sbd

[hyper]localization

Restaurants

Tides RestaurantLTL/Opportunistic Architecture

Ini Ani Coffee ShopLTL/Opportunistic Architecture

Fluff Bakery LTL/Opportunistic Architecture

Housing Third World

Life In 1.3 x 30 Architecture for Humanity Dhaka/Design Like You Give A Damn 2

Manifesto for Truly Public Architecture Public Architecture/Design for the other 90%

Quinta Monroy Housing Project ELEMENTAL Housing Initiative/eVolo/Design Like You Give a Damn

Transitional Community Sri LankaOxfam/Design Like You Give a Damn

Maasai Integrated Shelter ProjectITDG/ Design Like You Give a Damn

Diez Casas para Diez FamiliasInstituto Technologico y de Es-tudios Superiores/Design Like You Give A Damn 2

Housing First World

Lucy HouseAuburn University Rural Design Studio/Design Like You Give a Damn

Hopi Elder HomeRed Feather Development Group/Design Like You Give a Damn

Mountain DwellingsBjarke Ingels Group/eVolo

contents

Education

Gando Primary SchoolDiebedo Francis Kere/Design Like You Give A Damn

Bamboo Primary Schooltheskyisbeautiful architecture/Design Like You Give A Damn

Bridge SchoolLi Xiaodong Atelier/Design Like You Give a Damn 2

Religious

Jubilee ChurchRichard Meier & Partners Archi-tects/Design Like You Give A Damn 2

Mason’s Bend Chapel Auburn University Rural Studio/Design Like You Give a Damn

Community Design SolutionsparaSITEMichael Rakowitz/Design Like You Give a Damn

Alluvial Sponge CombAnderson Anderson Architec-ture/Design Like You Give A Damn 2

Community Solar Kitchens BASIC Initiative/Design for the other 90%

Katrina Furniture ProjectKatrina Furniture Project/Community Design Fellowship University of Texas at Austin/Design for the other 90%

Repurposing Urban Waste Terreform ONE/eVolo

contents

Architecture has grown eerily similar. The built environment has been trending toward sameness versus diversity, supplying cookie cutter solutions in-stead of respecting and incorporating context.

The new trend in architecture, while not all bad, hasn’t much im-proved the single minded approach toward problem solving and the specific context buildings occupy. “Greenwashing” is the new black. Buildings still look the same, they have just been “accessorized” with solar panels, wind turbines, and the newest flashy “green” technologies.

But what if designers started a new trend. One that was about designing smarter. Incorporating the local social, economic, and environmental conditions into the design process. Hyperlocalization if you will. Desgining a building so in tune with it’s immediate environment, you would be hard pressed to find another like it anywhere on earth. This design strategy has the potential to unlock more environmentally sus-tainable solutions as well as addressing social and economic sustainability.

Utilizing systems think-ing as part of the design process will be essential. These new design solu-tions are shining examples of shifting the focus from the pieces of the project to the project in its entire-ty. This holistic approach implies the shift of going beyond analytical thinking and elevating the process to a contextual focus. (Eco-literacy, 2013)

Many of these projects incorporate permaculture into their design ethos. Hemenway aptly points out that the evolution of per-maculture philosophy has incredible scope lending it to a vast number of ap-pications, including build-ings, energy, wastewater systems, and villages, to name just a few. This idea of permaculture allows the interconnections to be addressed and carefully designed to impart a tru-ly sustainable end prod-uct. With more designers utilizing permaculture as a design approach that connects multiple strate-gies, techniques, and dis-ciplines, instead of seeing it as a seperate entity, has resulted in incredibly inno-vative solutions. (Hemen-way, n.d.)ed

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Specifically in the third-world section of this issue, there are valuable lessons to be learned about gen-erative design and it’s immpressive capactiy for resiliency. Many of these projects rely on the com-munites themselves to bring out the full potential of the design solutions. In most cases, these projects are designed around, in the words of Kelly, meeting human needs and creating conditions in which life can thrive. (Kelly, 2013). Poverty became a catalyst for cre-ative solutions, one specif-ic example the comes to mind is the micro-entrere-neurship of the people in Bangledesh and how they have created buisnesses and homes out of the “grey space”. The contribution and impact that all of these micro-buisnesses are mak-ing on the nation’s econo-my is astounding.

Continuing on this tangent, it has become incredibly apparent that buisness as an entity has strayed from valuing the health and wellbeing of consumers, and leaned more and more toward the bottom line. Hawken put this beautiful-ly, arguing that in the face of the environmental and social side effects the fo-

cus on blind growth and the short-term returns on investments show how far buisness has lost its way. He continues to say that buisness’ core purpose should be to “increase the general well-being of hu-mankind through service, creative intervention, and an ethical philosophy.” (Senge, n.d.) But there are individuals and business that fight this paradigm and choose to create their own, and as a collective, they are creating a global force for change. Hawken describes this movement as “the larg-est in all of human history... and instinctive, collective response to threat... some-thing organic, if not biologi-cal.” (Senge, n.d.) The proj-ects in this issue are just a small display of this global change, and it is encour-aging and even comforting to know that projects like this are not only creating a valuable environment for the immediate users but impacting the global para-digm shift.

To that effect, when re-searching projects, finding how well-being can have such a profound effect on individuals and commu-nites, was truly inspiring. It was also a bit shocking too see how many different

ways well-being can be de-fined. Reading Ecosystems and Human Well-Being higlighted several points, one of which was “how well-being and ill-being, or poverty, are expressed and experienced is con-text- and situation-depen-dent, reflecting local social and personal factors such as geography, ecology, age, gender, and culture.” (Ecosytsems and Human Well-being, n.d.) Reading this, it was easy to skim over and move on to the other points, but the gravity of this point is something this issue focuses heavily on.

All of these design solu-tions are unique, resepctful of context and the future inhabitants. But they an-swer the question of how does this contribute to well-being very differently. What first-world problems people may have with re-gards to well-being may seem outrageously extr-vagant and petty to third-world communities, whose needs are met in a different way entirely. Adapting and addressing these needs sustainably across the board is the ultimate end goal.

-Brittany Wheeler

Tides Restaurant

New York, NYCompleted 2005420 sq. ft.

Finalist, Casual Dining, Interior Design Gold Key AwardsWinner, Interiors Award, Casual Restaurant, Contract Honorable Mention, The AR Awards for Emerging Architecture, Architecture Review

Located in New York’s Lower East Side, this project present-ed the unusual challenge of designing a 22-seat restaurant in a tiny 420-square-foot room where the ceiling is higher than the space is wide.

In order to counter the poten-tially claustrophobic dimensions of this space, LTL decided to make the ceiling the dominant feature of the project.

The ceiling was designed to create a topographical ef-fect that evoked an inverted field of sea grass. This effect was achieved by aggregating 110,000 bamboo skewers in carefully calculated patterns to form a dense intricate ceiling seascape.

Various other types of bamboo are used throughout the space; caramelized bamboo flooring folds up to become the booth seats and banquette backs, and a lighter shade of bamboo flooring covers the upper half of the banquette wall. Individual

planks pull away from the wall, revealing lights.

The bottom half of each table is translucent acrylic, which pipes the light of a candle encased in the bamboo plywood top to the edge of the table. The table magnifies the candle light, intensifying the most flattering form of restaurant lighting.

Project team: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis; Lucas Casardo, project architect; Matthew Roman, Beatie Blakemore, Jeanie LeeContractor: Mao Nan zConstructionPhotographer: Michael Moran

http://ltlarchitects.com/tides-restaurant

TIDES

Acoustical material and skewers form three pyramidal volumes covering two booths and the bathroom increasing the sense of intimacy and privacy withing the restricted space. The steel structure inside the cones extends to form supports for dimmable linear lights.

The ceiling topography required more than 110,000 bamboo skewers identical to those used in the kitchen. Each skewer was individually dipped in glue and inserted into translucent 2” thick ceiling panels, which were placed into a drop ceiling frame.

Each skewer’s placement was carefully calibrated according to depth, orientation, and tilt to produce a continuous pattern across the panels simulating tidal flows, eddies, and channels.

Two different types of optical Lumistry film turn the restaurant’s door and windows into a seductive yet subtle sign. Viewed striaght on, the letters are opaque and their background is transparent. as the angle of viewing changes, so does the balance of opacity and transparency, until the reverse is true.

Ini Ani Coffee Shop

New York, NYCompleted 2004350 sq. ft.

Design Distinction, Environ-ments, ID Magazine 51st Annual Design Review Interiors Award Winner, Casual Restaurant, Contract

The design for this project was generated in response to the low budget, $40,000; site limita-tions, 350 square feet; and tight time frame, 3 months for design and construction.

Furthermore, this pragmatic design process thoroughly in-tersected a fabrication process in which LTL custom built the

primary design features of the space. Originally a fortune-tell-er’s apartment and shop, the space was reconfigured by LTL as a room within a room, allow-ing both take-out traffic and a subdued lounge environment to coexist within the small foot-print.

Treating the disposable take-out coffee cup as a point of depar-ture for material exploration, LTL constructed the interior box out of 25,000 strips of corrugat-ed cardboard compressed in a structural steel cage, and cast a wall of 479 plaster coffee-cup lids as a sculptural feature at the entry.

Client: Kevin Mancini and Payam YazdaniProject team: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis; James Bennett, Lucas Cascar-do, Alex TerzichContractor: J. Z. Interior Reno-vationsPhotographer: Michael Moran

http://ltlarchitects.com/ini-ani-coffee-shop

Since LTL was able to control the design and fabrication, a synthesis between details , form, and materials was achieved from the larger architectural enclosure, to the furniture, and down to the door handles. All the shelves, chairs, and lights within the cardboard box are structured from the same 1/4” x 2” cold-rolled steel used the make the cage that compresses the walls of cardboard. The light armatures hold both candles and dimmable halogen spotlights.

