Portfolio
architecture + urban research & design ANDREA OYUELA B. Arch - MSc - 2016
Contents
MSc thesis urbanism The Old Penitentiary Toncontin Airport Public Transport Terminal Maritime Promenade
architecture Low-Income Housing Cultural Park Artist Gallery & Studio Children Events Restaurant-School
others Mock-ups 3D Modelling Photography
MSc Thesis
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Keywords: sustainable development, urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA), bottom-up development, empowerment, & collaboration
Summary. Global changes of the last century on social and economical aspects have produced the phenomenon labeled as the ‘urban explosion’, which has particularly aected cities of the Global South. The capital of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, is also part of the rapid urbanization process. From the 1950’s decade onwards, the Honduran metropolis has increased its population to 1.2 million inhabitants due to a continuous rural-urban migration, driven by the people’s needs for better employment opportunities and the promise of an improved quality of life in urban areas. However, the city’s planning system has not been able to cope with the increasing demands, resulting in the urbanization of poverty conditions in the area. Today, an estimated half of the population lives in vulnerable settlements, with limited access to basic services and exposed to risk from natural hazards. Moreover, the city is an urban area characterized by social inequality and a predominant informal economy guided by the urban poor, adding to issues such as health, mobility, education, insecurity, and environmental degradation. Under this context, Tegucigalpa’s future is dependent on a shift towards more sustainable development, although the planning scene has not presented the conditions for this scenario as it continues to be framed by inexible top-down approaches that do not respond to the changing urban conditions.
The theme of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) comes into this setting with its characterization in the literature as a medium that aids the transition into more collaborative forms of city making in cases across the Globe. Still, uncertainty remains whether it might represent a solution to the urban problematic in Tegucigalpa, since its possibilities have not yet been reviewed for this context. Hence, the study aims at exploring the potential of UPA’s application in Tegucigalpa, as a contributor for progressing into a collaborative planning system, while working under sustainability principles. In order to achieve the academic objectives, a qualitative approach was applied in the research process. A literature review, interviews, and site visits took place for the production of information related to UPA and urban development. To illustrate the UPA movement in the city, ďŹ ve formal case studies were further studied, along with a small set of ďŹ ndings regarding informal practices. With the analysis, identiďŹ cation of the opportunities for integration of UPA, its eects, and the limitations of its implementation in Tegucigalpa was exercised to understand the potential of the practice.
Research findings demonstrate how UPA in Tegucigalpa is a mechanism for the most vulnerable groups to improve their household and community conditions. The major contributions of UPA are observed in the people’s nutritional intake, skillbuilding, financial savings, and social cohesion, among others. Likewise, UPA is a medium for the development of human capital with the training of target groups, an action that will benefit the city’s society on the long-term. On the other hand, there is willingness from ‘top-downers’ to support such programs, even though this has generated a level of dependence to their resources.
Yet, there is limited availability of resources and inputs in the area, and under poor conditions, for the application of UPA projects. Moreover, knowledge and diffusion of UPA practices has presented itself as the most critical foundation for the development of a food movement that remains doubtful in the capital’s setting. Therefore, planners and developers of Tegucigalpa might face the challenge of managing such aspects, taking into consideration that UPA’s social assets could compensate for the unfavorable access to resources in the city and would serve for the empowerment of the urban population.
01
The Old Peniten ary
Degree Project Supervisor: Edgardo Derbes Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Urban revitalization The Old Peniten ary in the historic district was emp ed in 1998 due to the ooding caused by Hurricane Mitch. Many years later, the peniten ary is s ll abandoned and its historic buildings are deteriora ng, represen ng a loss for the architectural and poli cal history of the country. The area is in need of an arts and recrea on center, accompanied by public space in which local ar sts and the student popula on can develop theirs skills and spend their free me; ac vi es currently threatened by the increasing crime rate in the area. Current state
In order to achieve this idea, a new organiza on of the current users and the public transporta on system was designed to assure the site’s new capacity. Measures were taken to protect the buildings from the river. Three intersected geodesic domes were also proposed as a protec ve and visually appealing structure for the ruins inside the peniten ary.
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Transporta on & entrance Exis ng buildings Mul -func on area Recrea onal area
Section
Vegetation
Vehicle circuit
Pedestrian path
02 Toncon
n Airport
Academic Proposal 2012 Tutor: Lisandro Calderón Tegucigalpa, Honduras Collaborators: Armando Rodríguez, Claudia Paguaga, Jessica Barahona, Johana Kafie, Melissa Rosales
Reurbanization
Transporta on
Vegeta on
Landscape
Services
Due to the dangers the Toncon n Airport of Tegucigalpa brings to its surroundings because of its loca on and infrastructure, we chose to imagine what would happen to the site and its surroundings if the airport was relocated. The airport’s prescence causes economic and urban growth of the city’s South. Subs tu ng this infrastructure would mean to replace it with an equivalent or be er employment source. In addi on, other benefits must be provided to the nearby popula on based on their current recrea onal and cultural needs, considering there is lack of these areas in the city. Reserve areas
According to our preliminary study of the airport area, Toncon n’s prescence does not fully beneďŹ t the city, and its nega ve eects can be seen on the life quality of the people, environment, and urban landscape. Therefore, the reurbaniza on proposal stands on three essen al pilars of urban planning: social, economic, and ecological aspects.
