Research Project - Low-Cost Housing Issues (Solution)
Case Study 1: Sheikh Sarai Housing, India / Raj Rewal
Project Name: Seikh Sarai Housing, New Delhi
Project Location: Sheikh
Sarai,New Delhi, India, Built 1982
Area: 35 acres
Density: 100 Aptmts / ha
Total No. of Units: 550
Architect: Raj Rewal
TARGET AUDIENCE -Affordable Housing built for medium and low-income
Groups
BUILT FABRIC -Low-Rise High-density walk-up apartments, clustered to
create internal shaded streets linked by gateways and open courtyards (traditional
Indian architectural elements) for public use to resemble a traditional urban
settlement, and as an expression of style of the architect. The gateways, a
common feature within the project enabled high level of transparency despite
being a high-density development rendering it legible for the users.
MOVEMENT AND FLOW – Clear
demarcation of vehicular and pedestrian streets, restricting the vehicular flow
to the peripheries with few access points along the road and enhancing
pedestrian flow along the central spine puncturing the built solids. This
defined the parking spaces and flow of traffic outside of the housing clusters.
COMMUNITY SPACES – Fostering
shared spaces for the community by creating intimate courtyards connected to
each other, representing the traditional elements of Indian Architecture. The
scale of these courtyards has been Manipulated towards increased social
activities and interaction amongst the resident community, serving as social
facilitators.
CLUSTERS &UNITS – Six
different types of units ranging from 70-120 sq.m, organized in two different
clusters, 3 and 4 storey high. The units have several variations in type, from
1-3 bedroom apartments, although minor in each case, the need for economy and
design is apparent within the interior. The units are compact without any
ambiguity of space that comes from having greater floor areas to negotiate
from. Despite the compactness of both units and clustering, every room is well-
ventilated and well-lit with an attached terrace for each unit.
Urban-scape at site level, the architect developed the project by
employing urban strategies of articulated flows, segregated spaces and applied
the same on the site level, Resulting in a structured urban settlement.
Affordability
-A new financial scheme was developed for this case which helped subsidize the
housing units for the users. In the Self-Financing-scheme, the allotters had to
pay in 5 installments over the period of the construction phase. This allowed
the housing authority to create mix of units and make the project more
economically viable. -The use of locally available material was intrinsic to
the nature of project and to further bring down the cost of the project. The
structure comprised of concrete posts and beams with infill brick walls covered
with rough cast plaster. This gave the user the flexibility to modify as well.
Case Study 2: Quinta Monroy, Chile
/ ELEMENTAL
Location: Sold Pedro Prado, Iquique, Tarapacá, Chile
Design Team: Alejandro Aravena, Alfonso Montero, Tomás
Cortese, Emilio de la Cerda
Area: 5000.0 m2
Project Year: 2003
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.
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 houses, 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 possible. 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, creating 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 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, we
worked in a building that had just the ground and top floor.
WHAT IS OUR POINT?
We think that social housing should be an investment and not as an
expense. So, we had to make that the initial subsidy can add
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 subsidy can add value over time, it
could mean the key turning point to leave poverty.
Reorganize Building
We in Elemental have identified 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), 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.
Second, the provision a physical space for the "extensive
family" to develop, has proved to be a key issue in the economical take off
a poor family. In between the private and public space, we introduced the
collective space, conformed by around 20 families. The collective space (a
common property with restricted access) is an intermediate level of association
that allows surviving fragile social conditions.
Third, since 50% of each unit's volume, will eventually be self-built,
the building had to be porous enough to allow each unit to expand within its
structure. The initial building must therefore provide a supporting, (rather
than a constraining) framework to avoid any negative effects of
self-construction on the urban environment over time, but also to facilitate
the expansion process.
Finally, instead a designing a small house (in 30 sqm everything is small), we
provided a middle-income house, out of which we were giving just a small part
now. This meant a change in the standard: kitchens, bathrooms, stairs,
partition walls and all the difficult parts of the house had to be designed for
final scenario of a 72 sqm house.
