Giving Back Flores to Miraflores_Refurbishment of a Social Housing Project in Cuenca-Ecuador

Giving Back Flores to Miraflores Refurbishment of a Social Housing Project in Cuenca-Ecuador Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante 2019-2020

Declaration

No portion of the work referred to in the thesis project has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other University or other institute of learning.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without permission of the copyright holder, the author.

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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Acknowledgements

This document presents the results of the research and work from Studio B and C, as part of the course of the program MA Architecture + Urbanism. The completion of this thesis refers to the assistance and encouragement of several people, therefore I would like to extend my sincere gratitude towards them.

First, to Manchester School of Architecture, permitting me to grow as a professional with a program that allowed me to meet an incredible number of talented people, both tutors and students, granting me the opportunity to explore new ways of thinking and designing.

To my tutors, Colin Harwood and Curtis Martyn, whose assistance and guidance has been present throughout the development of this document.

To my classmates, especially Afrah, Vasiliki, Cyntia and Sneha, whom I deeply admire for their strength and talent, I express my appreciation for their patience, support and company.

I also acknowledge with a deep sense of respect, my gratitude towards my family and friends in Cuenca, whom at a distance, provided enormous care and support during the different difficulties faced through the year.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the help and endless encouragement from a physically distant individual, who also helped me overcome all the hardships presented during this year.

To the research group from the University of Cuenca: “Contextualización de Indicadores sustentables para vecindarios en la ciudad de Cuenca-Ecuador ”, who provided the material utilized for research and future development of strategies.

Muchas Gracias, Andrea

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Introduction

Social housing in Latin America has always been marked as a poor development of housing units that expand cities in uncontrolled ways, with clones of houses that only disrupt the landscape, excluding citizens from the urban and society. Cuenca is not the difference, it has always had social housing developments and they have always been directed to low-income families, although many, ended with average-income households that managed to get loans to acquire their homes. While the acquisition and distribution is linked to institutions and government’s control, these are also responsible of the way Cuenca has grown in the last decades. Multiple developments are proposed as solutions of housing demand, when alternatives are being overlooked, such as redesigning or refurbishing existing projects.

Many of the social housing projects present problems regarding over-crowed houses, criminality and an important lack of public space. The bottom line is lack of space. These projects are being design to make its residents use more transportation to move around the city, for they are located farther from the commercial zones. Additionally to an important reduction Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

of the living area to give space to more houses, which results in housing supply based on quantity and not quality.

Therefore this thesis is focused on the refurbishment of a social housing project, more specifically: Miraflores; where architectural and urban interventions will enhance the quality of life. As the title says “Giving back Flores to Miraflores”, this thesis focuses in returning more life and quality to this project, focusing on its community and landscape.

The thesis is divided in 5 chapters, firstly stating what is Cuenca and where the project is located. In chapter 2, the current condition of Miraflores is presented while in chapter 3, the design process is shown with its principles, concepts and exercises that will lead to chapter 4 where the refurbishment is presented. Finally, as a conclusion, chapter 5 collects the lessons of this intervention, and reflects on the ways of spatial growth that social housing projects could take in consideration while designing new projects or refurbishing existing ones.

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Content Acknowledgements �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4 Introduction ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 5 Content ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 6

1 |Santa Ana de los 4 Ríos de Cuenca ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 8 1.1 | Location....................................................................................................................................................................10 1.2 | Social Housing in Cuenca: Current state and Issues.........................................................................................14

2 |Miraflores Project, 2012 ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������18 2.1 | Why Miraflores?..................................................................................................................................................... 20 2.2 | Project analysis according to Cuenca’s Planning Regulations........................................................................ 24 2.3 | Methodology and Site Analysis........................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 | Approach and Strategies...................................................................................................................................... 30 2.5 | Masterplan.............................................................................................................................................................. 32

3 |Design Process................................................................................................................................................... 34 3.1 | Programme............................................................................................................................................................. 36 3.2 | Concepts................................................................................................................................................................. 38 3.3 | Precedents.............................................................................................................................................................. 40 6

Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

3.4 | Process and Principles.......................................................................................................................................... 42 3.5 | Constructive systems of social housing projects in Cuenca........................................................................... 44 3.6 | Environmental analysis......................................................................................................................................... 48 3.7 | Vegetation............................................................................................................................................................... 50 3.8 | Serial views and Sketches..................................................................................................................................... 52

4 |Refurbishment of Miraflores ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 60 4.1 | Masterplan.............................................................................................................................................................. 62 4.2 | Street Elevations.................................................................................................................................................... 64 4.3 | Buildings Floor Plans............................................................................................................................................. 66 4.4 | Sections: Miraflores, Buildings, and Facades..................................................................................................... 68 4.5 | Serial Views............................................................................................................................................................. 76 4.6 | Perspectives of the Refurbishment of Miraflores.............................................................................................. 78

5 |Future Lessons.................................................................................................................................................... 88 5.1|Lessons and Recommendations............................................................................................................................ 90 Bibliography ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 94 Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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1 Santa Ana de los 4 Ríos de Cuenca [Background + Location] 8

As a background, in this chapter a description of the location is shown with how social housing is provided and conceived in Cuenca-Ecuador. It presents a brief description of the city and the issues that social housing developments face nowadays.

