Aaron Swartjes - Book of References by Aaron Swartjes

Collective Patchwork, Patchwork of Collectivity // 22 June 2017 // Aaron Swartjes

BOOK OF

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

The Book of References is a collection of case studies around the world that are relevant to the context of Cuba, and the neighborhood of El Cerro in particular. The case studies are of different scales and content: some cases are about compelling visions of city upgrading, revitalization or development; other projects are about interesting and innovative architectural or urban interventions on the scale of a city block; one project is about the urban/architectural outcome of an emerging bottom-up movement and one is an advise and caution of how to continue from now on in a heritage-worthy environment. 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.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Cuba

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TABLE OF CONTENTS / MAP OF THE WORLD

p. 6

Túpac Amaru

in Jujuy (Argentina)

p. 8

PREVI

in Lima (Peru)

p. 12 Quinta Monroy

in Iquique (Chile)

p. 14 Urban-Think Tank

in Caracas (Venezuela)

p. 16 SESC Fabrica Pompeia in São Paulo (Brazil) p. 20 Ancient hutongs

in Beijing (China)

p. 24 Urban design

in Medellin (Colombia)

p. 26 National Art Schools

in Havana (Cuba)

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Alto Comedero

Milagro Sala

TÚPAC AMARU

What? Túpac Amaru is a cooperative founded by Milagro Sala on people power. It works almost like an autonomous state. They build their own houses, hospitals, schools… Where?

Argentina (based in the Northern province of Jujuy)

When?

Movement started in 2001

Why is it interesting? The social movement of Túpac Amaru works on the principle of self-organization and the right to employment. It was founded to defend and help the poor - mostly indigenous Indians - and provide them with housing, education, medical care and anything else they need in life. The movement brings needy families together to form working parties to build their own homes. Túpac Amaru even built its own factories for producing bricks and steel so they do not have to buy building materials. The entire operating budget is based on subsidies for social housing by the government. But because they organize everything themselves, they can do so much more with a small budget. In the system that Túpac Amaru created, you can be paid to build your own house and then get it for free to live in. It works almost as a state inside of a state. Túpac Amaru is named after a revolutionary Incan hero who rebelled against the Spanish invadors. His face is used as the logo for the organization. Besides Túpac Amaru, they also admire Che Guevara and Evita. These three people became the iconography of the movement and you can see their images everywhere: for example on all the water tanks in the village of Alto Comedero. Túpac Amaru sounds like a cult movement. Alto Comedero is a village entirely constructed by Túpac Amaru. It feels like a gated community without a gate. Besides housing for the poor, the village has an enormous swimming pool. It is part of the ‘theme-park’ urbanism to make the poor feel rich with small gestures. Swimming pools used to be something where Indians were excluded, so now Túpac Amaru provides one in the community.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

By generating unity through employment, leisure, spiritual belief and collective achievement, this community has a sense of ownership and empowerment. It is a socialist system in microcosm with workers contributing to a productive system and sharing the rewards equally.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

collage of the projects fitting into the master plan

streetscape in the neighborhood

PREVI

What? PREVI (Proyecto Experimental de Vivienda) is an experimental social housing project on a human scale as a new approach to provide an answer to the vast informal growth of Lima. Where? Lima (Peru) When?

Contest and construction in the late 1960â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Why is it interesting? A group of internationally renowned architects and a group of Peruvian architects were asked to design new housing typologies that would give an answer to the unstoppable informal growth in Lima. After the contest, a small neighborhood was built in a first phase as a pilot project. PREVI is sometimes considered a failure, because the second phase of mass production never happened. Actually, the project was amazing. The tightly packed, high-density but low-rise neighborhood was designed as a platform of change. It was able to grow incrementally. Residents of PREVI never moved out, even when their financial status improved. Because different designs from different architects were used and people adapted the houses incrementally, PREVI avoided the monoculture of standardized housing. Over time, the neighborhood has become more exciting and flamboyant with each adaptation. The collective space was designed as a space that glued the different housing typologies together. Collective space is the element that turns the fragments into a comprehensive and working neighborhood. The voids between buildings were designed by Aldo van Eyck and constructed with simple prefab elements. The concrete elements are put on the earth like a puzzle. If anyone wants to make a garden, it is easy to just remove the concrete tile and make something new. Because of the small scale of the collective spaces, they feel very intimate and are well maintained by the inhabitants. This works, because the boundary between the collective and private space is very clear. The boundaries of smaller squares are often constituted by the placement of benches or small walls. Between those borders, green spaces are enclosed. Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

collective space in PREVI

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

collective space in PREVI

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

houses after completion of construction

houses after a couple of years with incrementel additions by residents

QUINTA MONROY

What? “half of a good house” project by studio Elemental, housing as a platform and open system for people to help themselves Where? Iquique (Chile) When?

