An Exercise in Trust

An Exercise in Trust

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Building trust within our community and between the community and outside world forms the essence of our project. We, architects, can not define the outcome, but only act as mediators. The chance of succeeding mostly depends on the inhabitants, a group of three to four refugee families. After approval to leave the asylum, immigrant families are left to their fate. Getting no support by the government, and having no existing social network in a foreign country makes it almost impossible to find a proper house. With our community, we offer an alternative by not only providing a house, but also making them part of a neighbourhood and farming company. We are aware that this will cause frictions, mainly by the lack in communication and the general stereotyping that happens. It’s also unusual to have a refugee community in a privileged area, that is populated by middle-class natives. We gently force participation through different activities, such as bricolage and farming. By doing so, we hope to activate communication. Not only verbal, but also through gestures.

Trust further means having clear boundaries between all the playing actors. Social rules, accepted by the community, are crucial, but also being flexible in those rules. What if they are ignored? Where are conflicts solved? Providing architecture that lends itself as being a neutral backdrop in conflict solving is important. We also focus on the translation of social boundaries into physical ones, because they are intertwined. By this, we mean articulating architectural boundaries: a subtle layering in space instead of having harsh borders. This suggests an openness to passers-by, without being to confidential.

Our community is located in an existing introverted old farmhouse that needed to be transformed into a more present communal house.

We used the undefined rules of bricolage as a design methodology and turned it into architecture. Not just by an aesthetic point of view, but also by financial reasons. Bricolage suggests informality, spontaneity and solidity. Not accidentally three qualities that are also related to trust.

Abstract

The story of our community starts and ends with ‘t Stalleke. A small shop in Broechem where passers-by can buy whatever is on display and pay a fair price for it. There is no supervision, only faith in goodwill. Although this concept is known throughout the world, in Flanders it’s more of a rarity. According to us, ‘t Stalleke suggests an exercise in trust. It’s a gesture from the farmer and community towards the outside world: we trust you, you can try too.

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CHAPTER 1

From Antwerp to the Farm

32 CHAPTER 2

Welcome to the Community The Activities Carry the Farm

74 CHAPTER 4

Table of Contents

44 CHAPTER 3

Home

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Closing

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Lexicon

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CHAPTER 1

From Antwerp to the Farm

It always surprises me how my pace automatically slows down when I leave the busy streets of Antwerp and how much more observant I become of my surroundings. When cycling back to my home, I always play this mental game and try to spot the changes in the landscape, that happened during the last weeks. They are perhaps more subtle than in the city, yet way more challenging. I must tell you, for the last ten years that I now live here, a lot has changed. When I talk to visitors about this, no one believes me.

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Our community is located in the fields between Broechem and Ranst. In this small fraction the same phenomenon’s arise simultaneously as on different locations throughout the Flemish agricultural1 landscape. Therefore we will consider our research area as an example of the general countryside - archetype. The biggest misconception is perhaps the idea of the countryside as slow-changing being. As Koolhaas describes in “The Countryside: a report” we must be aware of the many changes that occur in a rapid tempo. Small farms make place for big farming companies, where the farmer himself becomes a manager

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instead of craftsman. On the other hand, the urge to keep the countryside as a peaceful, green refuge increases: making the countryside the playground for middle-class urban people who long for leisure space during the weekends. This results in a beautification of the countryside, keeping the constructed idyll intact.

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Boundaries2 “curved lines that could be described by mathematical formulas, and thereby were not a sign of chaos but an expression of the divine mathematical order assumed to be underlying nature” - Countryside, A Report

A real or imagined line that marks the limits or edges of something and separates it from other things or places. Boundary most often designates a line on a map. It may be a physical feature, such as a river, or road. Often these lines indicate property boundaries, dividing one property from another. In many cases this property division is translated into a physical boundary. In urban areas, they are usually very hard and clear: high fences, brick walls and thick hedges separate one parcel from another. In rural areas these boundaries become become softer and start to fade away. They are more open for interpretation, they come with a certain degree of transparency.

Boundaries are needed in a trustworthy relationship. They should be chosen carefully, as different kinds of boundaries bring different meanings along with them: barbed wire and locked gates suggest to not pass these borders, while ditches and dirt roads can be crossed.

Boundaries matter. Their presence/appearance is loaded. My perception towards boundaries has completely shifted over the last years. Living in an asylum for 14 months, completely closed off, felt extremely claustrophobic, but at the same time also comfortable. Very limited contact with the outside world also meant no direct conflict or confrontation. Sure there were many disputes in the asylum itself. But they were isolated, more individual. Later, when I left the asylum, I became aware of the protection that this strong boundary gave me. The strong segregation between asylum and the outside world resulted in rumours and assumptions that were far worse than I anticipated on. And the lack of communication between “us” and “them” made it hopeless to prove the opposite of their beliefs.

