3.
03
on the act of undoing 04
informality06
objects (and other pieces) 08
making do and getting by 20
agreements and conflicts 40
spreading out as much as possible 48
a question of time 62
la corrala 86
repetition and variation 106
la barraca 118
la minga 134
but also a question of needs 150
somehow reusing (the place) 160
final thoughts 170
atlas of projects 172
references and sources 176
book credits 178
Contents
4. 04
introduction
on the act of undoing
on the act of undoing
The word ‘frame’ is ordinarily associated to
artwork, traditionally a painting on some sort
of canvas. It is what surrounds the piece of
art, the most important part of the object,
protects, and puts a limit to it. The frame
itself, usually a rigid structure, can be thick
or thin, it can fit the artwork or leave a space
around it. It generally does not interfere with
the artwork. Outside the frame, there is no art,
it is just a plain wall. The art is what you must
see and take notice and is contained inside the
frame.
Other definitions of the term are related to a
‘structure that underlies or supports a system,
concept, or text’. In linguistics it is a ‘a feature
which marks a transition from one section of
discourse to another’. In simpler terms it can
also be defined as an ‘enclosing border’, which
means there is something in and something
out of the frame. Therefore, we can say a
frame is a limit that also gives support to a
certain content of interest.
Architecture as a complex body of knowledge
has been framing itself and its conceptual
discussions for hundreds of years. It is a way
for the discipline to put certain limits to its
discourse and make it explicit and digestible to
the rest of the society. The process of framing
as a means to organize, filter and communicate
information is not exclusive of architecture
but to all the fields of knowledge.
In the topic of collective housing, most of the
existing frames that enable us to understand
the subject, come from modern architecture.
Still today, many of what is taught in schools
of architecture related to housing refer to
modernism and its legacy. For example, the
idea of organizing buildings through typology
of the units or its urban form is inherited
from that period.
What happens when the frame comes before
the content?
In some sense it is what is happening in the last
decades with collective housing architecture.
There are so many social, economic, and
political forces surrounding the issue of
housing that having the ‘frame’ before even
thinkingof theproject,hasbecomeanefficient
approach to design. The content then will fit
the frame, hopefully with some proportions
or minimum level of aesthetics and detail.
This 100-year-old frame thus, becomes a
fixed boundary in the field of knowledge that
prevents from looking at what is happening
at the rest of the wall or the gallery if the
5. introduction
on the act of undoing
05
simile holds. Maybe the wall is being occupied
by someone else, or maybe there is no wall
anymore and we can’t notice it.
We propose there is a need to unframe
collective housing.
The act of unframing is in fact an act of
destruction. You need to tear down the limits
that prevents from looking outside the frame.
It is a process of undoing and redoing over
and over again. This modern frame is so old
that it can be a piece of artwork itself, studied
and admired as a piece of history.
Do we need frames at all to understand
architecture and collective housing?
Is it possible to draw the frame around the
content?
Can frames be more temporary or virtual,
decaying or appearing over time?
Can the frame become part of the content, or
the content include its own frame?
Is the frame affected by the eye of the
beholder?
Can artificial intelligence define these frames
with data and prescind completely from
human participation?
Can a frame be permeable and adapt itself to
a changing content?
Is there a chance to continue producing
content-less frames to tackle the worldwide
housing crisis?
This collection of books presents the
unframing of collective housing addressing
some of these issues by five students of
the 2022 edition of the MCH (Master of
Collective Housing) individually.
Each one is the result of a personal process
through the seven workshops and eight
specialties that comprise the programme. The
selection of works, organization, graphics has
been curated by each author according to the
subject (or new frame) of interest. In neither
case is the investigation complete, but only
the start of inquiries that can be applied and
followed into hopefully prolific academic or
professional territories. This is only the initial
spark of which the MCH has been the catalyst.
The students are in alphabetical order:
Alexandre De Rungs, Andrew Georges,
Bettina Kagelmacher, Jorge Sanchez Bajo,
Andrés Solano.
6. 06
introduction
informality
informality
One of the master’s first days I heard this
sentence mentioned by another colleague:
“Close to 90% of housing building in the
world are not built by architects”. I tried
to figure out the source of that data, but it
was impossible to check it out. So, I cannot
assume that it is true but, in my mind, it is.
And it is because I change my way of
thinking after that. Because I realised that
we are missing out on a lot of architecture.
Sometimes mental imaginaries are more
powerful than the data itself, and just because
they are not data, they do not cease to be
true. This conclusion is something that comes
out to me at the end of the master’s degree
perhaps when I started to think of this booklet.
In order to break the current framework
in architecture, this first question arises:
Why things made by no architects
could be exciting for our working?
That which Georges Perec (2008:23) defined
as “what happens every day, the trivial, the
everyday, the obvious, the commonplace, the
ordinary, the infra-ordinary, the background
noise, the habitual.” For it seems that we
only look at what he calls events, i.e., what
we see published in architectural magazines,
but not at what is done by other architects
(without a career) who bring a lot of beauty
and common sense to their buildings.
For this very reason, this booklet is
intended as a review of the work conducted
during this year, focusing on something
that has always caught my attention, the
informal actions in any type of settlement.
First of all, and for the sake of clarification,
this document does not intend architects
to copy what exists, or to use systems that
themselves are or have been failed, but quite
the opposite, that we are able to keep our
eyes more open than ever and learn from
I AM AN
INTERESTING HOUSE
7. introduction
informality
07
people’s intuition, that perhaps we unlearn
the profession and remember ourselves
as ordinary people, who want to live in
pleasant, free, sensual, resilient, etc. spaces.
Looking at how people build their own homes
and observing them with value is nothing
new, as Bernard Rudofsky discussed in his
1964 exhibition at the Moma in New York,
entitled “Architecture without architects”.