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1.1 | Location

South America

City: Cuenca

Ecuador Figure 1.1. Cuenca’s Location. By author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Machángara Historic

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15

12

04

01

Urban Parishes

13 05

02

Tomebamba River

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08

09 03

07 14

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Tarqui

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15

San Sebastián El Batán Yanuncay Bellavista Gil Ramírez Dávalos El Sagrario San Blas Cañaribamba Sucre Huayna Cápac Hermano Miguel El Vecino Totoracocha Monay Machángara

Yanuncay

Figure 1.2. Cuenca and its urban parishes with its main rivers. By author GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100

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Area of Respect Area of First Order Especial Areas Archeological Area Historic Center Historic Center's Limit

Figure 1.3. Historic Center of Cuenca. Source: González and Velecela, 2019

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Figure 1.4. Neighborhoods’ Plan. Source: Cavañate and Mancheno,2015

Photo 1.1. Cuenca’s ancient urban fabric. Source: Turismo, 2010

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Photo 1.2. Cuenca’s view from Turi. Source: Network, 2017

Cuenca, known as “Santa Ana de los 4 ríos”, is the third main city of Ecuador. It is located in the inter-andin valley and its altitude is 2.538 meters above the sea level. It is divided in 15 urban and 21 rural parishes. Due its location (Figures 1.1, 1.2), it has temperatures between 14°C and 18°C around the year. Its name “…4 ríos”, points to the four main rivers that run across the city: Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Machángara and Tarqui (Cuenca, 2019).

Cuenca had a population of 603.269 habitants by the year 2017, and is expected to increase up to 636.996 residents by 2020 (INEC, 2017).

In 1982 the ancient urban fabric of the city is declared Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO (Figure 1.3); and it became one of the most representative zones of the city and country. Which not only reflects the history of its citizens, it is also a center of diverse cultural and artistic manifestations (González and Velecela, 2019).

Cuenca is a city of neighborhoods (Figure 1.4). Parishes are historical divisions but neighborhoods are groups of people that live nearby and form small communities. By the year 2015, around 360 neighborhoods were recognized, and they are not divided due political or administrative reasons, they are small units of the territory that give identity to its habitants (Cañavate and Mancheno, 2015). These neighborhoods play an important role in the city’s cultural identity. Religious events usually are organized by neighborhoods’ leaders and government institutions, where citizens participate representing their neighborhood. This dynamic not only applies to religious events; in sports there are tournaments where neighborhoods are the playing teams.

In general, people are connected to their neighborhoods and Cuenca’s identity. People engage to turn their neighborhoods into welcoming places but some are forgotten by authorities, which make people feel left out, disconnected from their city.

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1.2 | Social Housing in Cuenca: Current state and Issues

Figure 1.5. Social Housing Projects location and their proximities to rural centralities. By author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Cuenca Rural parishes Rural centralities

Figure 1.6. Azuay Province with its rural parishes and their centralities. By author GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100

IESS

EMUVI-EP

JNV-MIDUVI

SOCIAL HOUSING PROJECTS IN CUENCA Name of the Project Ciudadela Católica Paraíso Retamas Tomebamba Huayna-Cápac Bosque de Monay Eucaliptos Patamarca Tarqui Los Cerezos Los Alisos Los Nogales Huizhil Jardines del Valle Bemaní Capulispamba Rieles de Monay Centro Histórico La Campiña Miraflores Casa del Sombrero Los Capulíes Multifamiliares del IESS Vista al Río (BIESS-EMUVI)

Year 1973 1982 1984 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1994 Sub Total 2004 2005 2005 2009 2010 2011 2013 2012-2014 2013 2013 2014 2015 2019 Sub Total 1979 2014 Sub Total TOTAL

# Housing Units 360 600 503 320 45 433 255 1224 117 3857 75 14 190 118 26 1128 41 550 13 150 200 15 593 3113 119 550 669 7639

Table 1.1. Social Housing Projects in Cuenca. By author based on: Culcay and Maldonado, 2016; Padrón and Tello, 2016.

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

Social housing projects have been developed by local government’s management through public institutions, these have changed names throughout the years but the logistics have not.

Until last year (Table 1.1), around 7600 housing units have been built and their location is primarily on areas that are near the rural centralities, meaning that they are closer to the urban limit of the city (Figure 1.5 and 1.6.)(Culcay and Maldonado, 2016, Padrón and Tello, 2016). This operation, of housing demand and the government’s supply on the city limits, happens due the land extension that a development as a social housing project needs and also because land price is cheaper the further it is from the city. On the other hand, residents that want to acquire a plot of land or a house are subdued to the uncontrolled prices, making it impossible to obtain their own place of living (KJC, 2016). This, plus the disorganized control of the urban growth, makes the city grow horizontally with projects that lack basic necessities and demand transportation. Housing projects, that are located near rural parishes, represent a short term expense to the local municipality (Castillo, 2019). Additionally, mobility issues result in more vehicle focused infrastructure, without concentrating on how these housing projects represent small parts of the city and they should be refurbished or re-imagined.

According to the World Bank, two out of three Latin-American families need a better house, not a new one. Their article points that a poor quality house in Latin-America can be recognized if it’s analyzed by its structure, access to basic services, quality of tenancy and the location; and they mention that in the region, the incredible problems that come with natural disasters, such as 15

Photo 1.3. Miraflores Neighborhood showing partially the Social Housing Project with the same name (Bottom right). By author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Photo 1.4. Neighorhoods that are farther away have dirt roads. Source: Xavier Caivinagua for El Comercio, 2019

Photo 1.5. “Los Capulíes” Social housing project. Source: El Mercurio, 2019

reconstruction, represent from 4 to 10 times the cost of preventing them. The World Bank also explains how Colombia, instead of directing money to create new housing projects, decided to focus on housing policies that would be more efficient, resilient and effective. In one of their policies, they developed programs to improve the living conditions of social housing (Mundial, 2019). Demonstrating that such policies are necessary to its context, and in the case of Cuenca, it can improve the way the city grows without designating resources for new projects that would only bring future problems and expenses (Mercurio, 2019).

Nowadays Cuenca’s housing programs are directed towards building new developments (Photo 1.5). Therefore it is important to start making refurbishments to existent projects, in order to learn the possibilities provided by these type of developments, hopefully changing the way social housing is conceived and noticing future opportunities of growth.

