Observing Hernani and its surroundings on the maps, my attention was drawn to the current construction of the high-speed train viaducts, cutting through mountains, intertwining with other existing infrastructures and going over the Urumea river. The project is expected to be completed this year (2024) so it would be a good occasion for a close observation of the new structure, and the new spatial features that it offers.
Every construction causes, sometimes unwillingly, a creation of new spaces. Major infrastructural projects like the Hernani - Astigarraga viaduct have, besides their original function, also an important impact on the landscape and the life at the bottom of it. Designed from an engineeristic point of view, such pieces of infrastructure often don’t take in consideration what is the human-eye level landscape that is generated in its surroundings, and they often create odd interstices, inaccessible areas and “no mans lands” at their feet. This leftover spaces are often considered a byproduct of the construction rather than a resource, and they are often neglected, or closed to the public. Therefore over the years, places that are rich in potential tend to become open-air wastelands, landscapes of wasted opportunities. Through physical exploration, I will research the psychogeography of the surroundings of the new pieces of landscape. I am interested in which kind of spaces and structures have been created, in their sculptural relation with the pre-existing landscape, in which kind of materials and traces of construction are left on the spot, and on what unseen possibilities can emerge from the new structures.
In connection to this outdoor research, I would like to also carry on some material research in the studio, and continue my current experimentation on the sculptural relation between paper and concrete, as a mirror of the relation between the abstract realm of planning and the physical modification of the landscape.
