Dopo Scoula, Document 2 - Politecnico di Milano

DOPO SCUOLA

LAB. 22-23

FRIEDRICH // HERKOMMER // JONES.

SCUOLA COLLETTIVITÀ.

La Scuola Supermarkets

Shops

Healthcare // Dentists

Schools // Nurseries

Restaurants // Leisure

Bus Stops

Bus Routes

Commute Times

Walkable Cities

The former scuola is located to the south east of Calolziocorte and is 30 minutes walk from the town centre and Train Station. There is a bus stop immediately outside the site which operates the D40 and CBI routes which go into the town centre and take 6-10 minutes.

From Calolziocorte Train Station there are hourly trains to Milan Centrale which take 1 hour, and Bergamo which takes 1 hour, 10 minutes, and Lecco which is only 5 minutes by train.

This makes the site ideal for commuting into the town centre, and further into Milan, Lecco and Bergamo.

Within the 15 ‘walkable’ cities radius the site is in close proximity to a major supermarket, petrol station, pharmacy, doctor’s surgery, the new primary school and nursery.

The site is less connected to lesiure facilities but is typical of other domestic residential areas of the town and due to its proximity to public transport routes it is well connected to both leisure activities and places of work.

SOCIAL HOUSING DEMAND

Social Housing Stock sold to Private Market 1993-2006

Existing social housing stock was sold to tenants during the mid 90s and 00s to generate revenue for the muncipalities, however it led to a vast decrease in available social housing.

Total percentage of home ownership in Italy 2022

Traditionally Italy has been a country with a high home ownership rate. This rate remains high in comparison to other countries but is decreasing as more and more people struggle to afford to buy a home.

Number of Social Housing Schemes in Calolziocorte and Lecco

According to the Piano Annula of Lecco 2022. There are a total of 1420 Social housing schemes in the province with only 55 of these in Calolziocorte despite it being the third largest urban area within the province.

Main Types of Social Housing schemes available in Italy

Since the 90s an 00s there have been two main modes of Social Housing providers, the State providing subsidised rents or publicprivate partnerships providing reduced rents. There are also some co-operatives who provide affordable rent and homes for sale.

information sourced from: Piano Anula Lecco, (2022) [accessed online] file:///D:/downloads/Piano%20Annuale%20Offerta%20Abitativa%202022%20(1).pdf

Calolziocorte Municipality Expenditure comparison 2021

Of the total expenditure of the Calolziocorte Municipality in 2021, only 2% was invested in social housing stock, a total of €207,000 for the year. There are only 2 new social housing units since the last year.

Reasons for Increase in demand for Social Housing according to ‘Annual Plan For The Offer Of Public And Social Housing Services’ 2022

Having researched the Lecco Annual Plan, clear accelerants for the demand in social housing were highlighted, some of these originate from general rise in house and energy prices, others are area specific such as change in family type or decrease in industry and others were accelerated by the Covid-19 Crisis.

Luzzati Law - First Social Housing Policy in Italy

T.U Public Housing aimed tackling housing shortage of the lower classes

1903 + 1908

Under Giolitti The Institute for Social Housing was founded (IACP) and the role of the state in providing housing was first recognised.

1901-1914

The progress made under Giolitti was reversed during the Facist period. Where funding was directed toward the middle classes and civil servants at the expense of the working class

1914-34

At the end of the world war Italy faced a housing shortage crisis due to damage by bombing and halt in construction due to the war.

1945

Fafani Law

Launched a 7 year plan called INA-Casa. It was the largest social housing programme undertaken by the country. 350,000 units were built by using an innovative financing system paid by employers and employees.

1949

The INA-Casa system was only meant to last 7 years but continued over the next half a century.

1949-2009

Public protests against education, employment and housing broke out nationwide and across Europe. People were angry that the state was failing to deal with social housing leaving it to the employer or employee to finance.

1968

Gescal (Gestione Case Lavoratori)

A 10 year plan launcehed to ensure workers and their families had access to green space and social amenities.

1969

The debt crisis and oil crisis of the 1970s and 1980s accelerated the transfer of power from state to regional councils and thus the responsibility of social housing was decentralised.

1980

The process of decentralisation of responsibility for social housing continued and public funding reduced significantly. Regional councils turn to the private sector to providing funding and investment.

2000s

The Covid 19 crisis causes an acceleration in housing shortage was people struggle to pay rent or energy bills. Public funding is low and the need is for private and public partnerships to fund sustainable subsidised housing.

2020

Gallery Housing, 1800s

Corso Garibaldi, Milan

Unknown

One apartment is marked by one door and one window. Social housing was in the hands of philanthropic land or factory owners.

L’Asino

Describing the policy of Giolitti: on the one hand, dressed in elegant suit, he reassures conservatives; on the other, with less elegant clothes, he is addressing the workers.

Primaville, Rome

Istituto Fascista Case Popolari (IFCP), Giorgio Guidi. The town was built under Mussolini as housing for the middle classes.

