Intersect
Germane Barnes
Gran vía – Calle Daniel Trevijano – Concéntrico 08
INTERSECT is a playscape that invites visitors to engage with the city as a theatre. Its name is generated by three 9m diameter circles that converge to create a large landscape. At the center of those three points is a hulking, wooden, superstructure that is 4.6m tall and 9m wide and designed as a continuous loop. This play pavilion, with the assistance of each land circle, creates a zone of occupation for individuals which reference different components of a theatre.
The first zone is the Stage, where solar powered lights are fixed to the underside of the structure to be used both during the day and at night. There is additional modular seating that is generated by the arc of the ground circle. The second zone is the Seating, where 5 circular silhouettes are suspend from the superstructure for both youth and adults. These swings facilitate fun for all age groups. The third and final zone is the Curtain, composed of thin, brightly colored threads intended for people to run through.
INTERSECT is placed between Gran Via street and Daniel Trevijano street, at the actual crossing of major sidewalks to reinforce the idea of the city as a theatre to be celebrated. This proposal welcomes users of all ages because the city is a show for everyone to view.
Germane Barnes
Barnes’ award winning research and design practice, Studio Barnes, investigates the connection between architecture and identity, examining architecture’s social and political agency through historical research and design speculation. Mining architecture’s social and political agency, he examines how the built environment influences black domesticity.
Born in Chicago, IL Germane Barnes received a Bachelor’s of Science in Architecture from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Architecture from Woodbury University where he was awarded the Thesis Prize for his project Symbiotic Territories: Architectural Investigations of Race, Identity, and Community.
Currently he is an Assistant Professor and the Director of The Community Housing & Identity Lab (CHIL) at the University Of Miami School Of Architecture, a testing ground for the physical and theoretical investigations of architecture’s social and political resiliency. His work has been featured in international institutions most notably, The Museum of Modern Art NY, Chicago Architecture Biennial, MAS Context, San Francisco MoMA, LACMA, The Graham Foundation, The New York Times, Architect Magazine, DesignMIAMI/ Art Basel, Metropolis Magazine, Domus, Wallpaper* Magazine and The National Museum of African American History where he was identified as one of the future designers on the rise.
With the collaboration of
