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Iqbal Aalam

architecture, planning, arts and crafts.

PREVI Experimental Housing Project, Lima, Peru.Part III

February 3, 2013

Earlier blogs have already looked at 4 submissions from internationally invited architects, this third

blog looks briefly at other remaining entries, looking at their proposed designs and main objectives. Let

us start by looking at 40 years of growth, starting as ‘immaculate architect deliverd new born babies’,growing out of their original clothes (as intended) and covering their bulging bodies with colourful and

attractive garbs to feel good, comfortable and impress others.

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Candilis, Josic, Woods (France)

The housing structure is a system of walls defining built and open spaces.

There are two different width of bays, smaller one is 2.7m wide, can be entirely covered forming singleor two storey accommodation, the wider bay 4.5 m wide, forming courtyard, patios and livingaccommodation in different combinations to suit immediate and future needs of occupants. The landcan be traded off between adjacent owners to suit their particular needs.

The basic units at the start are all of equal size consisting of two small bays and one large one, and

come ready with masonry walls, slabs and concrete beams with water and drainage points and acertain amount of space is enclosed.

The streets serving the dwellings can be orthogonal or diagonal interdisperced with public squares andgardens. Shops can be formed within individual dwellings as happens in existing barriadas.

In early stages of development private cars may be limited to perimeter of the housing area, whileservice vehicles will use pedestrian ways but these arrangements can be readjusted to suit future carownership demands.

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Charles Correa (India)

Correa said that the project grew from the following four objectives:

(1) Highest possible density commensurate with (2) Individuallandownership;

(3) Minimum road and servicing cost; (4) Pedestrian /vehicle separation.

An arrangement of narrow row houses with access at both ends provided

the logical answer both to vehicle segregation and minimization of serviceruns with porches and backyards acting as transition areas betweenpedestrian and car access and the interior of the houses along diagonal roadand footpath routes so as to exploit the prevailing wind for ventilationpurposes – aided by airscoopes over the central area of each house – and to

achieve optimum orientation with respect to sunlight. Tree planting along pedestrian and service

roadways can be employed to modulate sunlight and natural ventilation as well as traffic noise fromthe central thoroughfare.

The service structure of schools, shops, and church and recreation areas is strung out in a disjointeddiagonal moving in the opposite direction to the footpaths and roads. They take the form of the coveredshaded areas set in well ventilated clearings and can be easily reached on foot as they can be by vehicle.The shops can be serviced from cul-de-sac service roads. From individual porches one can walk alongpedestrian ways until these join the central spine of patios culminating in the central church and

shopping area.

There is a single underpass linking both halves of the site across the central area.

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The houses themselves are designed in such a way that they can either be built by theirfuture occupants, with the assistance of the authorities as regards prefabricatedelements, subsidies, skilled labour etc.: or they can be completed by the authoritiesthemselves and sold to individual families. The former option would allow greaterflexibility and, bearing in mind the efforts have been made to minimize the number of

constraints that would be necessary under the circumstances.

Narrow plots resulting in narrow frontages, in architects mind ensured that the façade to be ‘controlled’was very small and set well back into the porch.

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The short span housing offered considerable structural flexibility which could

be exploited by the occupants. Further flexibility was offered by building thefirst stage development to be on ground floor, incorporating a front porch,

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living/dining area, bedroom, central patio, bathroom, kitchen and a small service patio at the rear. This

was considered sufficient for a young family with one or two children. The future stages could add firstfloor bedrooms and bathroom.

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Correa’s ‘interlaced’ scheme generated by the saw-tooth configuration of the

anti- seismic outer wall is orientated along the axis that is most conducive tonatural ventilation. The major changes have been made on the scale of the city

block. Individual owners have now aligned their units along the street front.

“Without malleability you can not have cultural expression-

all you can get is a top-down notion of how people should live” C.C.

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Esguerra, Saenz, Urdaneta, Samper (Columbia)

Project tries to create neighbourhoods units with high densities/low risebut individual ownership. This approach also reduces combining services

and communications. The supervision of open spaces, security of motorcars, play areas is also assured through this community spirit.

Individual plots are square maximising the flexibility of layouts, reducing

party walls, enclosing pedestrian routes with easy access to cars.

There are 20 unit designs available depending on locations within layout,

service areas and staircases. The following standard structural componentsusing a 50 cm module are extensively used;

1. A standard pre-stressed concrete tee beam and accompanying hollow

brick infill elements.2. Prefabricated concrete lintels and porch section and perforated bricks.

