VerdeZine

VERDE VERDEZINE

Alaa Zidane Nuzhat Lamisa Hayley Fry-White Eline Habraken Andres Meneses

CONTENTS

VERDEZINE

Background

Context

Layout / Scale

Circulation

Design Influences

Intended Use + Transitional Space

Amenities

Construction Materials

Andres Meneses

Nuzhat Lamisa

Alaa Zidane

Eline Habraken Hayley Fry-White

Alaa Zidane

Nuzhat Lamisa

Alaa Zidane

Alaa Zidane

Solution

ground back

con text

Villa Verde is a hillside neighborhood three kilometers from the center of the city of Constitucion. The neighborhood is surrounded by forested hills, and sheer cliffs plummet to the Pacific Ocean just a few hundred yard. to the west. Trails to the ocean provide families with easy access to the beach, while residences along the main road offer panoramic views of the town below. The advantages of Villa Verde’s remote locale include ocean accessibility, beautiful landscapes, and fresh air.

The disadvantage of this remote location is the distance necessary to commute to town for shopping and everyday tasks. A threekilometer distance and over 400 feet of altitude make walking to and from town challenging for those who do not own a vehicle, Because of this predicament, many have turned to communal taxis for everyday transportation which adds up to the resident’s expenses.

Centre of Constitución

Villa Verde

layout scale

The scale of the project is considered to be relatively large, featuring hundreds of semi-detached houses. Villa Verde is constructed alongside 2 main streets, Rio Maule and Rio Lonocomilla. In order to create a meaningful community, the neighborhood is broken down into smaller groupings of 12-20 houses organized along side streets. A row of 8 houses runs along either side of these tertiary streets, wrapped by 3 homes perpendicular to the row.

This layout, however, lacks variety and hierarchy due to the repetitive nature and similarity of the houses. It becomes hard to distinguish these secondary streets from one another as every side becomes identical to one another. This could lead to one’s being disoriented in the neighborhood, resulting in a dull and slow experience.

As a suggestion, Villa Verde could improve in that regard through establishing an interesting visual and social focal point for the project. By adding a green town square, the journey through the houses would have a destination, where the community gather and spend quality time together.

row of 8 houses

closed off with 3 houses

circulation

influence

Design Influences & Ideological Movements seen in Villa Verde

Incremental Construction

Alejandro Aravena through Elemental Studio has explored the idea of incremental construction. The studio delivers high quality housing with primary necessities provided, along with allocated space for the homes to expand and grow as the users need it.

Before Villa Verde, Aravena worked on Quinta Monroy in Iquique, Chile to house 100 families in 2003. This presents the concept of providing a basic structure to fill in the gaps over time, as needed. This project was used in a similar way from 2008-2010 as Aravena worked on 70 residences for Vividenas Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico. Using a similar design with more clean lines and minimal ornamentation, us ers were provided with half of a large house, rather than a single small house or an apartment. From 2008-2014 Ara vena’s studio worked on Lo Barnechea in Santiago de Chile to provide 363 homes to families at risk of being displaced from the city. This typology allows for expansion inwards as well as 3 levels for different living spaces in a small amount of space to allow for growth.

Participatory Design

As a way to create more effective and meaningful social housing in Chile while using the resources provided by the country, Ale jandro Aravena’s Elemental studios took initiative to use participatory design throughout the process of developing the proposal for Villa Verde. What made this project different from previous instances of incremental design is that there was a very limited amount of space to work with while avoiding areas that are at risk of flooding again near the Maule river. In this limited amount of given space, there was also a set number of families that needed to be accommodated which heavily influenced the design process. This project needed to provide housing quickly to the large community of people near Constitucion, Chile who had been displaced by these natural disasters. The majority of these occupants were families with growing children and in many cases 3 generations of the family could be under one roof.

As Aravena studied the different ways that these homes could come together, they learned that these could not be single detached homes, in order to take advantage of the limited space and fit the required number of 484 homes. Through the feedback of the clients and the families themselves, it was also identified that vertical housing would not be a good fit as there are limitations to growth and no way to expand individual units. Each family had different needs and would grow and change differently so the final design reflects that need for individuality and expansion. Some families needed to expand the other half to include bedrooms and bathrooms, while others expanded to create shops on the ground level or patios on the second level. The resulting solution was an incremental duplex structure with firewalls separating each unit, along with an “empty” half of the structure, readily available to be expanded into.

Modernism

Elements of the Villa Verde Housing design draws in fluences from the modern design movement, featuring clean lines and planes, minimalist aesthetics, and a functionalist driving force. As delivered, the projects before occupancy are incredibly minimal with a focus on providing high quality primary home necessities to start. Some units include a unifying deep red ac cent, while others maintain an all white exterior. As occupants settle into their homes, the individuality and uniqueness of each family comes through in their decorations, and in their design choices of expan sion- from the exterior, coloured curtains, ornamental railing millwork, and form of the elevation.