INI ANI

A hallmark of LTL’s designs is the uncommon use of inexpensive construction materials and the blurring of traditionally seperate architectural iden-tities, demonstrated here in the wood floor rising to form the banquette, while the steel of the wall cage structures the seat.

The architecture was detailed to tease out as many performative charactertistics of banal common materials as possible. In addition to providing acousitic dampening, the corrugations of the cardboard strips allow the walls to appear transparent when viewed head on. Moreover, the repetition of thousands of pieces of cardboard proiveds a scale of detail and refinement that mitigates the relatively small size of the space.

To the right as one enters, is a relief wall composed of 479 cast-plaster coffe cup lids. From a distance the wall appears to be a rhythmic sculptural panel, while up close it reavleas a taxonomy of different solu-tions to the simple prob-lem of keeping coffee in a cup. THe unique diameter of each lid was individually drilled out of MDF sheets and was then skim coated to acheive the effiect of a monolithic plaster wall. Attempts to cast the wall in solid tiles proved prohib-itively heavy.

The interior box of compressed cardboard and steel pro-vides a lounge area nested within the larger space. An array of speakers is loacated above the box. The corrugations of the cardboard permit the sound to pass, while keeping the speakers hidden.

Steel parts were prefabricated off-site and assembled on site in two dats suing only contersunk screws. Over 25,000 strips of cardboard were pressed into the steel cage in one day, using the friction between the precise steel and the die cut cardboard to hold the infill materials in place.

Fluff Bakery

New York, NYCompleted 2004800 sq. ft.

Winner, Casual Restaurant, First Annual Hospitality Design Awards for Creative Achieve-ment, Hospitality DesignFinalist, Casual Dining, Interior Design Gold Key Awards

LTL’s design for this 800-square-foot bakery and coffee shop fuses a highly ef-ficient plan with an expressive surface that cloaks the walls and the ceiling in a layered as-sembly of common materials.

Almost 18,500 feet (more than three miles) of 3/4- by 3/4-

inch strips of industrial felt and stained plywood were individ-ually positioned and anchored into place to form an inner liner that defines the cafe’s main seating area.

The surface performs in multi-ple ways: as banquette back, as acoustic damper, and as visual seduction. The striking linear pattern of the strips induces a horizontal vertigo that serves as an attractor to pedestrians on the street, drawing the eye of the passer-by through the frameless glass storefront.

The vitality of this architectural surface becomes the shop’s identity and advertisement. As a counterpoint to the excessive linearity of the strips, a cus-

tom stainless-steel chandelier, terminating in forty-two dimma-ble linear incandescent lights, branches across the ceiling.

Client: Chow Down Manage-ment Inc.Project team: Paul Lewis, Marc Tsurumaki, David J. Lewis; Eric Samuels, project architect; James Bennett, Lucas Cascar-do, Alex Terzich, Alan Smart, Maya Galbis, Hilary Zaic, Mi-chael Tyre, Matthew Roman, Ana IvascuContractor: Real Time Inc.Photographer: Michael Moran

http://ltlarchitects.com/fluff-bakery

The horizontal chandelier ex-plores the apparent random-ness that can emerge from a limited set of parts. Forty-two 7’-6” pieces of stainless steel conduit are bent into just three types.

Each type is assembled into ten branches. The middle bend of each unit is the splice point for the start of the next unit, while the end is connect-ed to a linear incandescent bulb socket.

The ten brances are anchored to a single steel spline located at the bottom of a fold in the ceiling surface and intertwined together within three feet of the ceiling. This rationally designed randomness distrib-utes light evenly throughout the space.

FLUFF

The walls and ceiling are composed of specific com-binations of three different types of industrial felt (F1, F7, F11) and three colors of stained baltic birch plywood .The balance of grey, black, and white materials in the mixure is adjusted to pro-duce a darker area at the seating areas to minimize the appearance of stains and wear, while the lighting combinations fill the ceiling.

In contrast to the illusion of movement and speen when viewed at an acute angle, the horizontal strips appear to flatten the space when seen straight on. In other words, when entering or exiting the space, the surface appears to intensify motion; yet, when sitting in the space, the surface effects a flat calm. The transition from wall to ceiling is hardly percepti-ble; an optical paradox.

Project Name: Life in 1.5’ x 30’: Changing Semiotics of Urban Grey Space

Project Mission/Goal:1) Improve the human spirit of micro entrepreneurs2) Increase awareness of the environment and address cli-mate change3) Respond to our growing need for hygiene, Energy and Economic development4) Address humanitarian crises of informal micro entrepreneurs5) Re-construct a new idea for urban planning issue.6) Changing SEMIOTICS of ur-ban unused spaces where one family can survive with better living condition and will be very meaningful for the micro entre-preneurs

7) Introduce a new form of ur-ban citizenship

Project Description:In the urban fabric, “Grey Spac-es” occur in gaps of what is planned, controlled, financed by authorities or simply built by private developers in irregular or unplanned ways, occupying and setting up small businesses on land that has remained vacant for a long time or with poor accessibility or space used for dumping waste. Although, the arrangements are often legal or semi-legal but the enterprises produce and distribute legal goods and services. Hence the naming- the ‘Grey Space’. This particular issue is the result of changes in the worldwide econ-omy. This is really about how

to deal with globalization and the demands it puts on a city. Although these activities seem trivial, but what they show is a demand to use space, which can be seen as a new form of urban citizenship.

This movement is increasing every year but the respective authorities have turned a ‘blind eye’ to this growing problem. A widespread misconception exists against this particular economy, related to the under-ground. However, such attitude is no solution to this emerging problem, as various factors are involved and the problem seems to be worldwide. These grey spaces are growing and seem to be a permanent fea-ture of a city. Factors acting

LIFE IN 1.5’ x 30’

as stimuli are: lack of enough modern job opportunities to ab-sorb surplus labor; slow rate of economic growth or faster rate of population growth.

Grey spaces contain several forms and dimensions. Grey spaces are contingent in na-ture. However, in the face of uncertain economic and polit-ical conditions, these dynamic developments have an inherent power to change and adapt, for required investment is minimal and the shelters are responsive to local conditions.

An example of such a phenom-enon is this project located at Mohakhali, in between two

building with 1.5’ at the nar-rowest, 3.6’ at the widest and 30’ in length. The story of this grey space began when a 12 year old boy, ran off to the city from his hometown, for survival which is a common phenome-non of a developing nation. The living condition was very poor because of two solid walls on the longer directions making the interior space dark, gloomy and congested. Even then, people were living in this place for more then 15 years because they perceived several advantages, including economic incentives.

My intention was to create a new semiotics for these types of spaces where one family can survive with better living con-ditions and value will be added

for the micro entrepreneurs. Connecting all the spaces both visually and physically broke the tunnel effect, allowing the space to flow- thus, giving a sense of a single space. Also ensuring natural light, ventilation, use of alternative energy (present energy crisis) makes the space more meaningful. The semiot-ic of the space is such that it not only denotes the functions but connotes symbols such as: home, a sense of belonging. Such notion has made many spectators to remark-‘Arey eta to ekta bari!’ (Wow! This is a two storied house!).

In order to return the lost green, a 1.5’X5’ of space was put aside but this decision was even more justified when a

hidden talent of my client was revealed i.e. he can play three different instruments. Thus a space with a touch of green and water would surely increase his artistic ability apart from con-tributing to the local ecology! Although these people have been living as a parasite for all these years, it was my desire to let them have the technology of conserving energy i.e. a solar water heater. One other issue considered is rain water har-vesting, which is done in a small scale to run a small aquarium. Lastly, lots of vibrant colors are used on the exterior, so that the colorful background, the vivid color of the products, the passersby wearing bright colors (as preferred by our society & culture) all forms an ever-chang-

ing, dynamic collage. Collect-ed, recycled timbers, plywood panels, and bamboo mats from the students of architecture department are mainly used for this project. Corrugated roofing sheets and some metal angle are also collected from the surrounding area. In all aspects an attempt is made to free them from the oppositions imposed by the society, authority and to re-construct a whole new place with a new semiotics- which they can identify it as theirs without any fear or hesitation.

Despite the continuing debates about its development, it is increasingly being recognized as a key to promoting growth and/or reducing poverty. It pro-vides income for the poor and a

safety net in times of crisis. This small scale enterprise which thrives in these grey spaces contributes in the social pro-cess by increasing the interac-tion between people and using the urban unused spaces. Thus, making the neighborhood more attractive and also, redefining the public spaces, which are closely related to their activities. As a concluding remark I want to say “these occupants are ac-tually helping to restructure and revitalize our cities and I don’t think these spaces are dead, it’s just changing. They activate the dead spaces, and break down boundaries between the public and the private. The blurring of boundaries leads to new ways of conceptualizing these areas”.

Project Details:Location: in between 67 and 68 Mohakhali, Dhaka - 1212Concept/Lead Architect(s)/De-signer(s): Md. Imrul KayesProject Architect(s): Fardous Habib Khan, Md. Imrul Kayes, Abdun Nime, Zahid Hasan, Im-ran, Md. Kaisar HossainYear (s): June 29 2008 - July 20 2008Client: Imran and his father, Akhtar HossainMajor Funding: Students of BRAC UniversityCost/Cost per unit: USD $640Floor area: 14 square metersOccupancy: 2 peopleContractor/Manufacturer: Ar-chitecture for Humanity, Dhaka team and volunteershttp://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/5707

ProblemWhile the contributions of day laborers typically go unseen, most cities’ inability to accommodate them within the urban infrastruc-ture is highly visible. Day laborers’ role in the informal economy has forced them to occupy spaces meant for other uses, such as street corners, gas stations, and home improvement store parking lots. A relatively small number of officially sanctioned day labor centers have appeared in recent years, but the informal gathering sites remain the norm. Present in spaces designated for other uses, these sites often lack even the most basic of amenities (shelter, water, toilet facilities, etc). The Day Labor Station is a design initiative that we are developing to address the needs of a community that traditionally has not had access to quality design environments.