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A recognizable tower-like silhouette appears; I am almost home. I enjoy the last minutes of being on my own, before the business of the day will slowly attack me. When I turn around the counter, I see farmer Notelteirs. He is filling the empty shelves of ‘t Stalleke. Meeting someone at ‘t Stalleke is a rarity. I lower my pace and friendly say goodbye. I could have stopped but didn’t feel the urge to. ‘t Stalleke is a silent agent in the street. There surely is communication, but not through words. Having a chat here, would feel unnatural to me.

CHAPTER 1 - From Antwerp to the Farm

My legs start to feel heavy. Returning is always harder, because of the heaviness of the coffee grounds that I carry in my cargo bike. Today I delivered mushrooms to three different restaurants. After that I went to two coffee bars, to pick up the coffee grounds they have assembled this week. In the beginning I was really uncomfortable in doing all of this. I made a lot of mistakes, mostly because we didn’t speak the same language. It is better now, but sometimes when we change our partnership, this feeling of insecurity comes back. Others in our community have less trouble with this and stay longer to drink a coffee with the owners. I don’t feel comfortable doing that.

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CHAPTER 2

Welcome to the Community

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I drive my bike into the yard and park it under the old tree next to our communal space. As expected everyone is busy. It’s the end of September, peak season in our community. During the last week, the whole community has been involved in the harvesting of the hop.

The next days will be challenging: everyone is tired and when working that close, sometimes frustrations grow.

Living together with 13 and sometimes 17 people means we also need social boundaries, rules and structure. These are not fixed and can change if they no longer benefit our community. I think that’s exactly what rules should be. They are beliefs you have in common, but shouldn’t dictate those who live there. Because then they limit the individual freedom.

Inclusion5 The word inclusion means the act of including someone or something as part of a group, list, etc. and thereby excepting his/her differences. Or differently said: the act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded. Since it concerns social groups, we can call this ‘social inclusion’. In our current democratic era inclusion is seen as a universal human right, yet it’s not always acted upon. All people, irrespective of

CHAPTER 2 - Welcome to the Community

Five years ago we decided to ask for extra help during harvesting season. Normally we are a community of 13 people, most of them are families that immigrated some years ago. Now, we have 4 new temporal inhabitants.

Age – Gender - Sexual orientation – Education – Income – Religion Cultural beliefs – Ethnicity – Language - Mental health should be heard and should be given equal rights and opportunities.

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architects

inhabitants

activities hop + hopped apple cider

enoki mushrooms

oyster mushrooms

shiitake mushrooms

bricolage

Infographic - an overview of the actors, the activities and the facilities 35

tourists / passers-by / the outside world

CHAPTER 2 - Welcome to the Community

neighbouring farmer

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House Rules 1. Horizontal Governance* A general assembly is held every two weeks to discuss ongoing issues and take decisions. In case of conflicts too, dialogue is the main governance approach. A third party from another community can be involved, he/she can mediates the dialogue and bring back experience in his/her own one.

2. Tasks Organisation Taking care of the place should be done collectively (in pairs at least and in a rotational manner).

3. Interaction & Communication with the commune farms and non-community members (local farmers, outsiders, schools, artist, friends): Every month someone is responsible of the outside communication and he is in charge of the relations with outsiders (this person can be the third party mentioned above).

4. Support Network Each community member can engage in the Support Network.

Its aim is to support alternatives to distance from industrial farming and develop awareness regarding waste, technology use and associated emissions. Among its actions, this ‘committee’ organize a seasonal event (held in a commune farm) adressed to members, outsiders and the neighbour villages.

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Participation of each inhabitant is required. Daily tasks are divided amongst the inhabitants but are not binding. An activity must not define an individual. But, negotiating is possible.

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*On the first Saturday of each month at the meeting, a new family is designated to be the representatives of the community. Appointing a whole family instead of one individual avoids having a sense of hierarchy. This family takes on a leading role for the month, makes sure the work runs smoothly to meet the needs of the community.

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The Belgian Immigration Climate: What Are the Shortcomings?

To understand the importance of building a community for immigrant families, it can be useful to get a general overview of the Belgian policy of immigration. As most institutional structures in Belgium the immigrant policy is also victim of the complicated federalism. The first stage of immigration, the asylum and reception placement, is defined at the federal level, the following step of integration and housing is regulated at regional level. This difference in administration results in not one institution taking full responsibility. What happens is this: there is no support for recognized refugees when they leave the asylum and are thrown into the housing market.

