Landslide Prevention And Mitigation (Thesis Research) by Luis A Serrano Quinones

Luis A. Serrano Quiñones ARAD 410 - 001 Prof. Dr. Lizamell Díaz Prof. Arch. Pedro Rosario

RESEARCH INFORMATION

PROPOSED PROGRAM

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

SITE ANALYSIS

SELECTED SITE

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United States Geologiocal Survey (USGS) Puerto Inca, Perú (2019) Photo by: EPOCH TV

Colombian Geologiocal Survey Orocovis, Puerto Rico (2015) Photo by: Discover Puerto Rico

Colombian Construction Specialist Engeneer Pablo Estrada Casas en Zancos, Puerto Rico (2021) USGS

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This phenomenon has been investigated and documented by many entities; however, this investigation initiated with information provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) which made an inventory of different factors. Also a study conducted in Costa Rica by the National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention was considered due to the similar characteristics made and identi ed in this analysis.1 Puerto Rico faces multiple threats such as: earthquakes, oods, atmospheric phenomena, etc. Whether the cause or effect of the aforementioned threats, landslides cause loss of property, goods, crops and, in the worst case, human lives. Geological movement is not strange in rainy seasons, it is reported that it negatively impacts the accessibility of developed rural sites and these are left without services and infrastructure. Given the geological, topographic and climatic characteristics; Puerto Rico has numerous areas vulnerable to landslides.

Heavy Precipitation

Informal Constructions

Earthquakes

Run-off’s

1 Monge Gerardo, Lidier Esquivel, Nuria Campos, Leonardo Mendoza… (n.d.) “Deslizamientos inundaciones Sismos” Comisión Nacional De Prevención De Riesgos Y Atención De Emergencias. https://www.cne.go.cr/reduccion_riesgo/informacion_educativa/recomentaciones_consejos/documentos/Folleto_Deslizamientos.pdf

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Landslides have always been a threat to Puerto Rico’s rural residents when climate conditions are not sunny. There has always been a preoccupation from many rural residents that “mountains will fall” on rainy days. Since 1959 the island has been of cially reporting and documenting landslides, all the towns have had at least one fatality reported ever since. 1 Looking around the time they started to report landslides; from the1940 to 1950

the number of dwellings went up a median of 21.4%.2 Comparing the 1950 Census to 1970’s, the number of free-standing dwellings in Rural Non-farm sectors went up by another 24.6%.3 Meaning that at least one-third of the island was already living in structures that were built informally. This is all coherent with the baby boomers’ generation as well (those born between 1947 and 1966). In the 1950s nativity rate started to drastically increase; a ccording to GFR Media “Boomers” account for 25.7% of the population.4

1 Pando M.A., Ruiz M.E., Larsen M.C. (2004) “Deslizamientos en Puerto Rico producidos por lluvias: Descripción General” Revista Internacional de Desastres Naturales, Accidentes e Infraestructura Civil, Vol.4 2 (1950) “Census of Housing: 1950” Bureau of the Census Library, United States Government Printing Of ce. Part 7 Alaska, Hawai, Puerto Rico, Virgind Islands of U.S. 3 (1970) “1970 Census of Population and Housing”, U.S. Department of Comerce, Bureau of the Census, Social and Economic Statistics Administration. https://censo.estadisticas.pr/sites/default/ les/Decenal/USCB_PopHousingPHC-1-240SMSAPonce_1970.pdf 4 An entity that studies audiences in Puerto Rico, reaching 2.1 million of adults https://www.gfrmedia.com/es/sobre-gfr/

During this period, it was common for children in Puerto Rico to only receive school education up to the third grade (8-9 years old), as a consequence a third of the population did not have a formal education. In 1990 Knomea documented that at least 80 thousand people over the age of 65 were illiterate, these are the elder adults that in the 1940-50s ware raising families and providing roofs for them.1 Them being illiterate was the number one barrier to understand different methods and process before constructing their homes and further letting their children build on the same land.

According to anthropologist Dr. Cotto (specialized in Urban and Political Sociology), a common dynamic that occurred was as families grew in these sub-urban areas, they would either expand or build a second home in the same land their elders owned. 2 This became a norm that families would stick together and help each other mostly economically because they would liberate their young adults from spending money on land and they would help them build the new structure.

