 un
t ancial al d esarrol lo d e sus ciudades 14 . bulli ciosos y dormilones a los inte rcambi ador de transportes
que l es gusta ver l a an i maci6n; para la Plaza de Castilla, en
Es posib le que e l hibrido haya vampirizado el poder de su antagonista para modelar la con- sus vivienda s tienen l ujosos Madrid. En su memoria se lee:
d uct a hum ana - aunque no en la d ireccion que habian p revisto Ios idea listas rusos- y lo haya cuartos de baiio y espacio uel proyecto desarrolla tres
pa r a fiest as. Hacia el este, proposiciones: la densidad
anadid o a su cap acidad natural p ara activar la ciud ad. Su vigor de hibrido le favorece en enfrentados a la salida del sol como una oferta positiva;
situacion d e crisis, aunque tiene e l talon debil de la f inanciacion 1s N oes un prototipo d isci- estan las vivi endas para l os la estratificaci6n como una
i ndividuos melanc6licos, los que alt ernativa a la segregaci6n;
p linar, sino una concentracion de intereses, no se b asa en la t rad icion sino en e l f ut uro y su se despi ertan temprano y aman el rascacielos mixed- use como
el s i lencio y l a soledad,16 •
supervivencia depende del consenso. Oue lo confundan con un condensador social es, sin expresi6n poetica de la cultura
Interchange Station contemporanea.
d uda, lo de menos. Steven Holl built a hybrid Los usos forman en su ascenso
building at the seaside in un gradiente de privacidad. Una
Florida in 1988 and he wrote: plataforma elevada conecta los
' Keeping in accordance with sol a res y divide los programas:
13 Rex . Museum Plaza. Nevertheless, these two visions of the world, represented in antagonistic models, the fruit planners-' regulations, the ba jo ella los inte rcambios ,
Lo uisville, 2005- Seaside Hybrid building forms
of ideology as opposed to the fruit of money, have continued to reincarnate, whether more la movilidad pUblica, los
Hybrids I a+t 31. a continuous public arcade aparcamientos. Sob re e l l a los
pp 80-101 or less intensely, up to current times. Throughout the past 80 years, condensers have gone around the town square, while lugares estclticos, de traba jo
14 Larry Ford. through some defeats, most of them due to the desire to programme and enclose the lives functioning as a 'society y de consume; elevandose mas ,
Citie s and Buildings: of strangers' due to its la residencia, los hotel es
of its users The Corviale or Park Hill cases were the most painful for the model's defenders. multipurpose retail , office y l os jardines. Una secci6n
Skyscrape rs, Skid
and residential spaces. This esca lonada : sucesi6n de atalayas
Rows, a nd Suburbs Meanwhile, hybrids have had a time of mutation on the hybrid block to attract investment concentration of disjointed sobr e Mad ri d~m .
(Creating the and facilitate management, with results like the Barbican or lhme Zentrum, along with other programs forms an incidental
North A m erican urbanism. The building forms
landscape). important examples. A selection of both is included in the comparative analysis that fo llows split at the upper levels into I i'ia ki A.bal os and Juan Herr eros
East and West types, Facing west designed an interchange station
The Johns Hopkins this text. at Plaza de Casti lla, Madrid,
University Press; into the setting sun and central
In the last ten years, the balance of models to be followed seemed to favour the hybrid_ square are rooms for boisterous in 1986. The repor t said : 'the
Revised edition, project develops three premises :
After the theoretic recovery in the 1980s, where we have examples inSteven Holl's work types and late risers who enjoy
1994 watching the action; their density as a posi t ive factor ;
15 Simon Rawlinson. and the work of Abalos & Herreros, among others, it reappeared at the beginning of the flats have luxury bathrooms and stratification as an alternative
'Cost model: Mixed- space for parties . Facing east to segregation; the mixed-use
21 " century, again as a saviour to American cities through projects such as t he Museum tower block as poetic expressi on
use city-centre to the rising sun are rooms for
Plaza 13 . Devoid of ideology and endowed with great versatility, the hybrid is also finding melancholic types, the early of contemporary culture.
schem es' in Building
risers who are inclined to The uses f o rm an ascendi ng scale
No 49, 2005 its place in Europe, not to mention Asia, where the mixing of uses has been inherent in the of privacy. A rai sed platf orm
silence and solitude. "'16
connects the pl ots and divides
development of its cities 14 • the prograntnes : beneath it, the
The hybrid may possibly have exhausted the power of its antagonist to model human con- interchanges, public mobilit y,
16 http://www.stevenholl. the parking spaces. Above it,
duct, though not in the way Russian idealists had thought. lt may also have added its natural corn/project-detail. the static spaces for work and
capacity to activate the city, Its vigour as a hybrid favours it in times of crisis, though it does php?type~housing&i consumpti on; ascendi ng f urther,
d~71&page~ 1 the housing.. hotels and gardens.
have an Achilles' heel called financing 15 , lt is not a disciplinary prototype, but a concentra- 17 Aba/os & Herreros. A stepped section: a successi on
tion of interests. lt is not based on tradition but on the future_ Its survival depends on con- Gustavo Gili . 1993 of vantage points overlooking
pp 14-19 Madrid. ' 17
sensus. Being confused with a social condenser is really the least of its concerns.

58 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 59
 Hybri d

Hybrid versus Social Condenser

Este analisis comparative incluye una selecci6n de edificios* construidos entre 1945 y 1975.
El criterio de division entre hibridos y condensadores sociales se
basa en una serie de rasgos q ue se detallan a continuaci6n:

Hybrid
• Diversidad de usos, incluido el residencial
• Diferentes iniciativas
•En Ios edificios hibridos se
• lnserci6n adaptada a la trama urbana sei1alan Ios uses en secci6n y se
• Uti lizaci6n publica especifican e n planta de una
manera mas pormenorizada a
traves de una leyenda.
Social Condenser En Ios condensadores sociales,
el programa de servicios se
• Edificios residenciales con un programa de servicios asociado a las viviendas
destaca en la se cci6n,
• lniciativa publica entendiendose que e l resto estil
• Situaci6n aislada en la trama urbana dedicado a vivienda.
Los edificios incluidos se
• Utilizaci6n exclusiva del programa de servicios por parte de Ios residentes
consideran prototipos, per lo
que representaron en su tiempo
y por sus influencias posteriores,
por lo que se muestran Ios uses
This comparat ive analysis includes a selection of buildings* constructed o programas de servicios
b etween 1945 and 1975. The criterion for d ividing between hybrids and previstos en Ios proyectos

social condensers is b ased on a series of features which follows: Social Condenser originates, con independencia
de que se hayan llevado a cabo
tal y come fueron planeados o
Hybrid no. Tampoco se contemplan las
sucesivas remodelaciones o
• Diversit y of uses, including residential cambios de uso que pueden
• Different init iat ives haber sufrido.
• Insertion adapted to t he urban fabric
• Public uses *In the hybrid buildings the
uses are set out in the section
Social Condenser and are specified on the plan in
more detail using a key.
• Residential b uildings wit h a service programme associated to t he d wellings For social condensers, the
• Public initiat ive service programme is set out in
blue in the section, making it
• Isolated location in the ur ban fabric
understood that the rest is
• Exclusive use of the service programme by resid ents dedicated to dwelling.
The buildings included are
considered prototypical fo r
what they represented at the
time and for their later
influence.
The foreseen uses and service
programmes are outlined in the
original projects, independently
of whether t hey were actually
carried out afterwards. Nor are
the successive renovations or
change of uses which they
might have undergone since
their construction taken into
account.

60 ThisisHybrid ThisisHybrid 61