Or I could also highlight, this in another
field but with a great relation, the studies,
and writings about the “Third Landscape”
by the French landscape architect Gilles
Clement, considering these residual spaces
or abandoned places as “margins that gather
a biological diversity that is not understood
as wealth. It is a space that expresses neither
power nor submission to power” (2018:12).
Or the magnificent books by the Spanish
architect and photographer Carlos Flores
about Popular Architecture in Spain
which include a multitude of photographs
of this type of no author buildings,
published in the 1970s, among others.
Therefore, the aim of this work is not to
discover the wheel, but only to show how
collective housing projects have been able to
develop in whose conception informality (well
seen) has been an indispensable part from their
origin, without underestimating the rest of the
pressures or adjacent ideas in these projects.
Moreover, as the reader will be able to
discover, the results achieved are nothing like
the references conceived, quite the contrary,
what has been sought is to get to the essence
of these typologies, dwellings, attitudes,
and to think them as little as possible
like how an architect would think them.
Because as Zumthor mentions “if the
project repeats what the place points out to
it beforehand, in my opinion, the project is
lacking the confrontation with the world, the
eradication of the contemporary” (Zumthor,
2016:41). Without confronting the project
with the place, it would make the place
static. In the end, one has to make that leap
into reality that is the project, showing your
point of view. But without trying to lose the
essence of things, and this is achieved by
analysing what exists and understanding it.
This story will be told through twelve
projects (workshops and specialities) carried
out this year will be developed, focusing on
different topics that come from the informal,
explaining in each one the main concept
through images, plans and small texts.
8. 08
workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
objects (and other pieces)
“Family Stuff” Photography Serie, Huang Quingjun, 2003.
People love objects. It is impossible to imagine a home without objects.
The first thing you do when you visit someone else’s house is to look at
their objects. And this gives you a general idea of what sort of people
they are. Objects are objective. They are what they are and say what
they say. But they are also evocative, they make us dream, they make us
feel, and apart from occupying a space, they are space in themselves.
9. workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
09
A house, whatever it is, is made up of different rooms, which have been
given name to define them. It seems that putting their name on a floor
plan mean that people will live that way, but this is not true. What really
defines a room are the objects, you can move them around, and everything
changes, even some of them, especially technological devices, make it
possible to change spaces without moving. It is not a room; it is just objects.
- What do objects need for people to use them? -- Architecture. -
10. 10
workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
room activities oneiric name objects
bedroom sleeping a place to sleep
bed, wardrobe, night
table
dinning room eating a place to eat table, chair
living room watching films a place to watch films sofa, tv, wifi kit
kitchen cooking a place to cook
fire, sink, fridge,
garbage
bathroom bathing a place to bath toilet, lavatory, shower
study
working
exercising
a place to work
desk, laptop, sport kit,
turntable, book
hall meeting people a place to meet people sideboard
utility room cleaning a place to clean
cleaning kit, laundry
module
garden gardening a place to gardne watering kit, pots
Spaces names no longer match the actions, but the objects we use in them. Generic names are more dreamlike.
11. workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
11
In addition, objects keep spatial relations between them, they organise people, although perhaps with the internet ....
12. 12
workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
The shapes of these everyday objects are practically inmutable, and they used to occupy a space.
13. workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
13
Species of spaces and other pieces, Georges Perec, 1974.
And sometimes the spaces themselves end up being objects in themselves.
14. 14
workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
01. book
04. pick-up
07. inhabit 08. share 09. check-out
05. take 06. assemble
02. check-in 03. customize
It is even possible to go one step further and try to make objects move and change without people.
15. workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
15
OBJECTS
DEVICES DOMESTIC DEVICES
FIXTURES
And with a little bit of fixtures here and other devices over there, you could have a house. Perhaps nothing more.
16. 16
workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
15 m
First-floor plan (left) and second-floor plan (right) - there are only objects.
17. workshop 01
objects (and other pieces)
17
15 m
Third-floor plan (left) and fourth-floor plan (right) - and some spaces as objects.
20. 20
workshop 02
making do and getting by
making do and getting by
“Making Do and Getting By” Artbook, Richard Wentworth, 2015.
People tend to tinker with their homes. Some people are good at bricolage
and some people are bad at it, but it is something you come across sooner
or later when you live in a house. There will always come a time when
you have to solve something, and you will have to choose for yourself
how to leave it. There are times when very bad resolved things give a lot
of problems and other times they stay at home for years. Do it yourself.
21. workshop 02
making do and getting by
21
People do not act like architects. When they fix up their houses, they do
not want it to be seen that they have fixed them up. They want them to
blend in with what was there. They do not want anyone to notice that
they did something, even if they are proud of it. Architects do have this
mentality of being noticed, of being seen as something new or modern,
but they do not really do it for the space, they actually do it for themselves.
continent + content
existing shelter sunlight from the top
diversity of spaces growth potential
no new foundations
exterior-interior comfort
taking advantage of the train station
22. 22
workshop 02
making do and getting by
Max Vogt’s highrise building
Extension of the terraces
10 stories
4.505 sqm + 2.370 sqm
217 rooms
new west extension
Extension of the sheds +
Industrialized rooms
3 stories
3.890 sqm(4.395 sqm)
119 rooms
20 m
Programme general section for the sheds with the diverse types of interventions.
23. workshop 02
making do and getting by
23
new housing building
New construction
7 new stories
4.760 sqm
231 rooms
Depot G (Werkhalle)
Reconditioning and reprogramming
2-4 stories (warehouse and offices)
3.580 sqm
142 rooms
Existence sheds
Industrialized rooms
2-3 stories
11.110 sqm (13.535 sqm)
324 rooms
new east extension
Extension of the shell +
Industrialized rooms
2 stories
2.075 sqm (2.505 sqm)
60 rooms
Each building is a situation and, in each building, a thousand situations, one by one will be solved, making it happen.