ResponseThe Station itself is a simple, flexI-

ble structure that can be deployed at these informal day labor loca-tions. It is a self-sustaining project that will utilize green materials and strategies and will exist primarily--if not completely--off the grid. Our design is based on the realities of the ways in which the day labor system operates, and responds to the needs and desires of the day laborers themselves, as our clients. As such, the structure will be flexible enough to serve various uses, including as an employment center, meeting space, and class-room.

Proving that “just” design and “quality” design need not be mutually exclusive, the Day Labor Station has received recognition from the design community for its innovative design including the 2007 “Design for the Other 90%” exhibition at the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum and the 2011 Rotterdam Bienale. In 2009, the project won the Global Innova-

tion Prize from the Holcim Founda-tion for Sustainable Construction. It was the only building and the only North American project to be recognized in that global awards cycle.

Public Architecture has formed a partnership with the National Day Labor Organizing Network (ND-LON) to pursue implementation of the first stations. Additionally, Public Architecture is working with NDLON to link existing worker cen-ters with architects through The 1% Program in an effort to provide a more comprehensive improve-ment of the physical spaces of day labors..

The Day Labor Station design ini-tiative has always been more than just a design project. Public Archi-tecture also leads a robust advo-cacy and public relations effort, including a dedicated website. All these initiatives represent part of our effort to humanize the labor-

DAY LABOR STATION

ers and elevate the debate about them, the spaces they inhabit, and the ways in which they exist in the fabric of the community.The Day Labor Station, a project of Public Architecture, is a sim-ple, flexible structure that can be deployed at these informal day labor locations. It is a sustain-ably-designed project that utilizes green materials and strategies and exists primarily, if not completely, off-the-grid. It provides a sheltered space for the day laborers to wait for work as well as greater com-munity amenities and resources. Our design is a responsive one, addressing the needs and desires of the day laborers themselves, as our clients. As such, the structure will be flexible enough to serve in various capacities, including as a meeting space or classroom.

Despite day laborers’ contributions

to key economic sectors of our society, they receive little in return. Their role in the informal economy has forced them to occupy spac-es meant for other uses, such as street corners, gas stations, and home improvement store parking lots. A relatively small number of officially sanctioned day labor cen-ters have appeared in recent years, but the previously mentioned informal gathering sites remain the norm. These sites are far from be-ing ideal; their presence in spaces designated for other uses means that they often lack even the most basic of amenities (shelter, water, toilet facilities, etc).

Conscious of the controversy sur-rounding day laborers, our goal is not to cast an opinion about public policy. Instead, we seek to fulfill our professional responsibility: to give day laborers a more dignified

environment and to advance the debate about day laborers and the spaces they inhabit.

The Day Labor Station project was introduced as part of the Design for the Other 90% exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York (May 4 – September 23, 2007), where a full-scale section of the project will be on view. However, this project is intended to be more than just a museum piece; we are actively working to locate a day labor site, which can serve as a permanent home for the first full prototype. Ultimately, Day Labor Stations will be deployed across the country.

http://www.publicarchitecture.org/design/Day_Labor_Station.htm

Architects: Elemental – Alejan-dro Aravena, Alfonso Montero, Tomás Cortese, Emilio de la CerdaLocation: Iquique, Chile.Client: Gobierno regional de Tarapacá / Programa Chile-Barrio del Gobierno de Chile.Engineering: Juan Carlos de la Llera & José Gajardo.Budget: US $204 /sqmProject Year: 2003Construction Year: 2004Execution time: 9 monthsMaterials: Concrete & Cement bricksSite Area: 5000 sqmConstructed Area: 3500 sqmPhotographs: Elemental – Cris-tóbal Palma – Tadeuz JalochaThe Chilean Government asked us to resolve the following equa-tion:To settle the 100 families of the Quinta Monroy, in the same 5,000 sqm site that they have illegally occupied for the last 30

years which is located in the very center of Iquique, a city in the Chilean desert.

We had to work within the frame-work of the current Housing Policy, using a US$ 7,500 subsi-dy with which we had to pay for the land, the infrastructure and the architecture. Considering the current values in the Chilean building industry, US$ 7,500 allows for just around 30 sqm of built space.And despite the site’s price (3 times more than what social housing can normally afford) the aim was to settle the families in the same site, instead of displac-ing them to the periphery.

If to answer the question, one starts assuming 1 house = 1 family = 1 lot, we were able to host just 30 families in the site. The problem with isolated hous-es, is that they are very inefficient

in terms of land use. That is why social housing tends to look for land that costs as little as pos-sible. That land, is normally far away from the opportunities of work, education, transportation and health that cities offer. This way of operating has tended to localize social housing in an impoverished urban sprawl, cre-ating belts of resentment, social conflict and inequity.

If to try to make a more efficient use of the land, we worked with row houses, even if we reduced the width of the lot until making it coincident with the width of the house, and furthermore, with the width of a room, we were able to host just 66 families. The problem with this type is that whenever a family wants to add a new room, it blocks access to light and ventilation of previous rooms. Moreover it compromises privacy because circulation has

QUINTA MONROY

to be done through other rooms. What we get then, instead of efficiency, is overcrowding and promiscuity.

Finally, we could have gone for the high-rise building, which is very efficient in terms of land use, but this type blocks expansions and here we needed that every house could at least double the initial built space.

SO, WHAT TO DO?Our first task was to find a new way of looking at the problem, shifting our mindset from the scale of the best possible US$ 7,500 object to be multiplied a 100 times, to the scale of the best possible US$ 750,000 build-ing capable of accommodating 100 families and their expan-sions.

But we saw that a building blocks expansions; that is true, except

on the ground and the top floor. So, we worked in a building that had just the ground and top floor.

WHAT IS OUR POINT?We think that social housing should be seen as an investment and not as an expense. So we had to make that the initial subsi-dy can add value over time. All of us, when buying a house expect it to increase its value. But so-cial housing, in an unacceptable proportion, is more similar to buy a car than to buy a house; every day, its value decreases.It is very important to correct this, because Chile will spend 10 billion dollars in the next 20 years to overcome the housing deficit. But also at the small family scale, the housing subsidy received from the State will be, by far, the biggest aid ever. So, if that sub-sidy can add value over time, it could mean the key turning point to leave poverty.

We in Elemental have identi-fied a set of design conditions through which a housing unit can increase its value over time; this without having to increase the amount of money of the current subsidy.

In first place, we had to achieve enough density, (but without overcrowding), in order to be able to pay for the site, which because of its location was very expensive. To keep the site, meant to maintain the network of opportunities that the city offered and therefore to strengthen the family economy; on the other hand, good location is the key to increase a property value.

http://www.archdaily.com/10775/quinta-monroy-elemental/

Location: Tangalle, Hambantota, Sri LankaDate: 2005Organization: Oxfam, Great BritainEnd Client: Displaced familiesShelter and settlement advisor: Sandra D’UrzoShelter architect: Elisabeth BabisterWater/sanitation engineer: Enamul HoqueConstruction: Volunteer and self helpFunding: Disasters Emergency Commitee (DEC)Cost per unit: $580Total cost: $9,860

Built in a public park, this transi-tional housing project is meant to be dismantled. The materials can be resued in permanent housing. Construction of all the unites took aproximately one month.

This achieves two goals: First, it allows humanitarian aid agen-cies to provide shelter on tem-porary sites rather than waiting for land-use issues to be re-solved. Second, it can help de-

fray families’ construction costs for building permanent housing by giving them materials that they can later sell or repurpose.

Over the course of three months Oxfam designed and constructed 17 transitional shelters for families using a mix of wood, corrugated roof sheet-ing, cement blocks , and other materials. The settlement was located in Tangalle, a coastal vil-lage in the Hambantota district of Sri Lanka, near one of the the five permanent development offices the aid group maintained in the country prior to the disas-ter.

In the immediate aftermath of the disaster, many people found shelter with friends and relatives. However, community leaders identified a group of 17 families that had lost everythign and had nowhere safe to stay. Thorugh series of workships, Oxfam collaborated with these familes and the loca fovern-ment to design a safe shelter that would enable them to store their belongings secturely and

would be spacious and cool enough to carry out everyday tasks, such as mending nets or drying fish. Including officials as well as families in the discus-sion established an open forum where both felt comfortable asking questions and sharing ideas. The result was a design that met government approv-al and the displaced familes’ needs.

But finding a suitable location presented a challenge. People wanted to stay near their com-mmunity, livliehoods, schools and families, but there was little land available near Tangalle, and the government was finding it difficult to relocate familes out of the “buffer zone”, a 100 meter no-build zone along the coast. After discussions, Oxfam agreed with the local govern-ment to build the transisional shelters in a childrens play-ground in the middle of the vil-lage, enabling familes to main-tain communit ties and have access to servies and support.

Oxfam employed and engineer

TRANSITIONAL

and a site supervisor to oversee the construction, but skilled and unskilled work was carried out by the families themselves, who were paid a daily wage. In that way the project alos helped replace lost earnings. Remark-ably, a third of those involved in the pilot scheme were women, giving them access to income and a sense of empowerment.

