Aziz Bahou Selected Works 2017
Academic Work Semipermanence ActiveLink/ PassiveAggregate Uberbia Formal Adaptation
Thesis Project Comprehensive Building Urban Formal
7 23 37 53
Suspension Joinery Artifact
69 73 75
Artifacts + Installations Black Cloud Japanese Joinery Portable Urbanism
Academic Work
Semipermanence
A case for an incremental design of refugee camps
Thesis Project, Fall 2016 Advisor: Michael Piper Rhino | Revit | SketchUp | Grasshopper | V-Ray | Photoshop | Illustrator | Google Earth
The world is currently experiencing the highest levels of displacement on record, with 21.3 million refugees. The alarming increase of refugees in the last five years demands an investigation of the urban and spatial status of refugee camps. Modern refugee camps exist for an average of 17 years, but most of them are now permanent cities, which call into question the notion of them being “temporary settlements”. The quick-relief, militaristic and temporary approaches in designing refugee camps fail in addressing the complexities of the rapidly developing ‘city’. Their treatment as isolated islands in a contextual vacuum fails to acknowledge the rich urban and architectural qualities they possess. This thesis project proposes an integrative and a strategized framework in designing a refugee camp in the Middle East based on three scales ranging from the architectural to the urban. The project attempts to design for permanence without the use of permanent actions. The project was structured into three sections: 1) Theoretical Framework: refugee camps as an urban and an architectural project 2) Analysis: planning, site, common space, evolution and morphology of existing refugee camps 3) Design: proposal based on 3 scales and 4 phases
1 Theoretical Framework
The refugee camp was looked at as an urban transformer and as a place of control and exchange to establish a theoretical framework that would frame whether the refugee camp is relevant from an architectural and an urban point of view. An essay of the same title written by myself in spring of 2016 touches on these topics in detail and concludes by establishing that refugee camps: 1) are efficient and effective as an immediate settlement response but have limited and poor long term strategy, 2) have urban and architectural identity resulting from differences and specificities in their evolution and development, and 3) can be described as the “ground zero� of the profession since they emerged from conditions of tension, conflict and contextual vacuum. Poor Long Term Strategy
Difference and Specificity breeds Identity
Ground Zero
+ A mosaic of all the refugee camps analysed and studied from a contextual, site, planning, block structure and integration point-of-view to understand their structure, successes and failures
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2 Analysis
+ Refugee camps younger than 25 years From left to right (age, population) : Yayladagi Refugee Camp (3-6 yrs, 2.97K), Karkamis Refugee Camp (3-6 yrs, 7.10K), Kilis Refugee Camp (3-6 yrs, 13.42K), Ceyianpilnar Refugee Camp (3-6 yrs, 21.40K), Al-Zaatari Refugee Camp (5 yrs, 79.9K), Gihembe Refugee Camp (20 yrs, 19.05K), Hagadera Refugee Camp (24 yrs, 106K)
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+ Refugee camps older than 50 years From left to right (age, population): Shatila (68 yrs, 10-22K), Bourj el-Barajneh (69 yrs, 17.95K), Bourj el-Shemali (62 yrs, 22.79K), Amman New Camp-Wihdat (62 yrs, 51.50K), Marka (49 yrs, 53K), Baqa’a (49 yrs, 104K), Rafah (68 yrs, 104K)
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3 Design
The proposed design is catered towards the Syrian refugee situation. A number of sites in Jordan and Turkey (top 2 host countries for Syrian refugees) were considered and the chosen site is situated in northern Jordan close to the city of Al-Mafraq. Al-Mafraq is located 80 km to the north of the capital Amman and 16 km south of the Jordanian-Syrian border. It has an approximate population of 60,000 people. The site was chosen in close proximity to a city to anticipate integration in case the camp became a permanent settlement. The design is based on 4 phases and 3 scales. The phases are utilized in the design as thematic and time-related indications of the level of permanence of the design. The phases in chronological order are emergency response, resistance + interface, exchange + shared space and integration + tactical intervention. The different scales are designed according to a specific level of resolution that facilitate the possible integration with the host city. The scales in order of size are domestic wall, common wall and city wall.
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The site was located in an empty lot north of Al Mafraq city, and takes advantage of the existing infrastructure (highways and train track) in the form of a “natural� border. The initial camp configuration houses 20,000 refugees and grows at a 3% annual population increase (according to UNHCR guidelines). The planning of the camp is set-up in a way that anticipates permanence by orienting the main/commercial strip of the camp to intercept with its counterpart of the host city. The camp evolves throughout the 4 phases by infiltrating the host city and by accepting the infiltration of the host urban syntax.
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Starting from the temporary tent and ending with a permanent 2 story apartment building, the domestic dwellings of the camp evolve in both form and permanence. The tents at the beginning are arranged in a way that anticipates the long term possible permanence of the camp. Following the installation of the prefabricated units (caravans), every 4 ‘lots’ will share a core that house plumbing, washrooms, electricity and vertical circulation, in addition to an implied structural grid. The core provides the refugees with the necessary elements needed to construct their individual dwellings and give them the possibility to grow vertically. The typology of the insinuated dwelling takes cues from the existing context of the host community and from the cultural background of the refugees.