Milan

Franco Albini, Ignazio Gardella

Part of the group of neighborhoods built after World War II by the Autonomous Institute of Social Housing together with the Varesina and “Pompeo Castelli” districts.

Milan,

Carla Aymonino, Aldo Rossi

Known fondly as the Red Dinosaur due to its reddish colour and huge size, it was typical of other brutalist housing estates of the period.

The article highlights the key issues relating to homelessness in Italy and the acceleration by the Covid-19 crisis. The article notes that middle-aged and previously housing secure citizens are at risk.

Cartoon, May 1911, La Borgate di Paradiso, 1936

Mangiagalli II District, 1952

POTENTI1AL USER MAPPING

Needs Commute to univeristy/ work occasionally

Smaller unit spaces

Work spaces

Social Work and research through the building of the homes

Access to site office and workspace

Young couples

Unit 1 BDR

Time 5-10 years

Alternative

Family types

Unit 2-4BDR

Needs Separate and private rooms

Larger unit types

Garden space

Social Study/ work spaces

Communal spaces

Communal gardens

Needs Commute to work potentially in Milan/ Lecco

Close to amenities and nightlife

Smaller units

Social Communal spaces to meet others

Access to gardens Interest in building and preservation activities

Needs Access to work-amenities

Small to medium unit types

Adaptability to make their home their own

Key Academics // Researchers

Unit 1-2BDR

Time 5-15 years

Students // Young people

Unit 2-3 BDR

Time 2-5 years

Larger Units

Smaller Units

Potentially Accessible Units

Long Term

Short Term

Communal Gardens // Sustainable Living

Needs Autonomy through privacy

Smaller unit types

Commute to work or univeristy

Close to amenities

Social Communal spaces

Interest in building and preservation activities

Ability to learn and live in the same space

Access to Schools // University

Ability to commute to work in Milan // Lecco

Communal Living and Shared Resources

Potential need for accessible units due to age // restricted mobility

Low cost housing alternative to renting/ buying

Advice and Relationships to combat isolation

Potential to work on the building and be employed through the build

Time 10-15 years

Social Advice or help seeking work

Social spaces and events to meet neighbours, learn language and prevent isolation

Recently immigrated

Unit 2-4 BDR

Time 2-5 years

Needs Access to work opportunities

Privacy and autonomy

Smaller units

Potentially storage for previous things

Social Advice or help seeking work

Social spaces and connect with neighbours

Work and employment through designing the building

Temporarily un-employed

Unit 1 BDR

Time 2-5 years

FUNDING STRATEGY

Residents-Makers

Residents interested in restoring the building and living an alternative self-build lifestyle

Potential Funding Networks

Traditionally Italy’s suburban housing was built by homeowners and this movement continued until the mid 1960s-70s. A resurgence in self building in both illegal and legal forms has emerged in Italy and a number of cooperatives and municipality funded organisations have been established to help fund self-build community projects across Italy.

In the south of Italy initiatives like Aliseicoop was set up to fund and support self-build communities. In the Lombardy region the RESP was set up which offered to support 20% of the building cost.

The model for the school’s self-build renovation draws on the precedents of these groups and imagines a situation in which the project is funded in part by an similar organisation such as Aliseicoop and supported by the local municipality in the sense that the group of residents is given the school building for free in exchange for renovating and restoring it.

The school is currently stagnant due to its large expense to the municipality and it is imagined they are willing to give the building, alongside reduced taxes or a tax holiday whilst the residents are able to restore it and make it a valuable asset within the community. The residents themselves raise extra funds through go-fund me’s and through some residents philanthropic investment.

building for free

Provides

Residents able to do the building works

Residents with expertise

Residents set up public go-fund me

Building is restored and contributes to the community - no longer a cost to the municipality Historic

Provides 20% of funds

Residents have an affordable low-cost living, designed to their own needs

Comune di Calolziocorte

Affordable Housing

-providing local people the means to live affordably, sustainably, as a community and allowing them the autonomy to design their homes around their daily life and practices.

Temporal Use and Restoration

-in exchange for being allowed to inhabit the building the residents will carry out the restoration and maintenance of the building. Equally the self standing structures cause little to no impact on the existing building and can be dismantled and removed should the building be desired to be repurposed again.

The Architect as a collaborator

-the architect’s role becomes collaborative with the residents, providing design insight and solutions to the module design, while allowing residents a level of autonomy to choose how their home functions for them.

The Scuola project may have started by a select group of individuals who were interested in the idea of converting the school into affordable housing and at the same time restoring the building and engaging with the local community. These founding group members may then recruit the remaining members through advertisements such as the poster (right), which call for other interested individuals to join the group. The success of the project relies on the willingness of the members to be bold and take a leap of faith to renovate the building and invest their time and energy into building their home and restoring the building in order for themselves and others to have access to affordable housing in the future and for the iconic building to be restored back to its role as a vital organ of the local community.

