| Summary: | World population is dramatically increasing. Many cities around the world will reach a
critical mass that will turn them into metropolis. Moreover, recent analysis on California
demographic trend has shown that that region is expected to grow by 12 millions over the next
20 years. Although California will be the fastest growing area in the U.S., almost any region in
North America is expected to follow a similar pattern. Nonetheless, infillings and
redevelopments will cover just the 30% of that housing request, while the remaining 70% will
require the creation of new settlements 1. The idea of urbanising undeveloped land is not based
on opinions but necessities.
At the same time, issues of globalization, distribution network, etc. are
redefining economically and socially the concept of city in the late-capitalist market. In
spite of these tendencies which could best be described as unpredictable and highly
dynamic, architecture and urban planning alike continue to adopt models that ignore
these mutations. History, identity and local culture are the misunderstood principles
inspiring projects whose coherence exists only on paper. In fact, these blueprints often
clash with actual issues of speed, demographic change and market forces resulting in
either nostalgic or megalomaniac proposals.
S.O.U.P., the product of this research, is an interdisciplinary tool to design in such
conditions of in extreme speed and uncertainty. It consists in a redefinition of the traditional
urban planner's toolbox through a series of diagrams and methods that aim to obtain a
dynamic, responsive and ultimately sustainable notion of urban plan. To do so the research is
based on the assumption that only by shifting from a problem-driven attitude to a problem-driven
approach will urban planning regain its experimental character and thus be able to
meaningfully participate to the city-making process.
Although the conditions just described can be traced in many contexts, a site in
Vancouver was singled out. In fact, the former Finning site, soon to be developed by the four
main academic institutions in Vancouver (UBC, SFU, BCIT and ECIAD), represents a perfect
testing ground since it is characterised by several of the issues discussed. Under such conditions two main paradigms must be dismissed. The disastrous
tendency that urban planning has to go from many to one must be replaced by a system that
will keep opportunities open, a field condition which will go from many to many. This particular
shift can only occur if simultaneously we move from a problem-solving attitude to a problem-driven
approach without limiting the outcome of the research. Therefore, S.O.U.P. is not an
algorithm to mechanically produce Campuses, it is rather both a mediator and a facilitator to
systematize and refine questions regarding the design of a Campus. Perhaps, a viable
approach might be one where responsiveness replaces determinism and control and
openendness come to coexist.
Therefore, S.O.U.P. can be defined as a system based on rigorous rules that gives rise to
unpredictable results, a system that in short time can react to and shape the traditional debate
occurring during the preparation of an urban design.
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