24. 24
workshop 02
making do and getting by
20 m
Ground-floor plan -Depot G Werkhalle and Max Vogt building with the housing development inside the sheds.
25. workshop 02
making do and getting by
25
It looks like a neighbourhood with houses, but it also looks like a house with rooms but it is in fact an old train station.
26. 26
workshop 02
making do and getting by
First-floor plan of Depot G Werkhalle - new openings, thermal insulation double heights and accessibility is resolved.
10 m
27. workshop 02
making do and getting by
27
Typical-floor plan of Max Vogt with the new building extension - increasing constructive capacity nd new facades.
10 m
28. 28
workshop 02
making do and getting by
Section for the sheds (above), for the Depot G Werkhalle (centre) and for the Depot G Offices (below).
15 m
29. workshop 02
making do and getting by
29
Section for the new building (above), for the Max Vogt building (centre) and for the new sheds (below).
15 m
40. 40
workshop 03
agreements and conflicts
agreements and conflicts
People either love or hate their neighbours, there is no in-between. But
there is one thing much worse and sadly increasingly common, and that
is indifference. The relationship with neighbours has its idiosyncrasies.
But this is something that does not happen with the rest of the people
in our daily lives. With the rest we are more benevolent, you do not
consider what they think, in fact it is not important in our human relations,
we do not prejudge them, but we do with our neighbours. It is funny,
it is as if living near our house we feel this primitive sense of danger.
But it is fine to have a few agreements or disagreements with someone
a day. It is said that without conflict there is not a real community. It
is often the only way to move forward, not doing what is established,
but we seem to have decided to skip it. So, we think of the neighbour
as someone to avoid and we architects are the ones who design it.
“Untitled” Photography, Ramón Masats, Tomelloso, 1959.
41. workshop 03
agreements and conflicts
41
Miniature - is culture war really that important in our daily lives?.
42. 42
workshop 03
agreements and conflicts
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
1
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
H
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
this girl has secluded herself to prepare
for the competitive examination
a friend is staying in the room for a while
and has brought some furniture with him
at the beginning they did not get along
well but now they are a couple
they are thinking about how they can take
something from the fridge
they are all having a heated policy
discussion, but they are friends
they did not know each other but they
will take the same examination
while some are working on the final
delivery, others are playing chess
they have not agreed to watch the same
movie, so they have drawn the curtain
they hate each other but have coincided
in the bathroom
In our daily life we always meet people who think differently and nothing happens..
48. 48
workshop 04
spreading out as much as possible
spreading out as much as possible
“Toronto” Project, Tadashi Kawamata, 1989.
People often fill the space they have, nowadays even more. People have the
house they can afford. If they had more money, they would buy a bigger
house. If they could save for a renovation or even an extension, they
would do it without hesitation. If they could have two houses, they would.
If they can try to make a tall house, they try. If there were no planning
restrictions, they would fill it all up. They even have things they cannot
afford. There are no limits for them. They always want more than what
they have. It is something they carry in their genes. They seem to behave
like moss or damp, they start in the corners and try to take over everything.
Even as far as the sky. Thinking about it, it is curious that the only urban
planning restriction that regulates height buildings in Tokyo is the right
to sunlight for the rest of the neighbours. It can be banned, regulated,
or accepted, but it is something that will always happen everywhere.
49. workshop 04
spreading out as much as possible
49
The clear separation between what is structure and what is not, allows them to expand as much as they want.
60. 60
workshop 04
spreading out as much as possible
20 m
Masterplan - ground level in a Cerdá’s block with Church of Sagrado Corazón and several industrial buildings.
61. workshop 04
spreading out as much as possible
61
The band system has spread like water and filled a Cerdá’s block that is really two together, serving as an extreme case.
62. 62
workshop 05
a question of time
a question of time
Pictures of the surroundings of Kila (Split) from Google Maps, 2022.
People’s homes are never finished on time, they are always evolving.
It takes a lifetime to have the house of your dreams and not everyone
achieves it. There is always something to change or update. My daughter is
divorced and needs a room for a while, I need an office to work at home,
my wife wants to build a greenhouse, the roof leaks, we are going to have
two children, the terrace needs to be covered, and so on for a lifetime.
63. workshop 05
a question of time
63
How can the feeling of home be summed up? It takes something to get
it, something that is in short supply these days, it takes time. The key is
the time. But of course, it is not the only one. You need to be able to
connect with the space, to feel that you are free in it, to feel that it belongs
to you, to feel that you can do with it what you want, or maybe none of
this and it is unexplainable. But space certainly influences our feelings.
capacity of
APPROPRIATION
type of
OWNERSHIP
sense of
BELONGING
HOME IDENTITY
64. 64
workshop 05
a question of time
someone wants to prepare a barbecue in
the garden with friends
someone has decided to buy hens in
order to have an egg by day.
someone needs to open a window in
order to have more light
someone needs to build a canopy to be
able to eat outside
someone is setting up a community
garden
someone wants to dry clothes in full view
of the public
someone needs to install a new bathroom
because grandma is staying at home
someone wants to enclose their terrace
for more privacy
someone wants to know who their
neighbour is having dinner with
In the end, everyone wants to be able to do this kind of things at home.
65. workshop 05
a question of time
65
And what if the proposed housing was the bare minimum to make it easier for people to do all this.
66. 66
workshop 05
a question of time
01. existing situation
07. roof structure : joists
13. first extension
02. ploting
08. roof cover
14. second extension
03. foundations and fixtures
09. ground slab
15. garden demarcation
Different combinations of settling into the infrastructure.
67. workshop 05
a question of time
67
16. third extension
10. prefab stairs
04. 2 walls (other times only one)
17. filling process
11. wet rooms (kitchen and bathroom)
05. flattening
18. filled
12. basic unit
06. roof structure : beams
You can even ignore it and do the same house as the rest of the neighbours without any problem.