Villa Verde began in 2009 and delivered 484 incremental housing units to families displaced by a 2010 earthquake which caused destructive flooding around the Maule river. Each family was provided with “a half a good house” which was “basic, but dignified” and could be expanded in the future. Each unit includes a solar water heater, a bathtub, shower, dishwasher, interior finishes, and have been de signed as aseismic, thermally and acoustically insulated.

The structure provided is almost complete to the final state with shared party walls, a pitched roof, a lower floor slab, and beams for the expansion of the other half. The only elements that need to be added for the expansion is one slab and two outer walls. The prima ry structure is wood post and beam which allows for changes to be made and for the occupants to easily be taught how to add each piece.

designmovements

Viviendas Villa Verde pre-occupancy

Viviendas Villa Verde expansion

Quinta Monroy pre-occupancy

Vividendas Monterrey pre-occupancy

Quinta Monroy expansion

Viviendas Moterrey expansion

BEFORE EXTENSION

GROUND FLOOR SECOND FLOOR

AFTER EXTENSION

The kitchen, bathroom, and two upstairs bedrooms amount to 600 ft2 of living space. The house can be expanded to 900ft2 featuring a living and dining room in the ground floor and additional two bedrooms in the second floor. The ground floor extension could go further to accommodate for a shop that could take up space from the front yard area

transit intended use

ional space

There is a 6m setback between the home and sidewalk. This transitional space provides residents with privacy concerning their windows that overlooks the streets. In addition, this space has allowed the community so much flexibility to accommodate for their various needs. Some use it as a parking lot, others use it as a front yard garden. And most importantly, this space has been used to open small businesses, and expand further than what the half and complete house.

amenit ies

Due to the lack of a neighboring commercial hub, several residents recognized the necessity for easy access to routinely used commodities and constructed shops in the second half of their homes.

Play area for younger kids is located across the street and up a steep hill. This is one among the neighborhood’s better cases of public space, and it is often used by Villa Verde’s younger residents. A central green space with a vast grass, seating places, a playground, and an adjacent basketball/soccer court would benefit this neighborhood more than the existing patchwork of amenities.

The neighborhood’s soccer arena is a paved and enclosed multi functional court. It is used frequently as a lovely addition to the community. Villa Verde is home to three local community centers. One serves as a childcare facility, while the others host community meetings and activities. Attempts were made to develop communal places for the residents of Villa Verde.

Neighbourhood Shops Road Access Recreation facilites Community facilites

Community Children School

Neighbourhood shopowner

Inside of a neighbourhood shop

Multipurpose Court

Open space

Neighbourhood Shops

Road Access Recreation facilites Community facilites

Community Children

neighbourhood Open Space Courtyard

constru ction

1- Rainwater gutter

2- Seal 3- Pine beam 4- 6mm Fiber cement 5- Cellulose insulation 6- Moisture barrier 7- Roof felt

8- Zinc deck 9- Pine top plate 10- Ridge stand 11- 5mm Floor finish 12- 15mm Plywood sheathing

Wall vinyl, glued w asphalt 14- Vinyl on floor

15- Rubble bed 16- Footing 17- foundation 18- Vapor barrier 19- Pine lower plate 20- Pine plate 21- Concrete slab

HOUSE ENVELOPE

Wall - Exterior to Interior

• Fiber cement cladding

• Moisture barrier

• Wood frame structure

• Insulation within structure

• Gypsum board interior finish

Roof - Exterior to Interior

• Zinc coating to prevent corrosion

• Clad in Steel

• Moisture barrier

• Wood frame structure

• insulation within structure

The “half of a good house” model grant residents of Villa Verde the ability to incrementally complete their house in accordance with their households needs and financial conditions. The structure of the house is delivered relatively complete, enabling residents to carry out the extensions of their homes on their own. The provided structure includes, shared party walls, pitched roof, lower slab, and beams for the slab of the second floor. In this case, residents only have to build one slab and two outer walls to have a “whole of a good house”. Furthermore, there are construction workshops provided to residents to teach them the basics of how to complete their homes.

The beauty of affordable housing projects is that they make the most of local and readily available building materials in the area, which in turn reflects in the low cost required to source these materials and handle them. The houses’ material palette is composed of wood, fiber cement, steel and glass.

