Jo, for wisdom and design guidance, but more importantly: just being there for me in my final moments. Thank you for the refuge when I needed to run away, for the love and unwavering trust you had in me to always carry on.
- RESEARCH BACKGROUND
- DEFINITION OF THE PROBLEM, AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
- SETTING OUT THE SCOPE
- THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
- RESEARCH METHODS AND MATERIALS
Many residents of informal settlements face inconsistent financial and social situations. This theory can be seen as the physical manifestation of the Right to the City.
RIGHT TO THE CITY
Mark Purcell (2003) fundamentally connects the concept of the right to the city with that of citizenship. Abahlali base Mjondolo is campaigning for essential basic services and the right to housing in the city.
SPATIAL JUSTICE
This affects the very nature of the urban fabric, as it is altered and forced to accept the less formal practice that Malyam (1996) romanticises as inherent in the narrative of the city. An active user, or resident in this case, is allowed to use the space (land) provided he makes a positive contribution to it.
ACKNOWLEDGING INFORMALITY
He advocates that change must come from the systemic level in the form of the perception of the informal city. When it comes to interventions in the space of an informal settlement, he states that the primary instrument for improving living conditions is property security.
MASS HOUSING
McGuirk (2014) argues that the end of the modernist ideal came even earlier, with the proposal of the PREVI housing scheme in 1968. It marked a shift from the dogmatic approach so synonymous with modernism and celebrated the informality of barriades through user defined transformation.
A CHANGING PARADIGM
Instead of being given houses, what the poor really need is help with a method of allocating their resources and skills in a way that serves them better, rather than favoring a housing methodology that is easier for the government to implement and manage (McGuirk, 2014) ).
OPEN BUILDING
This embodies the idea of resilience, where the lifespan of the development is extended by providing a supportive space that grows with the occupants. PREVI was designed with change in mind and offered residents the opportunity to extend and change their homes, which extended the life of the built form and encouraged a long-term community to grow and stay there. When this is achieved, the architecture is more socially sustainable and offers a more resilient and increased lifespan of the building itself.
The process recognizes various actors' influence on design and construction and seeks to respond to the continuously transforming nature of the built environment (Habraken, 1987). By using the levels of decision-making, it is clear which parts of the system are user-defined - what users can and cannot change, as well as what onus rests on them to ensure the maintenance of a "good" environment.
- URBAN VERNACULAR
- PARTICIPATORY DESIGN, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICE
- FLEXIBLE ARCHITECTURE
- THE POWER OF SYNTHESIS & HUMAN CAPACITY
Koolhaas uses two key elements, seemingly the same, but with two completely different connotations; he refers to “the masses” described as a “supposedly willing instrument of ideology” vs. In an interview with Austrian architect Dietmar Eberle, entitled 'Domestic City', the concept and meaning of flexible architecture and its place within a dynamic living situation in the contemporary context are discussed. To extend the life of the building it must be flexible, because its use will always change.
To fully understand the concept of "synthesis," it is essential to interrogate the meaning of the word. As the focus of this dissertation, self-construction is at the forefront of the synthesis discussion.
HALF A HOUSE – ELEMENTAL
Quinta Monroy's houses in Chile mark a turning point in the approach to housing in developing countries. Quinta Monroy is designed for demonstrably more flexibility, essentially building less, while allowing the user to do more themselves. The Quinta Monroy scheme presents a defined structural framework as the first half, and a user built the second half at their own pace and with their own resources.
Participation takes place after delivery, as the Quinta Monroy scheme is completed to a point, providing regulation to a certain extent, after which residents take over. Elemental applied the concept of their "semi-finished" home to a different context 10 years after the Quinta Monroy housing project.
EMBRACING INFORMALITY
71 A visit to the Du Noon settlement led to an architectural solution, exposing the 'need to address the living conditions in which the farmers lived.' (Holmes, 2014) Recognizing the urgency of the country's growing population, Holmes investigated the current POP model . He concluded that this 'simply is not enough and is not the answer to South Africa's housing needs.' He outlines the need to address the density of informal environments, which the RDP model does not take into account. Additions could include expanding the living space for the family or additional bedrooms for larger families; they can also be used to rent out, providing families with additional income.
Over time, the rental income allows for the expansion of the formal structure in place of the informal backyard rooms. Holmes explains simply, “The housing unit turns the unsustainable problem of backyard shacks into a solution.