Designed in 2001, constructed in 2004

Why is it interesting? The challenge was to provide housing that would cost almost three times of the available funds. The answer was a typology that made efficient use of land and allowed the houses to expand: half a house, because it is better to offer half of a good house than a whole bad house. Elemental built the half that people wouldn’t be able to do on their own: the concrete structure, the roof, the kitchen and the bathroom. The voids left between the houses were left for the families to fill up for themselves when they had the funds to do so. After a couple of years, all the inhabitants had done exactly that. Quinta Monroy was designed around communal courtyards. By now, many are fenced off. This is typical for Latin America with public or communal property immediately next to private property. Residents mentioned that there was not that much of a communal spirit. People were colonizing communal space or would not make adaptations to their house for the communal benefit. By now, some people have moved out of the houses. That is a good thing, because it means that the house provided social mobility. It acted as a stepping-stone for the inhabitants: the project allowed for incremental growth and upgrading of the social status.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

urban acupuncture by U-TT: cable car

urban acupuncture by U-TT: vertical gym

URBAN-THINK TANK IN CARACAS

What? Urban-Think Tank is an interdisciplinary design practice that researches and operates in Caracas Where? Caracas (Venezuela) When?

U-TT started operating in Caracas in 1998

Why is it interesting? U-TT: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Small urban acupuncture is wonderful, but only gestural. It has to be tested and implemented on a bigger scale.â&#x20AC;? Urban-Think Tank participated in a UN General Assembly debate, where they argued that it is more productive to give slum dwellers cooperative titles over land rather than private titles. People cannot afford taxes and such on their own. According to U-TT infrastructure is key. What is the use of a house anyway when you cannot reach it (easily)? What if all those new connections and architectural interventions actually happen in a poor neighborhood? The next phase could be that they all get incorporated into the system. That will lead to property deeds, taxing and people will need to pay for water, electricity etc. In the end, that will lead to debt, gentrification and displacement. Conclusion: the problem is the system itself. U-TT proposes to divide a slum hill into cooperatives. The government could grant communal leases instead of individual ones. Residents could take joint loans. This system can operate off the grid, but the government needs to give squatters legal right to the land. The advantage is that this system sidesteps the gentrification problem and rewards pioneers who raised the land value. The cooperative structure will probably be more effective to upgrade in a more structured way.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

birdâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye view of the site

street between the former factory buildings

SESC FABRICA POMPEIA

What? Conversion of an old factory, destined for demolition, into a sports and leisure center for former workers in an ex-industrial area. Where?

São Paulo (Brazil)

When? opening of former factory-part in 1982, opening of sports center in 1986; still working very well today Why is it interesting? Lina Bo Bardi decided to preserve the existing factory buildings and materials in order to preserve the memory of the site. The new functions, however, are opposite to the memory. Instead of a place of work, it became a place of leisure. Lina Bo Bardi’s drawing of a chimney emitting flowers instead of smoke is a good representation of her idea. The SESC pays homage to ordinary people. In the neighborhood there existed already a couple of football teams, a theater group, boy scouts, a dancing group and more. Lina Bo Bardi said: “What we want is precisely to maintain and amplify what we’ve found here, nothing more.” This is the program she implemented in the former factory: ceramic, painting, carpentry, upholstery, etching and typography workshops; a photo laboratory; a theater; a bar and restaurant; changing rooms and dining area for workers; a library and video library; a temporary exhibition area; maintenance and administration facilities. On the site, where there was no factory or former industrial building, she designed two vertical towers, linked together by footbridges. These footbridges run over an existing rainwater channel that she converted into a solarium. The big tower contains a pool and four gyms, the smaller tower the rest of the program: vertical circulation and services. Crossing the footbridges to go back and forth between the gyms is mandatory. The towers are co-dependent.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

workshop spaces in former factory building

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

solarium and view on the sports towers linked by footbridges

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

a typical situation of hutong demolition

old photograph depicting life in the hutong

ANCIENT HUTONGS

What?

