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40 532 SCS Social housing prototype, Nicole neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Full course name in Norwegian Bokmål:
SCS Social housing prototype, Nicole neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Credits:
24
Course code:
40 532
Level of study:
Master
Teaching semester:
2019 Autumn
Assessment semester:
2019 Autumn
Language of instruction:
English
Year:
2019
Maximum number of students:
12
Person in charge
Christian Hermansen
Jan Kazimierz Godzimirski
Required prerequisite knowledge
Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).
Most important is to be enthusiastic and positive. Architectural design skills are very important. Skills in Rhino will come in handy. Previous building experience much appreciated.
This is a full-time course, all students are expected to work at the studio from 10:00 AM to 17:00 PM Monday to Friday, in addition to traveling to the building site for a period of around 5 weeks.
Due to the travel requirements of the studio students joining SCS will have to enrol in the 6 credit course, Joints and Jigs, which runs with the studio.
Course content
Introduction:
Architects Without Borders, Norway have invited the Scarcity and Creativity Studio to design and build a social house prototype for the Nicole Neighbourhood, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The Site:
Buenos Aires is the capital of Argentina and has a population of around 16 million inhabitants. In the western outskirts of the city lies the county of La Matanza, with a population of 1.8 million. The Barrio Nicole lies at the western edge of La Matanza, is part of the town of Virrey del Pino, and has a population of around 6000 people. This is the site for the Nicole Neighbourhood, Urban Planning and Social Housing project being led by Architects Without Borders. A site of 3 hectares, has been made available for the construction of 90 houses + recreational and community facilities.
The Project:
The aim of the project is to provide a community center with recreation facilities and 90 houses. Architects Without Borders has designed a uniform urban structure that enriches the neighborhood, providing an homogeneous area but at the same time with sufficient flexibility to create its own identity. This neighborhood layout has been approved by the residents.
Housing program:
There are a total of 90 families / homes of 3, 5 to 8 people that will be organized in 3 cooperatives of 30 families each. Some families currently live in other settlements and others live around the neighborhood where they rent small rooms from neighbors.
Program of community spaces:
- Cultural Centre for multiple uses (multipurpose room), cafe and plaza.
- Sport ground (planned under the line of the high voltage cables)
- Games for children.
Architects Without Borders have been working on this project for some time. At present the urban residential layout plan for the site has been designed and approved; SCS’s role would be to design a social housing prototype to fit in plots within this layout.
The site will contain:
1. A sector of children's games as a transition between the housing area and the educational area.
2. The Cultural center with a cafe and piazza on the main street "Juan Cabot" as a strategic location for the use of all the Nicole neighborhood.
3. A sports and recreational ground that is formed in the length of the land under the high voltage cables.
4. The 90 houses arranged in clusters, each with a maximum of 15 families that share a semi-public garden. Private lots are 11x16 m. and should provide private courtyards.
5. The house prototype is to be designed to be self-built in two phases, the first of around 25 m2 with the capacity to expand to around 50m2 in a second stage. If SCS’s design is approved, the 90 houses will be self-built following SCS’s design, mainly by the women of the neighborhood. Other design criteria is contained in the description of the project that follows.
It is envisioned that the expansion of the house would be of the type designed by Alejandro Aravena in his Elemental housing projects in Chile, nicked named ‘half-a-house’, built so as to facilitate their expansion through self-build.
The School of Architecture of the University of Buenos Aires has also been approached with a view to participating in this project. Their participation could take the form of a collaboration with AHO or they may make their own design contribution. This is still to be discussed.
Materials:
Reuse of existing materials and possible implementation of new techniques together with CEVE (Center for the economic housing), who teach women, to produce and build with self-construction.
Energy:
Sustainability. Self-renewable energy. For example, studying the possibility of using wind to generate electricity and sun for warming water.
Learning outcome
On completing the course, the student:
• will know about, and develop skills and competences related to designing for the needs of a foreign local community, which will be at the site during construction.
• will know about, and develop skills and competences about detailing and specifications of a small house to be self- built by its eventual occupiers.
• will know about, and develop skills and competences about local building regulations and building practices, as well as develop new strategies for economic housing.
• will understand the requirements of buildings for the local climatic conditions.
• will know about, and develop skills and competences about building costs and budget management during construction.
• will have acquired the skills in using manual and mechanical tools for building
• will know about, and develop skills and competences about designing and building in conditions of scarcity.