FLEXIBLE HOUSING
The first is that of the overall neighborhood plan, followed by the negotiation of built-up area and open space. The last phase is the design of the filling on an individual scale, the determination of floor plans and finishes. The support structure, an in situ concrete framework, combines seven components; .. i) Floor decks – houses vertical elements such as mechanical and stairs ii) Concrete piers – in situ, parallel to each other along a 4.8m square grid iii) Pitched roof – 45 degrees providing habitable attic space .. iv) Timber frame – anchor for facade elements.
The prop and fill methodology allowed for the free division of the base structure into a complex of individual apartments, ranging from single units up to 6 rooms. This was later resolved with the renovation of the circle in 1995, which solved some of the technical problems, one such example being the shortening of the window piers.
CATO MANOR & CATO CREST
83 Automated construction is very clearly demonstrated in the Cato Crest area and ranges from informal dwellings built entirely by users to additions to formalized housing projects. Automated construction is happening throughout Cato Crest, with residents buying their own materials and building themselves. Most residents who are into auto building (the vast majority of Cato Crest) purchase their own materials from local hardware stores.
This provides a slightly more formalized model, used by residents in informal settlements who do not engage in self-construction themselves. Although many residents choose to engage in self-build to build their homes at low cost, purchasing materials and providing physical capacity; not all residents can or want to undertake the physical aspect of self-build.
FINDINGS
One of the driving forces behind in-situ upgrading of informal settlements is political interest. The central focus that emerged from the members of the SDI alliance was community participation and locally led projects. It is explained that the involvement of "the people" is imperative to deliver a product or service that will ultimately serve them.
Unfortunately, according to members of the SDI Alliance and uTshani Fund, this is not how the process actually takes place. We need your help to do this thing that we decide.‟ The recommendation by the SDI Alliance is that the community should be the body that prioritizes their own needs, and be guided by the initiation and implementation of a project.
INTRODUCTION
ANALYSIS
While this practice offers people space to live in the city, it does not meet the necessary standards to be considered 'adequate' housing. It is suggested that a combination of both a bottom-up and top-down approach would provide the necessary balance between flexibility and ensuring that a good quality housing program is delivered that provides access to adequate housing and support services. The proposed plan takes into account the outcomes of the research in the context of South Africa and in particular the Cato Crest area, where the context for the design development will take place.
DESIGN
Cross ventilation should be used, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation while adhering to the sustainable ethos of the project. iii). This natural element must be preserved and treated as part of the public space. ii) The 100-year floodplain associated with the stream cannot be built on. This area should be easily accessible from the street. i) Tenancy security must be provided to the residents of the proposed development.
The top-down element must be provided and is the Support component of the schema. This is based on the structural frame module and should be designed to allow flexibility and multiple configurations.
INTRODUCTION
Here, residents are involved in the production of their living environments through the physical construction of infill components to extend and adapt their homes, and contribute to the social quality and character of their community through exchange with other residents.
SITE SELECTION CRITERIA
SITE OPTIONS
- SITE A : CATO CREST
- SITE B : QUARRY ROAD
- SITE C : CATO CREST [SELECTED]
120 Community Autonomy [5] - There is evidence of self-constructed, self-constructed housing in the Cato Crest area, but none at this specific location. This site was considered because it is an established settlement and little intervention has taken place in the settlement. Settlement size [6] – The informal settlement is one of four in the area, ranging from 300 to 500 informal homes.
Relatives have joined residents in the informal settlement, implying the intention to remain in the settlement. Many residents migrate to the area to join other family members living in the informal settlement.
CONTEXTUAL ANALYSIS
- MACRO CONTEXT
- MICRO CONTEXT
SITE ANALYSIS
- VEHICULAR CIRCULATION
- PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION
THE BRIEF
The units delivered as part of this development are part of the housing quota set annually by the National Government. The Department of Human Settlements is a national department which aims to uphold the Constitutional Right to access to adequate housing. The ISN runs the "Right to the City" campaign, which presents a new approach to both social and physical aspects of urban life.
The themes of participatory architecture, incremental development and flexible architecture are central to the architectural outcome of the design scheme. Exploring the long-established practice of auto-construction as a means of developing an architectural solution to the issues experienced in Cato Crest;.
PROBLEM STATEMENT
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
PROCESS SKETCHES
FINAL DESIGN DRAWINGS