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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2 Miraflores Project, 2012 [Case Study + Analysis + Strategies] 18

Miraflores is the name of a social housing project located in the neighborhood of the same name. It was built in the period 2012-2013, and provides housing for 182 families with low-income backgrounds.

Miraflores is divided into 3 blocks: MatĂ­as Ochoa, La Floresta, and TucumĂĄn. In the first block, families that suffered their loss of homes due the winter season were given housing units. The remaining residents needed to comply with the mandatory paperwork

additionally to loans and credits that proved that they could buy a unit in Miraflores.

In this chapter, work from studio B is shown. Where the methodology, methods and site analysis was executed, finalizing with a draft of the masterplan, showing the strategies that are proposed in the same chapter.

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2.1 | Why Miraflores?

Cuenca’s Division by Planning Sectors

North Sector

“El Vecino” Parish

Cuenca’s Division by Parishes

Figure 2.1. Miraflores Location by its planning sectors and parish. By author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

SECTION 1-1: Matías Ochoa, La Floresta and Tucumán Blocks

SECTION 2-2: Matías O. Block

SECTION 3-3: Tucumán Block

Figure 2.2. Sections of Miraflores, showing the pathways between units and the height difference. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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Photo 2.1. Miraflores (Color). By author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Selecting the case study Miraflores, a project built in 2012, would settle a precedent on how social housing projects can be refurbished and in the case of building new developments, what aspects they will need to consider to connect its residents and the city. Additionally, the Research Group “Contextualización de Indicadores sustentables para vecindarios en la ciudad de CuencaEcuador” of the University of Cuenca, collected information from interviews with the developers, surveys to residents and some photographic material in the period 2018-2019; they have authorized and shared their information for this thesis development.

Miraflores has 182 housing units divided in 3 blocks: Matías Ochoa, La Floresta and Tucumán. Its location is near the borders of the urban area of Cuenca, additionally 2 blocks of Miraflores are situated under the zone N20 and Tucumán, the bottom one, on N19; which means that the project needed to respond to different regulations in terms of urban planning (Figure 2.1). In terms of parishes, is situated in “El Vecino” parish, which translates to The Neighbor. Miraflores is also placed on steep terrain and the roads that divide the project, are used for vehicular access to Miraflores’ parking lots (Figure 2.2 and Photos 2.1, 2.2 and 2.3).

Miraflores is a social housing project that has lots of potential for their typology of housing units and the particularities of its location.

El Vecino is the third most populated parish in Cuenca (Riera, 2017), and it has poverty issues additionally to a conflict with the use of land, meaning that the current use is more than the resistance and capability of the land as a resource, which indicates over-use through construction and other activities that takes too much pressure on the soil (Ortiz, 2018). This can be seen on following subjects where a comparison between regulation and current construction is shown.

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Photo 2.2. View of Matías Ochoa’s parking lot and its communal house (Left). Source: University of Cuenca’s Research Group, 2018

Photo 2.3. View of Matías Ochoa’s parking lot and part of La Floresta housing units (Left). Source: University of Cuenca’s Research Group, 2018

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2.2 | Project analysis according to Cuenca’s Planning Regulations

Figure 2.3a

Figure 2.3b

Figure 2.3c

Figure 2.3. Miraflores current condition and the ways it should have been if it followed regulations. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 2.4. Exercise showing the areas that could be generated. By Author

As mentioned before, Miraflores is placed in 2 regulations zones, N19 and N20. And as an exercise, a comparison was made between Miraflores’ current condition (Figure 2.3a) and the different regulations zones (Figures 2.3b and 2.3c), to understand the residential density that Miraflores has; and as the figures show, in a plot of land where 30 houses should have been placed, 182 were built. The difference between 2.3b and 2.3c, is the height of the buildings, in one zone there are different regulations depending the size of the plot and the mandatory distance of the built facade and the plot frontal limit.

Figure 2.5. Circulation possibilities, unifying different parts of the project.

By Author

Another exercise was to, in a physical model (Figures 2.4, 2.5 and 2.6), experiment the different ways Miraflores could have been placed, meeting the regulations and changing the type of building that could hold the same amount of housing units.

Creating leisure (orange) and community areas (purple) as seen in Figure 2.4, was evident that more green area could be generated, increasing the quality of life for a social housing project.

Meaning that Miraflores is a development with overutilization of the soil and enhancing the overpopulation by building houses that need future expansions because they do not give enough living space.

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Figure 2.6. High rise buildings as a social housing possibility. By Author

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2.3 | Methodology and Site Analysis

Figure 2.7. Urban uses near Miraflores. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 2.8. Analysis’ results. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50%

50% 45%

40% 36%

30% 20% 10% 5%

0

Total of Vehicle Owners*

More Than One Vehicle Owners*

Bus Users

Bus Users with Special Discount

*Vehicles or motorcycles. With trips of minimum 2 Km, and maximum of 300 Km, and an average of 20 Km per day.

By looking into plans, it was evident that Miraflores was located near parks and sport courts (Figure 2.7), therefore the inclusion of these type of spaces was not considered.The project analysis is divided in 3 parts, Landscape/Environment, Infrastructure and Human/Community (Figure 2.8). This way is easier to categorize the results from area percentages and the mapping of the surveys.

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 44%

40% 30%

30%

20%

27%

19%

10% 0

Students in Miraflores

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People under 18 y.o.

Households with no Internet Access

Students with no Internet Access

Figure 2.9. Survey’s answers. By Author

Figure 2.10. Housing Unit’s growth in 2 years. By Author

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Diverse methods such as surveys, interviews, maps, photography and aerial views were necessary to analyze Miraflores within its context and current condition. The problematic of Miraflores was given by the nature of a social housing project in the region, therefore the methodology was used to find the opportunities and potential that could enhance the neighborhood experience and the quality of life of its residents without having to use more territory.

