le vauclin, martinique
The town of Le Vauclin finds itself in a period of growth and
diversified expansion. For a small town the dilemma is to maintain
its character and culture in the face of a new economic definition
and the accompanying social transformations. We have sought to
propose methods or systems which reinforce and enhance the qualities
which define Le Vauclin today and its projected future state by
accentuating the towns inherent structure through a socially
based proposal.
The study of Le Vauclin reveals
the dispersal of the urban fabric as well as a rather anarchic
extension of the town through its newer neighborhoods. The entirety
of the town suffers a lack of hierarchy of public spaces as well
as circulation routes. The relation of built space to public space
is not sufficiently well defined to give an urban identity to
the town. The links between the divers elements of the town -
infrastructure, housing, downtown, new neighborhoods - appears
fragile. These problems are not limited to the town center, but
exist beyond the competition sites limits, particularly
in reference to the anticipated development of tourism.
The objectives of the urban proposal
is therefore to modify the structure of the town through three
main tactics:
the redefinition of the
urban fabric and the emphasizing en of the towns infrastructure.
the creation of a network of lateral connections which would
decentralize and reconnect the dispersed neighborhoods and public
facilities.
the placement of specific programmatic activities at the
crossings of the circulation axes.
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