Superblock as a tool for urban translation
Antoni Bonet Castellana in Buenos Aires and Barcelona
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.35305/23626097v13i24.576Keywords:
Barcelona, Buenos Aires, superblock, ideal city and real city, circulation of models and urban translationAbstract
The article analyses the urban planning work of Antoni Bonet Castellana in Buenos Aires and Barcelona as an emblematic case of the processes of circulation, translation and reinterpretation of modern urban models in the post-war period. Through an examination of key projects, the study explores how the principles of modern urbanism developed within the European context are adapted to diverse morphological, social and infrastructural conditions.
The analysis shows that Bonet does not operate through a simple application of models but rather through a selective process of translation that affects different scales. Within this framework, the transformation of the traditional block into a superblock emerges as a central device enabling the mediation between continuity and innovation. Thus, it integrates the order of historical street layouts with the demands of the contemporary city.
Taking as a starting point the comparison between Buenos Aires and Barcelona, the article proposes an interpretation of the modern city as a progressive construction based on the critical reinterpretation of existing structures in which urban planning is understood as a practice of mediation and continuous translation of ideas, theories, models and projects.
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