68. 68
workshop 05
a question of time
Roof-floor plan - they do not look like new houses from the top.
15 m
69. workshop 05
a question of time
69
First-floor plan - but none of them has this spatial freedom.
15 m
70. 70
workshop 05
a question of time
Ground-floor plan (infrastructure) - only with a wall, a roof, and a platform.
15 m
71. workshop 05
a question of time
71
Ground-floor plan (infill) - you can get as many different houses as the number of houses.
15 m
72. 72
workshop 05
a question of time
10 m
Section A (above) and B (below) with differents ways of constructing the space.
73. workshop 05
a question of time
73
10 m
Section C (above) and D (below) with differents ways of engaging with the outside.
86. 86
workshop 06
la corrala
la corrala
“La maison des locataires” Photomontage , Robert Doisneau, 1962.
The corridor house was a failure at the time
for many reasons, mainly privacy issues, but
it should not be a dead housing typology. In
our days it is usual not to know the neighbour,
not to interact with him, practically a hello
and goodbye in the lift, la corrala demands a
jump from people, it demands interest in the
other, but also to show oneself vulnerable to
the other. Perhaps something that la corrala
brought to the city previously. Trying to get
two neighbours to get to know each other
better through the space should not be a bad
idea by rescuing this typology from oblivion.
88. 88
workshop 06
la corrala
The essence of la corrala lies in these two operations - it is not just the result; it is its process.
La corrala as a consequence of three transformations.
from a single-family house
to a collective house
spontaneous and organic growth
of the medieval city
from the countryside
to the city’s constraints
conversion of the public space
into a semi-private space due to its shape
from one level house
to growing in height
sometimes a building was built at the
entrance to reinforce this privacy
Social attitude: origins of la corrala as a collective house (Islamic Adarve).
106. 106
workshop 07
repetition and variation
repetition and variation
People’s houses look like each other. They resemble their owners but also
their neighbours. Everyone looks at his neighbour and somehow copies
something from him. But there is something beautiful in this varied
repetition, each time they try to do the same thing but in a different way,
as if it were the first time. Some people call it tradition. But it takes no
more than following intuition. If you arrive to a new place and you do
not know anyone, you try to blend in with them, you try to copy their
language, their gestures, and so on. It is something you do instinctively.
All this is translated architecturally in the facades, in the small variations
of the same with slightly different floor heights (due to the imperfections
of the workers), similar dimensions of gaps (due to the technique), similar
locksmiths or joinery (due to the guilds), slightly different finishes (for
tastes the colours) but from a distance they all look equally beautiful.
“Untitled” Photomontage from Domus Magazine, José Antonio Coderch, 1961.
107. workshop 07
repetition and variation
107
Study of several facades of La Latina - the same but different, they look similar but each one has something special.
110. 110
workshop 07
repetition and variation
General overview - it is a fortress because the other is the enemy but still the streets, heights and visuals are respected.
111. workshop 07
repetition and variation
111
15 m
Section for the one of the entrances (above) and for the garden (below) - a boundary between inside and outside.
112. 112
workshop 07
repetition and variation
Non-property space
80 sqm
60 sqm
70-80 sqm
Satellites Rooms
15 m
Typical-floor plan (part of the building) - two facades to customize, no structural restrictions and some satellite rooms.
113. workshop 07
repetition and variation
113
The structural system allows the greatest possible freedom both spatially and in the customization of each envelope.
118. 118
climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
la barraca
Informal settlements, in this case barracas, in
this case in Barcelona, are not only dwellings
or spaces but also ways of life in themselves.
They are like putting a house on the street
because there is no other possible place. They
are dwellings shaped by everyday actions, and
mainly by the level of poverty of their owners.
Even so, they are basic housing typologies
based on the intuition of their owners. Based
on getting by as best as you can, with what you
have around, with what you think might work,
and if it does not, that is okey because you
can try again, change it and do it differently.
Somorrostro Beach (Barcelona) Photography, Sergio Palao, 1965.
119. climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
119
Why is this not considered a vernacular house?
120. 120
climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
Analysis of barracas - quite a few problems arising from economic development but with potentials.
Process of self-building a barraca - boundaries between private and public are imaginary.
Bioclimatic performance of barraca - the main problem is the internat heat mangement causing people’s behaviour.
01. fenced plot 02. built acommodation 03. appropriating public space 04. outdoor space requirement 05. extended house
summer winter
Problems with overheating
of the roof. Attempt to
massify the cover.
Appropriation of public
space as a search for
thresholds.
Trying to get as much
shade as possible.
Absence of a floor
generates heat losses.
Attempt to use curtains and
furniture to obtain warmth.
Canopys are stripped
to achieve the
maximum light.
Spaces are collected
and compressed.
Absence of a thermal mass.
Loss of internal heat.
121. climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
121
36º
36º
36º
36º
36º
9 - 32º 12 - 29º
10 - 31º 16 - 28º 10 - 27º
south facade north facade
20 - 26º
22 - 28º
18 - 26º
14 - 26º
70º
25º
5 m
Section - thresholds function as climatic regulators (as a result of the barraca study).
Rammed earth screen walls promote air flow
and allow self-breathing during the summer.
Wicker cover in the canopy
to control the sunlight.
In-Between spaces to allow better
control of thermal comfort.
Thermal curtains to retain the return
of solar radiation during winter.
In summer, the opening of the skylight allows
warmair to be released from the rooms. During
winter, it will retain the heat inside the rooms.
The high thermal inertia of the vegetation
roof reduces heat loss, conserving heat
during winter nights.
Polished concrete flooring allows the heat generated
by the sunlight to be retained during the night.
North patios generate different
microclimates while reducing
the effect of winter wind.