Traditional housing is threatened by modern development

Where?

mainly in Beijing (China)

When? First establishments date back to the Yuan dynasty (1206 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 1341), large-scale demolition since the mid 20th century Why is it interesting? The hutongs are the most representative part of ancient Chinese culture and identity. The narrow lanes and alleys have been part of Chinese cities, mainly in Beijing, since their foundation. Today, these historical areas are under imminent threat of modern city development. Hutongs are such a remarkable space that their spatial arrangement is a synonym to a way of life. The houses were not always in the best state, but beautiful courtyards with fishponds and flowerpots and collective spaces with trees full of birds and crickets were the real quality and treasure of the hutongs. Inhabitants shared the collective space in many ways. For example: neighbors cooked and ate together outside and children played everywhere. In todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s China, most people live in high-rise buildings without knowing anyone. In the hutongs, everyone looked after one another. Many Chinese are struggling to adapt to the lifestyle in modern buildings when they were used to the hutongs. Hutongs were a beacon of vibrant human life; the modern developments are often inhuman and cold. The Chinese government earns income by selling land in the city and construction companies earn a lot of money by investing in it and developing it. This is an important part of Chinaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s GDP. Chinese citizens of hutongs have little rights and possibilities to defend themselves and are often evicted on short notice. Recently, growing interest and criticism of heritage conservators and the international media are changing the situation. They are giving a voice to the inhabitants and paving the way for new development projects with respect for the heritage, local citizens and the common interest. However, there is no significant change yet and inhabitants are just wondering which part of the hutong will disappear next. They do not believe that their neighborhood can be saved or preserved. Wishing for a minimal compensation by the government is the best they can hope for right now.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Preservationists are thinking about how the hutongs can be saved. There is no use in building fake hutongs without actual historical value. Improving the living conditions of the hutong-residents is an important step in retaining the existing heritage and maintaining the old constructions. Because of poor education, people do not understand the importance of cultural protection. If they would, heritage protection would be a lot easier. Due to the overcrowding of the hutongs and bad financial situation of inhabitants, they simply cannot be concerned with the value of heritage. If they want to improve the heritage, the living standard of inhabitants has to be improved at the same time.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

hutong streetscape

construction of so-called heritage without historical value

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

new situation of the former hutong: â&#x20AC;&#x153;This was the hutong where I used to eat breakfastâ&#x20AC;?

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Orquideorama by plan-b architects

Biblioteca La Quintana by La Rotta Arquitectos

URBAN DESIGN IN MEDELLIN

What?

Exemplary city upgrading through urban design projects

Where?

Medellin (Colombia)

When? The reforms and urban design projects started around 2004, the approach has been continued until today Why is it interesting? During the early nineties Medellin was know as the murder capital of the world. Those were the heydays of Pablo Escobar and the drug cartels. This period, marked by crime and violence, segregated the city profoundly. However, Medellin has always been an entrepreneurial city with many industries and has been booming even during the most difficult times. An ambitious program of political reforms and urban design was started by the city officials, lead by mayor Sergio Fajardo (2004), to lower crime and build civic pride. Architecture has been the most visible tool to show the reforms to the citizens. In a fragmented society, fear destroys citizenship. People will try to save themselves and collective space is neglected. Fajardo wanted to reconnect these segregated city pieces. In order to achieve this, Fajardo wanted public spaces that represent opportunities based on education, science, technology, innovation, entrepreneurship and culture. In these urban design projects, often referred to as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;social urbanismâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;, many things need to happen at the same time. They have to be an integral part of the environment and represent the complexity of all the opportunities mentioned by Fajardo. The participatory factor, however, was the most important element. Communicating with local people who were going to use and benefit from the interventions is indispensible for the success for a project. The important conclusion that has to be taken form the development in Medellin is not on an architectural level, but on the level of politicians and stakeholders. Architecture has been, and until today is, the output of a new and exciting network of decision makers, entrepreneurs and community representatives.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