Case Study 3: Eco Modern Flats, USA
/ Modus
Architects: Modus Studio
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA Architectural
Team: Chris M. Baribeau, AIA , Austin Chatelain, Assoc. AIA , Josh Siebert,
Assoc. AIA, Jason Wright, Assoc. AIA, Chris M. Lankford, David McElyea, Assoc.
AIA. Structural Engineer: MyersBeatty Engineers Thermal Area: 62,400 SF
Building: $3,810,900 | $61 per SF
Project Year: 2011
A sustainable modern design renovation of an existing 96-unit apartment
complex. The four existing apartment buildings, constructed between 1968 and
1972, have great bones of precast concrete and split face block, but were
drastically lacking in thermal comfort, air quality and aesthetic appeal. The
stasis of the existing apartments combined with the residual disconnects from
the inherent site amenities required our thoughtful intervention of low-tech
and affordable design solutions.
The renovation completely overhauled the living systems of each unit and
transformed the entire complex’s visual presence in the community. The existing
topography and forgotten residual spaces between the buildings were utilized to
create various courtyard
spaces as well as public and private terraces, patios, and rooftop decks.
The design provides new connections to the re-integrated and re-imagined
landscape of the site, elevating
the greater community and local tenant experience by capturing the
demographic seeking modern design and sustainable living.
Rediscovers spaces in a
palette of steel and cedar to breathe new life into an otherwise banal layered
construction system. The design had to perform both tectonically and
compositionally in a very simple way to meet the demands of budget and
schedule. A kit of parts panel system was
developed, combining the modern durability of steel with the natural warmth of
cedar to reshape and reform the juxtaposition of the existing structures.
Ground-based cedar panels carve out new terrace spaces. New balconies extend
beyond the wraparound walkways at the second floor, simultaneously extending
outdoor space while covering patios below. New cantilevered stairs span from
the third-floor walkways to roof, allowing people to access previously
unobtainable views of the university, city and mountains. The new composition
provides a playful backdrop for the complex and delivers unique character and
spatial options for various units around the property.
The unit interiors were
refined as gallery-like spaces, blank canvases upon which people can insert
their lives within the efficient 600 SF one bedroom apartments. Quality wood millwork, concrete countertops, and polished concrete
floors were used to provide durable, clean, and sustainable finishes which
compliment a carefully introduced color palette. A central multivalent wall enables storage, spatial
articulation, a light source and houses a 180° rotating TV box, allowing one
television to serve the living, kitchen, and bedroom spaces.
From the standpoint of an apartment-dweller, each unit was exactly the
same: a closed-in box chopped into tiny rooms with little or no defined outdoor
space. Within the confines of the original building footprint, interiors feel
more spacious due to the introduction of larger windows, sliding patio doors,
open living spaces with built-in, multifunctional storage and work spaces. Each
unit now has an outdoor living space—a terrace, a walled patio, a balcony, or a
large rooftop terrace—carved from existing unused or underutilized space.
Case Study 4: 10 x 10 Housing Project, South Africa / MMA
Architects
In September 2008, MMA’s design won the Curry Stone Design Prize, an
international award that recognizes creative solutions with the power and
potential to improve our lives and the world in which we live.
Aims to stimulate alternative solutions to
housing. It offers affordable, attractive and innovative responses to the
urgent need to house the urban poor. Sustainable design, construction and
operation principles were encouraged.
Low-cost housing is an issue of huge social relevance in South Africa,
and indeed globally. Statistically it is significant that, for the first time
in history, over 50% of the world's population now reside in urban areas. The
impact of this is particularly visible in South Africa's townships and the
urban sprawl of informal settlements around cities.
This sandbag house was built for a mere $6,000, making it affordable for
low-income housing. The design also utilizes uncomplicated techniques
and was constructed with the help of its future residents who were able to gain
a sense of ownership through the building process.
While these homes are not necessarily decked out with
solar panels and energy-efficient insulation, the design and construction of
the home takes advantage of techniques that conserve money and resources.
First, the home uses
inexpensive local materials which cuts down on transportation. Second,
the home utilizes EcoBeams, a system of building that replaces brick-and-mortar
with sandbags. The system is reported to be just as strong as a brick system
and uses less timber than traditional construction.
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