3. A standard open web steel roof joist with steel support columns to support ‘Eternit’ roof sections.4. Standard prefabricated sinks, wcs, washbasins and showers.

5. standardised water, gas and electricity installations.

6. Metal doors and window frames and terrazzo stair treads.

(http://iqbalaalam.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/previdec12-017alt.jpg)Oskar Hansen and Svein Hatloy (Poland)

Earth banks and areas of planting protect the project from the main traffic

route.

This scheme avoids using neighbourhood areas as the scheme avoids theformation of hierarchical structures and offers parallel opportunities for all.

Each single unit is placed in close proximity to a sheltered open space to

allow free pedestrian movement and play spaces near homes. These

paths/private open spaces are connected with the central servicing zonesensuring a steady pedestrian traffic.

All houses are within ten minutes walk from the central rapid-transit route

with adjacent parking areas, services and recreation facilities. Constructionis intended to be gradual (north-east corner to south-west) to enable

progressive occupation without excessive disturbance.

The dwellings are designed to be built in two stages in variety of ways, the first consist of primary

structure, building the prefabricated concrete elements placed by a three-ton crane. The secondarystructure stage of completion is carried out by tenants themselves by using lighter elements of clay or

concrete blocks, lintels, wall panels, partition, windows, woven fibrous screens and textiles, all capableof assembling in number of combinations to suit occupant’s needs.

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The structural walls incorporate storage recesses with doors and ventilation to open air, while shaded

areas cool ingoing air.

The open nature of plan still provides acoustically quiet areas in the centre of the house, where theprivate rooms are situated.

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J.L.Iniguez De Onzono and A.Vazquez De Castro (Spain)

The site is divided into ten neighbourhoods, each of about 500 dwellings.

A 3 m wide main pedestrian street runs centrally connecting groups of

dwellings.

Groups of one-family houses are standard plans around internal and service

patios.

Upper floors are planned alongside access alleys. A circular staircase links thetwo floors.

The structural system of prefabrication provides a series of permanentshuttered elements for poured reinforced concrete (walls, pillar, and beams).

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(http://iqbalaalam.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/previdec12-019alt.jpg)Toivo Korhonen (Finland)

The main structural grid used is 36m x 36m, derived from practicalrequirements. The structural grid is separate from the internal modulemaking it independent from internal additions and changes.

The plan of dwelling type is based on a functional separation of service andkitchen spaces, general spaces, and sleeping spaces. This offers maximumflexibility to suit future needs of occupiers who will determine the forms

themselves.

The boundary walls of all dwellings are built first. The simplest dwellingthus consists of an undivided space, with water and drainage laid on in the

service yard, which at the outset will serve as a kitchen. From this startingpoint the owner fills in and extends his house. Sanitary and Kitchen fittings

are fixed using standard components. Services are grouped to avoid long installation runs.

The structural system has shallow concrete foundation pads, a floor slab resting on the ground andconcrete columns and beams, supporting a corrugated asbestos roof.

All basic dwellings are single storey, when the upper storey is required; the original roof acts asshuttering for concrete.

There is no traffic within each developed area, apart from service traffic which penetrates on several

wider roads. Parking areas in the first stage are mainly reserved for public buildings.

(http://iqbalaalam.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/previdec12-020alt.jpg)Aldo E. Van Eyck (Netherlands)

The urban structure formed by the housing is derived from a clusteringprinciple which operates independently of the dwelling type employed. The

plot shape does not correspond to the octagonal shape of the houses, sosquares, rectangles, rhomboids and free forms could be employed withequal ease. The chief advantage of the hexagonal house with its lowperimeter wall is that it discourages further building by the inhabitants in

any direction which would result in the loss of external spaces or internallight a frequent development in self-build barriada housing. In this sensethe houses are designed so that further free development cannot work

against the best interests of the occupants.

The layout is characterized by thick bands of clustered housing separatedby a small number of roads placed as far apart as possible. Each band is six

plots deep presenting a wall of houses made up of rows of six and two, or five and three dwellings, tothe principle avenue, which is itself developed more or less symmetrically so as to achieve a moremonumental character. The access footpaths serving the bands of housing have a more informal aspect

which clearly differentiates from the main thoroughfares. Climatic considerations affected this layout as

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traffic – which is insensitive to climate – runs from east to west, whilst the pedestrian footpaths runsouth-east to north-west or north-east to south-west so as to take advantage of cooling breezes during

the hot summer. Protection from a winter winds is achieved by means of the block staggering shownon the plan.

