Lecture

Landscapes of co-presence

Gabriela Ornelas

Public spaces full of life are the dream of most urban planners. Since the 1960s, this theme has gained momentum and broadened the understanding that urban design can impact the use of streets, parks, squares, and sidewalks. The liveliness of a public space relies on distinct motives for people to leave home in different times of the day and the adequacy of available physical features. Not only its aesthetic composition, but also the layout of streets, the size of blocks, the uses of ground level, and the orientation and height of surrounding buildings. By facilitating or hindering the use of public spaces, spatial configuration generates patterns of movement and, consequently, of co-presence. In cities with great cultural and social diversity, patterns of co-presence form distinct landscapes that help shape our worldview, what we identify with, and what we want to experience in society. Architects and urban planners are often optimistic about the results of urban diversity, but is this positivity inherent to good design? In this talk, I will address the role of the configuration of public spaces in the construction of distinct landscapes of co-presence.

Short Bio

Gabriela Ornelas is a doctoral candidate at the Chair of Urban Design and Planning of the Technical University of Darmstadt and member of the DFG Research Training Group “Organizing Architectures”. She graduated in Architecture and Urban Planning (2015) and hold a Master’s degree in Human Geography (2019) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil. There, she conducted researches on how cultural and political expressions manifest in cities and how urbanization conditions affect social cohesion in marginalized territories. In her early professional life, Gabriela worked with cultural heritage protection (2015-2019), on the reconstruction process after the Mariana Dam disaster (2019-2022) and as an assistant professor (2020). Her current research investigates the relation between political behavior and co-presence of distinct ethnic groups in public spaces in Berlin.

The lecture series „Walks through living landscapes. Perspectives from three positions“ / Spaziergänge durch Lebendige Landschaften. Perspektiven aus drei Positionen has been conceived by Daniela Ortiz dos Santos, Carsten Ruhl, and Tim Pickartz through a collaboration between the the Center for Critical Studies in Architecture (CCSA) and the Museum Giersch der Goethe-Universität (MGGU).

In the scope of the exhibition SOLASTALGIE, this event is a cooperation between the CCSA and the MGGU.

Free of charge / Kostenfrei