[i2]: Investigación e Innovación en Arquitectura y Territorio

This article examines John Hejduk's work during his formalist phase (1954-1974) within the context of the debate on architectural autonomy between Venice and New York in the 1970s. Drawing on Manfredo Tafuri's critique-particularly as articulated in Oppositions and La sfera e il labirinto-the paper reconstructs the shift from operative criticism to a negative genealogy that casts Hejduk as an emblem of disciplinary collapse. Against this reading, the article proposes an alternative interpretation of Hejduk's early series-Texas Houses, Diamond Projects, and Wall Houses-as exercises in projectual autonomy, in which elements, geometry, and Cartesian order function as disciplinary rules subjected to systematic investigation. Rather than being exhausted within a closed formalist logic, this approach was subsequently expanded in Hejduk's later work toward narrative, symbolic, and situated dimensions. Autonomy is thus understood not as a form of self-referential closure but as a critical strategy capable of opening the architectural discipline to other languages. Methodologically, the study combines critical historiography with project analysis, addressing both the theoretical texts published in Oppositions and the formal operations developed in Hejduk's work. The article concludes that the contemporary relevance of Hejduk's oeuvre lies in its dual condition: the rigor of an internal grammatical system and its potential for excess, which sustains the architectural project as a site of conflict, resistance, and knowledge production.

Public spaces are often designed with a presumed average citizen in mind, frequently at the expense of social and experiential diversity. This approach negatively affects the urban experience of various groups, including older adults, women, children, and people with specific needs. Through a participatory action research framework, this article reflects on the role of childhood and its relationship with public space, particularly within neighbourhood contexts. The study is situated within a community-based creative initiative co-led by the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of La Laguna and the Las Moraditas Neighbourhood Association, located in a self-built metropolitan peripheral area. It explores multiple ways of engaging with the territory alongside children, based on a series of actions carried out between 2016 and 2024. The research is structured around a set of transversal guiding principles common to all experiences: collective creation, ludification, and tactical interventions. During a formative stage of self-discovery such as childhood and early youth, public space is understood as both a setting and an activator for play and self-exploration. Children are recognised as full citizens, and their participation is fostered through artistic practices that reinforce identity formation and territorial attachment. The study confirms that the implementation of situated micro-actions within children's everyday environments from an early age enables them to develop an awareness of the potential of neighbourhood-based collective action in promoting communal well-being.

This article examines two built works by the architectural practice Bruther in order to assess the relevance and applicability of the concepts of autonomy and the superimposition of strata in contemporary architecture. The selected case studies-the Wangari Maathai Cultural and Sports Centre (Paris, 2014) and the New Generation Research Centre Le D & ocirc;me (Caen, 2015)-make it possible to explore how these two concepts, often considered independently, are reconciled within architectural design practice. The research adopts a comparative methodology based on case studies, project-based analysis, and the critical reading of drawings and technical documentation, combined with a historiographical review of the theoretical foundations of both concepts and their subsequent interpretations. This approach identifies the formal and operational mechanisms through which Bruther configures architectures that remain open to transformation. Techniques such as assemblage and stratification give rise to freespaces: a category of surplus and indeterminate space capable of accommodating programmatic change through the self-organisation of its users. The notion of proactive autonomy is proposed as a guiding principle that enhances both the intelligibility and operability of freespace in the analysed Bruther projects. In this way, the buildings are able to regulate flows of people and energy over different temporal cycles, articulate gravitational loads, minimise obsolescence, and offer multiple possibilities for adaptation in response to dynamic and evolving programmes. The article concludes that the formulation of proactive autonomy-incorporating the compositional strategy of the superimposition of strata- enables Bruther to conceive architectural devices that are responsive to the spatial, social, and temporal dimensions of contemporary inhabitation.