Working and learning activities
Form of Examination
The assessment will be based on submissions, performance and levels of participation in the studio.
Students will be asked for specific submissions during the semester. These submissions are part of the development of the project in Buenos Aires. As much of the work is done in groups, participation is of the utmost importance and will play a big role in the final assessment.
The final assessment will be made by the sensor and will be based on:
1. The individual submission for stage one of the project.
2. The level of participation and contribution to the collective work.
3. The assessment of the work achieved by the studio as a whole.
4. An individual report describing the contributions that each student made to the overall project.
The minimum attendance to the studio activities is 80% of organized events.
The final decision as to the performance of each student will be taken by the external examiner (sensor) on the basis of both group performance, the report on individual participation done by the teachers, and a portfolio showing the extent of individual and collective contributions to the studio. The assessment of participation and contribution of each student to the studio will count for 60% of the final mark while the submission of the group and individual work will count for 40%.
Working and learning activities
The development of the work during the semester will follow a pre-determined path which has been thought out in order to provide the pace and logistics which the studio needs to follow if it is to fulfil its aims.
We will work as if we were one architectural studio fulfilling a commission, some of the work will be individual, mostly architectural design, but much of the work will be done in groups. Everyone is expected to contribute to this joint effort performing those tasks that are for the benefit of the whole studio. Except for the start of the semester the studio will focus on joint production rather than individual expression. At the end of the design phase the project chosen to be built will be the product of all of the members of the studio, regardless of the individual roles each may have played. This set-up very much reflects the way in which contemporary architecture is produced.
Work Effort:
This is a full time studio and an elective course that will supplement it. It relies both on individual and group effort. The studio compresses a rather complex design and build project into one semester. This requires full participation of every individual in the course. All absences during the semester that are not justified by medical certificates or equivalent will not be tolerated. This is not a studio for those that are not fully committed or that have responsibilities outside AHO which get in the way of a full commitment to the studio.
Teaching Methods:
The studio will be based mainly on one-to-one and group discussion of student work supplemented by discussions, workshops, and lectures.
Students who join this studio will have to also enrol in the Joints and Jigs elective course because its contents and scheduling are linked to the studio program development.
It is a requirement of the course that students spend the time needed to construct the house prototype in Argentina. Although it is difficult at this stage to determine the length of the period of construction our estimation is around five weeks. Students will have to fund their own travel and subsistence costs in Argentina. Insurance which covers each student during the time abroad is required and will be the responsibility of each student. It is expected that the trip to Argentina will be around November 2019. EHS rules regarding student safety at construction sites will apply during the period in Argentina.
The development of the project:
Step one: Each student will develop individual proposals for the project.
Review one: review of the individual projects and choice of projects which continue. Individual contributions must meet minimum design development standards that one would expect for an AHO graduate student.
Review 1: Review of the individual projects and choice of projects which continue.
Step two: Students will form teams of two or three. The composition of the teams will be based on similar/compatible/complementary characteristics of the individual projects delivered in Step One. Each of these teams will develop one joint design initiated by others, which will bring together characteristics of the individual designs.
Review 2: Review of the team projects and choice of projects which continue.
Step three: Students will form teams of four or five. The composition of the teams will be based on similar/compatible/complementary characteristics of the individual projects delivered in Step two. Each of these teams will develop one joint design initiated by others, which will bring together characteristics of the individual designs.
Review 3: Review of the team projects and choice of the project which continues.
Step four: The Studio will choose one project to build for which it will develop a complete set of architectural drawings, a detailed list of all materials required for the construction, assembly instructions, and costs.
Review 4: Review of the mock-ups, lists of materials, cutting schedules, assemblies, and construction phasing with a view to discussing construction difficulties that may arise during the construction period.
Step Five: Production information development, prepare all the construction information needed to be able to build the project. Students will be divided into teams and allocated specific tasks related to the construction of the building.
Step Six: Construction, period of four or five weeks will be spent in Buenos Aires. Students will have to pay for all travel to and from the site and for food and lodging while there. Students must also take out insurance that covers them while abroad. Norwegian students will get a grant from Lånekassen which is likely to cover travel and lodgings.
Step seven: Preparing the work for the AHO WORKS exhibition.
Final Exam: Final examination/review to assess the work of the semester will occur during the last week of the semester. The exact date will be determined further on, but please do not plan to leave Oslo prior to the end of the semester.
Curriculum
Bibliography
American Institute of Architects, The Environmental Resource Guide (ERG)
Blue Evening Star, Tipis & Yurts: Authentic Designs for Circular Shelters, 1995.