In the first category, we can see that an important area of the project is destined to green areas, unfortunately as the pictures show, they are mostly residual areas which cannot be used completely. The public space are places where people occupy and circulated through during their day-to-day basis. These are places for the general use of the community (Fonseca, 2014).

But public spaces can also be from different dimensions and they can be spaces for different types of social dynamics (Bellet, 2009). Additionally, and importantly, public spaces carry a social dimension that results in spaces that are appropriated by their community (Garriz and Schroeder, 2014, Borja, 2000). The percentage of residential areas is around 47% which show us the potential of use of their terraces (first aerial picture) for interventions.

Secondly, in infrastructure, only 2% of the Project is destined to recreational and leisure areas. 9% to parking lots which are used by 45% percent of the owners. A mapping of the number of bedrooms is shown as well, to indicate which areas are in need of habitable space, and if we relate them to the picture on the right, it shows that those spaces are already being generated by building more stories on top of the original unit (Photo 2.4, Figure 2.10).

Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Finally, 6% of the area is to community spaces, also known as “Communal houses”, places that, according to a verbal interview to a Miraflores’ developer, are utilized for meetings and events, there are 3 communal houses, one per block. According to the interviews and as seen in the map, large amount of family members are being clustered, which responds to early mentions about the subject. On top of that, there is an important percentage of students that reside in Miraflores, from which 27% do not access to internet. Additionally, it can be seen in photos that Miraflores’ looks empty, for a place that holds 182 families, is rare to not find that many people on the common areas, giving it an ambience of abandonment, which also results in safety issues.

Using the analysis results, it can be seen that the potential of using the roofs as an important additional area can be implemented, pathways need to improve their connections and the general landscape of the area can increase by putting gardens and allotments in terraces. Also community spaces need to expand, for there is very common for people to invite guests to their houses and this can increase the level of community in the project. There is a considerable number of students that could benefit from places with free Wi-Fi, where they can carry their assignments, additionally to a 15% of people that could do remote work, therefore another space such as co-working could take place in Miraflores. The addition of numerous activities and spaces where people can develop more community meetings, gatherings or simply working, would definitely increase the quality of life in Miraflores.

In terms of mobility, 50% of the residents use public bus as their day-to-day transportation, and the nearest stop is less than 200m away. There is no need to increase nor decrease the amount of parking lots, for there is no demand of it.

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Photo 2.4. Backyards covered by walls to create more space for the housing unit. By Author

Photo 2.5. Pathways between housing units. Source: University of Cuenca’s Research Group, 2018

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2.4 | Approach and Strategies

Figure 2.11. Key strategies. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 2.12. Key scenarios. By Author

According to the results, connection and landscape will be the key interventions on different scales and scenarios throughout the refurbishment of Miraflores (Figures 2.11 and 2.12).

The scales of intervention are proposed to connect the project between the residents, increasing the neighborhood’s quality of life and community, taking back the name of the

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parish “El Vecino” to add another level of socialization to the project. Additionally, landscape will be enhanced through interventions increasing the greenery areas, incorporating gardens that will finally return Miraflores to its name and identity.

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2.5 | Masterplan

Figure 2.13. Studio B’s Masterplan. By author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 2.14. Axonometric views of the masterplan. By author

The masterplan produced on Studio B (Figure 2.13), collects a draft of interventions on all scales showing how activities can take place on different levels (Figure 2.14). This masterplan will increase the landscape appeal of Miraflores by giving them back their own name, which translated to English means “Watch the Flowers”, the different scales of interventions will endorse their identity by using every space possible to promote garden areas. The parish name Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

–El Vecino- also plays an important role, as the interventions will connect blocks, spaces and neighbors, increasing the community sense and safety in the area. This exercise was key to determine how it might work after its refurbishment, however the functionality of it will be worked on future chapters, for the sole reason that the access to the roofs needs to be specified and controlled, in order to preserve the privacy and safety of the residents.

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3 Design Process [Programme + Concepts + Principles]

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This chapter compiles the design process that Miraflores will follow throughout the project. First, it will present the programme that will be applied, followed by concepts and principles while presenting precedents that were taken in consideration for the design. Afterwards, analysis of materiality

and environment are shown, indicating as well the vegetation profile and its location in the different proposed spaces of Miraflores. Finally, serial views and sketches are used to study journeys and visual connections.

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3.1 | Programme

Figure 3.1. Programme of Access according groups of people and type of spaces. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 3.2. General Programme with Activities, spaces and areas. By Author

Figure 3.3. Multipurpose Building Programme. By Author

To begin with the design process, it was important to build a programme that will help organize the different scales of intervention and the area and the people that will have access to them. Therefore a differentiation of the people has been made: Black = Public, Blue = Private and Purple = Semi-public/private, for it is important to determine that Miraflores is occupied by families and the main social connection will have to occur between residents first. The group of semi-public/private people, is determined by the access that multifunctional buildings will provide, for they will act as filters

for non-residents; finally the public is determined by any person or group of people that can enter Miraflores without filters nor barriers.

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Multi-functional buildings will be placed where communal houses are located, utilizing the same area but growing in height with different activities additional to the community space. These buildings will be the vertical connection between the ground floor and the roofs of Miraflores, and they are important additions to the project, for they will give space to academic, work and community activities.

3.2 | Concepts

The actions that will help the design to take place will consider 3 concepts: A. Spatial Growth (Figure 3.4), which will help to increase the area of utilization for activities that currently do not take place in Miraflores and to preserve the existing ones. This is achieved by proposing a vertical growth of the housing unit that will utilize the flat roofs. In addition, removing the existing wall between backyards, will connect neighbors and enhance the sense of community starting from the living space.