The shelters were designed so that they could be dismantled after a year. Timber joints were bolted, the floor was made from

cement tiles rather than a solid slab. Latrines were also built for the shelters, including three permanent ones intended to benefit the whole community once the temporary shelters were dismantled and the park returned to normal use.

http://www.sandradurzo.org/Projects/SriLanka/MISSION%20REPORT_SriLanka.pdf

Maasai Integrated Shelter ProjectKenya Finalist | 2004Initiated in response to the changing livelihood needs of the nomadic Maasai population, this project provides technical skills and advice on appropriate tech-nologies and durable building materials to pastoral communities in Kenya that are increasingly opting for permanent accommo-dation. The project seeks to build the capacity of women groups, artisans and local institutions to design, plan and manage their shelter improvements as well as establishing viable income gen-erating enterprises through the identification of business oppor-tunities, skills development and linkages to credit. To date over 300 individual houses have been improved incorporating water and sanitation facilities, as well as reducing indoor air pollution, 53 artisans have been trained in building and construction and 400 women are involved in micro-en-terprise activities. Aims and ObjectivesTo enhance access to improved affordable housing for pastoral communities in Kenya and East Africa as a whole.To develop the skills of both male and female artisans in the apprais-al, design and construction of appropriate building technologies and water sanitation.To build awareness of hygiene and sanitation facilities.To build the capacity of women groups, artisans and local institu-tions to design, plan and manage their shelter improvement initia-tives to meet changing livelihood needs.To stimulate the establishment of

viable income generating enter-prises through the identification of business opportunities, skills de-velopment and linkages to credit.Project DescriptionThe Magadi Division of Kajiado District of Kenya is estimated to have a total of 25,000 people liv-ing in an area of 2,640 km2. This is a semi-arid degraded environ-ment and population pressures and the expropriation of large parcels of high potential land have marginalised the families in pas-toral societies. In the traditional nomadic lifestyle of the Maasai, houses are built that are semi-per-manent and cannot withstand the harsh weather conditions. The materials used (grass, twigs, cow dung, anthill soil) degrade very quickly and it is usually the women and children who carry out the constantly needed repairs. Changes in the traditional nomad-ic lifestyle mean that the Maasai people are increasingly opting for permanent accommodation.Women are the sole builders of these traditional houses that are arranged in compounds known as Enkaji. The traditional house is very small with no windows and a low roof. Vermin and fire are con-stant threats.The Maasai community ap-proached ITDG to seek a solution to their housing problems. A participatory needs identifica-tion was carried out and participa-tory research into the most appro-priate building technologies prior to any houses being built. As a re-sult of this research designs were developed and demonstration units were built. Training sessions and peer exchange visits were carried out to share experience.

Community training was provided in income generating activities. To date over 300 individual houses have been improved incorporating water and sanitation facilities as well as the indoor pollution inter-ventions. Wide gutters and water collection facilities enable the local rainfall to be gathered and stored. Materials used for con-struction include locally available stone, sand and timber (for posts).The community has played the major role in the development of the project. Training was pro-vided in the appropriate building technologies. The development of local skills means that there is a large skilled labour pool to help families build their own homes. Since the building design has not changed significantly from that of the traditional design it is easily accepted in the culture. The main differences are the higher roof and the larger windows and doors in the house. Solar cookers require less time to be spent in fuel gathering than the traditional fuel wood stoves.

The Ministry of Commerce and Trade provides training in mi-cro-enterprise development and business skills. The Ministry of Housing provides skills in appro-priate building technologies to lo-cal artisans. This support is antic-ipated to continue once ITDG exit from the project. The project was funded by Danish aid which end-ed in 2001. The Massai Integrated Development Partnership Project has been established with a range of partners and local community that continues to finance the proj-ect. Fund raising is carried out by the local community.

MAASAI

Innovative AspectsUse of durable materials for roofing and walls rather than the degradable products used previ-ously.Use of gutters for water harvest-ing.Provision of ventilation facilities with eaves, smoke extraction chimneys and windows that bring in light and fresh air.Promotion of micro-enterprises that were previously unknown in the community.Incorporation of sanitation fa-cilities into the houses, with pit latrines incorporated into schools and social centres all over the district.Environmental SustainabilityPreviously there was excessive use of local materials and this was depleting the local environment. Now that more durable houses

are built using more conventional materials there is less pressure on the increasingly arid environment. The sand and soils used in the construction process are locally available and are unlikely to be depleted. Water collection using gutters and large storage jars enables water to be collected and used. This means that much time and effort is saved for the women who previously had to walk long distances to fetch water.Financial SustainabilitySkills and knowledge have been transferred and are now inde-pendent of the funding stream. People provide their own materi-als and labour to build their new homes and these are not funded by the project. An exit plan is in place for 2007 when full finan-cial sustainability is expected. Since the building materials used are available locally and do not

need frequent replacement, the houses now being built are more affordable to the families than the previous ones which needed to be replaced annually. Much time that was formerly spent by the women on housing construction is now spent on income earning activi-ties, the profit from which is used to improve people’s homes.Social SustainabilityCommunity group meetings and development activities have served to bring together groups within the community to act together for its greater good, for example water projects, building of schools and cooperative busi-ness ventures have all increased community interaction and coop-eration. Local communities are empowered to access information and to lobby for services. Trained artisans can now solicit for their own contracts and from the skills

acquired can build standard hous-es. The business-trained groups have a competent knowledge of bookkeeping and management of their businesses. Women have gained confidence and are able to express themselves in meetings and voice their grievances without conflict within the male dominat-ed society. Local women leaders have emerged due to good gover-nance training.EvaluationAs a result of the improved hous-ing project the following have been achieved:

Reduced number of household accidents due to improved light-ing from having bigger windows and a higher roof.Reduction in communicable dis-eases due to the introduction of sanitation.

Reduced incidence of eye cat-aracts and lung disease due to improved ventilation.Greatly reduced number of vermin and rodents in the houses.Safe water is now available from the roof catchments.Increasing wealth of the Maasai communities through small busi-ness creation.A reduction in the number of trees being cut.Knowledge of rights and having the necessary skills to demand them.Training in micro-enterprise devel-opment, business management, book keeping and marketing has enabled over 400 women to have a regular source of income and to increase their wealth.56 artisans have been trained in building and construction and are now earning a living with the skills gained. Other small businesses

include building materials pro-duction, market gardening, small retail, small animal rearing, weav-ing and metal waste collection.TransferTo date four other divisions of the Kajaido Ditrict of Kenya have rep-licated the housing technology af-ter an exchange visit to the region and meeting with the community.

A wide range of other organisa-tions are now using the building technologies developed in this project.

http://www.worldhabitatawards.org/winners-and-finalists/proj-ect-details.cfm?lang=00&thePro-jectID=151

PROJECT DETAILSNAME: Diez Casas para Diez FamiliasLOCATION: Nuevo Almaguer, MexicoSTART DATE: January 08, 2010CURRENT PHASE: Design de-velopmentCOST: $14391 USD (Final)SIZE: 60 sq. mPROJECT TYPE: Residential - Single FamilyIMPLEMENTING PARTNER: school of Architecture at institu-to Technologico y de Estudios superioresEND USER/OCCUPANT: 10 sin-gle family residencesPROJECT PARTNER: Ball State University College of Architecture and PlanningDESIGN TEAM: Pedro Pacheco, Edmundo Palacios, architecture students

ENGINEERING: 10X10 teamCONTRACTOR(S): 10X10 team, ATEMPO Diseno y ConstructionFUNDING: Private companies in Monterrey and the instituto Tech-nologico y de Estudios superi-ores, Monterrey CampusDiez Casa para Diez Familias

Rosenda’s house’s design is based on using recycled materi-als as a didactic model of sus-tainable construction

Project Mission/Goal: (Choose one or more of the following)1) improve the human spirit2) increase awareness of the environment and/or address cli-mate change3) respond to our growing need for clean water, power, shelter, healthcare, education

Project Description: Urban im-pulse promotes social develop-ment and well-being of progres-sively growing communities by involving students and profes-sionals from different disciplines so that they can develop their own skills in their specialty field to create awareness among the participants (academics, entre-preneurs, activists, government officials and beneficiaries) of the needs in the communities of progressive growth. At the same time it seeks to promote person-al, collective and professional development of the participants in the program as volunteers or beneficiaries.Rosenda’s house is a 60m2 dwelling unit built in the neigh-borhood of Nuevo Almaguer using recycled materials, which in its final stage collects rain wa-

DCpDF

ter and re-used grey water. The house was designed and built in collaboration with members of the family, volunteers, students, and faculty members from the school of Architecture, Art and Design and the Center for De-sign and Construction at ITESM Campus Monterrey as part of Ten Houses for Ten Families, a ser-vice-lerningprogram that allows all participants become aware of the potential for individual and community development.The house is used as a pedagog-ical model to demonstrate how different systems (water, energy,

materials, food and waste as a resource system) make the house function as a living organ-ism in which everything relates to everything else.As is the case for most low-in-come housing, Rosenda´shouse will gain value as it gets im-proved over time.The design process was based on a trash-to-treasure philoso-phy in which the waste from one system becomes food for anoth-er system. Some of the discard-ed materials used in the house include fiber glass scrap, used fiber glass formwork, out of code

freezer doors, used concrete, used wood from garden tables, classroom doors, used planters, railroad tides for exterior door and 6 mm glass.As a construction system model, the house has become an im-portant reference for neighbors on the same street wherethe 10x10 team is developing an architectural proposal for six other families.

http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/dlygad2_rosenda-house

A low-income family in Southern Alabama moved into a new home in 2002, The Lucy House, an am-bitious project by Auburn Univer-sity’s Outreach Rural Studio that pushed the limits of construction materials and, in the end, became a memorial to the Auburn Univer-sity instructor who founded the program and led the team of stu-dents—one of them a Texas A&M environmental design graduate.

Former student J.M. Tate ’02 was a member of the 2001 Ru-ral Studio team directed by the program’s late founder, Samuel “Sambo” Mockbee. An archi-tect who had committed his life to teaching and public service, Mockbee lost a battle with Leuke-mia in December 2001 while the Lucy House project was under way.