This study analyses the interaction between urbanisation and environmental preservation in the Metropolitan Area of Santa Cruz, Bolivia, through a multiscale approach grounded in M.R.G. Conzen's theory of the burgage cycle. Using satellite image processing and GIS-based tools, tree cover was mapped and morphological patterns were identified across four representative neighbourhoods: El Reto & ntilde;o -initial phase-, Villa Primero de Mayo -densification phase-, Equipetrol -climax phase-, and the historic centre of Santa Cruz de la Sierra -recession phase- The results demonstrate that urbanisation does not necessarily entail increased vegetation loss; in certain contexts, such as Equipetrol, a relative balance between the built environment and natural elements can be observed. In contrast, other areas have experienced a drastic reduction in tree cover as a consequence of land speculation, commercial pressure, and infrastructural obsolescence. The analysis establishes a correspondence between each morphological phase and specific intervention strategies: preservation in emerging areas, green regeneration in consolidated neighbourhoods, and heritage-sensitive actions in declining sectors. This research contributes to current debates on urban sustainability by proposing differentiated planning measures according to the evolutionary stage of the urban fabric, integrating principles of ecological resilience. It concludes that the burgage cycle constitutes a valuable analytical framework for understanding Latin American urban dynamics and for guiding interventions aimed at reconciling urban growth with the conservation of natural systems.

This article revisits, expands, and repositions Reyner Banham's urban manifesto Los Angeles: The Architecture of Four Ecologies (1971/2016) fifty years after its publication, in the age of the Anthropocene, by extending its historical narrative through more-than-human microhistories. Following the same analytical and narrative methodology as Banham's book-structured through the superimposition of thematic layers and case studies-the article reflects on the transformations of the four ecologies identified by Banham: Surfurbia, the Foothills, the Plains of Id, and Autopia. Cartography and microhistory are employed as research tools to unfold a heterogeneous constellation of urban micro-ecologies, articulating an expanded rereading of the contemporary assemblage of Greater Los Angeles. Through four new case studies- the artificial reefs of manufactured Surfurbia, the waste mountains of the technosphere's foothills, interspecies backyards in the Plains of Id, and bee microurbanisms within productive Autopias-the research seeks to further weave together the relationships between architecture and ecology in Los Angeles in an inclusive manner, rendering visible and giving voice to new architectures, materialities, and diverse agents entangled within them. These reflections are both situated and transferable. They address latent conditions specific to Los Angeles that nonetheless operate at a global scale and can be transposed to other metropolitan contexts: from questioning the material ecologies activated by architectural production to the impact of consumer waste on the urban landscape; from the interdependence between urban planning and more-than-human ecosystems to the role of care within global systems of production.

This paper revisits a line of methodological exploration aimed at incorporating citizen participation into the design of a more democratic city. Since the final decades of the twentieth century, this long-standing tradition-linking experiences, techniques, and conceptual frameworks-has gained increased emancipatory potential through its connection with Henri Lefebvre's notion of the right to the city. From this perspective, the paper pursues two complementary objectives. First, it reviews the methodology employed in a participatory design experience focused on developing a public space project in the city of La Rioja, Argentina. Second, it assesses the extent to which the resulting project aligns with the theoretical principles of the right to the city. Following an examination of the actions carried out in the territory, the project outcomes are critically examined in relation to the meanings embedded in the concept of the right to the city. While the process reveals certain divergences between the project developed and Lefebvre's position regarding the role of the state and neighbourhood self-management, it nonetheless highlights the contribution of participatory methodology to conceiving the city as a work constructed from below-one that responds both to the needs and preferences of its inhabitants and to the specific characteristics of its context.

