About the void: the Cerdà corners, the paris boulevards, and the london squares

Abstract

This article is part of an initial investigation of the urban void within the scope of architectural design. Therefore, the aim is to explore discussions about formal aspects of the voids that emerge from a projective intention and not those perceived as an automatic or inevitable consequence of the full. The empty space is considered a key element within the formal conception of architecture, not only by the descriptive potential that mass can have through its negative, but also because it is believed that in many situations these urban places appear with such projective force that may reveal the building space in a very coherent way - through repetition, density, perceptions of scales and proportions. These relations are perhaps inseparable, however usually not very evidenced. In three separate examples belonging to the three densest cities in Europe - Paris, Barcelona and London - these relations become visible and plausible to compare. Because even though they form part of different contexts, is relevant and common between them, the fact that in all three cases the void arises from a projective intention and is repeated systematically in the urban fabric, within relevant periods of intellectual and practical development of urban design. The main argument is that in the urban fabric designed by the engineer Ildefons Cerdà, in Barcelona, at each intersection of streets, formed by four chamfered corners in forty-five degrees, an empty space is created by the act of "cutting" the typical ninety degrees corner. Through a generic example of streets intersection in the Barcelona expansion project, it is verified how these urban voids configure the urban network and its relationship with two other cases: the Parisian boulevards and the London squares. Firstly the three examples are analyzed individually and in the second part a comparison of results previously obtained is made, in order to explore some conclusions.