Collective Patchwork, Patchwork of Collectivity // 22 June 2017 // Aaron Swartjes
BOOK OF
MAPPING
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INTRODUCTION
The Book of Mapping contains the investigation of spatial qualities in Havana. I chose a representative city block in the neighborhood of El Cerro to research thoroughly. I did the same for a city block in the more affluent neighborhood of Vedado in order to make a comparison. The research presented in this book fits in the Streetscape Territories framework, an international research project that deals with the way buildings and properties are related to streets and how their inhabitants can give meaning to them. Streetscape Territories deals with models of proximity within a street, neighborhood or region and starts from the assumption that urban space, from the domestic scale till the scale of the city, can be understood as a discontinuous collective space, containing different levels of collective use that are defined by multiple physical, cultural or territorial boundaries.
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A BLOCK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD OF EL CERRO
During the summer development cooperation research project - together with Iwo Borkowicz, Vytautas Lelys, Virginia Stammitti, Antonio Boeri, Wim Van Hees and Marija Armonaite and supported by VLIR-UOS – we did a thorough investigation of the neighborhood of El Cerro. When I returned to Cuba in November 2016 to prepare specifically for my master dissertation, I decided to investigate the spatial qualities of a typical and representative block of El Cerro more in detail. After taking in the Cuban atmosphere again and checking the neighborhood for a representative space that corresponded to the questions I posed in my framework, I decided to map the city block in front of the hospital Allende, also named “La Covadonga” by the locals. The block is situated between the most important street in the neighborhood, the Calzada del Cerro, and Calle Santa Catalina. In the other direction, the block lays between Calle Piñera and Calle Dominguez.
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On one hand I looked at the built space and typologies present on the site. On the other hand I looked at the space between buildings to understand the different levels of collectivity. The presence of many different typologies and a varied configuration of opens spaces, make this block into an interesting case to study.
La Covadonga: chosen research area in the neighborhood of El Cerro map showing the typical urban layout of el Cerro
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atalina
Calle Dominguez
Calle Santa C
Calle PiĂąera
air photo
Calzada del Cerro
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figure ground map
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HERITAGE ON THE CALZADA DEL CERRO
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Along the Calzada del Cerro, there is a continuous row of colonnades that form a shaded corridor. Portales (#35) used to be accessible without restrictions, but are recently being appropriated by private house owners or businesses. The state of these heritage houses, both on this block in particular and along the entire Calzada del Cerro, varies heavily. Some houses are in a good state, most of them need small renovations and maintenance, others are literally falling apart.
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(FORMER) INDUSTRY & WAREHOUSES El Cerro used to be an industrial neighborhood, but is increasingly becoming residential. Some industries remain, others move to the outskirts of El Cerro or other neighborhoods. Almacenes (#2) are left abandoned and are falling apart. These state-owned warehouses often do not have any new function or purpose yet and are mostly used for some car-parking or car-repairing.
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REGULAR HOUSING
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Houses on the Calzada del Cerro are the most prestigious in El Cerro, but housing in the inner urban fabric often follow the same building typologies and principles, like different types of colonnades, uses of columns, vivid colors, fencing. However, since there are less or no regulations about heritage, houses are built, demolished and adapted in uncontrolled ways. Many houses are in a bad state.
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INFORMAL HOUSING
Since the Cuban state cannot keep up with the housing need, much informal construction happens. The boundaries between regular and informal houses are often unclear. Since many of the informal constructions happen by the inhabitants themselves, they are often not safe.
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INCREMENTAL ADDITIONS
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Another result of the housing deficit is the incremental growth of housing. Families do not have any other place to go, so they keep adding rooms and constructions to the existing house. This happens in both formal and informal housing. In the streetscape the contrast between colonial heritage and incremental self-built additions is big.
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UNBUILT SPACE
Perhaps the most important space is the unbuilt space, the spaces inbetween. All the corridors, portales, pasillo’s, alleys, courtyards and other spaces have different levels of collectivity. Because of different configurations and adjacencies, these spaces have a high complexity. I investigated these spatial qualities, levels of accessibility, visual depth and the negative space.