Tate completed his Bachelor of Environmental Design from Texas A&M as an “extern” member of the Rural Studio team. He en-listed at the urging of professors Robin Abrams and Jerry Maffei, and Tom Regan. dean of the Tex-as A&M College of Architecture since 1998. Regan, an Auburn graduate, also served as dean of

Auburn’s College of Architecture, Design and Construction for three years prior to coming to Texas A&M.

The Rural Studio, conceived as a method to improve the living conditions in rural Alabama and to include hands-on experience in an architectural pedagogy, began designing and building homes under Mockbee’s direction in the fall of 1993.

“The Rural Studio program pro-vides architecture students an opportunity to push their ideas and talents to the limit by creating something real and beneficial to a rural community,” Tate said.

Originally conceived by Mockbee, the Lucy House was a collabora-tion of the Rural Studio and Inter-face Americas, the world’s largest commercial carpet manufacturer.

The house, now the home of Anderson and Lucy Harris and their three children, was built of carpet tiles salvaged from office buildings throughout the USA. Since the tiles are all older than seven years, they have minimal “off gas” and are protected from

the elements by the Rural Studio’s trademark “big roof.”

The 1200 sq. ft. house has two main pieces: a “family room” and the main bedroom for Anderson and Lucy.The “family room” contains three children’s bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen, and living area. It is com-pletely contained by carpet-tiled walls built from 72,000 individu-ally stacked tiles that are held in compression by a heavy wooden ring beam. The carpet does not take the roof load, which is trans-ferred to the foundation through structural metal posts hidden in the carpet wall.

The main bedroom is housed in the crumpled form that sits atop the family’s tornado shelter, which also acts as a mediation room and family TV room.One of the most interesting and ingenious aspects of the con-struction of the Lucy House is the development of a carpet wall system in which waste carpet tiles were stacked like bricks to form a solid mass. The carpet tiles, with 18-inch cross-sections, had extraordinary absorption and heat radiation properties that provided

LUCY HOUSE

insulation for the home.

Carpet for the wall system and funds for construction were pro-vided by a $30,000 donation from Interface Carpet, a company that was looking for ways to reuse the incredible amounts of waste their product creates.“As the semester began we spent much of our time in the Mason’s Bend community where our clients lived, developing an un-derstanding of the context of the place and what ideas would drive the creation of The Lucy House,” Tate recalled. “We were sub-merged in southern culture and taken into the daily lives of Lucy’s family. Together we decided that the design of the house would focus around two primary ideas, a storm shelter and a place to pray.”The house was built during the day and in the evening the team

focused on design development. At no point in the creation of the house would a complete set of plans exist, Tate explained. In fact, the majority of what existed in terms of details was created using scaled models.

“Although this method was very unconventional, because of the lack of enforced codes or inspec-tions and because we were the sole designers and builders, the methods we used proved to work incredibly well.”

In October, Mockbee told the group that the Lucy House was the most difficult project ever taken on by the Rural Studio. But little did anyone realize, the most difficult aspect of creating the house was yet to come. Mock-bee died unexpectedly during the Christmas break.

“Here we were, a group of stu-dents with no experience beyond the classroom, faced with the task of completing a very complex house without anyone to turn to when times got rough,” Tate said.

The students had the option of abandoning the project, but chose to persevere, in honor of Mockbee.

This is a place we wanted to be, we loved our clients, the project and knew how much the Lucy House meant to Sambo Mock-bee.”

The team returned from their Christmas break, emotionally spent by Mockbee’s death with only the slab and concrete walls—still in the forms—completed.

In the next phase of the project, the students researched their idea to use carpet slabs in the home’s construction.

“We built several mockups and began to test each for structural integrity, fire and water resistance, and as Sambo would have em-phasized, beauty,” Tate remem-bered.

In the process, they discovered their carpet wall would not burn, take in water or grow bacteria. Furthermore, it could withstand an earthquake and offered an R-value of more than 50.

With a green light from engi-neers, the students completed the carpet walls and the two main rooms, leaving only the “prayer room” requested by the family.

“We spent two semesters devel-oping ideas for the spiritual space and finally arrived at a solu-tion—a rusted red tower that aims straight up initially, then twists and torques as the main house roof collides into the space, finally tilting back at the top.”

The tower’s interior space main-tains the same form as the exte-rior, but the feeling inside, Tate said, is very different than that evoked from viewing the exterior.

“Finished in smooth white, the interior walls play with light and shadow as one’s eyes move up the wall and finally to the sky, where the seemingly frameless sky-window opens to the north star at night.”

Of his year-long experience de-signing a family home in rural Ala-

bama, Tate said, it was a “chance to design and build something in the context of an amazing com-munity with clients who are ec-static about their new house; an opportunity to push the limits of materials, design and architecture education; and finally, a chance to take part in the last project over-seen by a remarkable architect and human, Sambo Mockbee.”

http://archcomm.arch.tamu.edu/archive/news/winter2004/Lucy_House.html

Hopi Nation Elder Home-Up-date

A part of Red Feather’s Elder Housing Initiative, this project is the first replicable-model, straw bale home constructed on the Hopi Reservation. Straw bale construction, especially when built with a frost-protected shal-low foundation, is an affordable and energy-efficient housing solution. Together with other prototype homes on the Hopi Nation, the house demonstrates that straw bale construction is an affordable and energy-effi-cient housing solution.

Project Mission/Goal:1) improve the human spirit2) respond to our growing need for clean water, power, shelter,

healthcare, educationProject Description:Constructed with community involvement and participatory design coordination by Rose Fellow Nathaniel Corum, the homes are a vehicle for trans-ferring straw bale construction skills to tribal members. The barrier-free floor plan, com-prised of a concentrated wet core within an insulating straw bale envelope, allows for an efficient layout within a small footprint. This system can scale up or down, orient to solar and wind patterns for passive heat-ing and cooling, and be parti-tioned flexibly in order to adapt to changing inhabitant needs.

Straw bale construction is amenable to community and

volunteer participation. The ma-terial is a non-toxic and readily available agricultural by-prod-uct, and acts as a super-insu-lating envelope to give comfort, beauty and efficiency in colder climes. In this load-bearing example the straw bale walls serve as both structure and insulation.

This home design also takes advantage of solar gain. Winter sunlight enters south-facing windows and charges a thermal mass in the floor. A radiant floor system provides supplemen-tary heating. Attic insulation is post-consumer cellulose (i.e., newspaper). A frost-protected shallow foundation obviates the need of excavation be-low frost line and is therefore

HOPI ELDER HOME

less invasive than convention-al cold-weather foundations. Concrete use in the foundation is minimized by the frost-pro-tected design and by the fact that the quantity of Portland cement is reduced through the use of high-volume fly ash con-crete; fly ash is a by-product of coal production. Site selection based on existing water flow and vegetation patterns assures minimal earth and plant dis-turbance during construction. Similar design and construction strategies are suitable in ex-treme weather regions where wheat, rice, or flax straw is locally available.

A landscaping palette of na-tive species includes culturally appropriate useful and edible

plants and trees which are locally available and receive rainwater from a non-polluting, standing-seam metal roof.

Project Location: Hotevilla, ArizonaDate(s): Started March 26, 2005Project Phase: Construction CompleteClient: The Elders of the Hopi ReservationMajor Funding: Oprahs Angel Network, The Oak Hill Fund, USDA Ru-ral Development, Rose Archi-tectural FellowshipConcept/Lead Architect(s)/De-signer(s): Nathaniel CorumProject Architect(s)/Designer(s):BUILDING TYPE: Assisted Living Facilities/Senior Centers, Residential – 2 BR , Residential

- Single FamilyPROJECT COORDINATOR: Red Feather Development GroupCONSTRUCTION MANAGER: Mike KellyENGINEERING: Art Fust - Ener-gy A.D.MATERIALS: Navajo Agricultur-al Products IndustryTotal Cost/Cost per Unit:Area (if applicable): 1320 sq. ft

http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/dlygad2_hopiupdates

Architects: BIG ArchitectsLocation: Copenhagen, Den-markPartner in Charge: Bjarke Ingles for BIG, Julien De Smedt for JDSProject Architect: Jakob LangeProject Leader: Finn NørkjærProject Manager: Jan Borg-strømConstruction Manager: Henrick PoulsenClient: Høpfner A/SEngineering: Moe & BrodsgaardConstruction: DS Elcobyg A/S /PH MontageProject year: 2008Constructed Area: 33,000 sqmPhotographs: Dragor Luft, Ja-cob Boserup, Jens Lindhe, Ulrik Jantzen

How do you combine the splen-dours of the suburban backyard with the social intensity of urban density?

The Mountain Dwellings are the 2nd generation of the VM Hous-es – same client, same size and same street. The program, however, is 2/3 parking and 1/3 living. What if the parking area became the base upon which to place terraced housing – like a concrete hillside covered by a thin layer of housing, cascading from the 11th floor to the street edge? Rather than doing two separate buildings next to each other – a parking and a housing block – we decided to merge the two functions into a sym-biotic relationship. The parking area needs to be connected

to the street, and the homes require sunlight, fresh air and views, thus all apartments have roof gardens facing the sun, amazing views and parking on the 10th floor. The Mountain Dwellings appear as a subur-ban neighbourhood of garden homes flowing over a 10-storey building – suburban living with urban density.

The roof gardens consist of a terrace and a garden with plants changing character according to the changing seasons. The building has a huge watering system which maintains the roof gardens. The only thing that separates the apartment and the garden is a glass façade with sliding doors to provide light and fresh air.

MOUNTAIN DWELLINGS

MOUNTAIN DWELLINGS

The residents of the 80 apart-ments will be the first in Or-estaden to have the possibility of parking directly outside their homes. The gigantic parking area contains 480 parking spots and a sloping elevator that moves along the mountain’s inner walls. In some places the ceiling height is up to 16 meters which gives the impression of a cathedral-like space.