122. 122
climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
5 m
Ground-floor plan - highlighting the barracas’s spatial undefined nature, no difference between indoors and outdoors.
123. climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
123
Thermodynamic performance - the house is like putting on or taking off a coat.
day (o: 32ºC i: 26ºC) night (o: 20ºC i: 22ºC)
summer
day (o: 12 ºC i: 20ºC) night (o: 7ºC i: 18ºC)
winter
128. 128
climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
10 m
Section - by stacking houses you can get a building but changing a few things, for example, create several patios.
129. climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
129
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+ -
+
-
+
-
Thermodynamic performance - the connection of the ground-floor to the ventilation stack is key to its breathing.
day (o: 32ºC i: 26ºC) night (o: 20ºC i: 22ºC)
summer
day (o: 12 ºC i: 20ºC) night (o: 7ºC i: 18ºC)
winter
130. 130
climate, metabolism architecture
la barraca
15 m
Two possibilities of type-floor plan (above and below) - playing with heights generates different microclimates.
134. 134
construction technology
la minga
la minga
“Minga de Tenaún” (Chiloé, Chile) Photography, Rodoluca, 2010.
La minga is not just an anecdotal thing that happens in the south of Chile.
It is a celebration. When a neighbour decides to move, he moves his own
house. Sometimes undismantled and sometimes dismantled, sometimes
even with the furniture inside intact. As if nothing changed from the
inside, as if the world looked the same. But of course, it is impossible
to do it alone, he needs the rest, he needs a community. It is something
that is done with everyone and for everyone. But not only that, it is a real
party, in exchange for the help, a big feast is prepared for everyone. It is a
celebration when someone wants to move to another place. But it is not
a goodbye, it is a see you later, because they will never forget what he did
for them nor he what they did for him. Everyone will be aware they have
got a home, and that that home can be moved and that not because of
it being moved they do not have one. You can have even more than one.
135. construction technology
la minga
135
But this tradition, like the real ones, does not remain in the past. They
have been technologically updated, from the oxen moving the houses
to today’s boats and tractors. But they are still treated as an event, the
changes do not hide the true essence of it. The journey is very long, and
you have to calculate the number of days, the number of items in the
house, the dimensions of the items to fit in the trucks, the number of
trucks you need, the amount of food you need to buy for the meal and
check the weather forecast. Everything has to be well planned. We forgot
to mention, and this is especially important, that we also have to think
about the skills of the workers, the techniques they are used to, or at
least leave everything well set up for them. A bit of patience is needed
for the imperfections that will appear, as the building will not turn
out like in the plans. But that is all right, it might even be better for it.
13,55 2,60
2,95
136. 136
construction technology
la minga
SANTIAGO
VALPARAISO SAN ANTONIO
TALCAHUANO
CONCEPCIÒN
LEBU
TEMUCO
COQUIMBO
LA SILLA
CERRO ARMAZONES
ANTOFAGASTA
CERRO PARANAL
CHAÑARAL
RANCAGUA
ARAUCO
CLT FACTORY
CERÀMICAS SANTIAGO
CLAY FACTORY
INGEMETAL
STEEL FACTORY
This is a map of the journey, but not of people, of the building but in parts. Well, also people.
137. construction technology
la minga
137
And this is the numbered and serial baggage of elements. All of them are the building but they do not know it yet.
138. 138
construction technology
la minga
01. site selection and flattening of the ground
05. laying of clt slabs
02. in-situ platform with surface foundations
06. ceramic system roof is closed
Construction process of the building - it is a system, and it has a twin building.
139. construction technology
la minga
139
03. placement of the screen-walls and columns with seismic isolators
07. wet modules and wooden partitions are brought inside
04. modular steel structure is ereceted
08. building is enclosed with a modulated envelope of ceramic lattice
The importance of this process in a place like a desert. A camp is even built for the workers.
140. 140
construction technology
la minga
10 m
Typical-floor plan (above) and ground-floor plan (below) - in the middle of nowhere you have a oasis.
141. construction technology
la minga
141
10 m
Section for the oasis (above) and section for the building (below) - being modular does not make it worse.
144. 144
construction technology
la minga
Covering of ceramic tiles on battens
Modular ventilated envelope with
ceramic louvres with built-in
windows and cover battens
Modular ventilated envelope
with ceramic louvres with
built-in windows
Precast concrete screen walls
Prefabricated wet rooms
Modular ventilated envelope
with ceramic louvres
Clt slabs
Ground slab foundation
Concrete columns with
seismic isolators
Prefab wooden
partitions and doors
The building as assembled elements.
146. 146
construction technology
la minga
Detail section - an introverted building that stealthily overlooks the courtyard but also the desert from the rooftop.
5 m
147. construction technology
la minga
147
Three detail zooms of constructive section - two facades and two envelopes.
150. 150
low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
but also a question of needs
Pictures of the surroundings of Chácara Florida (Sao Paulo) from Google Maps, 2022.
People have what they can afford to have. There are places where what
exists is what you have, no more. No expectations just to live for today,
not to think about tomorrow. Places where the street and the house are
the same thing because de house is not big enough and the street is not
safe enough, where the work and live happen in the same places. Places
where the only thing that can be offered is the basics, the urgent, a shelter.
151. low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
151
It is not only the needs of the individual that have an influence on the
decision to change your own home. Although they are important there
are also other influences. You have to take into account also the dreams,
the desires to become someone different, someone better, or at least look
like one. But also, the fears of no longer being you anymore or being
someone else. This is not a simple mental process as one might suppose.
NEEDS,
yours and those of the place
where you live
space
time
DESIRES
of
what you want to be
FEARS
of
ceasing to be
who you are
or who you were
152. 152
low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
S M L XL
Municipality
of Sao Paulo
Chacara Florida slum upgrading plan
by means of
Review of
existing
housing conditions
Proposed
improvement facilities
for existing dwellings
Structural reinforcement
for dilapidated housing
Technical advice
for new housing
Proposal for
collective housing
for affected families
hiring a group of architects
Administrative and architectural infrastructure - as a scalar system it has to work in different situations and places.