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accessibility
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visual depth
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pasillo 1
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ALLEYS / PASILLO’S
Three concrete models show three different types of alleys. By pouring a representation of the inbetween space, its character becomes clear. Different heights, widths and adjacencies give each pasillo a different atmosphere. Pasillo 1 is a narrow alley that leads into a very wide and open interior space. Passing through a lowered entrance and the long and narrow alley, give this alley a more privatized character. From the level on the street, we barely catch a glimpse of what can be found in the inner courtyard. Pasillo 2 has a much wider entrance. Since it leads to the courtyard of warehouses, it had to be car / transport accessible. This alley also leads to a block of apartments. It is very interesting to see that in order to go to these, you also have to cross a physical boundary. The space in front of the apartments is elevated in comparison to the entrance to the warehouse courtyard: a different level of collectivity. Pasillo 3 is solely an entrance to a couple of houses that are not accessible from the street. The narrowness and great height enhance this feeling of privacy. Besides this physical feeling of a different collectivity between the street and this alley, the social boundary is strong. Often, inhabitants are walking in and out and one guy sells food in front of this pasillo. The social control is strong.
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pasillo 3 pasillo 2
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pasillo 1
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pasillo 3
pasillo 2
snapchots from a video of entering and leaving Mercedes’ house through her pasillo path taken to enter and leave Mercedes’ house
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This is a visualization of life in the pasillo’s. Mercedes was kind enough to invite me to her house for an interview and to show where and how she lived. The walk passes through different collective settings: from the Calzada del Cerro until the living room of Mercedes’ house. We pass a group of inhabitants relaxing outside. They find my presence strange, but it is all right because I am with Mercedes. Another inhabitant is cleaning the pasillo. Another inhabitant leaves on his bike and we come across Mercedes’ husband on our way out. While walking through the pasillo, we pass different thresholds, both physical and social. Entering the first hallway, stepping down a small step, passing other inhabitants, narrowing walls, stepping under an arch, stepping up Mercedes’ doorstep…
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MODEL OF OPEN SPACE
The model is a representation of the space between buildings. That collective space is defined by the respective height and width of each adjacent building. It becomes clear that the character of each collective space is very different because of the variety of the previous parameters. Open spaces belonging to an industry or warehouse are of a very different spatial configuration and use than the alleys between houses. Different levels of accessibility, depth and feelings of belonging or not belonging make the city block into a rich patchwork of different collective spaces.
CONCLUSION
The city block can be understood as a whole of different typologies, connected by spaces of different levels of collectivity. What makes Cerro so interesting is this very rich configuration of different spatial configurations and adjacencies in the urban fabric. The city block is a patchwork of different typologies that have grown over time and the access to these many different places resulted in interesting collective inbetween spaces. The feeling of collective responsibility towards certain spaces results in interesting scenarios. Alleys are used as extended living rooms to play chess, dry clothes, eat with neighbors‌ A corridor is appropriated in many different ways – both temporarily and permanent - because of its many possible spatial uses. The feeling of ownership, collectivity and safety in these spaces are a true quality of the neighborhood.
