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Re-Working Segal: Adaptation of Rigid Building Methods into Different Dwelling

This book was a collaboration between myself, Rowan Hamid, and Eliz Derderyan; a fellow Architectural Designer. It was our graduation thesis at Politecnico di Milano. The book revolves around an exploration of the elements that define a dwelling culture and how one method can be adapted to the two different contexts selected; Sudan and Bulgaria. It contains a section analyzing Sudan and it's complex and layered history that define its current present. It reveals the architectural language that results from the layered history, social habits, politics and economy.

I am currently looking to publish my first book about Sudan's architecture; that delves deeper into the past, present and where we will go as a nation.

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This is an extract from the book which introduces some of the topics discussed.

ABSTRACT

Walter Segal conceived a building method aimed at making a larger number of the people able to own a private house. He utilized the principles of modern architecture and the researches focused on the industrialization of architecture to create his own process. The procedure he proposed is based on the ideas of participation and sustainability. His method goes beyond the tools he provided for the pragmatic design and simple construction to transcend into an ideology that fosters individuality and promotes social integration. The modest dwelling design rejects overbearing techniques and costly materials; it values the essence of the ancient dwellings made by wood, but does not reminisce in the past. He metamorphosed the traditional hut into a modern structure capable of hosting all the modern activities.

The method, despite its rigidity, is mouldable into different architectonic forms that can satisfy the needs of a variety of inhabitants. To test the expanse of the adaptability of the so-called Segal Method, the thesis studies two drastically different contexts, in terms of geographic, economic and social features that define their unique dwelling cultures: Bulgaria and Sudan. The objective is to determine the extents of the spectrum to which the system could be applied to.

INTRODUCTION

In a time when the world is shifting towards innovation and globalisation, and architecture seems to be in search for spectacular solutions, sometimes indifferent to peoples’ effective needs, one can end up overlooking pre-existing tools that can help to solve modern issues in a more social, economic, and environmental way. Looking at the past researches and methods with a new perspective, one can uncover some findings that can be repurposed and adapted into new solutions. The importance of rediscovering and unearthing previous methods can help us shed more light on the issues for which they were targeted, how they were implemented and study their effects.

The natural and anthropic environments cannot be ignored in these times, when the climate change effects loom over the current and the future generations. The sustainability of the building construction has to become a common standard. The possibility of using more carbon neutral materials through environmentally conscious sourcing should be encouraged. This sustainability consciousness should also extend towards economic strategies, which could benefit from the ethical sourcing of materials. The latter could provide fair job opportunities and wages for all parties involved and an economic advantage for places that adopt these policies. Resilience was often associated with permanent or long-lasting buildings, which has lead to a trend in the selection of construction materials favouring composite materials like reinforced concrete. On the other hand, natural materials like wood were linked to environmental damage, temporality and lower standard of living. Despite wood needing more maintenance, it is however a versatile material with a great potential in construction.

It is also a time when the planning and building process has shifted in the sector towards a top-down approach. This causes a disconnection between the interior spaces provided and the final user. The value of the space is often stemming from an emotional connection that is achieved when the inhabitant are included in the design process or, at least, when they can personalize the dwelling. This shows the need for the community to be involved in defining their own spaces and reversing the design and construction process into a from a bottom-up approach, in harmony with the local cultural and social setting. Walter Segal is known to be an advocate for these principles, and he emerged as a pioneer of the participatory building process. His method was initially created to solve the expensive housing epidemic in the United Kingdom, however it becomes a tool that could be used in different contexts.

The Thesis provides the parameters of the material properties and the basis of the Segal Method as a synthetic introduction to the study of its applicability in two different contexts: Bulgaria and the Sudan. The first part provides a general overview of the core properties which are essential for an unbiased evaluation of the material’s suitability and the specificity of the building technique developed by Walter Segal. The second part defines the geographical, economic and social differences between the two countries, Bulgaria and Sudan, and their influence on architecture. Then it investigates the applicability and adequacy of the Method into these settings, the potential advantages that can derive, the challenges it addresses.

The man is willing to make himself an abode which covers but not buries him. Some branches broken down in the forest are the proper materials for his design. He chooses four of the strongest, which he raises perpendicularly and which he disposes into a square. Above he puts four others across, and upon these he raises some that incline from both sides. This kind of roof is covered with leaves put together, so that neither the sun nor the rain can penetrate therein; and now the man is lodged. Indeed, cold and heat will make him sensible of their inconveniences in his house, open on every part; but then he will fill up between the space of the pillars, and will then find himself secure. (…) The little rustic cabin that I have just described, is the model upon which all the magnificences of architecture have been imagined. (…) Pieces of wood raised perpendicularly, give us the idea of columns. The horizontal pieces that are laid upon them, afford us the idea of entablatures. In fine the inclining pieces which form the roof give us the Idea of the pediment. See then what all the masters of art have consessed. But then we ought here to be very much on our guard. Never principle was more fruitful in consequences. It is easy from hence to distinguish the part that enters essentially into the composition of an order of architecture, from those which are introduced only by necessity, or which have not been added thereto but by caprice. It is in the essential parts that all the beauties consist (…). Do not let us lose sight of our little rustic cabin.

Sudan

Sudan is a country governed by traditions. The history and trauma it experienced throughout the centuries is reflected in the architecture of the country. The relatively conservative culture is also full of contradictions as a result of the layered and complex history. The country’s social habits, which hasn’t seen much change for decades, form the architectural language of the country.

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