153. low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
153
covered space
built space
parceled space
urban void
30 m
Roof-floor plan - study of the urban morphology of the informal houses and its relationship with the existing terrain.
154. 154
low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
M - a water tank for collecting rainwater
S - a skylight for more light indoors
L - a roof to protect from the weather
S - a canopy to promote street trading
Different scales of action according to needs (S= small; M= medium; L= large and XL= extralarge).
155. low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
155
L - a public equipment to create community spaces
S - a balcony to improve raltions with the outside
XL - structure and roof in order to build a residential building
M - a covering for a large exterior room
Non-invasive prototypes are proposed so that homeowners keep feeling a sense of belonging over their homes.
156. 156
low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
a car workshop with a house
a shop with a house
a house with a shop
an attempt at a small palace
a house with a porch
a house with a garage
a greengrocer with a room
a two-storey house
a house with a fancy tiles
Catalogue of facade expressions - probably a diversity that design itself cannot achieve.
157. low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
157
15 m
Three different sections showing the variety of needs to be addressed.
158. 158
low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
159. low cost emergency housing
but also a question of needs
159
160. 160
urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
somehow reusing (the place)
People do not tend to like abrupt changes. They enjoy continuity. Many are able to stick with
things that are half-broken or malfunctioning but do not fall down or get in the way. And if
they happen to be able to reuse them fixing another problem, so much better. But they know
what was in there before, what they had to do to change it. They know the past of things; they
remember because they had to come up with solutions for those things. It is another thing to
have into account, to value these things, to know the past of places and things. here is some
kind of memory in the places that remains in people’s unconscious. everyone remembers
that building where those last stores failed, and this specific place usually remains in people’s
imaginary as kind of cursed. Trivial things that remain in the collective imaginary. There are
even buildings which are demolished and very few people remember what happened in them,
important or unremarkable things, but things after all, and it is good to remember them. On
the other hand, we architects only show respect for the work of another architect if he was
or is known, and not for the many anonymous architects who have built very good buildings.
Alfonso XIII Headquarters Current Status and Muñoz Grandes Pavilion Demolition from Madrid City Council, 2012.
161. urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
161
S
Taking into account
south orientation
U and I
arrangement
No plot delimitation
but sense of island
Organic tension
between buildings and
greens
Organic and continuous
pedestrian access
Axial continuous access by car
Green around buildings
Around Courtyard and Linear
Direct and individual access
Semi Detached Houses
Gothic Plotting
Roman or Islamic Plotting Detached Houses Right to pass
Modifying agricultural landscape - urban patterns as a tool to blur property lines.
Learning from army buildings placement - reinterpretation of the army group of buildings.
Learning from the site is as simple as looking at what exists, understanding it and using it in some way.
162. 162
urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
A-5
06. Connecting green corridor (Casa de Campo-Las Cruces Park).
04. Continuity of main axes (visuals) and urban morphology.
02. Highway as a link and not as a border (2 Km underground).
05. Highway as an infrastructural spine connected to the hub.
03. Cultural hub and energy supply - circular economy network.
01. Respect for existing footprints in diverse ways (200.000 sqm).
General strategies - the goal is to make Campamento belongs to La Latina, so it has to feel like the same atmosphere.
163. urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
163
Masterplan - same population density buildings as in the surrounding area, a cultural hub and a green corridor linking.
300 m
164. 164
urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
It is common to forget or erase the past of our cities, but in the subconscious of people are those place as they were.
165. urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
165
footprint as a landscape
footprint as a meeting point
footprint as a building
footprint as an orchard
footprint as a court
footprint as a playground
Reusing the memory footprints in many different ways - also reducing the carbon footprint of new constructions.
166. 166
urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
Diverse types of blocks connected by the green corridor and the cultural hub, from garden buildings to high-density.
cultural hub and energy facilities
40.000 sqm east extension mixed uses
comercial (gf) and housing
3-5 stories
83.723 sqm
new west extension housing
5-6 stories
67.237 sqm
south extension mixed uses
comercial (gf) and housing
3-5 stories
156.524 sqm
167. urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
167
Different characters caused by traces of previous buildings: cultural hub, open block, public building and green corridor.
169. urban design city sciences
somehow reusing (the place)
169
170. 170
final thoughts
final thoughts
final thoughts
This section is not intended as a conclusion
to the work carried out, as it is considered
something that is still alive, in process and too
early to obtain any kind of result, so we would
like to present some reflections that have arisen
duringthisprocess.Andrightnow,Ifeellikeitis
somethingthatisgoingtocontinueinmymind.
Learning from the informal does not mean
being less purist, less refined, or what is the
same according to the architects themselves,
being less of an architect. Since you have to
notice that an architect has made something.
It could rather be said that during this process
of analysing the projects carried out from this
point of view, a process of unlearning has
taken place. Unlearning through informality,
through the intuitive actions of the people, of
those who live their houses every day, those
who invent typologies all the time, those
who make barbarities that then grant identity.
To unlearn to give importance to many things
that probably did not have them, and others,
that really are what matter, what make the
difference,toputthemintheplacetheydeserve.
As an example of this I can comment that my
way of seeing architecture has changed, it has
focused more on ethics and less on aesthetics,
it is something that I hope I manage not to
lose although I am aware of how difficult
it is, but I have noticed a loss of fear that
things are not perfect but that they improve
the conditions of those who live in them.
Or for example, more interest in the process
than in the final result, knowing how to be able
tosayenoughisenoughwhenyouaredesigning
something without losing any commitment,
interest, or desire for perfectionism.
