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40 653 Designing collectivity, designing politically: the neighborhood - OAT 2022

Full course name in English: 
Designing collectivity, designing politically: the neighborhood - OAT 2022
Studiepoeng: 
24
Emnekode: 
40 653
Studienivå: 
Syklus 2
Undervisningssemester: 
2022 Vår
Eksamenssemester: 
2022 Vår
Undervisningsspråk: 
Engelsk
År: 
2022
Maksimum antall studenter: 
16
Emneansvarlig
Paul-Antoine Yves Marie Lucas
Hanna Birkeland Bergh
Forkunnskapskrav

Admission to AHO and successful completion of three years bachelor level studies (180 ECTS).

Om emnet

What if the ground of the city was publicly owned? What if housing was a common good? With that premise in mind, what type of housing models and urban configurations could be imagined?

In this studio, students will draw new collective housing alternatives and new urban commons. Either focusing on exploring the architectural qualities of those co-housing spaces—from the entrance space to the inside of the apartment—or on the common ground of the city. The goal is to reinvent and design new shared spaces and inhabiting practices based on cooperation and equity.

The premise of the brief for the students this semester will be to consider that land in Oslo is a public asset and that housing is a non-profit sector. By changing the status quo, new opportunities for housing arise and the loss of public space in urban areas overtime can be prevented. Ranging from the scale of the neighborhood all the way to the scale of the dwelling unit, the detailed architectural and landscape proposals will address through models and drawings new ways of living together. 

If a site belongs to the public, the choice of when, where, and how to build is completely free. The first task of urban planning today is thus to return to the authorities a power which it previously had, the power over urban land. (Hertweck, 2020)

Over the past decades, the city administrations around the globe have relinquished governance over the housing market to the voracious forces of neoliberal urban development. Policies and politicians fail to address the problem of the increasing need for affordable living spaces and more inclusive urban spaces. In the meantime, the architect’s role is being reduced to that of a consultant or service provider for developers and land owners, but rather than standing up and reclaiming our role in serving the general interest we sit silently and compromise. Today there is a window of opportunity, it is time we all use our knowledge and skills to support radical political and activist agendas.

Living space is a scarce resource in the twenty-first century - this has become increasingly clear over the past decade. More and more people are living in cities, yet urban living space is limited and property speculation has made it unaffordable for many. (Kries, Müller, Niggli, Ruby, 2017)

 

In 2019 in Oslo, the movement Boligopprøret (Housing rebellion) has shed the light on the precarious and unstable living conditions of the municipal housing system and the lack of social housing policies in Norway. The system acts as a poverty trap for minoritized and vulnerable population groups while widening the inequality gap between owners and renters. Activist groups such as Reduser Husleia (Reduce the rent) ask for radical changes in the way we consider housing, demanding to take profit out of the housing sector. Other initiatives such as the social enterprise Nedenfra or Tøyenboligbyggelag offer alternatives, advocating for citizen-led urban planning and exploring the implementation of a not-for-profit housing sector in Oslo. Inspired by many international examples such as the co-operative housing model in Zürich, Berlin or Catalonia Spain (Triviño Massó, 2021) Tøyenboligbyggelag demonstrates that an equitable solution to the housing question is simple and that it has the potential to promote meaningful political and urban changes in Norway.  

Co-operative housing production is aiming at the creation of social capital, which assembles tangible as well as intangible resources for shared interests while simultaneously including demands of minority groups. … Moreover, engaging with co-operative practices by means of housing production can also serve as a role model and active tool for promoting political and urban change from within the system. (Hehl, 2020)

Primarily defining housing as a profitable commodity is a fundamental trigger of the global housing crisis. (...) Instead of promoting speculative operations for a minority, the micro-political agency of co-operative practice can transform housing into a matter of mutual necessities and a resource for the common good. (Hehl, 2020)

How can we—through designing new housing typologies and public spaces—shape better neighborhoods in order to provide everyone with more equitable housing solutions and more inclusive public spaces? 

This studio semester will be linked to the Oslo Architecture Triennale 2022: Mission Neighborhood—(Re)forming communities, happening in Oslo in September 2022.

Footnotes:

Hertweck, Florian, and Université du Luxembourg, eds. 2020. Architecture on common ground the question of land: positions and models. Zürich, Switzerland: Lars Müller Publishers. p.78

Mateo Kries, Mathias Müller, Daniel Niggli, Andreas Ruby, Ilka Ruby, eds. 2017. Together! The New Architecture of the Collective. Weil am Rhein : Berlin: Vitra Design Museum ; Ruby Press. p.35

Clara Triviño Massó, 2021 in Safe Space zine 4. “The right to housing: a right not guaranteed”. Oslo: Safe Space Publishing. pp.16-24

Rainer Hehl, Patricia Ventura, and Sascha Delz, eds. 2020. Housing the Co-Op: A Micro-Political Manifesto. Berlin: Ruby Press. pp.5-7

 

 

Læringsutbytte

Knowledge, skills and general competences:

- Critical thinking and formulation of theoretical and experimental concepts.

- Argumentation and graphic communication of political intentions through architecture tools. 

- Knowledge of historical examples of social housing estates and contemporary co-housing projects.

- Theoretical knowledge about housing issues and alternative models such as social housing, co-operative housing and co-housing.

- Translation of a conceptual idea into a detailed architectural project.

- Digital drawing skills of clear architectural drawings. 

- Model making skill techniques at 1:50 / 1:20 scale

 

Praktisk organisering og arbeidsmåter

The aim of the studio is to go beyond thinking solely about architecture and urban spaces as social processes but also to critically question housing politics and issues of governance in the city today with concrete detailed design proposals. The students’ projects will act as “case-study” designs, exemplifying the possibility for architectural projects to create discourse and debate. 

