This morning the TAC! pavilion was presented! Urban Architecture Festival, in the Plaza Músico López Chavarri, in the historic Carmen neighborhood of València. It presents a pavilion in homage to the Mediterranean climate and vernacular culture, highlighting the role of the Mediterranean blind, as an ingenious, simple, and effective mechanism to protect oneself from the sun. The "temporary Mediterranean pavilion" has been designed by the architect Manuel Bouzas.

The intention of the project is to project the largest blind in Valencia, protecting and covering an entire square. The project will reactivate the space of the plaza, returning it to its status as a public stage. The large blind is conceived as a cultural symbol, which responds to specific climatic conditions.

The architecture festival is held in Valencia until October 16, hosting a multitude of cultural activities under the pavilion that will be a meeting point with contemporary architecture and design, and that will incorporate much of the local fabric of these disciplines.
After a successful first edition in Granada, TAC! Urban Architecture Festival celebrates its second edition in two Spanish cities, València and Donostia-San Sebastián. The initiative, promoted by the General Secretariat of Urban Agenda, Housing and Architecture of the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) together with the Arquia Foundation, seeks to explore in this edition the role of architecture in the face of the impact of the climate emergency in the urban environment, providing solutions that help mitigate its consequences.

Mediterráneo, the ephemeral pavilion selected through a public call, which has been designed by Manuel Bouzas, serves to commemorate the Alicante blinds, which with the emergence of mechanical systems had gone into the background, recovering a tool that allows control of the temperature in an ingenious, simple and economical way.

The square in which it is located is not a "designed" or "planned" space, but is the result of the demolition of a previous residential building, now becoming a refuge where the city's inhabitants can meet. with contemporary architecture and multiple cultural activities. A space that was previously only a transit space for neighbors now becomes a meeting place for the neighborhood.

In the words of Bouzas, Mediterráneo is conceived as an "urban blind, which, instead of protecting a window, covers an entire square, and instead of protecting a single individual, brings together an entire community."
 
The opening of the TAC City call was also announced at the event! to host the third edition of the festival, an open competition in which urban municipalities from all over Spain can participate until October 27.


Mediterráneo Pavilion Tac! 2023, by Manuel Bouzas. Photograh by BravaStudio.

The pavilion is formed by two triangular wooden porticos that support a large Alicante blind, also made of wood, forming a catenary. The entire project is painted dark green, responding to one of the five traditional colors in which blinds in this region are usually manufactured.

A circular opening is introduced in the catenary that allows the lighting of a small garden inside. In addition, the stones used as a counterweight for the structure serve as furniture that brings people together throughout the day. The torn shadow that it projects allows for the configuration of an “al fresco” public space, where the TAC! programming will take place.

The entire project seeks to promote the circular and proximity economy in the region in which it is located, providing the project with the ability to reuse used materials.

The main challenge of the program will be to experiment with public space and its integrative potential through open activities, designed together with various entities of the local fabric. Proposals stand out such as the colloquiums promoted by various neighborhood groups, celebrations together with the Association of Merchants of the Historic Center of Valencia, workshops on the uses of public space by the L'ETNO Museum, talks by educational institutions such as the UPV or conferences promoted by companies such as IKEA. In addition, sustainability will play a leading role in three activities led by the Valencia City Council around the European Green Capital.

The program of activities in the pavilion will begin this afternoon with the artistic proposal mediterraNEO, a special production by Flipas - Laboratory of Urban Cultures, which is developed within the framework of the cultural program of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

TAC's cultural programming! Urban Architecture Festival is completed with an exhibition at the Territorial College of Architects of Valencia (CTVA) where you can see a selection of outstanding projects presented to the ideas competition, both for its Valencian and San Sebastian headquarters, a set of projects that have provided answers of great originality to the challenges of the climate emergency.

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Architect
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Organizer
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TAC! Festival de Arquitectura Urbana 2023.
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Dates
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September 20, 2023 to October 23, 2023.
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Location
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Plaza Músico López Chavarri, Valencia, Spain.
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Photography
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Milena Villalba, BravaStudio.
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Manuel Bouzas (Pontevedra, 1993) is an architect and researcher established in Galicia and Boston. Graduated with honors in 2018 from the ETSA of Madrid (UPM), Manuel is currently studying the Master of Design Studies at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

His work explores the intersection between Architecture and Ecology through multiple scales and formats, ranging from the design of temporary installations to academic research. His projects have been exhibited at the Venice Biennale in 2023 and 2018, as well as at the XV Spanish Biennale of Architecture and Urbanism 2021.

In addition, he has received the Renzo Piano World Tour Award 2022, the La Caixa Postgraduate Scholarship 2021, and the COAM Emerging Award 2020 by the Official College of Architects of Madrid, among others. Multiple international media have recognized and disseminated his work, such as Arquitectura Viva, El Mundo, Domus, Divisare, or Archdaily. Manuel combines professional and academic activity, having collaborated as a J-Term instructor at Harvard GSD, assistant in the Department of Architectural Projects at ETSAM (UPM), or visiting researcher at the Tsukamoto Lab (Atelier Bow-Wow) in Tokyo Institute of Technology.
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