The integration paradox in Belgium: “During their stay in these asylum centres, refugees are not supposed to integrate into society; and yet, immediately after their formal recognition, politicians expect refugees to integrate as quickly as possible.” (De Decker, P. et al, 2020, p. 86) Immigrants experience many difficulties when searching for a house.

Most refugees have not built a social network to rely on, moreover the governmental support is almost non-existent. Therefore they are completely independent in the search for a home. The biggest obstacle is the language barrier between immigrant and landlord.

The article uses the term ‘taste-based discrimination’. Landlords will more likely rent to families who communicate in the same language and have a guarantee of adequate income. In many cases, the refugee families do find a home, part of specific city neighbourhoods. As those areas are mostly segregated, they can become stigmatized by outsiders. The danger lays here in stigmatizing those who live there too, making it almost impossible for them to fully participate in society.*

The trajectory from reception/asylum to housing in Belgium (adapted from article).

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*

Wyckaert, E,.

Leinfelder, H. and De Decker,P. (2020). Stuck in the Middle: the Transition from Shelter to Housing for Refugees in Belgium. Transactions of the association of European Schools of Planning, no. 4: 80-94.

How do we position our community in this reality?

The influence of adequate housing is crucial in the process of social inclusion. As shown in the scheme the transit period, where refugees have time to search for a house, is between 2 to 4 months. Finding a house on the regular housing market is impossible, plus the government doesn’t provide social housing. With our community, we offer an alternative by not only providing a house, but also making them part of an existing community and farming company.

We are aware that this will cause conflicts. Evidently the lack in communication and the general stereotyping that happens. It’s also unusual to have a refugee community in a privileged area, that is populated by middle-class natives.

CHAPTER 2 - Welcome to the Community

Can we use principles from restorative justice to facilitate a convivial community?

In restorative justice a different approach is applied to conflict; most importantly centralizing communication between all individuals. In the current immigration policy many conflicts occur. Since the lack of verbal communication is one of the main reasons why inclusion becomes so complicated, we were interested if there were other approaches of restorative justice we could put to use in the community.

Trust plays an important role in building a convivial community, including the trust in conflict and failure. This is also a characteristic of conviviality: there is no naïve belief in having a perfect community. More important is to acknowledge that challenges and uncertainties will happen.

To achieve trust within the community and between us and outsiders, we have to adjust our obsessive attitude towards security that gives most of us a feeling of false safety. Rigid boundaries distance ourselves from the other and feed segregation, prejudices and fear even more. A certain transparency and sometimes confrontation is needed. This can be done through active participation, preferably individual in a local environment.** In restorative justice the focus lays on the individual, rather than the institution. Ivan Illich advocates for the same individual freedom in his book “Tools for conviviality”:

**

“A convivial society would be the result of social arrangements that guarantee for each member the most ample and free access to the tools of the community and limit this freedom only in favour of another member’s equal freedom.” (Illich, 1973)*** Being more transparent, opening up communication, promoting cooperation, calling for dialogue and not being avoidant of conflict can make a community a convivial project. These tools go further than just verbal communication. Instead, rather than focussing on creating the same language, convivial communities recognize differences in norms, values, feelings, languages etc. and focus more on restoring when challenges or conflicts occur.**

***

Pali, B. (2019).

Restorative Justice and Conviviality in Intercultural Contexts.

Verifiche, Rivista Semestrale Di Scienze Umane, no. 2: 155-178.

Illich, I. (1973).

Tools for conviviality. London: Harper & Row.

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I enter the communal space with the hope of finding someone here. Unfortunately it’s completely empty. Everyone has gathered in the fields. Not that I can see them, they are hidden between the meters of hop bines. Next week when all the hop is picked, we host the harvesting feast in this same space. It always strikes me how many people can fit in this one open space. When we meet each Saterday around the table, everything seems way smaller and more intimate. We close off the doors and only reopen them when all problems are solved.

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monthly CHAPTER 2 - Welcome to the Community

daily

weekly

yearly

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CHAPTER 3

The Activities Carry the Farm

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Hop September. The first hop cones are ripe, ready to be harvested. The village gathers on the farm as the sun rises. Men, women, children; no one is left behind. A basket for each, and a chair, ready to head to the field. The cones are handpicked one by one, the baskets slowly fill up. Singing, gossiping, laughing; the day goes by, until the first basket is full. The basket is brought to the kiln. A dark, warm, narrow space. It is carried up the stairs, until an opening is found to enter the central kiln. The basket is turned over, emptied onto the perforated floor. The cones are spread out equally, set to be dried. The basket goes back down, ready to be filled with new cones, again. The cones are dried, the perforated floor is tilted. The hops fall down, into a sack. Time to cool down.