Este trabajo retoma una línea de exploración metodológica que busca incorporar la participación de los ciudadanos en el diseño de una ciudad más democrática. A partir de las últimas décadas del siglo veinte, esta larga tradición que concatena experiencias, técnicas y conceptos adquirió un mayor potencial emancipatorio al vincularse con la perspectiva del derecho a la ciudad desarrollada por Henri Lefebvre. Desde este punto de partida, el trabajo plantea dos objetivos complementarios. En primer lugar, revisar la metodología empleada en una experiencia de diseño participativo orientada a elaborar un proyecto de espacio público en la ciudad de La Rioja, Argentina. Por otro lado, evaluar en qué medida el proyecto alcanzado se enmarca en los lineamientos teóricos del derecho a la ciudad. Luego de revisar las acciones desplegadas en el territorio, los resultados proyectuales se tensionan según los significados implícitos en el derecho a la ciudad. El recorrido realizado, si bien muestra algunas diferencias entre el proyecto elaborado y el posicionamiento de Lefebvre sobre el rol del Estado y la autogestión vecinal, destaca el aporte de la metodología a la hora de concebir la ciudad como una obra construida desde abajo que responda tanto a los requerimientos y preferencias de sus habitantes como a las singularidades del entorno.

Los espacios públicos que habitamos han sido diseñados atendiendo preferentemente al llamado ciudadano medio, en detrimento de la diversidad. Esto afecta a la experiencia urbana de colectivos como la tercera edad, las mujeres, los menores de edad y a aquellos con otras necesidades. A través de una investigación-acción participativa, este artículo reflexiona sobre el papel y la relación de la infancia con el espacio público, especialmente en contextos barriales. Se enmarca en una iniciativa de creación comunitaria, coimpulsada por la Facultad de Bellas Artes de la Universidad de La Laguna y la Asociación Vecinal de Las Moraditas, un barrio periférico metropolitano de autoconstrucción. Explora diferentes formas de aproximarse al territorio junto a la infancia a partir de diversas acciones desarrolladas entre 2016 y 2024. La investigación se articula mediante una serie de principios rectores transversales a todas las experiencias: la creación colectiva, la ludificación y las intervenciones tácticas. En una etapa de autodescubrimiento como la juventud, se concibe el espacio público como escenario y activador del juego y la autoindagación. Se reconoce a la infancia como ciudadanía de pleno derecho incidiendo en su participación a través de prácticas artísticas potenciadoras de la identidad y el arraigo territorial. Se corrobora cómo la realización de microacciones situadas en sus propios entornos desde edades tempranas permite a la infancia adquirir una conciencia sobre la capacidad de acción vecinal para el bienestar colectivo.

Functionalist housing developments were constructed in Stockholm between 1930 and 1980, a period marked by rapid urban growth and expansion. Despite the wide variety of urban spaces produced over these five decades, functionalism is commonly associated with the rationalist codification and stylistic evolution promoted by the Modern Movement. In order to address this internal diversity, this study understands functionalism not as a unified style but as a design philosophy or approach, expressed through a multiplicity of forms—as it was originally formulated in the 1920s and later revisited around 1950 by architects such as Ralph Erskine. The research draws on Adolf Behne’s seminal 1923 text, in which four functionalist approaches to design are identified: expressionism, rationalism, a middle ground between the two, and utilitarianism. While styles are often organised as a succession of discrete historical periods, design approaches are here conceptualised as strands that cut across and persist through those periods. Case studies of housing developments were selected on the basis of established classifications of Stockholm’s urban development phases and subsequently analysed in relation to contemporary European trends and comparable experiences, identifying the driving forces that shaped their final form. The study also examines the extent to which Behne’s functionalist approaches remained relevant throughout the period under consideration and how they manifested in the selected cases. Finally, each housing development is interpreted through the interaction of three key factors: the mode of stylistic expression, the underlying design strand from which the project emerges, and the driving forces that informed its realisation.

