Housing Studies | Rokko Housing | Quinta Minroy Housing | Tara Housing

Case Study

Rokko Housing I, II, III Tadao Ando

Literature Study

Quinta Minroy Housing Alejandro Aravena Tara Housing Apartments Charles Correa

Case Study

Rokko Housing I, II, III Tadao Ando

Rokko Housing I

Rokko Housing II

Rokko Housing III

Location: Kobe, Japan Scale: 10 storeys Number of housing units: 20 Structure: Reinforced Concrete Site area: 1,852 sqm Built-up area: 668 sqm Total floor area: 1779 sqm Structural Engineers: Ascoral

Location: Kobe, Japan Scale: 14 storeys Number of housing units: 50 Structure: Reinforced Concrete Site area: 5998 sqm Built-up area: 2965 sqm Total floor area: 9045 sqm Structural Engineers: Ascoral

Location: Kobe, Japan Scale: 20 storeys No. of housing units: 250 Structure: Reinforced Concrete Site area: 25,000 sqm Built-up area: 14,500 sqm Total floor area: 37,500 sqm Structural Engineers: Ascoral

Engineering Associates

Engineering Associates

Engineering Associates

Site

Access

Rokko Housing I

Housing

Rokko Housing II

Access Roads

Rokko Housing III

Nearest Bus Stop

Architect Tadao Ando found inspiration for Rokko Housing from his travel experiences to the white mediterranean town of Thira, Santorini, Greece where small white dwellings are built on steps along the slope, all facing the sea boasting of a compact community life and privacy for each dwelling along with enjoying the beautiful vista.

Thira, Santorini, Greece

Rokko Housing is an amibitious project built on steep escarpments, taking advantage of the beautiful views open for each dwelling and private lives spun around public areas withing the building. It was built in 3 phases over a long period of time, the journey started with studying the place by walking every corner of the steep site.

Rokko Housing I The site is a slope with a 60-degree incline located at the foot of Mt. Rokko in Kobe. This is mass housing project based on a total of eighteen maisonettes. A building on a flat site at the foot of the slope was initially requested, but Ando felt that the slope at the rear of the site had a larger potential. Having convinced the client the project began. A composition that traces a slope with geometric shapes, using concrete post-and-beam units as the basic module, was the idea.

Initial sketches of Tadao Ando

Spatial diagrams of the public zones developed on each level. While adjusting and breaking the symmetrical composition of 5.4m x 4.8m in accordance with the topography, crevices are made that gently articulate the whole and act as public spaces.

The shape of the slope is converted into geometric forms. Architecture with an appearance similar to that of an Italian hilltop town. The slippages in plan and section, generated as a result of adjusting the simple geometric units to the slope, give hints for the composition.

Terraces and green spill-outs Residential dwellings Public spaces Cross section Based on maisonettes that make full use of the slope,the dwellings have many variations created by introducing roof terraces into the plans.

The fissure like spaces that run between the housing units are buffer zones that delineate a subtle gradation between public and private, but also function as devices that draw nature into the building.

Composition- The Units •

The building is composed of framed construction units of 5.4m x 4.8m.

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Symmetry forms the base of the plan.

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The groups of units are drawn apart to the north and south, opening an intermediate zone between them. This forms a large terrace on the slope which is used as the Central Plaza.

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Through the method of shifting and stacking units, the composition of the plan, in combination with the stacking configuration used in elevation to follow the slope of the site, seeks to generate three dimensional gaps in the composition. These gaps become the terraces for individual dwellings, the common plazas, stairways, and paths cutting fissures into the interior of the architecture, and creating opportunities for a nature made more vivid to flow into its architectural frame. They also play the role of opening an air hole into contemporary living space.

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The geometry introduces a dynamic structure into the foundations of the architecture.

The architecture speaks boldly of Tadao Ando’s signature use of precast concrete.

The box exploits the dynamic degrees of architecture creating beautiful spaces both private and public unified yet separated in this beautiful structure.

Floor Plans at each level

Plan at the level of Central Plaza created by drawing space between units north and south

Central Staircase with natural lighting and scenery view from the landings

The Central Plaza as a public space in the housing structure

Architecture nestled in the nature

Initial sketch of the central plaza by Tadao Ando

Public / Private

The stairs connecting the lower and upper cluster of units acts as a gradation between public and private zones

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Ando believes in shades of subtle gradation between public and private in an otherwise completely separated zonal entities in any architecture.

