The shore, the tide, the current: an oceanic Caribbean

The shore, the tide, the current: An oceanic Caribbean
A project by Ignacio G. Galán Alvaro M. Fidalgo Arantza Ozaeta

The architectural proposal for the exhibi4on “the shore, the 4de, the current: an oceanic
Caribbean” is the result of a commission from the Arco Fair to architects Ignacio G. Galán,
Arantza Ozaeta, and Alvaro M. Fidalgo materializes the conceptual framework of the curatorial
proposal in dialogue with the works of 23 ar4sts from 19 galleries included in the 800sqm of the
show, and includes a forum for events and conversa4ons.
The curatorial text by curators Carla Acevedo-Yates and Sara Hermann Morera presents a
relational vision of the Caribbean: “The Caribbean is not a sea, it is oceanic. Approaching the
Caribbean as such implies refuting its insular, fragmented and disconnected condition in order
to approach its continental and reticular dimension. Its ocean currents flow into the Atlantic and
other ruptures generated by our species connected it inextricably to the Pacific. This continental
status of the Caribbean highlights the colonial relationships between the archipelagos and the
continents, the trade winds that facilitated colonial expansion, and the overlaid and
underground currents that facilitate human and non-human movement.”
The architecture of the sec4on presents, on the one hand, the flows, encounters, and
confluences, and on the other, the cuts, distances, and dismemberments that configure this
territory. The design translates this heterogeneous reading of the overlapping contexts
found in the Caribbean through spaces that expand and compress in a floor plan
configured through walls that combine rigid and undula4ng geometries. This spa4al sequence
defines conversa4ons between the works on display and opens up to the space of the fair while
defining enveloping spaces for projec4ons and the forum. Superimposed to these geometries, a
sort of nau4cal chart made up of fair trusses with ligh4ng lines guide the visitor through the
narra4ve sequence of the exhibi4on while marking crossed visions and diagonal circula4ons
that emphasize the rela4onal spa4al vision of the curators.
The architectural proposal also mobilizes decisively the materiality of the exhibi4on space,
which is configured through walls panelized with wood and par4ally lined with fairground
carpe4ng by means of surfaces that cut, fold, and twist. Far from defining a stable
representa4on and a unitary reading, these surfaces construct spaces that the curators describe
as “ungraspable, showing vulnerability and precariousness.” The pink colors of the carpe4ng
and a family of furniture lined with fluffy but stone-looking recycled acous4c insula4on foam
ques4on the clichés disseminated in the representa4on of the Caribbean and contribute to the
ques4oning of this territory that the exhibition proposes.

Créditos:
Architects: Ignacio G. Galán and OF Architects (Arantza Ozaeta and Alvaro M. Fidalgo)
Design Collaborators: Irene Domínguez y Natalia Molina
Graphic Design: Pablo Saiz del Rio and Vivian RoNe
Photographs: Imagen Subliminal (Miguel de Guzmán and Rocio Romero)

Architects: Ignacio G Galan, O.F. Ozaeta. Fidalgo.

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Ignacio G. Galán is a New York based architect and scholar, Principal of [igg—office for architecture]. His work considers architecture’s role in the articulation of society. He is particularly concerned with the architectures of residence; their relation to processes of cultural and material circulation and population transience; and the objects, media, and institutions transforming their occupation. The designs of his firm have been awarded in competitions including the First Prize for the New Velodrome in Medellín, and he was finalist to the 2014 Iakov Chernikhov Prize. His work has led to the production of several publications and exhibitions including the installation Cinecittá Occupata for the 2014 Venice Biennale by invitation of the general curator Rem Koolhaas, and is part of the permanent collection of the Pompidou Center.

His work unfolds through diverse media and platforms and is continuously informed by different kinds of conversations and collaborations. Together with the After Belonging Agency, he is the Chief Curator of the 2016 Oslo Architecture Triennale (Graham Foundation Award 2015). He previously collaborated in the research project Radical Pedagogies, led by Beatriz Colomina at Princeton SOA, and has co-curated its exhibition at the 2013 Lisbon Architecture Triennale and at the 2014 Venice Biennale, where it was awarded a Special Mention of the jury.

He is a Term Assistant Professor at the Department of Architecture at Barnard+Columbia Colleges, and has previously taught studios and seminars at Columbia GSAPP and PennDesign. He trained at ETSAMadrid and TU Delft, and graduated as a Fulbright Scholar from the MArchII program at Harvard GSD. He has been a Fellow at the Spanish Academy in Rome, and is completing a PhD in Architecture History at Princeton University.

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Arantza Ozaeta Cortázar (1982) and Álvaro Martín Fidalgo (1980) head TallerDE2 Architects since 2008, a Madrid based office for architecture, urban planning and landscape design. The office makes an ongoing commitment to research and knowledge, both in training and innovative practice. Their work has international scope, been recognized, published and awarded on several occasions.

Arantza Ozaeta Cortázar and Alvaro Martín Fidalgo’s work is mainly developed between Spain, Germany, Italy and UK, where they are teaching, researching and building recent winning competitions. They studied architecture at the Madrid Polytechnic ETSAM and at the TU Delft of The Netherlands. They completed the coursework for the PhD at the Madrid Polytechnic ETSAM in the Department of Advanced Projects in 2010 where they are PhD candidates.

Arantza Ozaeta Cortázar and Alvaro Martín Fidalgo have been recognized with the international award Bauwelt Prize 2013, the prize COAM Luis M. Mansilla 2013 and Finalists at the XII Spanish Architecture and Urbanism Biennale 2013, for the project ‘Haus der Tagesmütter’.They have been prize winners in several competitions, among which the following can be highlighted: they won the european competition Europan-09 in Selb (Germany), where they are developing an entire urban strategy for a “shrinking city” through the Urban Acupuncture principle. As the result of the implementation of this competition they have completed the project ‘Haus der Tagesmütter’, as well as the project ‘Youth Club and Youth Hostel’, which is currently under construction. They have won the ‘IQ Experimental Collective Housing-Wohnquartiere’ in Germany, which is currently under construction. They were selected at the international competition for ephemeral urban gardens in Bilbao for their winning project ‘Green Cave’, which was realized during the event. They were finalist in the competitions for the wineries ‘Señorío de Villarrica’ and ‘Rothschild & Vega-Sicilia’.

They have been teaching at the Architectural Association School of Architecture-Visiting School Programme (UK), Architectural Polytechnic University of Madrid (Spain), Hochschule Coburg University of Applied Sciences (Germany), Politecnico di Milano (Italy), Ural State Technical University of Ekaterinburg (Russia). In addition, they have actively participated in debates, workshops and lectures. Several of their models have been shown in the Architecture Gallery of the international magazine ‘El Croquis’ and their work has been selected to be exhibited in different places and events in Spain, Germany, Austria and Italy.