B. Secondly, all these new areas can be connected through bridges between roofs but also they need to be accessed in a way that the habitants are not disturbed and in a controlled way, which is why the multipurpose buildings are an important part of the project because not only do they act as a gathering point for the community, but also as a filter for roof access (Figure 3.5).

Figure 3.4. A. Spatial Growth. By Author

Figure 3.5. B. Multipurpose buildings connecting ground floor with roofs, also bridges connecting roofs. By Author.

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 3.6. Concepts used in Miraflores. By Author

C. Finally, the big umbrella that covers Miraflores, is the increased sense of community. An invisible connection between neighbors, which will unite the project, making people feel connected to its place of living by using their skills and time to enhance the landscape; its sensorial experience that will hopefully fill Miraflores habitants with pride of the place that they live in (Figure 3.6).

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3.3 | Precedents

Figure 3.7. San Francisco’s facade. Source: Burgos and Pacheco, 2019

The first precedent is based on the Historic Center of Cuenca, where multiple buildings are composed by multiple stories, creating living spaces that are attached one to another Photo 3.1 and Figure 3.7). This exercise is more visible in the “Barranco”, at the riverside of the Tomebamba river, where is easy to find these residencies with incredible heritage value. The selection of this precedent was to show how vertical growth has been present even in the historical parts of the city, which have given Cuenca’s identity (Burgos and Pacheco, 2019).

Secondly there is a residential project, Odham’s Walk in Covent Garden, which utilized terraces and roofs as an extra occupation space. Connected with stairs and bridges (Photo 3.2), this project was built in 1979 by the Greater London Council, and is characterized by its multiple leisure spaces and also a sense of safety and community, where all public spaces can be seen from upstairs dwellings (Nagore, 2016).

Finally, for the public spaces, the particular shapes and designs of Burle Marx have been considered (Photo 3.3), for they present multiple ways to create texture with vegetation on public spaces, giving another dimension on how these can be more dynamic according the vegetation they have (Arellano, 2019).

Photo 3.1. Barranco of Cuenca: Source: Google Images

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Photo 3.2. Odhams Walk, Covent Garden in London. Source: Nagore, 2016

Photo 3.3. Roberto Burle Marx’s exhibition in New York. Source: Arellano, 2019

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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3.4 | Process and Principles

First, Figure 3.9, in order to improve the circulation within the project it was necessary to remove 5 houses so the pathways could connect. With this operation, 5 families will be relocated, 3 into the new building of “La Floresta” and 2 into the space now used for the communal house of the first block “Matías Ochoa”.

The space for the multipurpose buildings is determined by the existing lots for communal houses with exception of the first block, where the parking lot will be covered so 2 stories could be placed above which relocates the old communal space and provides an additional academic space.

All these buildings will be used to filter entrance to the roofs, so non-residents of Miraflores won’t be able to access them easily, ensuring the privacy and security of these new areas.

The project runs with 2 principles, simplicity and repetition. Firstly the shapes of the buildings and materials can easily be replicated and the connections that require no more than an entrance point.

Secondly repetition will create a sense of harmony throughout the project including resources such as balconies and bridges that will be the same throughout the project. As seen in Figure 3.8, the different types of spaces can be replicated throughout the project, showing once again the concepts aforementioned.

Figure 3.8. Section’s Model, showing the 3 types of spaces: backyards (Private), roofs (Semi-Public/Private) and pathways (Public). By Author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 3.9. Principles used in Miraflores. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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3.5 | Constructive systems of social housing projects in Cuenca

Brick Metallic Structures Mixed Supply (Brick + Metallic Structures)

Figure 3.10. Brick, metallic structures and mixed suppliers in Cuenca. By Author

The materiality of the refurbishment of Miraflores was determined after analyzing some other social housing projects most used constructive systems, which not only shows the most used material but also reflects the image that Cuenca portrays as a brick made city. So, the buildings will connect Miraflores with the city through 44

the use of brick in its facades. The constructive system also shows that metallic structures are used, primarily because they are more flexible in terms of vertical growth, hence the importance to show that this constructive system can be supplied across the urban parts of Cuenca (Figure 3.10).

Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Los Cerezos

This social housing project shows how the metallic structure was used for building the units in 3 stages: Ground, 2nd and 3rd Floor.

Also it can be seen how the brick gives a sense of harmony to the project, enhancing, once again, Cuenca’s identity.

Figure 3.11. Constructive System of “Los Cerezos”. By Author based on Padrón and Tello, 2016 GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100 Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

Photo 3.4. “Los Cerezos” entrance. Source: Padrón and Tello, 2016

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Los Nogales

Similar to “Los Cerezos”, this project is composed with brick facades and a metallic structure; and its construction was divided in 3 phases (Andrade, 2018).

Photo 3.5. “Los Nogales” view. Source: Padrón and Tello, 2016

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Figure 3.11. Constructive System of “Los Nogales”. By Author based on Padrón and Tello, 2016 Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture GSPublisherVersion 0.0.100.100

Vista al Río This project marks the difference between the use of brick and concrete blocks, although the structure remains metallic. From the 3 projects shown, in this development, 12% of residents were lowincome families, meaning that most of the project was destined to people that could acquire a house more easily in other parts of the city (Padrón and Tello, 2016).

Figure 3.12. Constructive System of “Vista al Río”. By Author based on Padrón and Tello, 2016 Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

Photo 3.6. View of Vista al Río housing units. Source: Padrón and Tello, 2016

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3.6 | Environmental analysis

Figure 3.13. Solar path in Miraflores. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

East and West Facades st

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Figure 3.14. Types of Facade depending the sun orientation. By Author

Before starting with the design, an analysis of diverse compositions for the facades that will face the direction of the sun was done. Ecuador as its name is in the middle, so the sun hits perpendicularly 12h a day throughout the year, with small variations.