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+ Residential block evolution
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“A fundamental question surfaces: if it is possible to conceive of a political collectivity beyond the idea of a state, then, from a spatial perspective, in which way is the common different from the public? The idea of common land in our context is a set of relations between people and things—organized by the principle of equality—that is not mediated by he state [...] The camps are UN administrated areas carved out from state sovereignty (there is no private property in refugee camps) and the demolished villages of 1948 are suspended spaces, existing in the form of “absentee properties” managed temporarily by the state. After 60 years the memory of a single house is now equally shared by hundreds of families. In the camp the common is the shared history of displacement and the absence of private property. In this respect thinking the revolution as return is thinking a revolution in relation to property.” Eyal Weizman
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ActiveLink/ PassiveAggregate Comprehensive Building Design Design Studio, Winter 2015 Coordinator: Maria DeNegri In Collaboration with: David Di Giuseppe Rhino | Revit | Grasshopper | V-Ray | Photoshop | Illustrator | Model: Laser Cutter
There is a void in the fabric of the Lawrence-heights neighbourhood in Toronto. The void was created with the construction of the Allen Expressway over forty years ago. This void creates both a spatial and social divide between the Lawrence Heights community and its surroundings. The lack of connectivity constantly undermines the successes of the local community. The current development proposal, with its large yet spatially divided park further exemplifies the constant difficulties which the void causes to redevelopment. There is a great need for increased community programs and an identifying nucleus in the neighbourhood. It is a priority then, that the proposed community arts-bridge not only re-connects the LawrenceHeights neighbourhood spatially, but reinforces the community link across the Allen road and embraces the identifying dichotomy of a split-yet-together community. The proposal attempts to remedy both the spatial and social gulf by creating an infrastructural link between the neighbourhood’s opposing sides. This infrastructural link takes the form of a community center landform-bridge which unites arts-exhibition, arts production, and social/commercial innovation. This artsbridge enables the continuity of both parkland and community across the Allen Expressway void while finally creating a unified nucleus both spatially and socially in the Lawrence-Heights neighbourhood.
Approaching the Building
1:250 Model 24
Access Diagram and Formal Operations
Site Plan
Program Diagram 25
Landform Roof
Section | Through performance spaces 26
Ground Floor Plan + Long Section A 27
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Series of Short Sections + Second Floor Plan + Long Section B 29
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Summer Condition
Spring/Fall Condition
Winter Condition Outdoor Design Temperature -18oC
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Sectional Perspective | Bridge
South Facade | Perforated Metal Skin
Bridge Detail
a
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200mm Bio-planting medium Bio filter fabric - end lap adhered to parapet Bio rootstop root barrier 50mm Bio-retention panel
b
300mm Polystyrene rigid insulation Vapour retarder Air barrier 100mm Concrete on 38mm Corrugated metal deck
c
8mm Perforated, faceted and triangulated metal scrim 200mm Air layer 8mm Equitone fibre cement panels (1200x2400 mm) 50mm Air layer Channel 150mm Polystyrene rigid insulation Metal plate 150mm Polystyrene rigid insulation
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8mm Perforated, faceted a 200mm Air layer 8mm Equitone fibre cemen 50mm Air layer Channel 150mm Polystyrene rigid in 10mm Sheathing 150mm Steel-Stud (w/ 140 12mm fire-resistant gypsum
and triangulated metal scrim
nt panels (1200x2400 mm)
nsulation
0mm service cavity) m board
Air barrier Vapour barrier
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33mm Engineered hardwood flooring 3.5mm Acoustical underlay 150mm Concrete on 51mm Corrugated Metal Deck
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Air barrier Vapour retarder Z-channel 200mm Spray foam insulation 50mm Air layer 8mm Equitone fibre cement panels (1200x2400 mm) 200mm Air layer 8mm Perforated, faceted and triangulated metal scrim
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Paver edge aluminum strip Vegetation-free zone, precast concrete paver Bio-paver WUC
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Bridge Detail Model
Bridge Detail Model | Green Roof + Structure 35
Bridge Detail Model | Skin + Envelope
Center of Innovation Interior | Meandering Ramps
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Uberbia Option Studio Design Studio, Winter 2016 Coordinator: Michael Piper Rhino | V-Ray | Photoshop | Illustrator | Google SketchUp Pro | Google Earth Pro
Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) - such as Uber or Lyft - commonly serve single passengers, essentially the same as a taxi, however there are new developments - such as networked car pooling, shuttles buses, or commuter vans - that use online platforms to coordinate transportation for multiple passengers. These services are just starting out, but in the future, if multi-passenger TNC services become more ubiquitous as a mode of transit, they raise questions and suggest opportunities for how public spaces could be used and occupied. Where might such “hotspots,” be? Could such locations also serve as places for public gathering in parts of the city where they are lacking? What will be done with parking lots once this system reduces their need? And how would suburban infrastructure - currently designed for personal car use - be adapted to address these questions and provide public space to accommodate this particular form of pedestrian and transit activity? This studio speculates on new forms of public space at suburban sites, that would serve as nodes, or “hotspots,” in a transportation network system of multi-passenger vehicles. In designing new civic nodes for this system, this studio is testing out formal techniques of aggregation as a means to produce density in spread out suburban areas. The intervention presented below is proposed in the neighborhood of Malvern in Toronto. It appropriates Malvern Town Center and use it as a centerpiece for the civic hubs “hotspots“ for future TNC services. The proposal investigates the addition of 4 additions to the mall that act as “hotspot” / civic nodes to the area. The articulation of such nodes varies from adding parking structures as beacons to adding a market-like, human scaled objects under large canopies. The decisions related to their articulation are based on their surrounding context, their relation to the mall and their location in the grander scheme of public transportation in the city.