1 Knoema the most comprehensive source of global decision-making data in the world. https://knoema.es/atlas/topics/Educaci%c3%b3n/Alfabetizaci%c3%b3n/Analfabetismo-en-adultos-mayores?baseRegion=PR 2 Cotto, L. 1990. “La ocupación De Tierras Como Lucha Social: Los Rescates De Terreno En Puerto Rico: 1968-1976” Revista De Ciencias Sociales, n.º 3-4 (enero):408-28. https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/rcs/article/ view/8583

Puerto Rico’s culture is heavily in uenced with farm working and the beauties of living in the mountains with fresh breeze. This was not only talked about, magazines showed that and many of the early local artists of the island express the romance for the land and the mountains. Andrés Jiménez (composer and singer of traditional Puertorican folk music born in 1947) says in his theme “Soy Jíbaro Puertorriquño” that he would proudly get up every morning to milk a cow for his coffee; then walk up a hill to retrieve crops which his family would use later for dinner.

Although it is not a common practice these days, there is a strong sentiment to this day towards that lifestyle. A study conducted by the Commission for the Cultural Development in 2015 found that 13.6% of the 800 puertorricans who participated relate the term “culture” with; roots, sow plants, agriculture, our past, folklore traditions, harvesting, “jibaro” folk music, and nature.1 This same study found that 42.9% of adults assist 4 to 8 occasions a year different festivals which are attended by local artesian, the popular food is the one harvested within the mountains and puertorican folk music is played.

1 Hernández Javier, Mareia Quintero, Juan Guillermo, Jessica Gaspar (2015) “Estudio sobre el ecosistema cultural de Puerto Rico” Comisión para el Desarrollo Cultural.

All of this represents that although it has been decades of changes, many puertoricans still resonate with the idea and contextualization of living in mountains. Even if public policies have steered the puertorican lifestyle to another direction and how commodities have changed for growing families, the perception that living in rural areas as bene cial is not out of touch with the island’s reality.

Two aspects will be taken into consideration when referring to landslides from an architectural stand; natural relations and anthropogenic relations. Both of these relationships will be discussed as before and after said event. Although there are not that many studies that address all the relations of this phenomenon before happening, there had already been key identi cations that are correlated to this problem. Before: In the natural spectrum, there can be events that provoke landslides like hurricanes, storms, and excessive precipitation which will saturate the soil (making it heavier) and gravity could complete the act. Extreme winds can partake as well if it is strong enough to knock down trees, it can result in dethatching the soil that the roots were holding. Earthquakes can also knock down trees, but the vibrations of the terrain can

be more dangerous when occurring because they can detach bigger rocks as well. Another factor that can naturally be related is the augmentation (or decrement) of waterways like lakes, rivers, beaches… resulting in either exposing soil layers or overtaking them and it will alter the slopes of the terrain. For the most part before the event; the relationship of species within these ecosystems is as nature intents. There are predators and preys, each of them has its own refugees depending on their abilities ( ying, climbing, running, etc.) and they nd ways to protect themselves with the means necessary using endemic verdure or hard materials. Natural selection is key when referring to who is prey and who is the predator. Some species are predators of plants, and others that are predators of other animals; this will dictate what species will be predominant

and sustainable in their cycle of life.1 The anthropogenic relationship in an area prone to landslides consists mainly of unmeasured interventions. Properties built on columns in steep terrain will likely debilitate the structural integrity of the natural slope. These properties tend to dump gray (or even black) waters onto the soil, creating a bigger run-off sedimentation effect. Septic tanks built on the crest of mountains will result in added weight that topsoil in slopes cannot always sustain.2 Excessive infrastructure in rural areas are triggered as well; when urban scattering is the norm, pole holes for lighting, pole holes for road railing, added loads when cars and trucks drive past, underground plumbing and electricity, and more so are a combination of debilitating the stability of a slope.3 Maintaining the anthropogenic view on

this; when urban scattering occurs, people want to accommodate the facilities provided in the city as much as possible without taking into consideration the different geographical and natural environmental factors. From an ecological standpoint; these result in heavily altering habitats and species suffer when the only option they have is either to adapt or migrate. These interactions for the endemic species result in an imbalance that will take time to rebalance itself over multiple life cycles of said species. Nature results being heavily biologically altered; the organization of the ecosystem is, affected. These include reorganization and loss of species and evolution or even loss of natural microecosystems. Although most studies are punctual when documenting a landslide; many species migrate around the perimeter