And because brick will be used, this material acts as a heat retaining wall that will help the interior of the buildings preserve heat when needed. In the analysis of other social housing projects shown before, brick resulted as the most common material for masonry, but also showed how they were connecting the projects to the city through the use of a traditional material.

will face these orientations, therefore in the majority, for spaces such as academic, work and community, it is important to control the sun radiation, which a normal glazed facade will receive, by implementing sun shading devices, that will help control this radiation without compromising the views or natural lighting. In the residential areas, small windows would be placed leaving also entire walls to collect heat.

There are 5 types of facades that will face the East and West orientation. This were determined considering the spaces that

The materials for slabs will be concrete, so they will also store any solar gains.

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For the North and South facades the views are a priority, so there is no issue in using glassing for they will not receive sun radiation.

3.7 | Vegetation

As part of the environment, in Figures 3.15 to 3.17, the greenery areas are shown and the vegetation profile that will occupy those. A link between the Ecuadorian culture and the landscape is developed with the medicinal plants, which are vastly used among citizens and they play an important role between markets. The amancay flower is the flower that is part of Cuenca’s

Figure 3.15. Ground Floor areas of vegetation. By Author

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identity and will also be placed in Miraflores. This kind of process will show that through vegetation interventions in the gardening areas, the project will also become a landmark to see or learn about native plants or just to acquire them (Comercio, 2015; Universo, 2016; Guayllazaca, 2012; Minga and Verdugo, 2016).

Figure 3.16. Roof and building areas of vegetation. By Author Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Private

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Figure 3.17. Types of spaces where the vegetation profile will be used. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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3.8 | Serial views and Sketches 1

Figure 3.18. Map showing the location of the serial views. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

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Serial views were used to show how the buildings were going to be connected visually (Figure 3.18). Forefront, buildings are represented in a light red color; next, in a strong red color the following building is shown. This to display the approximation between buildings and how they will guide one of the journeys of Miraflores.

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1

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Figure 3.19. Location of Serial Views. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

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Another journey that can be seen through serial views is the one through pathways (Figure 3.19). This journey shows the connection that is possible through the relocation of 5 housing units (4), which will give space to a stairway that will also reminisce to several stairways that are placed in the “Barranco” of Cuenca.

4

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 3.20. Sketch showing materiality of the Multipurpose buildings: La Floresta (Left) and MatĂ­as Ochoa (Right). By Author

In this sketch (Figure 3.20), as an exercise, the materiality of the buildings is shown and how the greenery will connect the buildings, either by using it on facades or in the areas around the building.

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Figure 3.21. “La Floresta” multipurpose building. By Author

La Floresta building will give space to community activities (Ground Floor), a public library for the students in Miraflores (2nd Floor) and 3 apartments/lofts where families that were removed from the block will be relocated (Figure 3.21). The facades respond to the environmental analysis, showing shading devices for the library, 58

especially for being a public space where sun radiation needs to be controlled. While the community space will also give space to numerous people, the height difference between the floor level and the sidewalk in front of the East facade, will act as a shading element, therefore floor-to-ceiling windows can be placed.

Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 3.22. “Tucumán” building with green space’s intervention. By Author

The smallest building “Tucumán” (Figure 3.22), also responds to the smallest block of Miraflores. As mentioned before, every building is placed in the same ground area of the communal houses, meaning that the same area could be re-imagined as multifunctional buildings that will give more spaces for the Miraflores’ residents

to develop skills or hold meetings as they currently do. Another aspect is that the buildings are named the same as the block they are located on, and they will display the name on their facades, so visitors can identify their location.

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4 Refurbishment of Miraflores 60

After diverse design exercises, respecting the concepts and principles, Miraflores’ refurbishment shows how a social housing project can be re-imagined not as a housing solution but as a neighborhood that is still part of the city and needs to be treated as such. It has been seen, starting from the housing unit, that it creates barriers between neighbors but forces them to co-exist very close to each other. While these horizontal expansion is a regular form of growth in Cuenca, it is important to show that the typology can change and the levels of social dynamics can increase as well. As seen in Miraflores, multi-purpose buildings will allow people to develop skills additionally to academic spaces for students. Originally, Miraflores had a sport court area in “La Floresta” block, which by increasing the circulation within the block, now it is converted to a multi-functional space, where diverse economic and commercial activities can take place. As is tradition in

Cuenca, an open-air market can function on it, enhancing the economic independence of Miraflores while selling or trading local produce.

Each housing unit will have a vertical connection with its roof, and they will be connected not in their entirety, as there are important height differences that won’t allow such connection, additionally to privacy and safety of Miraflores’ residents.

In this chapter, besides the Masterplan, the floor plans of the multi-purpose buildings’ is shown with its corresponding sections and particular facade’s sections of details. In addition, serial views are generated once again to recreate a new journey that Miraflores provides with its refurbishment along with perspectives that indicate the activities that will take place on the new and refurbished spaces.

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4.1 | Masterplan

From studio B to this stage, detailed work such as the vertical connections was implemented, as well as interventions in the urban aspect regarding the spaces that will be in front of the majority of the buildings that now will act as connectors of the habitants with their living area and also with the city, cause as mentioned before, the materiality of these buildings will be the connecting point with the image of the city, as per Cuenca is mostly brick looking.

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 4.1. Masterplan of Miraflores. By Autor Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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4.2 | Street Elevations

Elevation of Calle de las Quesadillas (Current Condition) Unit’s Extension + Connection with Original Unit Original Unit

Roof’s areas

Balconies

Current Condition [Private]

Unit + Extension (Owner’s intervention)

Intervention-New [Semi Public/Private]

InterventionModification [Private]

Figure 4.2. Elevation of current condition and process of vertical growth on housing units. By Author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

In the elevation of the current condition, the profile of the units that are the most proximate to the street are lined with a red line (Figure 4.2). Also, a diagram showing how the vertical growth is planned for housing units. While these views are certainly difficult to achieve at eye level from the street, it can be seen from across the river and it will show the harmony that the balconies and the roof

tiles compose throughout the project (Figure 4.3). In Cuenca, most houses are pitched roof covered with roof tiles, hence the terracotta chromatic of the city. In the second elevation it’s shown the height difference and also how the new buildings engage with the profile.