La ciudad está en disputa. El espacio público, la vivienda o el turismo son solo algunos de los conflictos más conocidos. Sin embargo, hay un estrato prácticamente invisibilizado que Colin Ward coloca sobre la mesa: el lugar de las niñas y los niños. Su libertad de desplazamiento está limitada, sufren la amenaza de los vehículos motorizados y se les empuja a los espacios amables. Se impone el parque infantil: un guetto vallado, desinfectado, sin esquinas, de plástico y con colores estridentes. Quedan atrás los terrenos baldíos y las zonas abandonadas, esos espacios en los que los niños experimentaban una realidad momentánea de libertad. El playground de arena y barro, palos y cuerdas, tizas y canicas no es útil para el urbanismo capitalista. El espacio muerto reemplaza al espacio vivo. ¡Abajo los parques infantiles! En El niño en la ciudad, Ward recupera la vida real, la autonomía y la fuerza de toda esa gente pequeña cada vez más arrinconada en la ciudad liberal. Primera edición en castellano del original de 1978, ilustrado con las fotografías originales y acompañado por un epílogo de Clara Eslava y Alfredo Hoyuelos. La edición en papel cuenta además con un anexo de Alessio Kolioulis y la versión digital cuenta adicionalmente con visiones sobre la obra de Xavier Monteys, Clemente Bernad y Chiqui González.

Este artículo revisita, amplía, diversifica y lleva a otro lugar el manifiesto urbano Los Ángeles: La arquitectura de cuatro ecologías (1971/2016) de Reyner Banham, cincuenta años después de su publicación en 1971, en los tiempos del Antropoceno, expandiendo la historia con microhistorias más que humanas dentro de ella. Siguiendo la misma metodología analítica y narrativa del libro, estructurada a partir de una superposición de capas temáticas y casos de estudio, el artículo reflexiona sobre las transformaciones de las cuatro ecologías enunciadas por Banham —Surfurbia, las laderas, las planicies del id y Autopía—. La cartografía y la microhistoria se convierten en herramientas de investigación que despliegan un conjunto heterogéneo de microecologías urbanas, articulando una relectura expandida del ensamblaje contemporáneo del Gran Los Ángeles. A través de cuatro nuevos casos de estudio —los arrecifes artificiales de la Surfurbia manufacturada, las montañas de basura en las laderas de la tecnoesfera, los patios traseros interespecies en las planicies del id y los microurbanismos de abejas en Autopías productivas—, la investigación propone continuar entretejiendo las relaciones entre arquitectura y ecología en Los Ángeles de manera inclusiva, visibilizando y dando voz a nuevas arquitecturas, materialidades y agentes diversos enredados en ellas. Estas reflexiones son a la vez situadas y exportables. Abordan asuntos latentes en Los Ángeles que además operan globalmente y pueden ser transferidos a otras condiciones metropolitanas; del cuestionamiento de las ecologías materiales que cada arquitectura despliega al impacto en el paisaje urbano de los residuos del consumo; de la interdependencia entre planeamiento urbano y ecosistemas más que humanos a la importancia de los cuidados en los sistemas de producción global.

Este estudio analiza la interacción entre la urbanización y la preservación ambiental en el Área Metropolitana de Santa Cruz, Bolivia, aplicando un enfoque multiescalar basado en la teoría del ciclo de parcela de M.R.G. Conzen. Mediante el procesamiento de imágenes satelitales y herramientas SIG, se cartografió la masa arbórea y se identificaron patrones morfológicos en cuatro barrios representativos: El Retoño —inicio—, Villa Primero de Mayo —densificación—, Equipetrol —clímax— y el Centro de Santa Cruz de la Sierra —recesión—. Los resultados evidencian que la urbanización no siempre implica una mayor pérdida vegetal; en algunos casos, como Equipetrol, existe un equilibrio entre lo construido y lo natural. Sin embargo, en otros sectores, la especulación, la presión comercial y la obsolescencia han reducido drásticamente la cobertura arbórea. El análisis permite vincular la fase morfológica con estrategias específicas: preservación en zonas emergentes, regeneración verde en barrios consolidados y acciones sensibles al patrimonio en sectores en declive. El trabajo contribuye al debate sobre sostenibilidad urbana al proponer medidas diferenciadas según la etapa evolutiva del tejido urbano, integrando principios de resiliencia ecológica. Se concluye que el ciclo de parcela es una herramienta útil para comprender las dinámicas urbanas latinoamericanas y orientar intervenciones que reconcilien el crecimiento urbano con la conservación del entorno natural.

