With certain doubts regarding the modernity of the architecture project contained in this plan - which nevertheless in its formal and compositional condition was an urban component in itself -, we approach this instrument of planning and spatial organization not only because it perceives the geography as a land of opportunity, but because it introduces operations that structure the urbanizations and facilities required by the strong economic growth. In fact, the proposed layout of road infrastructures and service networks as allowed by the geography will configure a new urban landscape that incorporates urban territory for new residential and service demands, while dissolving the borders between the countryside and the city.
the demolition of the blocks between East 6 and West 8 avenues, clearly differentiating the historic center from the new developments, and articulated by open spaces and an urban structure based on transportation systems and the zoning of activities. This idea of a city focused on an east-west monumental axis frequently associated with nineteenth-century French urbanism, will, however, mark the metropolitan form and operation of the modern city in the years to come. The Monumental Plan of Caracas is not only a formal and compositional operation. Rotival outlines a spatial distribution where urbanism is a tool for economic valuation in the land-use dynamics of the city. This, in part, explains the drive for the progressive densification of the grid and for new urban developments. The plan involved two phases: the preparation of “plans in diverse scales and schemes as a basis for the studies and preparation of the preliminary plans of some municipal buildings” and “the preparation of a master plan for the urban part of the city; of a map of its surroundings and all the plans required for street alignments, main studies, etc., as well as the elaboration of each of the studies that are taking place” (Municipal Magazine 1939, p.31). It should be noted that the linear development of a central avenue proposes a profound renewal of the foundational center and the added valuation of its architecture, “that by its proportions and the facades of its buildings give the city a monumental aspect” (Municipal Magazine 1939, p.25).
THE MONUMENTAL PLAN
By means of a set of plans and diagrams at different scales, Rotival’s representation covers from territorial and urban planning to the architectural project. He began with the city of Caracas on the globe and ended with a perspective for a new market project. The city scheme was clear, with a main center as a predominant element of the urban image, connected through major roads with the system of populated centers of the country, in an early recognition of the unity of the territory and the role of intermediate cities. The plan - based on the plans of Caracas drawn by Eduardo Rohl and Ricardo Razetti with the support of the National Cartography Directorate - promoted the creation of a new linear monumental urban center bordering the foundational layout. This development involved
Perspectiva de la Avenida Central. Perspective of the Central Avenue.
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