Bourgeois, Jean-Louis and Carollee Pelos, Spectacular Vernacular: The Adobe Tradition, Aperture, New York, 1989.
Center for Resourceful Building Technology, A Reference Guide to Resource Efficient Building Elements (GREBE), 5th Edition, Missoula, Montana, 1995.
Cob Cottage Company, Earth Building and the Cob Revival: a Reader, Cottage Grove, Oregon, 3rd Edition, 1996.
Easton, David, The Rammed Earth House, Real Goods/Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 1996.
Fathy, Hassan, Architecture for The Poor, University of Chicago, 1986.
Houben, H., and H. Guillaud, Earth Construction: A Comprehensive Guide, Intermediate Technology Publications, London, 1994.
Lanning, Bob, Straw Bale Portfolio: A Collection of Sixteen Designs for Straw Bale Houses, 1996.
LeClair, Kim and David Rousseau, Environmental By Design: A Sourcebook of Environmentally Aware Material Choices, Hartley & Marks, 1992.
MacDonald, S.O. and Matts Myhrman, Build It With Bales - A Step-by-Step Guide to Straw Bale Construction, Out on Bale, Tucson, Arizona, 1995.
McHenry, Paul G., Adobe: Build it Yourself, University of Arizona Press, 1985.
McHenry, Paul G.Adobe and Rammed Earth Buildings: Design and Construction, University of Arizona Press, Tucson, 1987.
Merrill, Robert, Hybrid Construction: The Art of Building with Recycled and Indigenous Materials, Lost Valley Publishing Company, Dexter, Oregon, 1994.
Schaeffer, John and staff, The Solar Living Sourcebook: A Complete Guide to Renewable Energy Technologies and Sustainable Living, 1996.
Steen, Bill and Athena, and David Bainbridge, The Straw Bale House, Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 1994.
Thompson, Kim et al, Straw Bale Construction: A Manual for Maritime Regions, Straw House Herbals, Ship Harbour, Nova Scotia, nd.
Tibbetts, Joseph M., The Earthbuilders Encyclopedia, Southwest Solaradobe School, 1989.
Kjellberg Christensen, Kasper, Elisabeth Kron, and Morten Carlsbæk. Sanitary Aspects of Composting Biodegradable Waste: Towards a Nordic Evaluation Model. Vol. 2000:512, København: Nordisk ministerråd, 2000.
Liddell, Howard. Eco-Minimalism: The Antidote to Eco-Bling. London: RIBA Publ., 2013.
Mussard, Maxime. A Solar Concentrator with Heat Storage and Self-Circulating Liquid. Vol. 2013:164, Trondheim: Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, 2013.
Proctor, Rebecca. 1000 New Eco Designs and Where to Find Them. London: Laurence King Publ., 2009.
Schittich, Christian, ed. Small Structures, Detail, 2010.
Smith, Peter F. Architecture in a Climate of Change: A Guide to Sustainable Design. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005.
Shannon, Kelly. "Eco-Engineering for Water: From Soft to Hard and Back." S. 163-82. Dortrecht: Springer, 2013.
Stoner, Carol Hupping. Goodbye to the Flush Toilet: Water-Saving Alternatives to Cesspools, Septic Tanks, and Sewers. Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1977.
Wenz-Gahler, Ingrid. Flush!: Modern Toilet Design. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2005.
| Mandatory coursework | Courseworks required | Presence required | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presence required | Required | The minimum attendance to the studio activities is 80% of organized events. |
| Form of assessment | Grouping | Grading scale | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Project assignment | - | Pass / fail | The assessment will be based on submissions, performance and levels of participation in the studio. Students will be asked for specific submissions during the semester. These submissions are part of the development of the project in Buenos Aires. As much of the work is done in groups, participation is of the utmost importance. The final assessment will be made by the sensor and will be based on: 1. The individual submission for stage one of the project. 2. The level of participation and contribution to the collective work. 3. The assessment of the work achieved by the studio as a whole. 4. An individual report describing the contributions that each student made to the overall project. The minimum attendance to the studio activities is 80% of organised events. The final decision as to the performance of each student will be taken by the external examiner (sensor) on the basis of both group performance, the report on individual participation done by the teachers, and a portfolio showing the extent of individual and collective contributions to the studio. The assessment of participation and contribution of each student to the studio will count for 60% of the final mark while the submission of the group and individual work will count for 40%. |