Este artículo analiza la figura de John Hejduk durante su etapa formalista (1954–1974) en el contexto del debate sobre la autonomía arquitectónica entre Venecia y Nueva York en los años setenta. A partir de la crítica de Manfredo Tafuri—especialmente en Oppositions y La sfera e il labirinto—, se reconstruye el paso de una crítica operativa a una genealogía negativa que presenta a Hejduk como emblema del colapso disciplinar. Frente a esa lectura, el texto propone entender sus series iniciales (Texas Houses, Diamond Projects y Wall Houses) como ejercicios de autonomía proyectual, donde elementos, geometría y orden cartesiano funcionan como reglas sometidas a investigación. Esta lógica, lejos de agotarse, se amplió en su obra posterior hacia dimensiones narrativas, simbólicas y situadas. La autonomía se concibe así no como clausura autorreferencial, sino como estrategia crítica capaz de abrir la disciplina a otros lenguajes. La metodología combina historiografía crítica y análisis de proyectos, atendiendo tanto a los textos de Oppositions como a las operaciones formales de Hejduk. El estudio concluye que el valor contemporáneo de su obra radica en su doble condición: el rigor de una gramática interna y su potencial de desbordamiento, que mantienen el proyecto arquitectónico como campo de conflicto, resistencia y producción de conocimiento.

El artículo de editorial muestra una comparación entre cine y arquitectura que lleva a nuevos modos de ver y entender las dos disciplinas con el fin de motivar la publicación de artículos perféricos e intesdisciplinares en la revista [i2] Investigacion e Innovacion en Arquitectura y Territorio.

El artículo analiza dos obras construidas por los arquitectos Bruther, con el objetivo de examinar la vigencia y utilidad de los conceptos de autonomía y superposición de estratos en la arquitectura contemporánea. Los casos de estudio, el Centro Cultural y Deportivo Wangari Maathai (París, 2014) y el Centro de Investigación de Nueva Generación Le Dôme (Caen, 2015), permiten explorar cómo ambos conceptos, habitualmente considerados independientes, se concilian en la práctica proyectual. La investigación combina una metodología comparativa basada en estudios de caso, el análisis proyectual y la lectura crítica de dibujos y documentación técnica, con una revisión historiográfica de los fundamentos teóricos de ambos conceptos y sus interpretaciones. Este enfoque identifica los mecanismos formales y operativos mediante los cuales Bruther configura arquitecturas abiertas a la transformación. Técnicas como el ensamblaje y la estratificación producen espacios-libres: una categoría de espacio extra e indeterminado, capaz de absorber cambios programáticos mediante la autoorganización de sus habitantes. Se propone la autonomía proactiva como principio que facilita la inteligibilidad y operatividad del espacio-libre en los proyectos analizados de Bruther. De este modo, sus edificios son capaces de regular el flujo de personas y de energía en distintos periodos de tiempo, articular cargas gravitatorias, minimizar la obsolescencia y ofrecer múltiples opciones de adaptación frente a programas dinámicos y cambiantes. Se concluye que la formulación de la autonomía proactiva, que incluye la estrategia compositiva de la superposición de estratos, permite a Bruther concebir dispositivos arquitectónicos sensibles a las dimensiones espacial, social y temporal del habitar contemporáneo.

The discourse on material resource management in architecture has mostly focused on quantitative indicators such as carbon footprint. While those parameters are necessary, other fundamental aspects of materiality in architecture should also be discussed. Through theories and case studies, three qualitative dimensions were explored that broaden the debate: reciprocity, which considers the flow relationships required for architecture's materialization as a whole; the degree of material elaboration, reflecting how and to what extent technique transforms matter into something usable; and memory, that is, the symbolic and heritage value of what is built. Thus, the latent qualities of reciprocity, elaboration, and memory in materials provide additional reasons for their appreciation, proving both necessary and enriching for architectural projects.