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A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE NEIGHBORHOODS OF EL CERRO AND EL VEDADO
La Covadonga: chosen research area in the neighborhood of El Cerro
chosen research area in the neighborhood of El Vedado
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Cerro is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Havana, and developed in a homogenous colonial style. In time, Cerro became a very densely built neighborhood and people who could, left to live in quieter and healthier circumstances. New technologies and developments were introduced and had a great impact on the urban fabric and life in the city. Imported cars from America were causing increasing problems in the old city that was never designed for this kind of vehicle, so the urban design of new neighborhoods like El Vedado was adapted to car-mobility. Wide streets became the new standard. For Vedado, a 100m by 100m grid with around 400 blocks was designed to the West of the neighborhood Habana Centro, with streets of 16m widths. This new grid-development paved the way for the design and construction of single houses in different styles, like Art Deco, Art Nouvea and Modernism. The rich class moved into Vedado in houses of very eclectic styles, leaving the homogenous colonial neighborhoods like El Cerro or Habana Vieja behind. During this development however, the older colonial-style neighborhoods sometimes lost a part of their unity due to inevitable construction of buildings in new popular styles. (Kerr, 2009)
map showing the typical urban layout of el Vedado following page: typical Vedado streetscape
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collage of the investigated streetscape in El Cerro collage of the investigated streetscape in El Vedado After the boom of Vedado, the urban sprawl continued in the direction of Miramar with yet wider streets to provide more green and introducing an almost-American suburban landscape. Poor people moved into Vedado and started subdividing low-quality buildings into multiple units. During the heydays of the corrupt dictator Batista and the mafia, the construction of hotels, casinos and brothels boomed. These buildings represented exactly that excess lifestyle. This abruptly ended with the Revolution. Fidel Castro implemented the communistic ideals and the optimistic goal was to offer housing to every Cuban. Both Vedado and Cerro saw the construction of mass standardized housing complexes and Soviet-style modernist buildings. (Kerr, 2009) Given this very different development and urban layout, I am making a comparison of the spatial qualities between these two neighborhoods. The site I chose in Vedado is a city block between Calle LĂnea and an inner street. Calle LĂnea is one of the main streets in Vedado and thus corresponds in that way to what Calzada del Cerro is to its neighborhood. Aaron Swartjes - Book of Mapping
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TYPOLOGIES
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A José Martí educational center & library B José Martí foundation C school & art supply store D educational center E cafeteria F small market G barber H eggs & meat market I biscuit shop J cafeteria K jewelry repair shop L school
shaded corridor in the José Martí educational center & library
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typologies Vedado
C A B
D
F
G
H
E
K
I J
L
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accessibility Vedado
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accessibility Cerro
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visual depth Vedado
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visual depth Cerro
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Cerro streetscape
Vedado streetscape
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CONCLUSION
With its strict grid, Vedado has a much more comprehensible and clear urban layout. The chaos happening because of traffic and transport as seen in Cerro does not really happen in Vedado. However, the cars and guaguas are still very polluting and loud. The most apparent difference is the feeling of tranquility in Vedado in comparison to Cerro. This is partially because of this difference regarding transport and mobility, but mostly because of the presence of green. The wide streets and open city blocks in Vedado allow for so much more trees, plants and open space. Cerro is so dense and mineral. The visual depth in a regular Vedado city block is much higher than one in Cerro, due to this open block typology. However, Vedado does not feel more inclusive of accessible. On the contrary, the physical boundaries erected between each plot are enhancing a feeling of exclusion and privatization. Fences and walls are an important part of the streetscape in Vedado. For many people in Cerro, moving to Vedado is still a dream scenario because of its peacefulness and connotation of being a neighborhood for a richer and more accomplished class in society. History shows, however, that many of the nouveaux riches in Vedado have already moved and that the typical division of old mansions and colonial houses is happening in Vedado too. In general, Vedado is still a more affluent neighborhood, largely because of the presence of the hotels and the casas particulares, but Cerro has its own qualities. The feeling of inclusion and belonging in a certain street or pasillo and the use of collective space as an extension (temporary or permanent) of the private space is a richness that is not to be underestimated. On the other hand, when you have spent enough time in both Cerro and Vedado, it is very clear that more green space, decompression zones and a different approach towards transport and mobility have to be considered.
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FIGURE LIST
p. 4, 5, 24 & 25 maps delivered by CUJAE
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all other maps, photographs and images by Aaron Swartjes
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHATELOIN, F. (2003): “El Cerro: Para la historia de un barrio”, Arquitectura y Urbanismo. CUJAE provided texts, articles and excerpts STEINBERG, F (1996): “Conservation and Rehabilitation of Urban Heritage in Developing Countries”, Habitat Intl. Vol. 20 No. 3.
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NOTES
BOOK OF MAPPING for the Master Dissertation Project: Collective Patchwork, Patchwork of Collectivity by
Aaron Swartjes
promotor Kris Scheerlinck - Streetscape Territories Research Project International Master of Science in Architecture: Urban Projects, Urban Cultures Program 2016 - 2017 KU Leuven, Faculty of Architecture, Campus Sint-Lucas Brussels contact: swartjes_aaron@hotmail.com
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