Elevation A-A: Calle de las Quesadillas

Elevation A-A: Calle del Rosero Current Profile

New Buildings’ Profile

Figure 4.3. Street elevations of Miraflores’ Refurbishment. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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4.3 | Buildings Floor Plans

The first building “Matías Ochoa” (Figure 4.4) is composed by 3 stories. The ground floor, which is the parking lot, is maintained as it is and above it, 2 more stories will be placed, for the communal space and academic area respectively.

The second building called “La Floresta” has 5 stories, 2 open to Miraflores residents and 3 dedicated to apartments. The first floor is the communal space, and the second floor will be the library which gives access to the roofs and has sun shading devices on the East facade. From the first floor of apartments the other section of roofs can be accessed as well.

Finally, the smallest building “Tucumán” will held the communal space on the first floor, and 2 stories of working areas above. The access to the roofs will be done through the third floor.

All the buildings were considered the correspondent regulation, therefore all the mandatory distances from the street and limits, have been respected.

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Figure 4.4. “Matías Ochoa” Floor plans. By Author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

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Figure 4.6. “Tucumán” Floor plans. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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4.4 | Sections: Miraflores, Buildings, and Facades.

Figure 4.8

Figure 4.7. Miraflores’ Sections. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 4.9

Figure 4.10

The sections show the dynamic that is achieved by the new connection with the building.

Like the case of La Floresta building, that as I mentioned before, gives access to the roofs through the library (Figure 4.7).

In the other section is quite difficult to grasp how the buildings work, therefore future sections will show the access to roofs and the facades’ composition.

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Housing Unit’s Extension [Private]

Academic Area [Semi-Public/Private]

Leisure Areas [Semi-Public/Private]

Communal Space [Semi-Public/Private]

Housing Unit [Private]

Parking Lots SC_01 SC_02

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Figure 4.8. “Matías Ochoa” building’s section. By Author

The first building’s section (Figure 4.8), shows the materiality on the west facade, which will be permeable through the use of greenery and elements that will allow transparency. It also shows the connection between the building and the roofs through a bridge.

As it can be seen, the height of the building maintains the harmony of the elevation’s profile.

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Apartments [Private]

Housing Unit’s Extension [Private]

Gardening Space [Semi-public/private]

Library [Semi-public/private]

Housing Unit [Private]

Communal Space [Semi-public/private] SC_03

10m Figure 4.9. “La Floresta” building’s section. By Author

In “La Floresta” building’s section (Figure 4.9), it can be seen how the library will allow access to the roofs. It also indicates the spaces that the building has and how the connection between the existent housing unit and its extension works. As shown in the Figure 4.8, the type of facades are the same throughout the project, so they maintain the harmony of materials.

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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Co-working Space [Semi-public/private]

Co-working Space [Semi-public/private]

Co-working Space [Semi-public/private]

0 1m

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Figure 4.10. “Tucumán” building’s elevation. By Author

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Lastly, an elevation of “Tucumán” is shown, where the level of spaces is indicated, as the facades that answer to the principles before mentioned.

Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Drip Edge: Steel composed and located on every exposed slab's edge.

Brick Facade: Width=14cm, and often oriented to East and West facades.

0.35 3.35 3.00

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Total height=1.20m.

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Figure 4.11. SC_01: Section’s Axonometry of Semi-public/private (Communal Space + Academic Space).By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

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9.90m

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Mesh Facade: Metallic Structure with steel mesh (10cmx10cm).

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Connection to Housing Unit's Extension: Metallic Structure attached to existent structure, composed with steel mesh (10cmx10cm) and polycarbonate sheets.

Used for access to extension and roofs.

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Green Space: Backyard's grass as proposed in the programme for green areas in private spaces.

Leisure Space: Deck surface for leisure activities as proposed in the programme.

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Note: Steel mesh surfaces will be used for vertical gardening.

Figure 4.12. SC_02: Section’s Axonometry of Semi-public/private (Roofs) and Private spaces (Backyards). By Author Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

1.40 0.40 0.20 1.40 0.30 1.00 1.40 0.30 1.00

Balconies: Metallic Structure and steel mesh (4.5cmx4.5cm).

Total height=1.20m.

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Figure 4.13. SC_03: Section’s Axonometry of Semi-public/private (Communal Space + Library) and Private spaces (Apartments). By Author

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4.5 | Serial Views

Figure 4.14. Location of the serial views. By Author

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3 Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

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4 Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante

Figure 3.14 indicates the location of a serial view of a small route, but it shows important points for example in the first image, there’s the two multipurpose buildings, meaning that from the bottom block it can be seen at the distance, the next building “La Floresta”. The second view shows la Floresta building with its public space that it’s the existing playground redesigned, which remains with the same function because it’s the only space dedicated to that activity and is the only larger space that kids can use inside of Miraflores. From the second view it can be seen the connection between the housing unit and its extension, showing how the roofs will be used as an extended area welcoming diverse activities.

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4.6 | Perspectives of the Refurbishment of Miraflores

Perspective showing the new stairway and how the close distance between housing units can be used for additional installation of lights or banners.

Figure 4.15. Perspective 01. By Author.

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

On the roofs, several activities can take place, and as seen in Figure 4.16, an open-cinema where residents can enjoy several ludic and leisure activities, increasing the quality of life.

Figure 4.16. Perspective 02. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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This perspective shows how 4 houses can co-exist together without barriers between them, enhancing the community level and quality of the living spaces within the units.