Villa Verde enjoys a vibrant presence in the hillside of Constitucion. Most of the facades are red-colored, in addition to original white fiber cement facades. The redcolored facades laid out next to one another complement the natural scenery surrounding the site. The voids created by the “half home” model, allow the sight to extend beyond the the first row of facades, penetrating deep through the project. This rhythm of house and void appears appealing at first. However, taking a deep dive in the neighborhood, residents might feel a sense of monotony and dullness due to repetitive nature of this layout.

materiality sustainability aesthetics

The concept of expanding one’s home has powerful potential in bringing out an interesting variety of street elevations, that could benefit from using an extended color palette. In addition, accommodating the needs of the residents, no two house may look alike when more expansions take a place. Some of these variations are already appearing in Villa Verde, which would have significant impact in breaking the monotonous nature of these elevations.

After the Earthquake that hit Chile in 2010, hundreds of people were homeless. Villa Verde was an emergency housing response that not only succeeded in housing families affected by the catastrophe, but also resorted to adopting a sustainable framework of construction highlighted by the extensive use of wood. Straying away from using masonry as a main building material in Chile, Villa Verde took advantage of the abundance of wood in area, especially that the city of Constitucion is located in a highly forested region. Wood is considered a renewable material, requiring low energy demand in its production process. There is little waste production associated with wood manufacturing, and if present, waste in most cases is reusable and recyclable. Furthermore, wood acts as a carbon-sequestering material, rendering it truly one of the most sustainable building materials to date.

Imaginary sketch of Villa Verde’s elevations in a few years from now

Wood Frame construction sourced from Chilean Pine trees

REFERENCES

References

Anneke, A (2020, June 17) The construction of a new timber culture in Chile Guiding

Architects Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www guiding architects net/construction new timber culture chile/

Arquitectura Viva (2021, January 8) Lo Barnechea neighborhood, Santiago Alejandro Aravena

elemental Arquitectura Viva Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/colonia lo barnechea 7#lg=1&slide=13

“Photos: Elemental”

Arquitectura Viva (2021, January 8) Villa Verde housing, Constitución Alejandro Aravena

elemental Arquitectura Viva Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://arquitecturaviva com/works/viviendas villa verde 10

“Photos: Elemental; Felipe Díaz Contardo/fotoarq”

Arquitectura Viva. (2021, January 8). Viviendas Monterrey Alejandro Aravena elemental .

Arquitectura Viva. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://arquitecturaviva com/obras/viviendas monterrey

“Photos: Ramiro Ramírez”

Arquitectura Viva. (2021, January 8). Quinta Monroy Housing, iquique Alejandro Aravena elemental . Arquitectura Viva. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://arquitecturaviva.com/works/viviendas quinta monroy 1

“Photos: Ludovic Dusuzeau; Tadeuz Jalocha; Cristóbal Palma; Elemental”

Brown, J (2016) Homes for the People Aydelott Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://aydelott org/submissions/2016 Josiah Brown Auburn pdf

Carrasco, S , & O’Brien, D (2022, July 29) Incremental pathways of post disaster housing self recovery in Villa Verde, Chile. MDPI. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.mdpi.com/2673 8945/2/3/30/htm

Fracalossi, I. (2008, December 31). Quinta Monroy / elemental. ArchDaily. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.archdaily.com/10775/quinta monroy elemental

Fracalossi, I (2013, November 13) Villa Verde Housing / Elemental ArchDaily Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www archdaily com/447381/villa verde housing elemental

Gerfen, K. (2016, January 13). Villa Verde. Architect. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.architectmagazine.com/project gallery/villa verde o

Fracalossi, I. (2013, November 13). Villa Verde Housing / Elemental. ArchDaily. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www archdaily com/447381/villa verde housing elemental

Kapoor, U (2022, August 2) Villa Verde project by Alejandro Aravena: Low cost housing RTF | Rethinking The Future Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www re thinkingthefuture com/case studies/a7429 villa verde project by alejandro aravena low cost housing/ Moore, R. (2016, April 10). Alejandro Aravena: The shape of things to come. The Guardian. Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/apr/10/architect alejandro aravena pritzker prize elemental housing iquique constitucion tsunami defences

Pallardy, R (2021, September) Chile earthquake of 1960 Encyclopædia Britannica Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www britannica com/event/Chile earthquake of 1960

Silva, R , & Bruder, P (2015, September 14) O sistema construtivo wood frame na produção de habitações Sociais Evolutivas: A Experiência Chilena do conjunto villa verde Academia edu Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www academia edu/15649287/O sistema construtivo wood frame na produ%C3%A7%C 3%A3o de habita%C3%A7%C3%B5es sociais evolutivas a experi%C3%AAncia chilena do Conjunto Villa Verde Valencia, N. (2016, January 18). Three years in Villa Verde, Elemental's incremental housing project in Constitución, Chile ArchDaily Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www archdaily com/780544/three years in villa verde elementals incremental housing proj ect in constitucion chile

YouTube (2016) Elemental's Villa Verde Housing project in the Chilean seaside town of Constitución YouTube Retrieved October 25, 2022, from https://www youtube com/watch?v=7X5PYxDs7gs