The north and west facades are covered by perforated alumin-ium plates, which let in air and

light to the parking area. The holes in the facade form a huge reproduction of Mount Everest. At day the holes in the alumin-ium plates will appear black on the bright aluminium, and the gigantic picture will resemble that of a rough rasterized photo. At night time the facade will be lit from the inside and appear as a photo negative in different co-lours as each floor in the park-ing area has different colours.

The Mountain Dwellings is lo-cated in Orestad city and offer

the best of two worlds: close-ness to the hectic city life in the centre of Copenhagen, and the tranquillity characteristic of suburban life.

http://www.archdaily.com/15022/

Primary school, Gando, Burkina Faso

This project was designed in 1999. It was the first building of the architect and it was com-pleted while the architect was still studying.

To achieve sustainability, the project was based on the prin-ciples of designing for climatic comfort with low-cost construc-tion, making the most of local materials and the potential of the local community, and adapt-ing technology from the indus-trialized world in a simple way. It was also conceived as a stan-dard model that could be cop-ied within the community and would raise awareness of the merits of traditional materials.

Climatic considerations largely determined the building’s form and materials. Three classrooms are arranged in a linear fashion and separated by covered out-door areas that can be used for teaching and play. The structure comprises traditional load-bear-ing walls made from stabilized and compressed earth blocks.

Concrete beams run across the width of the ceiling, and steel bars lying across these support a ceiling also made of compressed earth blocks. The corrugated metal roof sits on a steel truss, allowing cool air to flow freely between the roof and the ceiling.

The roof also has a large over-hang, which shades the facades

and helps to ensure climatic comfort. Room temperature is additionally moderated by the earthen walls, which absorb heat.

The roof form was dictated by practical considerations: it was not possible to transport large elements to the site from afar, nor economically viable to use lifting machinery such as cranes. Instead, the architect devised a process whereby common construction steel bars were used to create lightweight trusses, with corrugated metal sheeting laid on top to form the roof. All that was necessary was to teach people how to use a handsaw and a small welding machine.

GANDO PRIMARY

GANDO PRIMARY

All the people involved in the project management were native to the village, and the skills learned here will be ap-plied to further initiatives in the village and elsewhere. The way the community organized itself has set an example for two neighbouring villages, which subsequently built their own schools as a cooperative effort. The local authorities have also recognized the project’s worth: not only have they provided and paid for the teaching staff, but they have also endeavoured

to employ the young people trained there in the town’s public projects, using the same techniques.

The biggest challenge was how to explain the design and draw-ings to people who can neither read nor write. The architect faces this challenge in all of his projects in Burkina Faso.

completion year: 2001gross floor area: 310m²client: village community Gando

http://www.kerearchitec-ture.com/projects/prima-ry-school-gando/

Like Charlotte Juilliard (born in Limoges, 1972), Chi Tam Nguyen (born in Saigon in 1972) lives in Paris, but she has not renounced her links with the past. On behalf of a French hu-manitarian association, L’Ecole Sauvage, and in collaboration with the Vietnam Ministry for Education, Chi Tam and Julliard have developed “The sky is beautiful”, a pilot project for a primary school.

Statistics can provide the best summary. In Vietnam, for exam-ple, there are around 23,278,074 children under the age of 14, making up 27.9% of the pop-ulation. In a country where the internal gross product per head is around 2,700 U.S. dollars (in Italy it is 27,700), education makes all the difference. “When you don’t have anything in this difficult world, school is the only hope for a better life and a better world,” state Chi Tam Nguyen

and Charlotte Julliard. “Put more simply, if you don’t know how to read, you can’t understand a bus timetable or a medical prescrip-tion.”

Like Charlotte Juilliard (born in Limoges, 1972), Chi Tam Nguyen (born in Saigon in 1972) lives in Paris, but she has not renounced her links with the past. On be-half of a French humanitarian association, L’Ecole Sauvage, and in collaboration with the Vietnam Ministry for Education, Chi Tam and Julliard have de-veloped “The sky is beautiful”, a pilot project for a primary school. Established in 1901, L’Ecole Sauvage supports educational initiatives in the Nha Trang region of central Vietnam.

They operate in areas where children are excluded from the regular, mostly private education system. In this particular case, the 2,000-square-metre site is in the village of Cuu Ham, a rural

area by the sea whose inhab-itants live on fishing and agri-culture but where children are forced to work and possibilities for study are rare. The budget available to the architects was 25,000 US dollars (including furniture). While the humani-tarian motives were clear, for the architects other questions emerged: how to build effective-ly and above all economically in terms of architectural language and materials; how to move away from modernist reinforced concrete, very fashionable in Vietnam in recent years.

The answer was found by sim-ply by looking around: bamboo grows spontaneously here in large quantities, and costs very little. Paradoxically, in this coun-try bamboo is used in different ways by different social classes. For the poorest it is the only building material available, and for the rich it is used as a deco-rative element. For a long time

BAMBOO PRIMARY

Vietnamese city dwellers consid-ered bamboo to be old hat and rather rustic, and it is only now that its qualities are being redis-covered: it can lend a flavour of authenticity to restaurants and hotels making them attractive to tourists. According to Chi Tam and Juillard, however, it is never interpreted in the name of “eco-logical tectonics”. In Vietnam bamboo undergoes a lengthy treatment process before it is used.

The canes are placed in mud baths for a month and then left to dry to eliminate the sugar from the trunks that attracts insects. Finally the surface is flamed, cleaned and painted. The two architects used the bamboo in different ways according to size. The larger canes (with a diameter of eight to ten centimetres and a length of around four metres) are used for the columns of the external pergola and are cut to build the trusses that support the corrugated metal roof. Be-fore being bolted together, the so-called structural canes are bound with rope, which is also

obtained from vegetable matter. The thinner canes are used for the surface finish, the ceiling panels and the external trellises which screen the large openings created in the perimeter walls. This offers a further advantage of effective natural ventilation.

The breeze (here we are about 700 metres above sea level) passes through the slits in the grills also because the class-rooms are separated from each other by an open courtyard. The architectural design is very simple with details reduced to a minimum so as to make the building work easier to control. Costs have been kept low by us-ing materials in alternative ways: instead of glass, the frames of the doors and windows contain sheets of corrugated plastic, the kind normally used for roofs. The construction process is organised in modules: while the classroom walls are built from brick and rendered in mud, the bamboo roof structure is assem-bled off site and then erected. Although rudimentary, this pro-duction line has the advantage

of being easy to understand and also involves the local popula-tion.

Necessity should not be mis-taken for sacrifice, even though in this case the architects have probably taken a step back-wards. They have done it with intelligence, making a choice – that of bamboo – based on polit-ical implications. But in a broad-er sense they have redeemed an ancient, local, ecological and democratic material from a kind of cultural amnesia. Now many issues might be debated (it would be interesting to hear what Renzo Piano would have to say, given that Chi Tam worked in his studio from 1996) but an-other way of looking at the story would be lost: Chi Tam Nguyen and Charlotte Julliard took on the demanding task of designing a better future for other human beings.

http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2006/10/17/bam-boo-wonder.html

Building Occupancy / Site Ca-pacity: 40

Project Name: Bridge School

The lightweight education-al facility spans a creek, and resembles the archetype of the inhabited bridge.

Project Type: Architecture

Project Mission/Goal: Responds to growing need for education.

“The lightweight structure spans a creek in a single bound, and resembles the archetype of the inhabited bridge. Supported on concrete piers, the simple steel structure acts like a giant

box girder that has been slightly dislocated. The steel frame is wrapped in a veil of thin tim-ber slats which filter light and temper the interior with cool breezes. Inside are a pair of wedge-shaped classrooms tapering towards the mid-point of the structure. The school can be transformed into an impromtu theatre or play struc-ture, and Li Xiaodong hopes the building will become a social centre for the village. Although it is possible to use the building as a bridge, a narrow crossing suspended underneath the steel structure and anchored by tensile wires offers an alterna-tive and more direct route.” (The Architectural Review)

Located at a remote village, Fujian Province in China, the project does not only provides a physical function – a school + a bridge, but also presents a spir-itual centre. The main concept of the design is to enliven an old community (the village) and to sustain a traditional culture (the castles and lifestyle) through a contemporary language which does not compete with the tra-ditional, but presents and com-municates with the traditional with respect.

It is done by combining few dif-ferent functions into one space – a bridge which connects two old castles cross the creek, a school which also symbolically

BRIDGE SCHOOL

connects past, current with fu-ture, a playground (for the kids) and the stage (for the villagers).

LOCATION: Xiashivillage, Ping-he County, Fujian province, ChinaDATE: 2008–9END USER: 1200 Xiashi Village Residents, including 35–40 stu-dents who attend the schoolCLIENT: Xiashi VillageDESIGN FIRM: Li Xiaodong AtelierCONSTRUCTION DRAWINGS:

Hedao Architecture DesignPROJECT TEAM: Wang Chuan, Chen Jian Sheng, Nie Junqui, Liu mengjia, Liang Qiong, Li Xiaodong, Li YeCONTRACTOR: Zhangzhou Steel and the people of Xiashi VillageFUNDERS: 50 per cent gov-ernment; 40 percent private; 10 percent Li Xiaodong (ongoing costs funded by local govern-ment)COST: $95000 USDBUILDING AREA: 240 sq m/2583 sq ft

SITE AREA :1550 sq m/16684 sq ft

http://www.archdaily.com/45409/school-bridge-xia-odong-li/

http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/bridge_school

Architects: Richard Meier and Partners, New York, USALocation: Tor Tre Teste, Rome, ItalyClient: Vicariato of RomeStructural engineers: Ove Arup and Partners, ItalcementiMechanical engineers: Ove Arup and Partners, Luigi Dell’AquilaConcrete prefabricated panels: ItalcementiLights and illumination: FMRS, ErcoYear of the competition: 1996Year of completion: 2003Constructed area: 830 m2 church, 1671 m2 parish complexPhotographs: Andrea Giannotti, Gabriele Rossetti

Located in the eastern suburban area of Rome, the Church of 2000 “Dives in Misericordia” by architect Richard Meier is the first realized work of the American architect in the Italian capital, fol-lowed by the Ara Pacis Museum

The importance of this project is to give value and attraction to the deepest and most far suburbs in Rome; the occasion came with the beginning of the new Millen-nium.