I have to admit that Anne Lacaton has
a lot to do with all this, the workshop
with her was a turning point in my way
of thinking, which is why it can be seen
that behind all this change are some of the
reflections made by them, for example the
one in the magazine El Croquis (2015:10):
“As architects, we have our own interests, but
it is important to consider that the inhabitant
171. final thoughts
final thoughts
171
does a job after you. It is a question of where
to stop, where to finish the project and how
much freedom you give the inhabitant. The
space should not impose a particular lifestyle,
and you do not have to project everything;
you just have to provide a potential space
to be appropriated and used. If you provide
enough qualities and a wide spectrum of
possibilities, there will be a maximum of
opportunities and the project will assume to be
changed, transformed and re-appropriated.”
In this case the changes would be made
possible by the architecture and produced by
the inhabitants themselves, the updating that
is tradition (“repeating and perfecting, (...) the
same gesture, the same object, the same detail,
the same solution, (...) the same typology,
or the same material” (El Croquis, 2018:8)),
something that is changing little by little, so
little by little that people still call it tradition
and that people themselves are part of it, and
it is considered key to creating those feelings
of belonging and community in places.
Perhaps it is just writing on one’s hand,
paraphrasing Heidegger (2015), that building
is inhabiting as inhabiting is building.
Recognise themselves as important, the
inhabitant and the architect. And to know that
you are just one more in the development,
that maybe your role is less than what you
expect and want, being the one they need.
As an aside, I could say that housing is not
the same anymore, also my way of seeing
architecture without an author. So I would
like to sum up all this feelings and thoughts,
and especially this process of unlearning
developed during this year, with a short
quote from the Portuguese architect Álvaro
Siza about the issue of housing (2006):
“The house is me and us, as one wishes”.
172. 172
appendix
atlas of projects
Workshop 02
MAKING DO AND GETTING BY
40º26’26.0’’N 3º43’53.7’’E
Location: ETSAM (Madrid, Spain)
Description: Domestic Facilities
47º23’04.7’’N 8º31’27.1’’E
Location: SBB Station (Zurich, Switzerland)
Description: Housing Buildings (rooms)
46º51’44.6’’N 9º31’30.9’’E
Location: Tittwiesen (Chur, Switzerland)
Description: Housing Building
Professor: Anne Lacaton
Assistant: Diego García-Setién
Jury: Cristophe Hutin, Tamino Kuni
Topic: Housing and Reuse
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Workshop 03
AGREEMENTS AND CONFLICTS
Professor: Elli Mosayebi
Assistant: Álvaro Martín Fidalgo
Jury: Maria Conen
Topic: Domestic Fragments
Location: Chur, Switzerland
atlas of projects
Workshop 01
OBJECTS (AND OTHER PIECES)
Professor: Amann Cánovas Maruri
Assistant: Gabriel Wajnerman
Jury: -
Topic: Reload with Work
Location: Madrid, Spain
Original title: Making Do and Getting By
with 1.093 rooms
Members of group: Alexandre De Rungs,
Nayanatara Tampi, Karol Díaz and
Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Overton Table
Members of group: Andrew Georges,
Joaquín Ipince and Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: It’s not housing but objects and
other pieces
Members of group: Alexia Valtadou, Felipe
Santamaría, Bettina Kagelmacher and Jorge
Sánchez Bajo
173. appendix
atlas of projects
173
41º24’37.6’’N 2º12’19.8’’E
Location: San Martí (Barcelona, Spain)
Description: Mixed Uses Building
43º31’02.4’’N 16º30’01.9’’E
Location: Kila, Mejaši (Split, Croatia)
Description: Semi-detached Houses
40º24’26.7’’N 3º41’55.2’’E
Location: Lavapiés (Madrid, Spain)
Description: Residence for artists
T
Workshop 04
SPREADING OUT AS MUCH AS
POSSIBLE
Professor: Andrea Deplazes
Assistant: Fernando Altozano
Jury: Nuria Muruais
Topic: Working + Living Structures
Location: Barcelona, Spain
Workshop 05
A QUESTION OF TIME
Professor: Hrvoje Njiriç
Assistant: Esperanza Campaña
Jury: Alberto Nicolau, Esau Acosta
Topic: Ordinariness and Life
Location: Split, Croatia
Workshop 06
LA CORRALA
Professor: Alison Brooks
Assistant: Alejandro de Miguel
Jury: Miguel Cornejo
Topic: La Corrala Futura
Location: Madrid, Spain
Original title: Infill
Members of group: Andrés Solano, Isabella
Pineda and Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Lines of Continuation
Members of group: Gaurav Chordia, Ishan
Goyal, Sebastian Worm and Jorge Sánchez
Bajo
Original title: Green Corrala
Members of group: Nayanatara Tampi,
Juanita Gómez, Bettina Kagelmacher and
Jorge Sánchez Bajo
174. 174
appendix
atlas of projects
Workshop 07(a)
REPETITION AND VARIATION
Professor: Dietmar Eberle
Assistant: Alberto Nicolau
Jury: -
Topic: Madrid in the 16th Century
Location: Madrid, Spain
Workshop 07(b)
REPETITION AND VARIATION
Professor: Dietmar Eberle
Assistant: Alberto Nicolau
Jury: -
Topic: Madrid in the 20th Century
Location: Madrid, Spain
Climate,Metabolism Architecture
LA BARRACA
Professor: Javier García Germán
Guests: Daniel Ibáñez, Sascha Roesler, Jaume
Mayol, Renaud Haerlingen, Silvia Benedito