Height & shadow rehearsals for built areas
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Terrace park Sports center Commercial area Business center Arts & culture center Recrea onal areas
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03
Public Transport Terminal
Academic Proposal 2011 Tutor: IvĂĄn Vladimir Cruz Tegucigalpa, Honduras Collaborators: Claudia Paguaga & Johana KaďŹ e
Urban reorganization Through urban analysis of a problema c area within the city, we were able to determine the best use for unoccupied space based on the surrounding popula on’s needs. A small public transporta on terminal was evaluated, so it would serve the university’s students, local residents, and workers of a nearby factory. With this loca on, primary and secondary routes of the city’s transporta on system will be connected providing a be er service to ci zens. The site’s conceptual design was mainly determined by its access solu The site’s conceptual design was mainly determined by its access soluon. Being a preliminary study, budget was also a factor to determine the terminal’s op ons and reach to the public, showing to future investors the magnitude and outcomes of execu ng such project. One final concern, was giving back to the public affected by the proposal by genera ng green areas and parking space for residents in the area.
04
Mari me Promenade
Academic Proposal 2011 Tutor: Edgardo Derbes RoatĂĄn, Honduras Collaborators: Armando RodrĂguez & Melissa Rosales
West Bay Beach
The West Bay town on the eastern coast of the island of Roatån has great poten al for eco-tourism due to its surrounding mountains and proximity to the reef protec on area. However, the town has not been able to thrive because of the lack of proper infrastructure and its small capacity for receiving tourists. The consequences of this are the deteriora on of the coral reef, poor water management and risk mi ga on for the town and its surroundings, and closing businesses because of the inappropiate urban development of West Bay. As a contribu on to this community, we designed a part of the town’s beach area to show its inhabitants the possibli es for tourism growth and the town’s prosperity.
The proposal includes shopping and service areas accompanied by beach plazas, serving for business renewal and tourism a rac on. A watefront promenade was added as a protec ve measure against the de and for aqua c transporta on, resul ng in a boardwalk that connected both beaches on either side of the peninsula.
05
Low-Income Housing
Academic Proposal 2012 Tutor: Joaquín Velásquez Tegucigalpa, Honduras Collaborator: Andrea Lupiac
Development Opportunity As architects we must think on our contribu on to society’s well-being with our professional skills. With this in mind, we developed a low-income housing project that consisted in a house design and its budget, with the applica on of a new building technique that would lower construc on costs. Based on local brick wall construc on systems, we were able to adapt the exis ng BENO panel system to handmade clay bricks produced locally and later assembled with concrete, producing an easily constructed wall and roof panel that does not require specialized training. The result was a low-income house design within a 40 m2 limit, oering all the spaces needed for our single mothers and children demographics, with a cost of $10,389.74 per unit of housing.
06
Cultural Park
Academic Proposal 2012 Tutor: Lisandro Calder贸n Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Filling urban gaps
Today, Tegucigalpa lacks cultural space for staging, prac cing, and learning the ar s c disciplines, along with recrea onal areas. A er a site scou ng throughout the city, this loca on was determined for being an empty and extensive area with good access. A cultural park was designed for an area of 23,200 m2 that would include spaces for theater, visual arts, public spaces, service areas, and a public library. The design is based on three concepts: distribu on according to topography and target, green architecture, and op miza on of open space for recrea onal purposes.
Emphasis is on the main building: the Learning and Exhibi on Center, seeking an op mal condi on for a learning space. Placed on one of the site’s highest loca ons, it oers great views for inspira on of the students, also se ng it apart from more crowded areas. Small buildings and rooms are connected through a central pa o, making ligh ng and energy more eďŹƒcient for this case. There is a characteris c use of bamboo structures as a renewable source for the building method.
Shadow & texture play
07
Ar st Gallery & Studio
Academic Proposal 2009 Tutor: Celia Avendano-Gu ĂŠrrez Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Surroundings & design
A small workshop and gallery was designed for an ar st to enhance the importance of surroundings to architectural design. The studio is accompanied by a temporary residence inside made for long working nights. The site selec on aimed at finding an inspiring place for the ar st, searching for a loca on where the project would be oriented to have a great view and ilumina on. Taking into considera on the site’s topography, the result was a dynamic house with big windows placed to offer the right views of the landscape in a mul -story project with a different use on each level. The three main areas were defined according to the ar st’s needs: a small gallery, workshop and apartment.
08 Children Events Academic Proposal 2009 Tutor: Celia Avendano-Gu ĂŠrrez Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Unique space
Designing a children’s space oers many possibilites as it lets use our imagina on. A childrens’ event center was designed with the goal of crea ng fun and interes ng spaces, with a dynamic space characterisc to make them mul -func onal. Site capacity and service spaces were also taken into considera on.
09
Restaurant-School Academic Proposal 2008 Tutor: Edgardo Derbes Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Functionality of space
A cooking school was designed, and a restaurant was integrated in order to complement the funconality and products of the former space. The main approach for the project was the interac on between func ons, simultaneously making the space visually appealing. The building was designed for wood a structure, given the opportunity to choose a construc on material to work with.
mock-ups
3D-modelling
photography
Thank you for your considera on.