Valencia, Spain
Mission Title: Calatrava's Cup - America's Cup and Architecture
Mission By: Christa Petrovic, Martina Treeter
Mission Finished on Date: 08-06-2008
SCRIPT
- Visit the Valencian waterfront and hang around all of that nice architecture.
- Focus on visual details and try and capture any difference with the rest of the cityscape, highlighting Calatrava's style.
- Compare the harbor and its boats to the architcture, how have the architects mirrored or matched the imaginary of the sea.
- Explore the way new spaces are used and create an active relationship with the city's community.
- Ask the locals and the tourists you meet about the sailing cup, whether they care about it or not.
- Look for kids playing soccer – the most popular sport in Spain – , maybe on the beach, and ask them if they think the city has enough public football fields for them to play on.
- DO locals feel they’re being classed out of the harbor area?
TRAVEL BAG
How does a city use sports to gentrify?
Fresh faced boys and bearded billionaires might be the cliché of yacht clubs, wearing white pants and decks shoes, smelling like aftershave lotion, sea spray and money. But the America’s Cup race, and its reenergization since 1983 when the New York Yacht Club finally lost it after a 113-year winning streak, has transformed the sport. Well, not entirely away from it’s rich boy roots, but something better resembling a real international sport than a lark for the upper class.
A million people gawked at the maniacally designed, engineered and sponsored vessels in the past edition of America's Cup in Valencia. The Defender’s of the Cup were apparently so satisfied with the Spanish city has been selected to host the next edition of the regatta in 2009. Since 2003, the Valencia officials have invested billions to carve a brand new face into the city's waterfront, inviting first class architects to design a pleasant landscape that suits the high-class tastes of yachtsman.
Local starchitect Santiago Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences gave Valencia’s riverside a fresh ultra-modern look, but the more recent Sails and Winds building designed by David Chipperfield and Fermín Vázquez is proof the city doesn't only want to look good, but to also attract tourists, especially wealthy ones. If the million people watching the boats race were not enough, a huge increase in cruise ship visits has been another satisfactory achievement for these late installments on the city's waterfront, that they’ve artificially extended to accommodate the new development. Though the pockets are not as deep for the new stadium and a motorcycle grand-prix to opened by 2011, there are at least more of them.
Mission Report
The architecture of Santiago Calatrava is an imposing piece of art, reminding us of boats, cranes and sea animals. Very impressing is its function: people can walk through the buildings and through a beautiful park, enjoying refreshing water spots. The white colour, the glass and the flowers give the quarter a light and friendly touch.
When you walk or drive through Valencia you can see a big difference in the architectural styles that characterize the city: on one hand there’s the quarter of Arts and Sciences and, close by, the harbour, where expensive boats are lying, in front of expensive restaurants. On the other hand a district called “El Cabanyal”, one of the last active fishing villages within a European city, characterized by a southern-american atmosphere. People here live in very poor conditions: school education is not at a high level and jobs are not well-paid. Houses haven’t been restored and are kept in bad conditions.
There’s a plan meant to drive people away from the district in order to build an avenue to a big hotel and adapt the area to the rich neighbourhood, and that’s a shame! This beautiful area can’t be destroyed just because people are too blinded by the “glamour” shining all around to care about it. Without El Cabanyal Valencia will lose a characteristic touch to become another boring, “stylish” European city.
Christa Petrovic, Martina Treeter