1 Khan Academy a 501©(3) nonpro t organization, Predatory & herbivory… https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/ ecology/community-ecosystem-ecology/a/predation-herbivory 2 lvarez, Y. & Lugo, R. (2018). Guia sobre deslizamientos de tierra para residentes de Puerto Rico. USGS, National Hazards Center & Universidad de Puerto Rico, Recinto de Mayaguez https://hazards.colorado.edu/uploads/documents/guia-de-deslizamientos.pdf 3 Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, Agencia Estatal para el Manejo de Emergencias y Desatres, Federal Emergency Management Agency (2002), Ocean Digital Film. Primera Edición, San Juan, P.R. (Pages 26-31)

due to the loss of their habitat, resulting in a shift of what would be the predominant species considering that they could migrate towards the predator’s territory of the predator might be the one migrating. Regarding the fauna, it usually creates a disturbance within the soil’s nutrients (if it were not a rocky terrain). Although loss vegetation would turn into compost, it would still take time for it to re-emerge and gain back its micro-ecosystem. This will also result in drastically change of temperature and wind-breaking towards the parts where the land may have not fallen; thus, impacting other neighbor species. ; after occurring, individuals on-site mainly suffer the loss of life and property. Rescuers will have to risks their lives to seek victims by removing dirt, rocks, and other debris on-site if climate conditions are favorable. If it rains or if there is an earthquake, the area could be

re-activated and cause more disturbances on-site and surrounding territories, meaning that search for victims is not viable. 4 This occurred after the 1985 Mameyes landslide in Ponce, Puerto Rico where rescuers had to stop the search for a good part of a day due to climate conditions. With a death toll of 130, Mameyes has the greatest deaths caused by a single slide in the history of North America.5 For individuals surrounding the area that were not directly affected, the aftermath takes a great toll. Many could be affected by dust and/or pollution by the loss of green lters causing respiratory problems. Infrastructure is greatly affected as well, loss of clean water, power, and other ground services may be interrupted inde nitely. Other natural implications that affect individuals are changes in water ow (this includes rivers, lakes, beaches, run-offs, and subterranean) and the quality of water as well. If the landslide occurs near a river,

4 (2020) A 35 años de Mameyes: un derrumbe que acrecentó el compromiso. Cruz Roja Americana Capítulo de Puerto Rico. https://www.redcross.org/local/puerto-rico/conocenos/noticias-y-eventos/comunicados-de-prensa/a-35-anos-de-mameyes--un-derrumbe-que-acrecento-el-compromiso.html 5 Schuster Robert, Lynn Highland (2001) “Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Landslides in the Western Hemisphere” United States Geological Survey https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0276/

lake, or other water resources, ooding could occur in areas that are prone to ooding or worse, ooding in areas where it is not common. Both ora and fauna (including humans) surrounding that are dependent on the water will be impacted depending on the type of disturbance and precipitation, which will dictate the sedimentation of the soil in contact with water.6

Many factors come into play when analyzing what goes on before and after a landslide, as humans we focus more on what was lost regarding human life and properties. However; wildlife is greatly affected before and after; more so than humans could be affected. The difference is that wildlife cannot be precisely accounted for what was lost unless ecologists have done studies prior in the area that is prone to landslides or an area that has happened before.

6 “Colegio de Ingenieros y Agrimensores de Puerto Rico, Agencia Estatal (page 41)”

The USGS identi ed that unmeasured rural development is a key factor to what can make an area more susceptible to a landslide. Unmeasured developments are tied with informal constructions, which according to Ing. Pablo Estrada is the constructions that do not comply with any building codes and are missing any type of licensed professional involved.1 Estrada identi es in his country (Colombia) that at least 60% of the population manages to “auto-construct” their homes without realizing the high risks they are assuming by sleeping in these structures. In a minimal way he is condemning those who do it, but at the same time he recognizes it is a bigger problem than just auto-construction.