After weeks of picking, the last cones have been harvested. The last batch is dried. The sacks are set for the brewery. The village cheers: time for a feast. Games, dancing, singing, until the sun rises. The baskets, the chairs, the village, disappear. The field is left to rest.

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Together with the neighbouring farmer, we produce hopped apple cider, an unicum in Belgium. The making of the apple cider takes place in the neighbouring farmer’s glasshouse. The community takes on the three last steps of the cider making process: the fermentation in wooden barrels, botteling the cider and the riping of the cider in the bottles. There is no fixed furniture in the glasshouse, the area is built up every year when the time for the production starts, and broken back down at the end of the process. A table is also set up for meetings with the farmer.

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Hopped Apple Cider

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The two ingredients are brought together in the glass house on the neighbouring site.

A transparent space, with a fragile border existing of a wooden door above a ditch. The community takes on the three last steps of the cider making process: the fermentation in wooden barrels, botteling the cider and the riping of the cider in the bottles. There is no fixed furniture in the glasshouse, the area is built up every year when the time for the production starts, and broken back down at the end of the process. Between the barrels and boxes a table is also set up for meetings with the farmer and community.

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The second main activity is bricolage, although we don’t expect certain skills. We got this idea after making a photocollage of bricolage in the Flemish countryside. Although by many perceived as poorly made non-architecture, for us it has certain qualities that really fit our community and our vision. Beside the many qualities, we need bricolage in our farm. Because our parcel is not extremely big. The facilities need to be adaptable, depending on the season. By bricolating, we can give buildings multiple functions. It gives a flexibility, which is a strong facet, especially in the current reality of climate change.

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Bricolage is a French word, first introduced by the French anthropologist Lévi Strauss in 1969. It is derived from the French verb “bricoler”, which translated means ‘to tinker’. However, bricolage is more than just tinkering: it is a way of using all that is available to quickly fix a problem or to adapt what exists when new circumstances arise.

Bricolage doesn’t depart from a technique or skill, but relies mostly on the creativity of the individual who is performing it, the bricoleur. The bricoleur is more an artist than a craftsman. No particular skills are needed, no aesthetic end result is expected. This takes the pressure of failure away and improves the creative process.

Or as Colin Rowe describes in his book “Collage City”: ‘The bricoleur is adept at performing a large number of diverse tasks.

His universe of instruments is closed and the rules of his game are always to make do with ‘whatever is at hand’, that is to say with a set of tools and materials which is always finite and is also heterogeneous because what it contains bears no relation to the current project, or indeed to any particular project, but is the contingent result of all occasions there have been to renew or enrich the stock or to maintain it with the remains of the previous constructions or destructions.’ * (Rowe, 1984, p. 102-103).

*

Rowe, C. (1984).

Collage City. Mit Press Ltd.

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Bricolage3

When bringing a diversity of materials that have no relation to the current project together, it results most of the time in a patchwork-like non-architecture. This randomness and mishmash are praised by some. And as a result, some architectural offices today use ‘bricolage’ as a design methodology to achieve a certain aesthetic. However, it is important to be critical in these cases, because if we use bricolage as an aesthetic method, it is limited to an architectural style. And this is not what bricolage is about.

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Mushrooms

The growing and harvesting of hop only takes half a year, therefore in order to financially survive the community needs to produce other foods. In our case, these foods are mushrooms. What makes mushrooms really interesting, is not the just the practicality behind it, like the simple infrastructure and circumstances it needs to grow, but also the philosophy of a mushroom. They have a certain flexibility, and randomness in where they grow. They are little satellites that can grow almost everywhere on the farm. They use waste or death material as growing base, giving it a purpose again. Mushrooms are in this way a bit of bricoleurs.

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“Like rats, raccoons, and cockroaches, they are willing to put up with some of the environmental messes humans have made.”

QUOTE from “The Mushroom at the End of the World” - Anna Tsing

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“WHAT DO you DO WHEN YOUR WORLD STARTS TO FALL apart?

I go for a walk, and if I’m really lucky, I find mushrooms. Mushrooms pull me back into my senses, not just—like flowers—through their riotous colours and smells but because they popup unexpectedly, reminding me of the good fortune of just happening to be there. Then I know that there are still pleasures amidst the terrors of indeterminacy.”