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The arrangement of paths described above allows the breeze to penetrate deepinto each band of dwellings, a process facilitated by the lateral staggering of

the houses. Both house types1 and 2 are designed to take advantage of this airmovement by permitting through ventilation to all interior and exterior privatespaces. The triangular patios discourage building over in the manner described

above, so that the achievement of a genuinely urban character – instead of asuburban – can be realized. All schools and service facilities are accessible along the diagonal pedestrianpaths whilst a variety of safe play spaces for children, communal lawns, plazas with fountains and

other open spaces are grouped at the ends of the footpaths in full view of all houses for security.

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Car parking is provided along the principal avenues and also in certain areas off the footpaths.

In the design of the houses an effort has been made to avoid the appearance of an industrially produced

minimum house – which carries with it a stigma not easily overcome by the inhabitants of formerbarriadas. Instead an effort has been made to build a measure of flexibility into dwellings which cannot only interpret traditional and modern living styles but also adjust to different room arrangementscorresponding to individual family requirements.

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“It would be a grave error if pre-designed and partially pre-constructed urban

environments such as this pilot project proposes should counteract the growthand development of the barriada idea and practice, instead of stimulating itthrough the erection of improved dwelling types, construction systems and

overall community planning.” A.v.E.

Prior to taking part in the competition Aldo van Eyck visited Peru where he observed that in local houseswomen were at the heart of the home, he placed the kitchen in the centre of the floor plan. He also took a

more proscriptive approach to how the owners should expand, creating diagonally walled courtyards todiscourage people building on top of them. He failed of course. Outside space is not sacred to a family ofeight with another generation on the way.

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One of my favourite photos from Domus shows this combinaton of sophisticated Danish technology,

precision and grace, embellished and enhanced by this proud couple, who met Knud Svensson as theyoccupied this house they adored from the first day. Architect promised that one day he would comeback to build them a first floor extension to match what they liked, but unfortunately that neverhappened.

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Collective/Community External spaces in PREVI

“Though many years have passed, bearing in mind the premise that Peter Land’s team addressed the

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“Though many years have passed, bearing in mind the premise that Peter Land’s team addressed the

influence of each participant throughout the design process, the composition of these elements suggeststhe contribution of Aldo van Eyck.This assembly of highly static, geometric abstract objects, their gravity-defying impression of lightness

and the sculptured border all recall the playgrounds of post-war Amsterdam designed by Aldo vanEyck for Amsterdam’s Department of Public Works. Van Eyck addressed the issue of interstitial voidsand defined space and place, producing interventions that were both numerous and ephemeral. His

ambition of creating a space for children that was “more durable than snow” was realized in the desertof Lima.It is surprising to note how the constant transformation of the housing units distracted architecturereviewers, while the collective spaces attracted hardly any attention. The collective space, immaterial

and flowing, is the most determinant and lasting element of the PREVI.” Quote from an excellent dappaper Issue 9 by Marianne Baumgartner on collective spaces.http://www.architecturalpapers.ch/index.php?ID=90 (http://www.architecturalpapers.ch/index.php?

ID=90)

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“EL TIMPO CONSTRUYE! TIME BUILDS” by Fernando Garcia-Huidobra, Diego Torres Torriti andNichlas Tugas Barcelona 2008. A rather difficult book to get hold of, but I understand most of the

Domus graphics and details are attributed to this book

Domus April 2011, report by Justin McGuirk.

Julian Salas & Patricia Lucas from openhouse international vol 37 No 1 ‘The validity of PREVI, Fortyyears on.

Posted by winslowhub

Filed in 70s Housing, Architectural Competition, Courtyard Housing, Developing Countries,Housing in 60s, Indigenous Architecture, Informal Urban Housing, Regeneration, Self-Build Housing,Social Housing, Town Planning, Urban Renewal, Vernacular Architecture

Tags: "Candilis Josic and Woods", "German Samper", "Iniguez de Ozono and Vazquez de Castro","Knud Svensssons", "Marianne Baumgartner", "Oskar Hansen and Svein Hatloy", "Precasting","Rationalised Masonry", "Toivo Korhonen", 60s Housing, 70s Housing, Aldo van Eyck, Charles Correa,Experimental Housing, High Density Housing, Modern Architecture, Peter Land, PREVI, Rationalised

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