Comparing it to Puerto Rico’s situations, Edwin Quiles mentioned recently that autoconstruction should not be frowned upon in the island given the recent events these past years.2 As an architect, he rethought how informal constructions are looked at “We are at a time when professions such as architecture have to review their scope, relevance and discipline” which is recognizing that many people either do not have the resources to do a formal construction, or simply ignore the correct process.3 The intention of the comments made is to promote possible services provided by the government at low cost so people who auto-construct build a digni ed structure. He also mentioned that the local

1 Construction Pathology Specialist - U.S.T.A. https://www.360enconcreto.com/blog/detalle/categoria/sostenibilidad/vivienda-informal-bogota 2 Architect and Urban Planner with Honor roles at Urban, Regional and National Planning from the London Architectural Association. 3 Vázquez López Giancarlo (2020) “Puerto Rico. Autoconstrucción y construcción informal” Resumen Latinoamericáno.

government directly demonizes these type of constructions and do not attend the problems in regions further from the capital (San Juan). Nonetheless of where they observe and criticize that these constructions occur, when referring to rural areas that are developed; people seek a certain lifestyle that draws away from excessive hardscape. Although cities are planned to provide most (if not all) the services needed in society; some civilians are not in sync with the high density that this comes along with. The environmental psychologist, Jonathan Freedman is a strong believer that there is a myth that cities are unhealthy and says that aside from the needed services provided in the city, humans are social creatures and not having direct contact with people or not being exposed to a murmuring mass can actually increase the chances of developing a mental illness.

“Hearing nothing can be equally stressful as hearing many sounds but it can actually cause a mental illness, even though they are usually inherited.” 4 He then reinforced it with an strati ed research he did which he concluded that people living in cities have more close encounters with friends than those not living in densi ed areas. Contrariwise; an online journal called Frontiers in Psychology has two publishes on how contact with nature reduces stress. Firstly; the analysis of 22 studies titled “Minimum Time Dose in Nature to Positively Impact the Mental Health of College-Aged Students, and How to Measure It: A Scoping Review”5 concluded that:

4 Freedman Jonathan (n.d.) “Urban Psychology: Cities are not as unhealthy as they are thought to be” 5 Frontiers in Psychology provides an outlet for researchers addressing many of the classical concerns of environmental psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/sections/environmental-psychology#about

Which brought me to another study also published by the same journal titled “Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers” which measured cortisol levels before and after a being exposed to nature; they saw a median drop of stress by 21.3%

with 20 minutes to 30 minutes of exposure.7 Although these studies are strati ed as well; they diminish the perspective that living in cities is far better than rural developments. Environmental stress is a big attributor of mental illness and it can dictate a person’s wellbeing. 8 Many people seeking this tranquility end up constructing informally (willingly or unwillingly) and these are the users whom are the target of this analysis.

6 Hunter, Gillespie, Yu-Pu Chen (2019) “Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers” Frontiers in Psychology. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00722/full?utm_source=fwebandutm_medium=nblogandutm_campaign=ba-sci-fpsyg-nature-pill 7 Hunter, Gillespie, Yu-Pu Chen (2019) “Urban Nature Experiences Reduce Stress in the Context of Daily Life Based on Salivary Biomarkers” 8 Bhandari Smitha (2020) “Causes of Mental Illness” WebMD https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-causes-mental illness#:~:text=The%20exact%20cause%20of%20most%20mental%20disorders%20is%20not%20known,environmental%20stress%2C%20might%20be%20involved.

Around the time (1940-1950s), an economical shift started to occur when the “Partido Popular Democrático” (PPD) won the colonial elections and started to legislate towards fast modern industrialization. The island’s economy was based on farm goods, mainly sugar cane production. Legislating indirectly against the agriculture sector meant that workers had to be laid off, thus less cash ow on the mountains of the island.1

Since farms were losing business due to the government not incentivizing them, downsizing became the norm and many farmworkers started to migrate. But, because housing in the center of towns was not an affordable option to many; they started to build on small sub-urban areas typically 3-5 miles away from the town’s heart. They would build on steep lands that were not desired by those who had buying power and given the shorten of cash ow, they would construct by the means they had.

1 Cotto, L. 1990. “La ocupación De Tierras Como Lucha Social: Los Rescates De Terreno En Puerto Rico: 1968-1976” Revista De Ciencias Sociales, n.º 3-4 (enero):408-28. https://revistas.upr.edu/index.php/rcs/article/view/8583

When looking closely into these areas; there are different factors and implementations which attributed to their actual development. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) created a program under the branch of Rural Development called Farmers Home Administration created to help dispense secured loans to farmers and rural communities fallowing The Great Depression. In order to qualify; one would need to have low but secure income and depending on the family size they approved the type of commodities the residence would have. Once plans were submitted to the agency, they had to be carried out as designed, the USDA would send out inspectors’ months after the loan was granted, if something was

not build according to plans the loan could be revoked and the property could be ceased. Other bene ts: they offered was up to 30% of coverage on the monthly payments of the mortgage, if the individual loss their main source of income they granted a period of time to repay the loan or extended the payment plan, they included closing costs, they did not give much value to credit scores, in general they were extremely exible.1 The program was rendered dysfunctional in the mid 1990’s because many barrowers could not repay the loans and many were well over 40 years of repayment. Another problem was that Loan Of cials were not complying with the requisites of this program; approving big loans to people who could not afford them.