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Enoki Mushrooms enoki basement in the dry tower

Jan

Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Ten months of the year the dry tower isn’t used as a drying tower.

What happens when buildings are not used? Nature takes over. This was the starting point for this mushroom intervention.

An empty basement, with a core, surrounded by a buffer zone, lends itself as the ideal habitat for enoki mushrooms. Enoki mushrooms, also called velvet foot, is the most fragile type of the farm. It needs more warmth, than the others.

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Oyster Mushrooms in the mushroom grotto

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Feb Mar Apr May Jun

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Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Interestingly these mushrooms thrive on death plant material and are not that high maintenance. Although supermarket ask high prices for them.

Old coffee grounds, collected from different coffee bars and restaurants in Antwerp, are the main compenent of the breeding grounds.

The mushroom bags are prepared in the mushroom atelier and then brought into the grotto. Before entering, you need to put on a mask en white gloves and shoe protectors.

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Shiitake Mushrooms

on straw bags and tree trunks hidden in the hop fields Jan

Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Shiitake are one of the most wanted mushrooms in the kitchen. Even though they are more expensive than the white champignon, they are way more easy to cultivate.

Shiitake, the cleaning mushroom, thrives on death organic material: tree trunks and straw bags as an example. Plus, they are not high maintenance. Only a spot out of the wind and direct sunlight is needed. And if you want a higher production a shiitake bath can also be useful. Letting the trunk bath for 1 day every 6 to 8 week results in a more efficient cultivation.

Spring and summertime: the hoods are hidden between the hop fields. Only the inhabitants know where they are.

Autumn and winter: the hop has been harvested. The hoods pop up and become visible to passers-by. Like a mushroom, out of nowhere and on random places.

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CHAPTER 4

Home

Let me welcome you to our home. Living so closely together is not always evident. The mornings and evenings are busy. Luckily, there is no obligation in how you plan your free time. What I like about our house, is that you can decide the degree in how much you want to interact. If you want a spontaneous talk with a passers-by, then sit in the front yard patio. Or sometimes you want complete privacy, then you can hide yourself in the mezzanines above each bedroom.

You set your own boundaries.

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a

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The community is located in an existing introverted old farmhouse that needed to be transformed into a more present communal house. We used the undefined rules of bricolage as a design methodology and turned it into architecture. The new construction is made out of different modest materials: brick, wood and the re-use materials that would otherwise go the waste. This will lead to a patchwork like architecture with multiple layers of materials. This layering of elements becomes also part of the solution for the closed off skin of the existing building.

Deciding where there are doors, shutters, windows was also important. Some have different options to set up, so it gives the inhabitants flexibility in how they want to use the space.

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During September we host four immigrant helpers to help us with the hop picking. Instead of letting them stay in a caravan, we wanted them to be part of the community. Even if it’s just for a short stay.

In the following plan, you can see some important changes in the spatial layout, that are easily made due to the flexibility of some elements (drawn in red). Small, but meaningful gestures, such as adding four extra chairs around the kitchen table were added.

But more importantly, they have there own unit. The living room becomes their living space. Two ladders connect this space to two bedrooms, that are otherwise used as storage space during the other months. The corridor is transformed into a temporary bathroom with curtains on one side and closed off doors on the other. This means, that when the inhabitants want to go to the kitchen, they have to be on good terms with the immigrants, so they can walk through the living room and use the door.

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Closing We as architects, together with the community, want to take a posiWe as architects, together with the community, want to take a position in the current countryside reality. Not by contributing to a certain idyll, but by recognizing qualities typical for the countryside, such as small-scaliness, bricolage and informality. With this project we experiment how trust can be the connecting element in all of this. While we focussed mainly on the scale of a community and its neighbourhood, it does also apply to a larger scale. We are convinced that on different locations throughout the Flemish agricultural landscape where the same phenomenon’s simultaneously arise, a similar exercise in trust could be beneficial.

First of all, the openness of the countryside should be protected and celebrated as a quality that distinguishes the countryside from the city, such as soft boundaries, a minimum of fences, low hedges that allow a transparency. This physical openness can also result in a more open conversation between all the actors. However, we don’t advocate for a boundary-less countryside. Boundaries are needed in a trustworthy relationship. It only becomes a problem when boundaries are obsessively used in order to obtain a feeling of security.

Trust also means communication and participation, not always through real contact or words. In our project we give other suggestions: such as a cooperation between farmers or distribution to local shops or creating social traditions, like a harvesting feast. In this interaction with others, conflicts will occur, mostly caused by an error in communication. But rather than avoiding confrontations, we should walk into to them. So having ‘trust’ in both the conflict and resolution is as essential.