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In order to make this idea concrete, the concepts of the “roji”, or alley space, which once functioned efficiently to connect public and private in a Japanese city, and the plaza which is the heart of the Western city, were introduced here.

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The larger buffer zone opened up in the centre between upper and lower clusters of dwellings is treated as a plaza, while the open passage linking individual dwellings, and the stairs traversing this passage, are treated as three dimensional “roji”.

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True quality of life is fostered not in the completeness enclosed in the individual dwelling but in the encounters with the events that occur daily in open spaces.

Rokko Housing II •

The objective in Rokko II was to further develop and deepen the new character of collective housing that was attempted in Rokko I. It could not merely be an expansion, Rokko I and Rokko II were to stand in a relationship not of addition but multiplication, forming a new totality.

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In the transition to Rokko II, Rokko I was incorporated as a unit within the action of a larger geometry. A pivotal movement of 26 degrees around this axis opened a wedge shaped void between Rokko I and Rokko II where trees were left as they were.

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The product of multiplication has not just been given a spatial character but a functional character too by the addition of leisure pool for residents of both the complexes.

Axonometric Drawing of Rokko Housing II • The overall composition of blocks formed by units of 5.2m x 5.2m is formed by three of these blocks, stacked one above the other, shifted to follow the large stairway that climbs the slope, with one volume below and two above.

• The space between the upper and lower blocks is connected by a middle level in the grid, which forms public space of the project as a whole, along with north-south stair, with the function of a void for the whole.

• A gap of one span with a north-south orientation was opened in the middle of each block, the blocks are not completely self-contained. This gap affords light and ventilation to the central units of the block and creates space for common use within the block. The gap also links each each block to be linked with the central stair or to the middle level.

public zones

private dwellings

leisure pool

terrace

Dwelling Variations • While fitting into the grid system that controls the overall structure, the plans of individual dwellings are enabled by manipulation of the combination of units and interventions of exterior space to encompass the breadth of daily life’s variety.

• The image above shows the compositional diagrams of the sizes, plans, and varied dwelling units. Beyond the given program, phase II is an attempt to augment the public spaces such as an indoor public pool from which the sea is visible.

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COURTYARD LIVING ROOM JAPANESE STYLE ROOM TERRACE BEDROOM OPEN DINING ROOM KITCHEN ENTRANCE OPEN SPACE LIVING/DINING DRY AREA CLOSET LAUNDRY STUDY ROOM

View from within the dwelling across the terrace to the sea

Dwelling in dialogue with the nature

Garden and interior

Swimming pool interior

Technological Innovation • •

To provide easy access for the physically disabled, diagonally moving elevators were installed.

The site for Rokko II being larger than the previous one, computers were used much more extensively for plan simulations and the analysis of ground conditions over a large area of slope extending beyond the site. To ensure the optimum possible use of space available, efficient and compact designs for mechanical equipment were developed.

Rokko Housing III •

The general composition of Rokko III begins with a central axis turned 13 degrees from the axis of Rokko II. The void opened by the these two axes will reveal itself in an enormous open area and garden at the top of the stair.

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Each housing block has the same volume as the blocks in Rokko II. Three structures stacked vertically form one group. The groups are placed so as to enclose an open plaza, the whole forming one “town”.

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The corners of each block have been cut away to create a common terrace space. The dwellings are located in an L-configuration facing this terrace, and each dwelling also has its inner court.

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The many levels at which people gather and live are clearly articulated and interconnected as well by the expansion and contraction of the grid’s geometry. The voids at level of scale also open the grouping at that level to nature.

The Agora

Landscape

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In Rokko III, the idea is to move towards recreation of nature. The project itself becomes an undulation in the landscape, pushing up into the hills.

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A new flow of water is created, cluster of trees add to the surrounding forests, and the whole opens itself towards the sky.

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People, geometry, light, water- all resonate with one another.

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In Rokko III, the plaza concept that was introduced in Rokko I and II materializes in a more evolved form. The Agora, interpreted as a place not only for the gathering of immediate residents, but open to the surrounding town as well.

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Located at the top of the stairs and occupying the largest part of the plan, this plaza contains trees and a waterfall.

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The dwellings will be nestled close to this open space, or blended into it.

“I do not believe architecture has to speak too much. It should remain silent and let in nature in guise of light and wind.”

Tadao Ando

Literature Study

Quinta Minroy Housing Alejandro Aravena

The challenge of the project was to accommodate a hundred families using a subsidy of $7,500 that in the best of the cases allowed for 36 sqm of built space in a 5,000 sqm site, which would cost three times what social housing could normally afford. None of the solutions in the market solved the equation.