1 U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers Home Administration. PA-476

In order to formally and legitimately build a house the user usually get a construction loan to which a licensed contractor has access to disbursement but the owner is accumulating interest rates. After the construction process is nished, the loan converts into a regular mortgage which has accumulated interest rates from the construction loan.1 All of this occurs if the lender has proof of plans drawn by an architect or engineer which represents additional costs in professional services prior to the loan being approved. Regarding to these professional services, more than half of the island’s population do not even seek for them because of the high costs.2 It results cheaper to autoconstruct with hard earned savings and personal loans; which banks do not question as much information or collateral because the norm is to repay them within 3 years. Another important factor is the median of income of most families in the island does not allow them to own homes because capital has gained priority over

affordable housing. Territorial Planner David Carrasquillo commented that:

Hence, auto-construction (informal construction) results as the only viable way most people in the working class can own their house and not pay rent. This comes along with young families whom wish to leave their children at least some assets after parents pass. Parents want what is best for their children and the same culture of letting them build on the family’s land, they want them to have some sort of back-up funds (either by selling or renting the vacant house) after passing.

1 Treece Kiah, Mike Cetera (2020) “Your Guide To Construction Loans” Forbes Advisor https://www.forbes.com/advisor/mortgages/construction-loans/ 2 Vázquez López Giancarlo (2020) “Puerto Rico. Autoconstrucción… 3 Vázquez López Giancarlo (2020) “Puerto Rico. Autoconstrucción…

When the catastrophe actually happens; landslide costs include both direct and indirect losses affecting private and public properties. Direct costs can be de ned as the costs of replacement, rebuilding, repair, or maintenance resulting from direct landslide-caused damage or destruction to property or installations.1 The most economically devastating event in the U.S. was triggered by the 1964 Alaska earthquake which resulted in $1.6 billion of damages

(direct and indirect). Another remarkable event that cost $200 million in direct costs was the 1984 Thistle landslide; later on $334 million were reported in indirect costs. All of these costs include common infrastructure (roads, power lines, plumbing sewers, bridges, telecommunication means, etc.), the means to mitigate and rehabilitate the affected area and general payroll to government assigned rescuers who risks their lives as well.

1 Schuster Robert, Lynn Highland (2001) “Socioeconomic and Environmental Impacts of Landslides in the Western Hemisphere” United States Geological Survey https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2001/ofr-01-0276/

Landslides are more common than one may think and they are an overlooked threat to people exposed in prone areas. It is not until they happen that residents in the affected communities become aware, yet it is too late. They cost too much as previously discussed; they damage or ruin ecosystems, they can cause serious injuries, fatalities, disrupt the local economy, property loss, and negatively impact life quality to those who suffer directly and indirectly. When factors like geographical traditions and cultural background are what dictate the way of living, judgement and reasoning may be clouded. Inserting to this economic factors that do not attend more than half of the population, it is not just a way of living; remedy, ingenuity, and wittiness are the adjectives that take action. Humanly one would try to seek for shelter by the means that are at hand and the perspective in that situation does not usually allow to analyze the risks to confront. Resulting in interventions that are unmeasured, improper, and life threatening; informal constructions are a problem to the user, the community, the state and mother nature. As a designer, my stand is that preventions is key and logically one may think to not develop these areas. In a perfect world of construction everything would be at with stable soil, but that is not the reality of Puerto Rico. Taking into consideration the indirect resistance of people not wanting to live in cities because they prefer (with valid reasons) to live closer to nature or simply away from all the “ruckus”, they should be attended and validated regardless their homes are formal constructions or auto-constructions. Observing all the data from other events in light of entities like the USGS, The American Association of Landscape Architects, and other studies combined; rural development can occur successfully while remaining culturally appropriate, safe to the user and most importantly accessible to the majority. Considering the needs; a is not only helpful towards those communities at risk; there is actual demand for them. Puerto Rico needs affordable housing options that are safe and accommodate the cultural practices in the island like: • harvesting their own greens • having the sense of intimacy with the user’s surroundings without the city “ruckus” • enjoying the pleasures of mother nature • the better sense of unity with your neighbors • developing events that embrace our culture

Alternative housing for low and moderate income individuals and families. The grants corresponding functions to the pertinent state agencies: establishes the parameters, the aims and the purposes for the development and operation of these cooperatives. Made for those with low incomes who do not qualify for a mortgage but because of the same income do not qualify for public housing.