Jury: Emiliano López, Renata Sentkiewicz
Topic: Climatic Typologies. Body, Climate
and Architecture
Location: Barcelona, Spain
40º24’45.8’’N 3º42’33.0’’E
Location: La Latina (Madrid, Spain)
Description: Housing Building
40º24’05.3’’N 3º43’15.6’’E
Location: Madrid Río (Madrid, Spain)
Description: Mixed Uses Building
41º24’21.2’’N 2º12’56.7’’E
Location: Poblenou (Barcelona, Spain)
Description: Mixed Uses Building
Original title: Latina Facade
Members of group: Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Madrid Rio Building Complex
Members of group: Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Inhabiting the Threshold
Members of group: Paloma Allende,
Androniki Petrou, Francisco Heredia and
Jorge Sánchez Bajo
175. appendix
atlas of projects
175
Construction Technology
LA MINGA
Professor: Ignacio Fernández-Solla
Guests: David Rutter, Archie Campbell,
Diego García-Setién
Jury: -
Topic: Change of location of an existing
building (Caracol, Juan Herreros)
Location: Atacama, Chile
Low Cost Emergency Housing
BUT ALSO A QUESTION OF NEEDS
Professor: Cristiane Muniz, Fernando Viegas
Guests: Elena Giral, Andres Schiffer, Juana
Canet, Rubén Otero
Jury: María González Aranguren
Topic: Houses as Territory and Territory as
houses
Location: Sao Paulo, Brasil
Urban Design City Sciences
SOMEHOW REUSING (THE PLACE)
Professor: José María Ezquiaga, Gemma
Peribáñez, Susana Isabel, Julia Landaburu
Guests: Luis Irastorza, Luis Willumsen,
Belinda Tato, Mar Santamaría, Christian
Dobrick, Peter Heuken, Flavio Tejada
Jury: -
Topic: New Urban Perspectives for Madrid
Location: Madrid, Spain
24º35’38.1’’S 70º12’14.9’’W
Location: Cerro Armazones (Atacama, Chile)
Description: Residence for scientists
23º43’29.7’’S 46º46’21.6’’W
Location: Chácara Florida (Sao Paulo, Brasil)
Description: Equipments
40º23’08.7’’N 3º47’39.7’’E
Location: Campamento (Madrid, Spain)
Description: Masterplan
Original title: La Minga del Caracol
Members of group: Andrés Solano, Joaquín
Ipince, Bettina Kagelmacher and
Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Learning from Chácara Florida
Members of group: Cristhian Haro, Karol
Díaz, Juanita Gómez, Anastasia Lizardou and
Jorge Sánchez Bajo
Original title: Campamento belongs to La
Latina
Members of group: Ana Victoria
Ottenwalder, Andrew Georges, Anastasia
Lizardou and Jorge Sánchez Bajo
176. 176
appendix
references and sources
bibliography
Clement, G. Manifesto of the third landscape (Spanish). Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2018.
El Croquis. Lacaton Vassal. Postmedia horizon (177-178). Madrid: El Croquis, 2015.
El Croquis. TEd’A arquitectes. Material in play (196, II). Madrid: El Croquis Editorial, 2018.
Heidegger, Martin. Building, Dwelling, Thinking. (Spanish). Madrid: La Oficina de Arte y
Ediciones, 2015.
Perec, Georges. L’Infra-ordinaire (Spanish). Madrid: Editorial Impedimenta, 2008.
Rudofsky, Bernard. Architecture without architects (Spanish). Logroó: Editorial Pepitas de
Calabaza, 2020.
Siza, Alvaro. (2006). La casa es el abrigo. Casa nuestra (Spanish).. Iberian Houses. AV Monografías,
120, 149. Retrieved from: https://arquitecturaviva.com/articulos/la-casa-es-el-abrigo
Zumthor, Peter. Thinking about architecture (Spanish). Barcelona: Editorial Gustavo Gili, 2016.
others references
Figure 01: “I am an interesting house” drawing. Source: own elaboration.
.
Figure 02: “Infrastructure” collage. Source: own elaboration.
Figure 03: “Open source architecture” drawing. Source: own elaboration.
* Objects drawings: Species of spaces and other pieces, Georges Perec, Barcelona: Editorial Montesinos, 1999.
** La Corrala: Typological constructional and structural study of the corridor houses in Madrid, Jaime Santa Cruz, 2012
references and sources
177. images sources
01. “Family Stuff” Photography Serie, Huang Quingjun, 2003. Retrieved from http://www.huangqingjun.com/
02. “Making Do and Getting By” Artbook, Richard Wentworth, 2015. Scanned from the original book.
03. “Untitled” Photography, Ramón Masats, Tomelloso, 1959. Retrieved from https://www.museoreinasofia.es/coleccion/
autor/masats-ramon
04. “Toronto Project”, Tadashi Kawamata, 1989. Retrieved from http://www.mercerunion.org/exhibitions/toronto-project-
1989-drawings-and-maquettes-in-the-gallery-outdoor-installation-august-and-september/
05. Pictures of the surroundings of Kila (Split) from Google Maps, 2022.
06. “La maison des locataires” Photomontage , Robert Doisneau, 1962. Retrieved from https://www.centrepompidou.fr/es/
ressources/oeuvre/cqpGodB
07. “Untitled” Photomontage from Domus Magazine, José Antonio Coderch, 1961. Scanned from a copy.
08. Somorrostro Beach (Barcelona) Photography, Sergio Palao, 1965. Retrieved from https://www.lavanguardia.com/
vida/20171021/432202373714/somorrostro-barceloneta-ayer-y-hoy.html
09. “Minga de Tenaún” (Chiloé, Chile) Photography, Rodoluca, 2010. Retrieved from http://www.chileparaninos.gob.
cl/639/w3-article-321092.html
10. Pictures of the surroundings of Chácara Florida (Sao Paulo) from Google Maps, 2022.
11. Alfonso XIII Headquarters Current Status and Muñoz Grandes Pavilion Demolition from Madrid City Council, 2012.
Retrieved from https://madridciudadaniaypatrimonio.org/