Lastly, we acknowledge the importance of bricolage. Not just as a material construction, but more so the immaterial elements of spontaneity, informality and imperfection. This is in stark contrast with the construction of the idyll and process of beautification we see more and more in the countryside. Trust here also means, finding comfort in changes and uncertainty, because there will always be tools to adapt.

This exercising in trust won’t be achieved with loud architecture or a big statement, but with subtle gestures. A layering in transparency, showing imperfections, favouring informality over formality, setting softer boundaries, being open to failure and conflict... Not by chance, all qualities that bring us back to the beginning: ‘t Stalleke.

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Agriculture

Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal products for people to use and for distribution to markets.

The products and agricultural methods used, vary from one part of the world to another, depending on climate, terrain, traditions, and technology. Agriculture shapes many of the traditions and values that a country was built on.

Agriculture triggered such a change in society and the way in which people lived that its development has been named the “Neolithic Revolution.” Rather than relying on hunting and gathering, many societies evolved to permanent settlements of growing crops and herding animals. These agricultural villages enabled the production of surplus food. People could use this extra food when crops failed or trade it for other goods. Food surpluses allowed part of the society to work at other tasks unrelated to farming.

Agriculture developed the evolution of the idea of ownership; farmers became attached to land they were cultivating. This lead to disputes, strong leaders and codes of conduct evolved in response.

Over centuries, the rise of agriculture has contributed to the rise of civilisations. It kept formerly nomadic people near their fields and led to the development of permanent villages. These became linked through trade. New economies were so successful in some areas that cities grew and civilisations developed.

In practice, architects and urban farmers incorporate agriculture into the surrounding city environment in very different ways. Agritecture is defined as the art, science, and business of integrating agriculture into the built environment.

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2

Boundary

A real or imagined line that marks the limits or edges of something and separates it from other things or places. Boundary most often designates a line on a map. It may be a physical feature, such as a river, or road. Often these lines indicate property boundaries, dividing one property from another. In many cases this property division is translated into a physical boundary. In urban areas, they are usually very hard and clear: high fences, brick walls and thick hedges separate one parcel from another. In rural areas these boundaries become become softer and start to fade away. They are more open for interpretation, they come with a certain degree of transparency.

Boundaries are needed in a trustworthy relationship. They should be chosen carefully, as different kinds of boundaries bring different meanings along with them.

‘An extremely fenced and walled community is a perversion of the idea of community into its opposite.’ * Besides physical boundaries playing an important role in the community, social boundaries are also needed. They are established rules set by a community, which are considered common because most of the people living in the society agree that they are the standards that people should follow. Setting boundaries guide the actors working together, and can ensure that relationships can be mutually respectful, appropriate, and caring.

*

Pali, B. (2019).

Restorative Justice and Conviviality in Intercultural Contexts.

Verifiche, Rivista Semestrale Di Scienze Umane, no. 2: 166.

Lexicon

As Roberto Esposito states:

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3

Bricolage

Bricolage is a French word, first introduced by the French anthropologist Lévi Strauss in 1969. It is derived from the French verb “bricoler”, which translated means ‘to tinker’. However, bricolage is more than just tinkering: it is a way of using all that is available to quickly fix a problem or to adapt what exists when new circumstances arise.

Bricolage doesn’t depart from a technique or skill, but relies mostly on the creativity of the individual who is performing it, the bricoleur. The bricoleur is more an artist than a craftsman. No particular skills are needed, no aesthetic end result is expected. This takes the pressure of failure away and improves the creative process.

Or as Colin Rowe describes in his book “Collage City”: ‘The bricoleur is adept at performing a large number of diverse tasks.

His universe of instruments is closed and the rules of his game are always to make do with ‘whatever is at hand’, that is to say with a set of tools and materials which is always finite and is also heterogeneous because what it contains bears no relation to the current project, or indeed to any particular project, but is the contingent result of all occasions there have been to renew or enrich the stock or to maintain it with the remains of the previous constructions or destructions.’ * (Rowe, 1984, p. 102-103).

When bringing a diversity of materials that have no relation to the current project together, it results most of the time in a patchwork-like non-architecture. This randomness and mishmash are praised by some. And as a result, some architectural offices today use ‘bricolage’ as a design methodology to achieve a certain aesthetic. However, it is important to be critical in these cases, because if we use bricolage as an aesthetic method, it is limited to an architectural style. And this is not what bricolage is about.

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*

Rowe, C. (1984).

Collage City. Mit Press Ltd.