COSSEC is a public agency that supervises and creates policies for all the Cooperative systems in the island, including housing programs like this one. Their goal is to make sure everthing is done towards the benne t of the commonwealth.

-Safe structure -Digni ed Home -Uni es Comunity -Rent Controlled -Affordable Mortgage

Considering that most informal constructions are related to costs, Goverment can see this as an opportunity to provide without loss.

Mainitaining the dynamic of street vendors to embrace the sence of “cominuty”.

Entities like: -Club 4H -PR Education Fundation -FUNDESCO

Coordinate comunit y ser vices, coordnate c u l t ur a l a c t i vi t i e s an d incentivize small buinesses.

Spacial design does not appear to be a priority, commonly these housing buildings segregate the living space from the common areas. They end up being one big tower or small towers that respond to the lot’s shape. As of 2015 there are only 15 cooperatives in the entire island, regardless there is far more demand for them.1

1 https://abayarderojo.org/2015/10/cooperativas-de-vivienda-amenazadas-por-intereses-privados/

Common grounds are justi cated to the left side of the tower. Accesibility is not ideal for those with units on the right side of the tower.

Although it seems fairly distributed compared to the pr evius t wo Coops, everyithing is still segregated by inmer se parking space.

People have to cross a 4 row parking lot to use the common areas and also having a huge parking lot as a “view“ sacri ces units experience (air quality and temperature to mention some).

All the 15 Housing Cooperatives in Puerto Rico have the same unfavorable characterictics which will also be taken into consideration.

Gym

Living Units

Comunal Hall

Comunal Garden

Tech

Comercial Space 15k sq.ft. (8 spaces) Comm. Garden 15k sq.ft. Recreational Areas 15k sq.ft.

3 Bed - 2 Bath 68k sq.ft. (90 units)

Gymnasium 10k sq.ft.

2 Bed - 2 Bath 77k sq.ft. (130 units)

Communal Hall 7k sq.ft. Tech-Center 4k sq.ft. Other Utilities 10k sq.ft.

A 75 kilometer-long park on the slopes of the Aburra Valley surrounding the city. The park aims to tackle sprawl and lessen natural disasters. Since the city is influenced by the Aburrá River and surrounding streams and mountains, it faces risks like landslides and ooding.

-Affordable Housing & Permanence -Risk Management -Food Security & Agriculture -Public Services by Demand -Job Opportunitties

Project was recognized by:

Santorini Cave Houses or yposkafa, which translates to “dug into a rock”, are underground buildings once used as homes, churches, canaves, and warehouses. They mitigated threats like extreme winds with curved edges in buildings and dome-like roo ng.

Extreme temperatures were controlled with dirt and lime as a wall termination, called Theriac. Underneath was volcanic rock (Pumice) which is air- lled and acts as insulation.

This Lanscape Proyect resolves an issue with the permafrost layer melting and creating uncontrolled run-offs in the town and also micro-landslides. This project studied the topography in site to identify run-offs and created

a grid accordingly. After the grid was established, identifying trees wth speci c characteristics were placed where runoffs would cross so trees would absorb water to avoid water-pools and erosion.

Considering the cause and effect of landslide, the concept was developed with a word map of adjectives that respond to possible solutions of the opposite of this phenomenon. Also taking into account the needs of the people living in risk zones, the conceptual development was intended to respond in junction with it as well. The process consists rstly of a word map (as mentioned), one dimensional sketches, and an object model which then led to de ning intervention strategies to better conjoin the physiological problem (landslides), the anthropological problem (safe housing) and the overall well-being of the ecosystem being intervened.

Decentralized Disperse

Distribute Shares

Spread

Unorganized Difuse

SCATTERED

Ocurring at intervals or various locations rather than centralized.

Distracted or disorganized person, thing or entity.