Architects have the opportunity today to experiment and create new models. We want to foster curiosity to enable students to look for innovative solutions in order to challenge the normativity of architectural solutions in housing and urban planning today. 

The students will look at historical precedents of post-war OBOS co-operative housing buildings in Oslo and contemporary European examples of co-housing projects in order to create their own design in order to address an issue of their choice: inter-generational living, inclusivity, new types of kinship, the gender perspective in housing, sharing practices, etc. 

The focus of the studio as a whole will be to build collectively examples of neighborhood communities. The groups of students will be focusing on a site in the center of Oslo and propose detailed designs for new forms of collective living in an urban setting. 

This studio course is considered to be a full-time commitment. Weekly deskcrit sessions will ensure a regular follow-up and guidance of the projects. 

Guest lectures: 

Numerous guest lectures by local and international lecturers will be organized to provide the studio course theoretical and practical (tacit) knowledge.

Study trip (if possible): 

During excursion week, a study trip to Zürich, Basel (and maybe Paris by train) is planned. The trip will be organized around visits to architecture studios (Conen sigl, Atelier Abraha Achermann, Lütjens Padmanabhan, EMI, Sergison Bates - list tbc), to visit university studios and scholars (Irina Davidovici, studio NEWROPE - list tbc) and examples of co-housing projects.

Semester plan:

Part 1 - Precedents

Building of a catalogue of references around housing typologies and urban public spaces:

  • Precedent analysis of post-war OBOS co-operative buildings (1 per group of students)

  • Precedent analysis of contemporary co-housing or public space examples (1 per group of students)

Part 2 - Urban scheme

Each of the groups will elaborate a small neighborhood-block Masterplan including housing, public programming and public spaces for around 100 to 1000 people. Students can choose to focus solely on housing or public space and landscape. 

  • Collective neighborhood analysis, each team focusing on an aspect of the neighborhood (mobility, landscape, social infrastructure, demography, history, etc.)

  • 1/100 site model with provisional massing of the scheme

  • Overall strategy for the programming and organization of the landscape/public space and surrounding areas - the common ground

  • Strategy for the housing scheme, number of units, demography, ownership structure, economic model, etc. - the collective

Part 3 - Project

Housing or public space projects developed in groups within the Masterplan developed before. 

  • Housing groups: Development of the housing block in plan and elevation, creating a variety of typologies, thematic weeks in developing specific elements of the building: the entrance, the circulation, the apartment plans, the facade, etc.

  • Public Space groups: Development of the common ground layer: water management strategy, greenery and planting, programming of activities, strategy for maintenance, materiality etc. 

Final delivery: 

  • Digital architectural drawings and 1:50 / 1:20 model of the projects

  • The projects and case-studies will be compiled in a research book at the end of the semester showcasing the findings of the studio.

Case study list (provisional): 

Collective Housing: 

  • Lacol cooperativa d'arquitectes, La Borda co-housing project, Barcelona (2018)

  • R50 Baugruppen, co-housing project, Berlin (2013)

  • Atelier Abraha Achermann, co-operative housing project, Erlenmatt Ost, Zürich, Switzerland (2019)

  • Helen & Hard, Vindmøllebakken co-housing project, Stavanger, Norway (2019)

  • Nøysom arkitekter, Eksperimentboliger på Svartlamon, housing and self-building project, Trondheim, Norway (2017)

  • Hermann Hertzberger, Markgrafenstrasse housing project, Berlin, Germany (1986)

  • Brandlhuber+, Terrassenhaus project, Berlin, Germany (2018)

  • Adrian Streich Architekten, Kraftwerk, Zurich Switzerland (2012)

  • EMI Architekten, Glattpark Wohn- und geschäftshaus MIN MAX, Zürich (2016)

Public space:

  • Skanderbeg square, 51N4E, Tirana, Albania (2016)

  • Aldo Van Eyck’s playgrounds in Amsterdam

  • Place de la République, TVK & Martha Schwartz and Areal landscape architect (2013)

  • Eduardo Chillida, Plaza de Los Fueros, Spain (1979)

  • Flores y Pratts, Plaza Nicaragua, Barcelona, Spain (2005)

 

Pensum

A specific reading list will be provided when the course starts.

VurderingsformGrupperingKarakterskalaKommentar
ProsjektoppgaveIndividuellBestått / ikke bestått Final delivery:

Digital architectural drawings and 1:50 / 1:20 model of the projects

The projects and case-studies will be compiled in a research book at the end of the semester showcasing the findings of the studio.
Vurderinger:
Vurderingsform:Prosjektoppgave
Gruppering:Individuell
Karakterskala:Bestått / ikke bestått
Kommentar: Final delivery:

Digital architectural drawings and 1:50 / 1:20 model of the projects

The projects and case-studies will be compiled in a research book at the end of the semester showcasing the findings of the studio.
AktivitetKommentar
EkskursjonStudy trip to to Zürich, Basel (and maybe Paris by train) is planned.
Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in excursion will receive a task / a project that replaces this. Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in excursion will receive a task / a project that replaces this.
OppmøteParticipation and attendance in lectures, supervision at the desks in the studio, seminars and workshops is expected.
Forventet arbeidsinnsats:
Aktivitet:Ekskursjon
Kommentar:Study trip to to Zürich, Basel (and maybe Paris by train) is planned.
Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in excursion will receive a task / a project that replaces this. Those who do not have the opportunity to participate in excursion will receive a task / a project that replaces this.
Aktivitet:Oppmøte
Kommentar:Participation and attendance in lectures, supervision at the desks in the studio, seminars and workshops is expected.