Perspectiva del proyecto. View of the project.
TRÁNSITO RANCHOS
VIVIENDAS ZONAS VERDES
Dibujo de la Avenida Central y la Plaza Mayor. Drawing of the Central Avenue and the Plaza Mayor.
Croquis de Rotival sobre la estructura urbana de Caracas, 1959. Rotival sketch on the urban structure of Caracas, 1959.
The east-west axis, 30 m wide and 2,200 m long between El Calvario and Los Caobos Park, divides the checkerboard into two halves. This structure, together with the entire road network, aims to improve mobility and urban traffic, in turn generating a greater supply of land by lowering the economic pressure on the center of the capital. The Rotival plan is accompanied by a plan entitled “General outline of the project of transformation of Caracas drawn in yellow lines by the Directorate of Urbanism on the aero photographic map drawn by the Ministry of Public Works”, which includes the distribution of new avenues, streets and roads with the idea of “solving all the circulation problems of our city, for a century or more” (Municipal Magazine 1939, p.39). This system of mobility and urban traffic contains a systemic vision, where avenues and diagonals generate new perspectives, public spaces, squares and roundabouts that act as road nodes and allow the emergence of new centralities and neighborhoods located mainly east of the city. The plan modified the existing layout, “giving it a look in harmony with modern demands” (Municipal Magazine 1939, p.140) such as the increase in the number of cars on the streets, facilitating displacement. The proposed buildings, subjected to aesthetic and compositional principles, try to control the image and urban form with the aspiration of making Caracas “an architectural ensemble that lends the city a new aspect” (Municipal Magazine 1939, p.31). The works contemplate the construction of the Gran Avenida Bolívar, the Ministry headquarters district, the new
National Pantheon and the new Congress of the Republic, among other elements. The plan included images of the Great Central Avenue, urban sections, the design of the Plaza Mayor, the proposal for the peristyle of the Capitol and the project for the San Juan Market. Also, a pyramidal base that ends the avenue, replacing the steps of El Calvario to house the Sanctuary of the Liberator, “an impressive space in the form of a stepped cone... that recalls the monumental, perfect and unbuildable projects of Boullée” (Jaua 1991, p. 17). However, this great project, which tried to anticipate the future problems of Caracas, was not welcomed by the authorities, although the road layout of Avenida Bolívar -which did materialize, with variations- is still the most character-defining urban intervention of the capital city and its extension in the valley. Shortly after, in 1941, with the strong support of the State, the Banco Obrero would promote the redevelopment of El Silencio, ignoring the Monumental Plan, nevertheless maintaining the linear sense of the proposal. After El Silencio was built, Rotival came back to Venezuela at the end of the 50s to participate in a new study: “Thesis for The Center of Caracas” (Lasala, 1991. P.165). By then the French town planner would revisit the Monumental Plan and make a broader proposal, which revealed a fragmented city in which transit, housing, settlements and green areas reflected the explosive growth of the capital.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Cervilla, Tomás: "The architectural footprint of Rotival in Caracas". Work submitted to apply for the category of Associated Professor USB, p. 128, Caracas, 2003. - Federal District Government. Revista Municipal del Distrito Federal, year 1, No 1. Palacio de la Gobernación, Dirección de Publicaciones, Caracas, 1939. - Martín, Juan José: French Urbanism in Venezuela from 1936 to 1950 (Rotival and Lambert in a history of diplomatic negotiations, contracts and trick playing). Estudios Demográficos y Urbanos, 1993. - Martín, Juan José: Proposals, plans and projects for Venezuela 1908-1958. Fondo Editorial Acta Científica / CDCH-UCV, Caracas, 1994. - Padrón Martín: "Caracas 1928-1958: permanence and morphological transformation during the first urban-architectural modernity in Venezuela". Anales del Instituto de Arte Americano e Investigaciones Estéticas Mario J. Buschiazzo Magazine 1992 - 1993.
- Rotival, Maurice: "Les grands ensembles". L'Architecture d'Aujourd'hui, vol. 1, No. 6, 1935. - Rotival, Maurice: Thesis for the Center of Caracas. 2 volumes. Centro Simón Bolívar, 1959.
- Rotival, Maurice: "Caracas marches forward" in Caracas en tres tiempos, p.173. Fundación Villanueva, Ediciones Conmemorativas, Gráficas Edición de Arte, Caracas, 1966. - Vallmitjana, Marta (comp): The Rotival Plan, the Caracas that never happened. 1939-1989. An urban plan for Caracas. Ediciones IU. FAU, UCV, Caracas, 1991. - Villanueva, Carlos Raúl: Caracas en tres tiempos (Caracas in three steps). Fundación Villanueva, Ediciones Conmemorativas, Gráficas Edición de Arte, Caracas, 1991.
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