Conviviality

Conviviality is a quality which encourages human interaction and liveliness. The human tendency to feel satisfied and happy exists in living with others. Conviviality turns out to be the very essential social and cultural requirement to provide every individual with a space in the public realm where participation is appreciated.*

*

Ivan Illich, “Tools for conviviality” 1973.

The convivial approach focuses on culture and its positive development rather than economistic development. It tends to focus on everyday life of people where free time, free space, convivial technology, convivial organization act as social capital which comes from cultural networks rather than existential resources such as income.

Conviviality is not something which can solve serious problems, but it is a way to rise above them by celebration, it can happen when resources are scarce, and its utility rises above economic and political benefits. People want conviviality because it gives them and others a taste of happiness which they could not conjure up on their own.

Thus it can be understood as a fundamental element for feeling the sense of community.

Collective rituals such as eating can be a good cause to generate conviviality, eating alongside others in public spaces is an activity in which good times are spent. In a well-designed and well managed public space, the regression of daily life can be kept aside for a while.

Being with people different from oneself responding to the same setting similarly creates a temporary bond. Such bonding resonates into increase in a feeling of having good times with strangers.**

**

International Journal of Recent Technology and Engineering (IJRTE) ISSN: 2277-3878, Volume-8 Issue-5, January 2020

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- by Marta Wisniewska

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Defensible Space

Defensible spaces are residential environments whose physical characteristics – building layout and site plan – function to allow inhabitants themselves to become key agents in ensuring their security.

It is a concept that relies on self-help rather than on government interven­tion. It depends on the involvement of the resident to take control of their neighbourhoods, to reduce crime and remove the pres­ence of criminals.

The concept of defensible space was first explicated by Oscar Newman. He states that architectural and environmental design play an important role in increasing or reducing criminality. ‘Defensible space programs have a common purpose: restruc­turing the physical layout of communities to allow residents to control the areas around their homes. This includes the streets and grounds outside their buildings, and the lobbies and corridors within them.’ * A good design can help the resident feel a sense of ownership and responsibility for the area around them, which will encourage them to defend it. The more space that is under the control and influence of the residents, the less there is for a criminal to operate in. The effectiveness of defensible space depends largely on the willingness and particularly the ability of the people in control of it.

There are four key concepts in his theory and design principles: territoriality, surveillance, image, and milieu.

There have been very few tests of Newman’s defensible space theory in its entirety. Much of the criticism on Newman’s defensible space was directed at his neglect of basic social, psychological and behavioural processes as critical underlying mechanisms in the creation of defensible space.

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*

Newman, O. (1996). Creating Defensible Space.

DIANE Publishing.

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Inclusion

The word inclusion is borrowed from the Latin verb ‘includere’ (nominative: inclusion) which means: a shutting up, a confinement.

Strangely, the original meaning of the word has a totally different undertone than its modern meaning. The word ‘inclusion’ nowadays is perceived in a positive way: the act of including someone or something as part of a group, list, etc. and thereby excepting his/her differences. Or differently said: the act or practice of including and accommodating people who have historically been excluded. Since it concerns social groups, we can call this ‘social inclusion’.

In our current democratic era inclusion is seen as a universal human right. All people, irrespective of

should be heard and should be given equal rights and opportunities.

Inclusion is a popular term, used easily nowadays. This means we have to remain critical: although appearing to be inclusive, sometimes the intentions can be unethical. In this case, inclusion is nothing more than hidden tokenism.

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Age – Gender - Sexual orientation – Education – Income – Religion Cultural beliefs – Ethnicity – Language - Mental health

As architects we have to aim for inclusive design. The main purpose of this design attitude is to strive for a building where everyone can enjoy the same experiences and that creates no separation, but participation. There are general rules architects can follow in order to make a building accessible for people who have a disability, children etc. But more importantly is having a participative attitude during the design process. To ensure you support all the involved parties (neighbours, users of the new space, visitors etc.) it can be useful to do a wide research beforehand with an open, inclusive conversation.

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Normal

ordinary, regular, conventional, typical, standard, as expected.

Or differently said: not deviated from the norm. Normality can emerge feelings of comfort, familiarity and sometimes even boredom. It is predictable and part of the known.

When things/persons/situations are considered normal, we must be aware that it’s not definitive: normality differs in time and space, and is highly subjective. A previously unfamiliar or atypical situation can later on become standard, usual, or expected. It becomes the new normal.

Norm-al, as the word reveals, floats around the norm. In reality, it is sometimes unclear who determines this norm: society, statistics, politicians, scientists, individuals? From a statistical and scientific viewpoint something that deviates from the norm, is seen as bad.