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Densify | Low density infiltration
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Desnify | Medium + high density infiltration
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Form | Mall as central object
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Uber Hop Centers | Connect mall to street
Form | Disruption in the mundane
Form + Program | Address edges and apply diversity
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Ground Floor Plan 43
Uber Pick-up & Drop-off Typology
1 Low density residential Density Frequency Queue Possibility
2 Medium + high density mixed-use Density Frequency Queue Possibility
3 Public space + transit hub Density Frequency Queue Possibility 44
Overall Axonometric 45
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Detail Axonometric | Uber Hop Station + Courtyard Building I 47
View | Looking North
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Detail Axonometric | Uber Hop Station + Courtyard Building II 49
View | Underneath Canopy
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Detail Axonometric | Uber Hop Station + Courtyard Building III 51
View | Looking East
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Formal Adaptation Option Studio Design Studio, Fall 2015 Coordinator: Stefano Pujatti Revit | Rhino | Grasshopper | V-Ray | Photoshop | Illustrator | Model: Laser Cutter
This studio focused on the very simple/sophisticated relation between water and building. Water was considered as problem and allied number one of the design; it was used as an instrument for the setting of the project at the urban scale as well as the medium that informs the construction elements and defines the detailing of the building. The site is located at the Toronto waterfront adjacent to the Parliament Street slip. The proposed project deals with pre-proposed development projects of a series of condominium and an extension of the lake’s boardwalk to the east. The project is to house 100 residential units and an activated ground level that house commercial and possibly civic programs. The proposal uses the location of the site next to a lake slip to it’s advantage and creates a focal point that addresses the boardwalk and allows it to merge with the building’s ground level and continue east. The form of the building was shaped to navigate the context around it and to assure the best quality of views and sunlight for all of its units. The parti of the form is a solid volume (condominium) at the top and platforms (recreational/commercial) at the bottom. The unit layouts take advantage of the form to create unprecedented physical and visual connections with the water.
Top: Figure Ground of the Toronto Waterfront | Bottom: Boardwalk View of the Proposal Looking East 54
Site Plan
Concept Collage | Habitat under a condo 55
Concept Diagrams
Top: Ground Floor Level | Bottom: North-West Axonometric 56
1 Bedroom | 69 m2
North Elevation 57
2 Bedroom | 93 m2
2 Bedroom | 112 m2
3 Bedroom | 169 m2
South Elevation 58
Level 4 59
Level 5
Level 6 60
Formal Adapting Units 61
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Inclined Openings in Special Condos
Transverse Section 1 | Special Units (Condo) + Meandering Ramp (Civic Platforms) 63
Meandering Ramp in the Civic Platform
Transverse Section 2 64
Physical Model Study I
Physical Model Study II 65
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Artifacts + Installations
Black Cloud 2015
Exterior | Before the Start Event 69
In summer 2015 I designed this installation to be part of RAW Design’s annual party entitled “Canvas“. Most of the participants painted on the walls of the rented out space and I noticed that most of the work was two dimensional. Moreover, all the murals were painted next to each other, which made the space chaotic. My idea was to create a three-dimensional and a completely different environment inside that space to contrast what’s going on around it. The cloud would be suspended and made out of canvas. The 44-foot canvas was painted white on one side and a regular-fluorescent pattern on the other. The resulting form has two differently sized spaces and is lit using a black light from the inside.
The idea was to contrast the exterior chaotic and irregular environment with a completely opposite one.
Interior | Before the Start Event 70
Exterior | During the Event (plus some vandalism)
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Interior | During the Event
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Japanese Joinery 2015
A Variation on the Shouldered Triple Dovetail Joint
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CNC milling was used on solid lumber and MDF to reproduce a few Japanese Joints and then to produce variations of them. The variations can be in scale, rotation, materials and geometry. The following are two examples of the Japanese joints I produced for a seminar lead by Shane Williamson under the title “Working Out from the Center: Investigations in Wood Fabrication“ in 2016.
Clip Tenons Joint
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Portable Urbanism 2015
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This project was submitted as part of a course I took in fall 2015 entitled “Form, Contingency, Agency: Introduction to Urbanism“ by Reberto Damiani. Throughout the course each student chose a case study to research throughout the semester and present a portable urbanism at the end of it. Portable urbanism is essentially a way to represent the research about a case study using different methods of representation, materials and mediums. I chose “Al Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan“ as my case study and my portable urbanism box included images, text, plans, maps, demographics, statistics, and a model of the block structure of the camp.
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