So, “Elemental” thought of a technology that, as buildings, could make a very efficient use of land and as houses allowed for expansion. After a year, each property value was beyond $20,000. Still, all the families have preferred to stay and keep on improving their homes in stead of selling them.

Original state of Quinta Roy

Architect: ELEMENTAL Design / Construction Period: 2003-2004 Building Area: 3,620 sqm (93 housing complex) Initial house area: 36 sqm Expanded house area: 70 sqm Initial apartment area: 25 sqm Expanded apartment: 72 sqm Density: 162.5 houses/ha Location: Iquique, Chile This equation summerizes Chile’s problem. Create housing for one hundred families on a small parcel of land in the desert city of Iquique, for $7,500 each.

Rejected Typologies

This typology could only accommodate 30 familes in the given site area of 5,000 sqm. But the required number was as high as 100.

Reducing the size of lot to the size of house, only 66 families could be accommodated.

Also, when houses expand in row housing, they block sunlight, ventilation and degrade the quality of life.

Going highrise is certainly an efficient solution of land use but it blocks expansion of houses.

Before Expansion. December 2004.

Elemental aimed to maximize the built footprint on the site and also allow for the eventual expansion of the dwellings. The architects’ highly dense solution ensures that all ninety-three families can stay on their land and enjoy drastically improved living conditions.

After Expansion. July 2006.

Almost immediately after moving into the complex, residents started to expand their homes, using the architects’ carefully determined openings and plans as guides; Elemental sized the framework for use with standard-size construction materials, such as plywood and sheetrock.

By spending roughly $750 in expansion materials, each family could increase the value of their house to around $20,000.

Rather than one family inhabiting a single three-story building, the basic reinforced concrete units, stabilized for seismic durability, are divided into ground-floor units and upper-floor duplexes. The settlement is grouped into dense clusters of twenty to thirty houses, creating communal courtyards and social space outside of each dwelling.

View of the interior

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The Construction Process The images show stages of the construction process.

Final image shows the view of the building after expansion by the families.

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Literature Study

Tara Housing Charles Correa

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Tara Apartment is a social project that is intended for the middle-class of Nehru center. This building is designed by one of the most famous Indian architects at this time, Charles Correa, and was completed in 1978.

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Tara housing group has more than 125 units and 375 persons per hectare. The Tara pays deep attention to the inner activities which happen in the central garden and leaves the interaction of traffic behind a wall which is parallel to Guru Ravidas Marg Street( the South-East).

Location: New Delhi, India Date: 1975-1978 Site: 1.48 ha Program: Social housing with 160 units of two and three BHK Client: Tara Housing Society Architect: Charles Correa

Site •

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The project is located along Guru Ravidas Marg Street. It is in the heart of middle-class population. It is a harmonious and balanced design with the existing fabric due to limited height and the form of the building.

The project plays an important part in linking other buildings with the adjacent park.

The building faces away from the street to prevent noise and dust from vehicles. Row arrangement, central garden, big overhangs and sharp edges, give it an Indian tropical character under the hot sun. The structure has abundance of

Inverse Figure Ground Diagram

Gradient Public (light) - Private (dark)

Porosity

Car Circulation

Main Site Entrances

Slow Road Network

Massing

Building The duplex units are accessed either at ground floor or second floor level by outdoor stair cases.

There are two kinds of flat: the two bedroom flats with 84 sqm (3m wide, 6m high with two floors and 15m long), and the L-shaped three bedroom flats with 130 sqm. There are only 16 three-bedroom flats. Each unit is provided with an open terrace which is protected by a pergola and big overhangs. Two sides of the project are connected by staircases.

Evaluation: The building allows people to access directly to the interior garden. Every unit also has its own open-to-sky terraces. By taking advantages of sun, wind direction and open spaces, access to light and ventilation is greatly maximized.

Two Bedroom Apartment Three Bedroom Apartment

Natural Ventilation

Dwelling A composition of two bedroom type and three bedroom type is done for this housing project.

The arrangement and stacking of these modules is played with to create an interesting composition.

The three bedroom type units are mostly kept at the ends of the rows, keeping their L-shape intact.

Dwelling Typologies

• The complex is formed due to the combination between pairs of units.

• In the shape of “L”, this type seems to be difficult to attach in the middle of a cluster and all of them are located in the outer-most.

Thank you Tunisha Barch/10006/2014