It is divergent and should be brought back to what is normal. E.g. when your cholesterol values are above average, most patients feel an urge to bring it back to normal. This striving to be normal, is more and more visible in society, yet seems in today’s life more difficult to achieve than ever.

Lastly, what is normal architecture? Two possible meanings: (1) Normal architecture as everyday architecture, that supports the daily, ordinary routine without being too present for its user. As Koolhaas describes so: generic and easily replaceable.

(2) “Normal architecture exists between two extremes. One end of the spectrum is occupied by a generic architecture which is nothing but the pragmatic acceptance of norms and standards: circumstantial normality. The other end consists of architecture which is generic by choice, where norms and standards are used as means to achieve an ideal, intentional normality, a sublimation of the ordinary. In between these extremes sits the architecture which reflects an ambition of sorts but falls within the standard deviation limits of what is considered normal in a particular place and time.” Hans Ibelings

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Protected Cultivation

There is a large and sustained demand of fresh vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants throughout the year in almost every large city.

These big cities also experience the need of off-season and high value crops. Protected cultivation helps meet city requirements of these crops. It is a concept that emerged due to globalisation of markets, shrinking of available land and climate change. On the other hand, the resources required to produce the crops, such as fossil fuel, affect climate change. This puts protected cultivation producers under high pressure, as they are required to adopt environmentally friendly production strategies.

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Protected cultivation is a unique and specialised form of agriculture.

It is a process of growing crops in a controlled environment: temperature, humidity, light and such other factors can be regulated as per requirement of the crop. They are protected from rain, wind, high temperatures and minimises the damage of insect pests and diseases. This results in a healthier and larger production of crops, during an extended growing season for plants. Crops can be grown where otherwise they could not survive. This method of cultivation works effectively compared to open cultivation. But, sometimes these systems do not perform optimally because they are not sufficiently adapted to the conditions of the region. Protected cultivation involves the use of structures such as the greenhouse, insect-proof net house, plastic tunnel and drip irrigation; or protection such as windbreaks and irrigation.

Protected cultivation is a concept which can be used for integrating agriculture in an urban setting, as a sustainable alternative to industrial scale farming.

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Subsistence

Subsistence means having the bare minimum you need in order to stay alive. For humans we could define those basic resources as food, water, shelter and clothing.

In today’s Western culture, where capitalism and over consumption reign supreme, we couldn’t live further from subsistence living. However before urbanisation we mostly all lived in a subsistence economy, not driven by the market but by individual survival.

This means an economy with almost no profit, but one that relies on natural resources to provide for basic needs through hunting, gathering, and agriculture. Economy surplus is minimal and only used to trade for basic goods. In today’s climate, subsistence economy is mostly found in developing countries, where industrialisation and high profits can not be achieved.

Most familiar is subsistence farming, where in the first place farmers grow foods in order to feed themselves, their families and maybe a small community. Although from a Western point of view, it can be seen as unprofitable and too dependant on the whims of nature.

It also has its benefits: resulting in a more biodiverse agriculture, decreased using of pesticides and making farming a more socio-cultural activity instead of solely economic.

Lastly, what is subsistence architecture? It can be loosely defined as architecture that meets the minimal domestic needs. It supports subsistence activities, such as cooking, sleeping, washing, eating, maybe farming etc. Impossible to define this without being subjective, we must be aware that this type of architecture will vary on culture, place, time, environment and individual needs.

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Trust

The confidence in the honesty or goodwill of others. It is to believe that something is safe and reliable.

According to psychoanalyst Erik Erikson, the development of basic trust is the most important period of a child’s life. It is the first stage of psychosocial development occurring, or failing, during the first two years of life. Success result in feelings of security, trust, and optimism, while failure leads towards insecurity and mistrust.

Trust is a central part of relationships among individuals, groups and other components of society. It is often seen as an element that holds society together. It makes people feel eager to be part of a relationship or group, with a shared purpose and willingness to depend on each other. But, it can also break a group apart. It involves the risk that people we trust will not pull through for us, we risk the loss of valuable things that we entrust to others. It is an emotional act, where you expose your vulnerabilities to people, believing they will not take advantage of your openness. Trust is hard to define, but we do know when it’s lost.

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Trust is not something that is immediately acquired, it is built up over time. It requires proof of ones reliability expressed in actions or words. When trusting someone, there is a tendency to think about it in terms of all or nothing: a person is trusted, or is not, but there is no in between.

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This is not a Prison Farm A studio by Sabrina Puddu & Jesse Honsa KU Leuven Faculty of Architecture Campus Ghent, Master 1, 2021

A book by Astrid De Mazière & Julia Ceuppens