The Vicariato of Rome (diocese of Rome’s Bishop, the Pope) committed this work to show and highlight the basic role that architecture plays in holy and religious spaces, and to demon-strate that the connection with contemporary architecture is the key to improve quality of life in suburban areas. These were the goals that the project had to face. Richard Meier’s project won the international competition in 1996.The Church of 2000 is conceived as a composition of basic ele-ments, clearly referred to the pu-rity of the cube and the sphere, and the in-between spaces and connections.Approaching the Church by the

side-road, first the three enor-mous shells show their presence. They give a feeling of lightness – given by the small thickness of the shells (about … cm) and the mounting waves movement it suggests – and, at the same time, heavy – due to the absence of openings on large white concrete surfaces. The shells are made by prefabricated self-substainig concrete panels, double curved, (dimensions 400 x 400 x 80 cm) and assembled dry. Italcementi developed and patented a new type of white self-cleaning ce-ment, called Bianco TX Millen-nium. The cantilever reached is impressive, related to the thick-ness and extension of the “sails”.On the interior, it is evident the work on natural lighting, which comes through the gaps between the solid elements and brightens the whole space: main source of diffused light is the glass roof between the shells, but in early

JUBILEE CHURCH

morning and late afternoon the sunlight penetrates the entrance facade and the altar facade, giving spectacular atmospheric effects.

The only varieties out off white tone is given by a suspended wood-frames wall, vertical and facing the most internal shell; while the importance of sacred furnishings is underlined by sculpted travertine blocks. All of the sacred furnishings and reli-gious spaces are included in the composition through the conti-nuity and dialogue of forms, and it contributes to the elegance of the project.

The distribution of different spaces is made clear by physical separations: the ferial chapel is at the side of the main hall, slightly

separated by the foot of the last shell; the entrance is provided with a buffer space and a sec-ond door, on top of which is the organ, integrated in a sculpted cubic element.

The whole design concept is based on the contrast between cube and sphere, and the clear division -or connection point- is the main space of the Church.The parish complex at the op-posite side of the main hall is accessible both from the church (the wood-framed screen hides some balconies) and from the ex-terior. Some squared patios and green terraces make it part of the general design, as the bell tower, on the right side of the church.The exterior plaza (sagrato) completes the plot’s design: the yellowish and polished traver-

tine tiles dialogue with the white elevations. The Church has the chance to be in a relatively open area of recent roman expansions, then the park on background and the stone floor give it the feeling of a water pool containing the “floating sail-ship” church.

http://www.archdaily.com/20105/church-of-2000-richard-meier/

Team: Forrest Fulton, Adam Gerndt, Dale Rush, Jon Schumann

Institution: Auburn University Rural Studio

Advising Professors: Samuel Mockbee, Bryan Bell

Designed: 1999-2000Construction Completed: 2000

Cost: $15,000 (majority of materials are reused + and little labor cost)

Funding: Potrero Nuevo Fund

Client: Masons Bend, Alabama

The building, designed and executed while at Auburn Uni-versity Rural Studio, serves a small community called Masons Bend.

The process of developing the program, the architecture, and its execution was all initially open.

After researching the needs of Masons Bend’s citizens, we proposed a public, multifunc-tional, open-air space on a privately owned site.

While the site is awkward and small, it addresses and adjoins the three extended families that

make up the community. Design addresses the privately owned, yet publicly accessible space.

Form follows Function.

The formal architectural lan-guage follows the multifunction-al nature of the space. The form resists a specific building typol-ogy, instead smoothly hybridiz-ing vernacular chapel and barn forms.

Innovative material reuse and improvised construction tech-niques further blends vernacular formal language into a new, local language.

MASON’S BEND CHAPEL

Scaling effect

Composition of walls and roofs make the space and site appear larger. From the front approach, rammed earth walls taper away and down toward the ground at each end to force a perspective on the eye.

The barn-like roof breaks into two parts: the thin aluminum sheets and the pristine au-tomotive glass skylight. This effect also takes place as you approach and leave the building

parallel to these tapered walls.

Materials and Construction

To achieve maximum effect with a small budget, the build-ing uses alternative and cheap material sources.

The rammed earth has a time-less character. The automotive glass feels pristine and contem-porary.

We tested both materials for our particular locale and applica-

tion. The process of developing the glass system was particular-ly involved.

The team built a series of mock-ups to test various types of auto glass, fastening techniques, and substructures.

http://forrestfulton.com/ma-sons-bend-community-center/

Michael Rakowitz first came to the attention of the art world in the winter of 1998, when a project called paraSITE began appearing on the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Boston.

It was a series of inflatable plas-tic homeless shelters, each one tailored to the individual speci-fications of its occupant--some had multiple windows, others a series of pockets for organiz-ing belongings. One homeless couple, Artie and Myra, had Rakowitz produce a model with two connected rooms.

What all paraSITE shelters shared was an essential archi-

tecture: They were designed to inflate by latching on to heat-exhaust ducts on the sides of buildings, swiping the escap-ing hot air and rerouting it to provide warmth for those living on the streets.

Since February 1998, over thirty prototypes of the paraSITE shelter have been custom built and distributed them to home-less individuals in Cambridge, Boston, New York, and Balti-more.

All were built using tempo-rary materials that were readily available on the streets, such as plastic bags and tape. While these shelters were being used,

they functioned not only as a temporary place of retreat, but also as a station of dissent and empowerment.

Many of the homeless users regarded their shelters as a protest device, and would even shout slogans like “We beat you Uncle Sam!” The shelters com-municated a refusal to surren-der, and made more visible the unacceptable circumstances of homeless life within the city.

For the pedestrian, paraSITE functioned as an agitational device. The visibly parasitic relationship of these devices to the buildings, appropriating a readily available situation with

paraSITE

readily available materials elic-ited immediate speculation as to the future of the city: would these things completely take over, given the enormous num-ber of homeless in our society? Could we wake up one morn-ing to find these encampments engulfing buildings like ivy?

This project does not present it-self as a solution. It is not a pro-posal for affordable housing. Its point of departure is to present a symbolic strategy of survival for homeless existence within

the city, amplifying the problem-atic relationship between those who have homes and those who do not have homes.

The issue of homelessness is of global proportions and it is fool-ish to think that any one propo-sition will address all the issues associated with this problem. There are many different types of homeless people. The men-tally ill, the chemically depen-dent, those who are unable to afford housing, men, women, families, even those who pre-

fer this way of life are included among the vast cross section of homeless people in every urban instance. Each group of home-less has subjective needs based on circumstance and location.

http://unhoused.livejournal.com/17915.html

http://michaelrakowitz.com/projects/parasite/

Alluvial Sponge Comb

Project Type:urban planning design strategylandscape designindustrial/product design

Project Mission/Goal:

increase awareness of the envi-ronment and/or address climate changerespond to our growing need for clean water, power, shelter, healthcare, educationaddress humanitarian crises

Project Description:The Alluvial Sponge Comb is the waterfront landscape ele-ment of our design proposal for New Orleans, mediating be-tween the natural ebb and flow forces of water and the inhab-itation of the site. The central design criteria for our building and landscape design focuses on adapting the human con-struction to harmonize with the cyclical flows and extremes of the natural site, absorbing and beneficially harnessing nature’s impact rather than resisting it.

We feel that it is very import-ant for the American Pavilion in Venice to not dwell on the disaster as an unfortunate freak occurrence of nature, but in-stead to focus on the oppor-tunity to engage in design for alleviating a worldwide infra-structure concern, by proposing new modes of waterfront de-velopment that accommodate

and celebrate natural extremes, avoiding human and ecological destruction with multi-functional systems that contribute to the quality of life each day rather than investing in single-purpose bulwarks that serve once in a lifetime yet stand as ungainly, inflexible and expensive barriers always in place.

New Orleans and Venice are both remarkable works of unnatural environmental con-struction that have developed intriguingly similar cultures of black humor artifice and cyclical festival that experientially me-diates the difficult, dangerous, and uncertain environments that both sustain and threaten them.

For the courtyard of the Ameri-can pavilion at the Venice Bi-ennale, we will install a sample portion of the alluvial sponge comb as outlined in the follow-ing pages, proposing a con-structed waterfront landscape that can be rich, accommodat-ing and absorptive, and affirm-ing of the hopeful logic of life in the nature and culture of unique waterfront cities like New Orle-ans and Venice.

In its proposed implementation at the edge of the Mississippi river, the Alluvial Sponge Comb performs several functions, in-cluding flood and erosion con-trol, the slowing of water flow along the river bank in order to capture silt to aid in the build-up of the shoreline, and the

sustenance of land and water life—human, plant and ani-mal—by affording both habitat and unencumbered passage through the latent barrier sys-tem. In times of unusually high water levels, portions of the comb are designed to swell as they absorb the rising water, becoming a temporary levee to protect the land and buildings beyond it.

When the flood waters sub-side, the swelling in the comb also diminishes and returns the structure to its original fingered form, allowing a high degree of porosity in the landscape. The ideas for this structure are based on considerable research and past prototyping of related systems.

There are large industrial firms engaged in related product manufacture. Chemical com-panies such as BASF, DuPont, and Dow all produce superab-sorbent products that swell to absorb water and then slowly respirate vapor back into the environment as they dry and return to their original compo-sition. 95% of the superabsor-bent market is for new throw-away diaper products.