The Self-Build Scuola adaptive reuse project will be organised, funded and led by the residents primarily, with the aid of the local municipality (in acquiring the site), local social housing organisations (to support the funding) and local experts and interested partners.

A Call for Action to the Community.

HYPOTHETICAL RESI-MAKERS

To conceive the renovation of the school without the input of local government, the theory was suggested of a built from below strategy.

In the hypothetical scenario presented the school is renovated into housing by self-declared group of local invested people who either cannot find affordable housing in the area or have a particular interest in restoring the architecture and seek an alternative way of living.

This self-organised group of individuals will come together to live in the building whilst they rennovate and restore and retrofit it into suitable affordable housing.

The hypothetical group is conceived of young couples and individuals who seek an affordable interesting and sustainable alternative housing who are temporarily out of work and able to contribute to the construction and live in the school at the same time, who are students, researchers and experts in the field of architecture and restoration and have a passion for restoring the building and engaging with the process of construction or who are perhaps an older family seeking an alternative for of living which they can give back to their environment,

The total number of hypothetical resi-makers is 18 across the 12 units. They will have a degree of autonomy over their own unit’s design but also aspire to build housing that can be used for affordable renting in the event they move out once they have finished the project. In the meantime the residents will live on the site

Key

Marianne Author and Researcher on Sustainability

No. People: 1

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Francesco Unemployed Carpenter and Builder

No. People: 1

No. Units: 1

Time: 2-5 years

Lea Researcher and Expert in Building Retrofit

No. People: 1

No. Units: 1 Time: 2-5 years

Nish and Emir Landscaper and Nurse immigrated from India

No. People: 2

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Marco + Sara Young couple Lecturer + Chemist

No. People: 2

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Angelo + Guila Semi-retired architect + his wife

No. People: 2

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Larger Units

Smaller Units

Accessible Units

Long Term

Short Term

Antonia, Luigi, Sofia

No. People: 3 No. Units: 1 Time: 5-10 years

Alessandro + Gio Young gay couple Artist + Author

No. People: 2

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-15 years

Davide and Ingrid Carpenter and divorced co-parenting father

No. People: 1-2

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Tāo Chemical Engineer immigrated from China

No. People: 1

No. Units: 1

Time: 5-10 years

Luca, Valerie, Veronica Phd Students in Milan Architecture

No. People: 3

No. Units: 1

Time: 2-3 years

THE ARCHITECT’S ROLE

The architect acts as lead designer during the phase, undertaking full building survey and understanding the dynamics of the spaces.

The ‘moduli abitativi’ are designed to fit the existing spatial plan of the building, using standard dimensions and materials accessible to the residents. They consider electrical, plumbing and heating strategies as well as planning the initial demolition and restoration work.

The architect creates an ‘ikea style’ manual and tool kit and perhaps builds a prototype with the residents which they can then take and recreate onsite for their own modules.

Phase 2 - Collaborative Building

The residents complete the building process using the architects manual and toolkit.

They work collaboratively amongst their group and with the wider community, utilising peoples skills in the building process. The local community is invited to participate and view the building process connecting the site back to local people and re-establishing its presence as an asset of the community.

The architect will work collaboratively with the residents, coming on site to aid in the process where necessary and help with design decisions. They also benefit from working with residents in understanding how they live and how their spaces may work best for them.

Phase 3- Inhabiting the Space

The architects also provide a set of instructions and dimensions to work within for the internal space, including a number of varying layouts for kitchens, bathrooms and internal spaces. The residents are free to tweak or change the design within this set of dimensions to suit their way of living.

The architect also designs a set of practical furniture that can be built into the home and utilised by the residents should they wish.

Residents have autonomy over these decisions and as they begin to inhabit the space they may bring furniture and personal items and populate the spaces to become their home.

Phase 1- Designing

The group host a coffee morning with the community.

The ground floor communal spaces are open and visible from the street and help to promote interaction with the local community. To re-establish the Scuola as an asset of the community, the group host weekly coffee mornings inviting the public onto the site, giving them the opportunity to witness the building progress, volunteer to help out and be involved in the process.

The Architect, Marianne and Francesco take a lunch break.

The ‘moduli abitativi’ are built from a set of instructions and a toolkit in collaboration with the architects. In the first phase a prototype is built in collaboration with the architects and construction professionals, teaching each of the residents how they are built so that they can repeat the process to build their own modules.

The box like form is built from materials that are both easily accessible, affordable and easy to cut and work with.

Luca working at his desk after a day of building.

The cabin-like ‘moduli abitativi’ at the first floor are intended for shorter-stay residents such as Luca who is collaborating on the project as part of his Master’s Thesis. They allow enough space for these residents to live comfortably and have access to share the communal kitchen and lounge.

The units are fitted with built in furniture to maximise the space and are more prescribed by the architects than the upper floor apartment-like units.

DOPO SCUOLA

LAB. 22-23

FRIEDRICH // HERKOMMER // JONES.