Figure 4.17. Perspective 03. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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As mentioned before, the sport court, after improving the pathways connection, it becomes into a multi-functional space that can hold different activities. In this case, an itinerant market that will attract visitors and will make Miraflores’ residents enjoy of its dynamic while increasing economic gains to them.

Figure 3.18. Perspective 04. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

The stairway next to the playground as redesigned will also act as a seating areas for the playground.

Figure 4.19. Perspective 05. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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As one of the first views of Miraflores, while walking on the Calle del Rosero, is important to see how the image and feeling of the project changes as a more welcoming one.

The urban interventions on the existing green spaces will increase the landscape appeal of Miraflores.

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Figure 4.20. Perspective 06. By Author Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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Figure 4.21. Current state of Miraflores. By Author

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Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 4.22. Refurbishment of Miraflores. By Author

Figure 4.21 shows Miraflores in its current state. While Figure 4.22 shows the interventions, with more greenery areas that cannot be achieved on the current ground area and enhances the landscape, and what’s better it’s that the community will feel connected to the project.

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5 Future Lessons 88

Miraflores, as a social housing project, has shown the potential that these developments carry; and how, given the opportunity, they can be refurbished to improve the quality of life of its residents without having to build a new development. Ways of spatial growth will be presented and most importantly what

lessons we can get from this intervention, that in times of a pandemic, have definitely changed. Urban design needs to be reimagined especially when public spaces are seen as focus of infection and housing the ultimate place for living, working, learning and surviving.

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5.1 | Lessons and Recommendations Small Scale

Vertical Growth

Original

Serial Growth Original

Parallel Growth

Original

Figure 5.1. Small scale: Types of spatial growth. By Author

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Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Medium Scale Parallel Growth

Original

Multidirectional Growth

Figure 5.2. Medium scale: Types of spatial growth. By Author

Figures 5.1 and 5.2, are diagrams that show different scales of spatial growth and are based on what can it be learnt from Miraflores’ intervention. Miraflores has been planned as a flat roof unit which creates the opportunity to use it for more functions than the one it was planned for. By growing vertically the project also expands the residential areas while generating more zones for leisure.

A serial growth as the one Miraflores has shown that single units with a single backyard isolates its neighbors; and if we remove the wall separating these backyards a common ground can be obtained. The sum of this operation increases once again the green Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

area in the project. Social housing can grow vertically as long as they use a constructive system that will allow it so. And if they use simple shapes in their houses they can also use their roofs, as extra area for activities. Their backyards should be reimagined into something that could be shared between neighbors as well, like the one in the serial mode drawing, considering the privacy that could be provided by flexible modules or fences. And in the parallel mode, it will, of course, increase the green area that will not only be limited to the format of one housing unit because it can be larger than the current areas that are being used in Cuenca for minimal green areas or patios.

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Miraflores has shown that flat roofs can be connected and increase their utilization area. So in terms of how Miraflores impacts locally, it shows that social housing can be refurbished and these types of projects have lots of potential to do so. Cuenca could benefit from acting on existent housing developments instead of creating new ones that will just be replicas, and if they do need to create new ones, Miraflores shows how a small footprint potentially low cost housing could provide goods and services in its own block, reducing the need for transport or vehicle travel.

In Figure 5.3 shows all the possibilities of growth in a more neutral setting, without context. It gathers the lessons that Miraflores present, and it shows how it can be used as a template for other countries in need of small footprint living quarters, that incorporate basic necessities.

An important aspect that needs to be taken in consideration, mobility and transportation is often seen as an issue when goods and services are concentrated in one area or zone, and housing separated from it. Multiple projects treat it as a problematic and always try to solve it by increasing cycle lanes, accumulating vehicle lanes or demanding more public transportation to reach remote areas. When is often ignored that a possible solution is to generate housing projects with enough facilities to reduce time of travel.

Another aspect is that, during the pandemic, there has been a distinction of what is “house” and the “no-house”. “House” has become a fort where people can be safe, without exposing themselves to possible infections; and “no-house” is everything that is outside, possibly dangerous and making people afraid of their environments. However not everyone has the fortune to have a house with a backyard nor enough space to socialize 92

with neighbors or with their own families; on top of that, forts can become jails as well. Therefore, social housing cannot respond only to the visible ergonomic needs that every human has, but it needs something more, it needs spaces to think, to socialize, to live, located immediate to the “house”. Creating safe environments and communities where people can look for each other without having to mobilize large distances.

To conclude, “Giving back flores to Miraflores” is a project of refurbishment of a social housing development that hopes to expose their current flaws and how they can, for future developments, be considered in early stages of design in order to avoid them. However, it also hopes to show that refurbishments, beside of being cheaper than building new ones, can me methods of intervention on neighborhoods as well. As stated in early chapters, housing is not only solved by building new ones, it can be solved by creating better communities additionally to decent sized housing. In several parts of the world, housing inequalities not only segregate neighborhoods, they exclude citizens from their rights to access green areas, facilities and other amenities often found in city centralities. As Miraflores also shows, we are not only talking about 182 houses, we are talking about 182 families that need to live in overcrowded spaces, and If we add a pandemic to it, we are creating spaces for the virus to spread easily (Barker, 2020). Hence the importance to not only solve the housing needs but also the community ones, where more space is generated, in and around the house, in order to reinforce healthier communities, and for that to happen, important policies and ideas need to be changed.

Housing cannot be about quantity anymore, it should not be about spaces that represent a hazard to public’s health; it should be about citizens living in proper conditions in sustainable neighborhoods, resulting all in together in more affordable and equal cities.

Andrea Estefanía Calle Bustamante | Manchester School of Architecture

Figure 5.3. A model of Social Housing Neighborhood on its Large Scale, Housing Units that form blocks of Communities. By Author Manchester School of Architecture | Andrea EstefanĂ­a Calle Bustamante

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