Climate change directly impacts urban life, contributing to Urban Heat Islands (UHIs) as an anthropogenic alteration of the microclimate. Heat waves have grown more intense and prolonged, exposing urban populations to extreme thermal conditions. In urban settings, heat islands and heat waves overlap, exacerbating conditions especially at night, when accumulated daytime heat has not dissipated. Beyond the physical phenomenon, heat is relational and unevenly distributed across the city. Heat thus intensifies social inequalities. Recognising human thermal stress experiences in vulnerable contexts entails understanding how they are mitigated: not necessarily through technological means- such as air conditioning-, but through users' vernacular practices, as they adjust domestic and urban spaces. These practices are deeply rooted in their material contexts and employ passive, energy-free strategies. Working in such environments raises a central question, which was the objective of this study: the need to broaden today's mostly technical pedagogies to include the critical issue of the socio-material entanglements of heat adaptation.

The study objective was to address the challenges posed by the visibility given by technical and legal instruments to human and non-human life forms in environmental conflicts related to renewable energies. Following a situated artistic approach, a critical analysis of the territory was conducted, focusing on the conflicts in the Monta & ntilde;a Central Leonesa (Spain). The study can, however, be extrapolated to other contexts. A territory was modelled addressing the complexity of different sorts of tensions, conflicts, and agents. The territorial model is both descriptive and speculative: it is descriptive because it uncovers controversies that remain undetected in traditional models; and it is speculative because it proposes collective mechanisms to elaborate new spatial configurations. This approach allows not only to describe existing relationships and tensions within the territory, but also to imagine forms of mediation that integrate multiple perspectives, including non-human ones, expanding the horizon of spatial possibilities. The study methodology is explored in detail, structuring its phases -Listening, Modelling, and Energy Futures Parliament- based on the underlying theoretical frameworks. The aim was not to provide definitive solutions but to ensure that the methodology would be replicable in similar works oriented towards generating mechanisms of mediation and collective spatial design. The work is positioned within critical landscape studies and speculative cartography. It opens a debate on spatial justice and on how to design territories considering the agency of all agents involved, blending a situated and projective exploration.

One of Arata Isozaki's main design approaches is to establish a closer relationship between buildings and users by promoting an understanding of the built object, leading to an identification of forms and references that drive architecture beyond an inert entity. To do this, Isozaki employed allusion and metaphor, introducing recognisable forms loaded with meaning into his architecture. Although this meaning does not have to be unique, it must be accessible to users and he usually achieves this by creating an association with some cultural reference linked to the building's context. In several projects after the turn of the millennium, Isozaki extensively used the tree as a symbol to imbue architecture with recognisable meaning, bringing it closer to its users.

A comparison was conducted of two formulas directed towards inserting children's play into art institutions. The starting point was the major seminal work in this domain: The Model by the Danish artist Palle Nielsen, which was exhibited at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm in 1968. This installation was exposed again in 2014 at the Danish Arken Museum and consisted of a children's playground created within a museum. It gave rise to pioneering reflections on the importance of children's play in building a perspective on the adult world. Further studies are explored, confirming the general public's growing demand for experiences. Also included is a comparative analysis of two formulas through which children's play has been habitually presented in art institutions since 1968. The works Test Site, by the German artist Carsten H & ouml;ller, and Human Elevator, by the Austrian collective Gelitin, were selected as examples and compared, leading to several conclusions on the incorporation of children's play in art institution exhibitions. To conclude, each formula deploys a specific spatial strategy and serves institutional policies for a variety of purposes and with different consequences. Contrasting the two options, Gelitin's works derive from a creative reading of children's play, which, combined with the sensorial experiences implicit in his works are closer to the social and political purpose of Nielsen's work..