However, all of these firms are also engaged in construction products and environmen-tal control products, and all are positioning themselves as leaders in innovative technology that can be in harmony with the

ASC

environment.

PROJECT TYPE: ConceptLOCATION: New Orleans, Loui-siana, USA; Venice, ItalyDATE: 2005–presentEND USER: Flood–prone neigh-borhoodsDESIGN FIRM: Anderson An-derson ArchitectureDESIGN TEAM: MarkAnderson, PeterAndersonMANUFACTURERS: Bay Rub-ber Company, New World Manufacturing, Seattle Tarp Company

FUNDER: Anderson Anderson Architecture; US Department of StateCOST PER UNIT: $3200USDVOLUME: 8300 liters per spongeLENGTH: 12m/39ftDIAMETER: 2.4m/8ft

Location

New Orleans, Louisiana,USA; Venice, Italy

http://openarchitecturenetwork.org/projects/dlygad2_alluvial-spongecomb

Solar KitchenMexico, 2003-2010

Informal urban settlements - what we all used to call squatter communities - have significantly transformed the urban landscape of Mexico since the 1960’s. They remain a very present reminder of the effects of globalization on this rapidly modernizing coun-try. Some cities, including many which border the United States, have been so consumed by these settlements that they are no longer distinguishable from them. These communities lack a basic physical infastrcuture, with little clean water or paved roads, poor sewage systems,

no local schools or governmen-tal systems, and other serious problems.

Along with these physical trans-formations of the urban land-scape come massive shifts in Mepxico’s social fabric. For every two migrant workers that come to the United States, one woman is left behind wit hthe family’s children, in addition to those too poor, sick, or old to make the journey. These and other related cicumstances can cause tremedous strain on the life of a community and its residents, calling into question its ultimate physical and cultural sustainability. Despite the cul-

tural fragmentation and pres-sure that occur, longstanding community traditions of building remain the backbone of these informal settlements. These tra-ditions, along with an eagerness for community empowerment, are indespensable resources for positive future development.

In 2004, BASIC Initiative, a col-laboration of faculty and stu-dents from Penn State Universi-ty, the University of Washington, and other universities, returned for its twelfth project in the communities of Tejalpa-Jiute-pec, two traditional villages which have grown twelve-fold in a decade, due to the arrival of

SOLAR KITCHENS

poor farmers no longer able to compete with the global econ-omies of farming. The project, a solar kitchen, was a retrofit to the Jose Maria Morelos School, buildt a decade earlier by one of the many informal communi-ties that now make up Tejalpa and Jiutepec. On leftover land - which is often the condition of mant of the publics works in this growing squatter community- the school’s buildings left little play spcae for its 360 elementary children.

The previous year, we had exper-imented with a design for a solar condenser stove and oven for the kitchen of another elemen-tary school. The design of the eariler collector had been adapt-ed through a counterweight, much like a grandfather clock, to track the sun. Basically built from bicyle parts for the mechanisim and small vanity mirrors bouth cheaply at the local street market for the parabolic mirror surface, the solar parabolic mirror con-centrates the energy of the sun

on a pot or stove in the kitchen. Though complicated in appear-ance, the devie is a simple and inexpensive way to harness the sun’s energy to help reduce the cose of cooking meals for the children of these schools. Cook-ing meals for their children is one of the ways the mothers of the community have organized themselves to both supplement the diets of their children and reduce costs. The challenge was to rethink the kitchn as a ecolog-ical respeonse to the needs and conditions of the squatter com-munity.

The students took on the chal-lenge of the solar kitchen as a means to rethink not only the energy requirements of a tradi-tional kitchen but also its use of water, toilets, and lighting, as well as an opportunity to impact nutrition and homebuilding in the community. In other words, they reformulated the challenge of the schools’ kitchens to affect change in the homes of the par-ents who children attended the

school. In their analysis of the community the students found that the kitchens had a great deal of ecological impact on the rapidly growing settlement. The design of the kitchen reflected these concerns with its incor-poration of alternative, non-pol-luting, economical technologies like solar cooking, solar water heating, graywater filters to treat the dishwater, and natural light as the main source of lighting. The addition of an open dining pavilion allowed the students to also incorporate rainwater catch-ment and PC panels to take the kitchen essentially off the grid.

There are 3 prototype solar kitchens already in operation in the Tejalpa-Jiutepec commu-nites, and the local municipal government, at the residents’ urgings, has agreed to fund the construction of several more in the nest few years.

http://www.basicinitiative.org/programs/global_communities/Solar_Kitchen.htm

Rebuilding a city isn’t just about clearing away the wreckage and starting over from scratch — at least not when there are pieces worth saving. That’s especial-ly true in New Orleans, where many Creole townhouses and shotgun homes were built from centuries-old cypress native to the region and dense oak boards pulled from the sides of barges. Now Sergio Palleroni, an architecture professor at the University of Texas at Austin, has launched a project that uses wood salvaged from homes de-stroyed by the hurricane to build new furniture for local residents that could also be sold in bou-tiques around the country. “The furniture — you touch it and you feel New Orleans,” says Palle-roni, whose first three proto-types — a minimalist pew, table, and set of nesting boxes — will be on display starting May 4 at the “Design for the Other 90%”

exhibit at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in New York City.The initial goal of the Katrina Furniture Project is to create a network of workshops where residents can both make furni-ture and gain basic carpentry skills. “They are going to learn the skills to do repairs in their own home. So next time the storm comes, they don’t have to wait 18 months for the federal government to react,” explains Palleroni, who says he is alarmed not only by the “federal paraly-sis” that has stalled recovery but also by the cache of cultural arti-facts that have already been lost to landfills. “It may be happening to New Orleans, but it’s really symbolic of our whole society,” he says. “This is representative of the kinds of challenges we need to address, not just be-cause it affects the poor, but because it is about how wasteful

we are as a society.”

While many destroyed homes have yet to be razed, the remains of those that have either wind up in landfills or get dumped into the surrounding lakes and bay-ous. That’s a shame, says Bryan Bell of the non-profit Design Corps who is consulting on the Katrina Furniture Project and worries that New Orleans’ dis-tinctive architecture will vanish in a city still dotted with FEMA trailers. Many of the materials used to build the homes more than a century ago are irreplace-able, including the virgin cypress from local swamps and antique “barge boards.” Made of 2-in.-thick oak, the boards came from the sides of barges, which were built in the Midwest but got scrapped after making their way down the Mississippi River to New Orleans more than a centu-ry ago. “You couldn’t buy those

KATRINA FURNITURE

materials anywhere. They would be so expensive,” says Bell.

Each prototype designed by Palleroni and a team of Universi-ty of Texas students has both a practical and symbolic function. The cypress table, for example, pays homage to the Crescent City’s fame as a foodie heaven. The pews evoke places of wor-ship, nearly a thousand of which were destroyed in hurricanes Rita and Katrina. “After the storms, churches were the one part of society that really worked in New Orleans,” says Palleroni. “The government collapsed. The police disappeared. But the churches were there for people.”

And while it may be hard to imagine how any wood could be reused after the devastation and subsequent mold infestations, finding raw material has been the easy part. Palleroni partnered with a local non-profit called The Green Project, which has oper-ated as a materials exchange for everything from paint to wrought

iron for over 12 years. “We’re roadkill specialists,” says David Reynolds, executive director of The Green Project, who adds that the mold can usually be sanded or wiped off before the wood gets reused. “New Orleans has always been moldy. It’s not really bad,” he says. Anything from shutters to window frames to mantels can be reused, and finished furniture that leaves the state as part of the Project’s eventual goal of selling the piec-es in shops around the country will get treated with a borate wash to protect it from termites.

On May 23, Palleroni and his stu-dent team will head back to New Orleans to begin work on the Katrina Furniture Project’s first neighborhood workshop at the edge of the Ninth Ward, just six blocks from the faulty levees. For now the project is funded by uni-versities and private foundations. But eventually, Palleroni hopes to create a viable business in which locally built furniture — all made from recycled wood — would be

sold nationwide, providing jobs for local residents who will make each piece by hand and pocket the profits. He’s also teaming up this summer with Brad Guy, a researcher at the Hamer Cen-ter for Community Design at Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the new book Unbuilding: Salvaging the Archi-tectural Treasures of Unwanted Houses, to launch a home re-building program in East Biloxi and Pearlington, Mississippi, that will use recycled yellow pine, heart pine and cypress to create stylish, middle-income houses. Once Palleroni’s recycled furni-ture finds a home in those and other rebuilt homes, then maybe the only waste left will be those ugly FEMA trailers.

http://content.time.com/time/na-tion/article/0,8599,1615123,00.html

http://www.basicinitiative.org/programs/global_communities/Furniture_Design.htm

RAPID RE(F)USE: WASTE TO RESOURCE CITY 2120

Credits: Mitchell Joachim, Maria Aiolova, Melanie Fessel, Emily Johnson, Ian Slover, Phil-ip Weller, Zachary Aders, Webb Allen, Niloufar Karimzadegan, Lauren Sarafan

New York City is disposing of 38,000 tons of waste per day. Most of this discarded material ended up in Fresh Kills landfill before it closed. The Rapid Re(f)use project supposes an extended New York reconstitut-ed from its own landfill material.

Our concept remakes the city by utilizing the trash at Fresh Kills. With our method, we can remake seven entirely new Manhattan islands at full scale. Automated robot 3d printers are modified to process trash and complete this task within decades. These robots are based on existing techniques commonly found in industrial waste compaction devices. Instead of machines that crush objects into cubes, these devic-es have jaws that make simple shape grammars for assembly. Different materials serve spec-ified purposes; plastic for fen-estration, organic compounds

for temporary scaffolds, metals for primary structures, and etc. Eventually, the future city makes no distinction between waste and supply.

http://www.terreform.org/proj-

RAPID RE(F)USE

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