“The forecast presents scattered rain showers.”

“With so much to do; his brain must be scattered.”

Firm Tie

Steady Join

Attatchment

Glue Stability

ADHERENCE

Process of sticking on a

“The coat adheres with a velcro.”

surface. “Are you adhered to your Attattchment or commitment to a person or cause.

medication?”

#1 Drawing a triangle representing the negative of a slope with rectangles that would represent the interventions as needed when applied. #2 Adding color to the same lines,

the red would represent the negatives of a slope, the green would implement severe forestation to avoid slope failure, and the blue would be open space for common areas.

#3 De ning forms to materialize and start to give out a better “object oriented” de nition.

#4 Sorting out a perspective to materialize the conceptual object. #5 De ning a perspective with pieces of objects coming together. #6 Visualizing an object that would somehow adhere to the slope, yet represent a scattering sense that would be developed in a model object.

The model was elaborated with basswood, acrilic lm, and acrylic paint. It was built thinking that the lower the intervention, the more severe it would be and the higher it would be, less severe. If inverted and if it were to happen that higher areas shall be

more dense, the size of them shall be smaller. The focus of this model is to show that although the rectangles are not the same size and density, they remain adhered regardless of their position.

To maintain the integrity and stability of the slope to be intervened, the structural loads cannot be concentrated in parallel to said slope; so they shall be distributed and deconcentrated accordingly.

The structure shall be visually (and physically) glued to its context. Stabilization of the slope is the main focus yet artistically the goal is to maintain a visual relation and a visual gain from the proposal.

The use of Geo-Textiles in areas where it is necesary to control soil erosio and sedimentantation whe it rains. It would also be implemented in some areas where traditional materials are not permeable, such as a parking lot.

In the same way that the footprint of the buildings will be scattered; their heights in relation to the slope will also be distributed in such way. Resulting in dynamic terraces and patios that will also be an advatage for the mountainviews.

It is the combination of heavy rains, informal constructions and extremely steep slopes where this phenomenon occurs. Given these facts; the anlyzed data to determine a possible intervention site will be towns with the previos common factors.

All of the 3 towns comply with the site criteria to be analyzed. Utuado has the most square miles at risk. Adjuntas has the highest annual precipitation recorded in the entire island.

U A B

Barranquitas is one of the most diversed on topographic qualities and charatectistics.

Key Map

Travel time from highway (PR-52) to the site is aproximatly 50 mins.

“Río Viví” Run-off’s are analyzed based on the articulations of the topography. “Río viví” is a popular destination for its exposed volcanic grey rocks. Photo by:

#4 #1 Volume needed in place. #2 Vertically scatter the volume. #3 Disrupt intersections. #4 Stagger the intersections. #5 Visually Adhere the volume.

Visually Adhered

Living Units Comercial Space Comm. Garden Recreational Areas Gymnasium Communal Hall Tech-Cente

Key Map

Travel time from highway (PR-52) to the site is aproximatly 35 mins.

NORTH

“Las Garzas” Lake

Photo via: adjuntaspr.com

#4 #1 Volume needed in place. #2 Vertically scatter the volume. #3 Disrupt intersections. #4 Stagger the intersections. #5 Visually Adhere the volume.

Visually Adhered

Living Units Comercial Space Comm. Garden Recreational Areas Gymnasium Communal Hall Tech-Cente

Key Map

NORTH

“San Cristobal” Cañon

Barranquitas River

Photos via: callejeandopr.com

#4 #1 Volume needed in place. #2 Vertically scatter the volume. #3 Disrupt intersections. #4 Stagger the intersections. #5 Visually Adhere the volume.

Visually Adhered

Living Units Comercial Space Comm. Garden Recreational Areas Gymnasium Communal Hall Tech-Cente

Out of the 3 sites, Utuado is the town with the biggest risk per-square mile (and also in the entire Island). There are signi cantly more families at risk in this area; El Guano makes a perfect candidate for a Housing Cooperative which will attend the needs of the community and mainly prevent a landslide. This site also presents 2 risk zones because the slopes that could fail are on opposite sides of the site whereas the other 2 sites only have one risk zone. The other sites carry the advantage of being closer to the town’s heart, where services and other amenities are not on a high demand compared to the steep terrains of El Guano.

S EC A

S EC B

S EC C

RI SK Z ON E

S EC A

S EC B

S EC C

RI SK Z ON E

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