A-Sjors Onneweer

Sjors Onneweer Space for a place Accommodation for the elderly in Havana, Cuba Steve Bikoplien 15-I 1092 GM Amsterdam sjorsonneweer@gmail.com 06-30398427

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture Graduation Projects 2014-2015 Architecture

Architecture

Sjors Onneweer Space for a place Accommodation for the elderly in Havana, Cuba

Elderly people Being able to grow old in your own district. Staying in contact with your neighbours and your neighbourhood. That would appear to be a matter of course, but that is often not the case. This theme plays a major role in my graduation project. The project takes place in Centro Habana, a district in Havana, Cuba.

The district is very inspiring to me, because the inhabitants are continuously searching for space on different scale levels; space to make places. However, the district still lacks a number of places, such as a good place for elderly people to live, where they can also determine their position within the district themselves.

Centro Habana Centro Habana is an urban district in Havana and has an extremely high population density, approximately 49,000 inhabitants per km2, and a low housing density. As a result of the lack of space, people live close together and a kind of pressure cooker effect has arisen. This has led to creative solutions by the residents themselves in the search for space. Space to make places. The intense lack of space and the social cohesion that this entails are very inspiring. As a result of the high population density in the existing housing and the lack of maintenance, buildings regularly collapse. This leads to empty spaces in the district. These spaces have also been taken over by residents over the course of time and are often used as a supplement to the public space.

Music The pressure cooker effect does not take place, however, on a cultural level. Cuban music culture has reached its peak, especially in Centro Habana. Many variations and new styles have been born, precisely because everyone lives so close together and everything belongs together. Music brings people together.

Space for a place Architecture can bring people together, can help bring about a meeting and can give space to people in order to make places for themselves. I made use of the opportunities that exist in the district in my graduation project. The (public) space and qualities that the empty plots offer, and the culture and skills of the people themselves in order for them to be able to give shape to their space.

In addition, the relationship between the private domain and the public space is defined in such a way that there is a clear transition and the inhabitants always have a choice in terms of how far they want to enter into the public space.

In order to maintain the public space on the plot, the building is raised. Shadow is thus created, which is so important in Cuba in order to create space for activities. The building has been designed in such a way that the initial situation of the buildings gives the resident the freedom to use the space according to his or her own needs. The private outdoor space is the key to this. This gives the building an excess area, as a result of which a choice can be made to partly or completely close this off, whereby another building is constantly created. The facades will constantly change due to this, the building will come to life and will increasingly belong to the context.

Graduation date 26 11 2014

Commission members Bart Bulter (mentor) Judith Korpershoek Johanna van Doorn

Additional members for the examination Marcel van der Lubbe Herman Kerkdijk

Sjors Onneweer

Current accommodation for the elderly in Centro Habana

A (partially) collapsed building

People on the street stay to watch a number of musicians who are making music

A hairdresser has found his own place on the corner of an empty plot.

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Col贸n (district in Centro Habana). All the problems could be found most severely in Col贸n and it was, therefore, chosen as research area.

The empty plots that arose over the course of time are highlighted in yellow.

Example of self-made modifications to existing buildings.

2 ways of modifying, horizontal or vertical expansion.

Architecture

Private domain

Collective places

(Semi) Public space

Design of relationship between building and public space

+ Mixing target groups and adding an extra programme (music)

Concept: raising the programme in order to keep the ground level accessible as a public space.

Dividing the mass into various volumes so that light and air can always enter inside. An access ramp which connects the various volumes with each other. The buildings for the elderly as close as possible to the public space.

Initial situation of the building, completely accessible for wheelchairs.

Part of the balcony is closed off so that a 2 person bedroom is created.

Part of the balcony is closed off so that the living room becomes larger.

Part of the balcony is closed off so that the living room becomes larger.

Type 1

Type of building 1 Can be expanded horizontally in order to shape the building according to the wishes of the resident.

Type of building 2 Can be expanded vertically in order to shape the building according to the wishes of the resident.

Type 2

Initial situation building. There is an excess area vertically which offers the opportunity to make an extra floor.

Examples of facade details

layer 2

layer 2

layer 1

layer 1

Development facade over the course of the years. The more people who expand, the more the facade will fit in with the context.

Sjors Onneweer

Section

Place on the ground level

Place along the route

Architecture Wind

Collective/Musical spaces Public route

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2 3 2

1. (existing) Vegetable market 2. Place for the neighbourhood to meet each other 3. (existing) Cafe 4. Place for a hairdresser for example 5. Open (semi-public) place where one can retreat 6. Sheltered place where one is less visible 7 music studio 8 office 9. Access from access ramp to 1st floor of existing building 10. End of access ramp, place to meet each other 11. Classroom (theory) 12. Music studio 13. Second communal kitchen

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5 7 6

Layer 1 (Ground level)

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11

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12 Plants on the ground level lend it extra quality of space.

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Layer 4 + 9m.

Identity and character is given to the various volumes by means of texture and colour.

The facade is made up of an arrangement of slabs cast on site and floors against which a prefab exterior wall system is mounted, as a result of which a connection can be sought with the facade rhythms of the buildings from the context.

Sjors Onneweer

(Scale model) Impression seen from the street

Amsterdam Academy of Architecture

Architects, urbanists and landscape architects learn the profession at the Amsterdam Academy of Architecture through an intensive combination of work and study. They work in small, partly interdisciplinary groups and are supervised by a select group of practising fellow professionals.

There is a wide range of options within the programme so that students can put together their own trajectory and specialisation.

With the inclusion of the course in Urbanism in 1957 and Landscape Architecture in 1972, the Academy is the only architecture school in the Netherlands to bring together the three spatial design disciplines under one roof.

Some 350 guest tutors are involved in teaching every year. Each of them is a practising designer or a specific expert in his or her particular subject. The three heads of department also have design practices of their own in addition to their work for the Academy. This structure yields an enormous dynamism and energy and ensures that the courses remain closely linked to the current state of the discipline.

The courses consist of projects, exercises and lectures. First-year and second-year students also engage in morphological studies. Students work on their own or in small groups. The design

projects form the backbone of the syllabus.

On the basis of a specific design assignment, students develop knowledge, insight and skills.

The exercises are focused on training in those skills that are essential for recognising and solving design problems, such as analytical techniques, knowledge of the repertoire, the use of materials, text analysis, and writing. Many of the exercises are linked to the design projects.

The morphological studies concentrate on the making of spatial objects, with the emphasis on creative process and implementation. Students experiment with materials and media forms and gain experience in converting an idea into a creation.

During the periods between the terms there are workshops, study trips in the Netherlands and abroad, and other activities. This is also the preferred moment for international exchange projects. The Academy regularly invites foreign students for the workshops and recruits wellknown designers from the Netherlands and further afield as tutors.

Graduates from the Academy of Architecture are entitled to the following titles: Architect, Master of Science; Urbanist, Master of Science and Landscape Architect, Master of Science.