Fidel Castro and Che Guevara are playing golf on the soon-to-be Art School grounds

the School of Modern Dance during renovation

THE NATIONAL ART SCHOOLS OF CUBA

I want to conclude the Book of References with an amazing project: the National Art Schools of Cuba. I am delighted I had the opportunity to visit this captivating site during my Cuban research adventure. Rarely has a place left such a profound impression on me than this one. Shortly after the rise of Fidel Castro, he commissioned this project as the transformation of a former country club into what was supposed to be – as quoted by Fidel Castro – “the most beautiful academy of arts in the world”. Phrased differently: a capitalist beacon of richness will become an educational instance, freely accessible to the entire nation. The school is a perfect representation of the utopian vision of the Cuban Revolution: after the energetic and visionary momentum that Castro and co built up at first, the situation started to go downhill and ideals made place for reality. The schools were never even finished. Architects Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti and Roberto Gottardi designed the Schools while keeping three basic rules in mind: integration into the landscape, using locally-produced bricks and tiles as principal materials and using the Catalan Vault as the main architectural design element. During the construction, they were accused of capitalist and elitist ideals. They were forced to leave the island. At the beginning of this century the Schools came back to international – and thus Fidel Castro’s – attention. It became a national objective to restore and complete Castro’s former dream scenario. The architects were invited back to Cuba and the restoration and completion happened. Today, the campus is breathtaking. Being able to watch people study and practice arts in this environment is fantastic. Walking under the winding vaulted brick corridors, entering the carefully designed ateliers, taking in the unique composition of architectural elements, watching a sculptor work on his project in a dome, while hearing someone practicing serenade in the distance, experiencing the presence of the grandiose Cuban flora… this place is truly amazing.

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

corridor

open space

atelier inside a dome

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

entrance

FIGURE LIST

p. 6 pictures taken from http://www.domusweb.it/en/architecture/2011/11/24/welcome-tothe-country-club.html p. 8 picture taken from http://www.transfer-arch.com/reference/previ-lima-1969/ p. 8 picture by Nicolas Hunkeler, taken from http://www.transfer-arch.com/reference/previ-lima-1969/ p. 10 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 11 stills taken from https://vimeo.com/163519064 p. 12 pictures taken from http://www.elementalchile.cl/en/projects/quinta-monroy/ p. 14 pictures taken from http://u-tt.com/ p. 16 picture above from http://vejasp.abril.com.br/estabelecimento/sesc-pompeia/ p. 16 picture under from http://linabobarditogether.com/2012/08/03/the-making-of-sescpompeia-by-marcelo-ferraz/ p. 18 picture from https://www.pinterest.com/laurabacete/rehab-20/ p. 19 picture from http://linabobarditogether.com/2012/08/03/the-making-of-sesc-pompeiaby-marcelo-ferraz/ p. 24 pictures taken from https://architizer.com/blog/medellin-cultural/ p. 20, 22 -23 stills taken from https://vimeo.com/33626781 p. 26 picture above by Alberto Korda taken from http://www.archdaily.com/427268/ad-classics-the-national-art-schools-of-cuba-ricardo-porro-vittorio-garatti-robert-gattardi p. 26 picture under by Adrian Mallol I Moretti taken from http://www.archdaily.com/427268/ ad-classics-the-national-art-schools-of-cuba-ricardo-porro-vittorio-garatti-robert-gattardi

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

p. 28 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; 33 pictures by Aaron Swartjes

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BRILLEMBOURGH, A., FEIREISS, K. & KLUMPNER, H. (2005): “Informal City: Caracas Case”, Prestel. ISBN 3-7913-3391-7 DE OLIVEIRA, O. (2014): “Lina Bo Bardi: Built work”, GG. ISBN 978-85-659885-47-5 FERRAZ, M.: “The Making of SESC Pompeia” (article for Lina Bo Bardi: together) http://linabobarditogether.com/2012/08/03/the-making-of-sesc-pompeia-by-marcelo-ferraz/ KESSEL, J. (producer) (2012): “The Fate of Old Beijing: The Vanishing Hutongs” (documentary) https://vimeo.com/33626781 LLUIS MATEO, J.; RAMIS, T., BAUMGARTNER, M. “PREVI Lima 1969 Experimental Housing Project Revisited” http://www.transfer-arch.com/reference/previ-lima-1969/ MERIN, G. (2013): “AD Classics: The National Art Schools of Cuba / Ricardo Porro, Vittorio Garatti, Roberto Gottardi” http://www.archdaily.com/427268/ad-classics-the-national-art-schools-of-cuba-ricardo-porro-vittorio-garatti-robert-gattardi MCGUIRK, J. (2014): “Radical Cities: Across Latin America in Search of a New Architecture”, Verso. ISBN-13: 978-1-78168-280-7

Aaron Swartjes - Book of Inspirations

NOTES

BOOK OF REFERENCES 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