German Jordanian University Thesis Book - Affordable Housing
Although human creates houses, houses do create humans
Reem Abed
The School of Architecture and Built Environment
AFFORDABLE LOW COST HOUSING A thesis submitted in the fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Bachelor of Architecture Presented by
Reem Abed Elkhalik Supervised by
Arch. Ohoud Kamal First semester 2014 Amman, Jordan
This thesis is dedicated to my supportive parents for their love, endless support and encouragement.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
F
oremost, I would like to express my deepest appreciation to my supervisor Arch. Ohoud Kamal for the continuous support of my graduation Project work and research, for her patience, motivation, enthusiasm, insightful feedback and immense knowledge.
Her guidance helped me in all the time of research and writing of this thesis. I could not have imagined having a better advisor and mentor for my graduation project. Besides my supervisor, I would like to thank the rest of my thesis committee: Prof. Yamen Al betawi, and Arch. Janset Shawash for their and insightful comments and constructive suggestion. Special thanks to my group mates Lina Abu Samak, Rawan Theodory, and Hazem Saleh for their cooperation, commitment, and for long nights working together. Last but not the least, I also would like to express my wholehearted thanks to my family: my parents for their generous support, they provided me both financially and emotionally throughout my entire life and particularly through the process of my degree. Because of their unconditional love and prayers, I have the chance to complete this thesis.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
THOUGHT PROCESS
9 11 15 17 18 20 21 22
• • • • • • • •
Going back to basics, architecture Affordable housing Low cost housing Significance of the project Housing demand in Jordan Income groups categories in Jordan Project information Potential client/ Investor
25 • Thought process 26 • Goals & objectives
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PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS
CASE STUDIES & CONCLUSION
29 • Sites Evaluation: Targeting a sustainable development 30 • Site analysis 43 • History of the project development
57 63 71 75 79 85 89
• • • • • • •
The Jordan Cement factory Employees housing Monterrey Housing by ELEMENTAL Low-Cost Housing in Egypt 52 Social Housing in Tarragona Incremental Housing Strategy in India 4 Houses / On OfficE Conclusion
93 94 95 96 97 101 103 113 115 117 119 123 129
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
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FINAL DESIGN
VALUES OF THE DESIGN
Vision and design statement Design Strategy: Incremental Housing Typology Pros and Cons Design Criteria Project program Concept diagrams & Plans of units Slope Evolution of the master plan Master plan Cluster plan Elevations & Sections 3D shots
135 139 143 145 149 150 151 152 153
• Phasing of the Project - Elevations • Phasing of the Project - Sections • Sustainability - Construction material - Material selection - Landscaping - Water conservation - External Shading Devices - Space wise Design
GENERAL INFORMATION
9 11 15 17 18 20 21 22
• • • • • • • •
Going back to basics, architecture Affordable housing Low cost housing Significance of the project Housing demand in Jordan Income groups categories in Jordan Project information Potential client/ Investor
GOING BACK TO BASICS, ARCHITECTURE = SHELTER
A
rchitecture evolved from the basic need to create shelter. The beginnings are rooted in man’s primal need to define space and an envelope for his daily activities. As the act of living gained complexity, so did the awareness for space definition. This basic requirement acquired many adjuncts and revealed itself in terms of social, political, religious, cultural and other needs. Architecture became manifest in a multitude of man’s endeavors in the political, social, religious and economic spheres-transcending the simple scope of defining as shelter. Aside from geographical positioning-political, cultural, economic and technological environments have shaped and generated architectural norms that define the characteristic of a place. And, in that manner, the architecture of a place eventually becomes the symbol and marker for its society. We as architects to be are concerned about the responsibility that the architectural profession has to the basic human needs of the society it serves. In order for the profession to meet these responsibilities - to shelter, to a healthy work place, to a livable city - it must change and enlarge the parameters of practice. We owe this to our country and our societies. We as architects must respond to the urgent social concerns.
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GOING BACK TO BASICS, ARCHITECTURE = SHELTER
I
n the Arabic Region the population growth is around twice the world's average and the age profile is young. Given that housing demand is driven primarily by the two key factors of population growth and age structure, this means the demand for more homes, in particular at the lower segment of the market, is increasing rapidly in the region.
And like many countries, Jordan faces the challenge of rapid urbanization. In fact, 70% of its urban population lives within 30 km of the capital, Amman. We propose providing low cost housing without subsidy, guide new growth to create mixed income communities, and build sustainably in parallel with nature.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING • “Most people call housing “affordable” when they don’t have to choose between paying rent and buying groceries, when they don’t have to live in crowded or unhealthy conditions, and when they can afford a home that provides a sense of security and community”. ¹ • “Policymakers and advocates call housing “affordable” when a household pays no more than 30% of its total income for housing costs (rent or mortgage payment, insurance, taxes, and utilities)”. ² • "Affordable housing is 'easy to build' – just add enough money, and there can be homes – but housing is 'hard to make work' if developed poorly, or with unwise legal, financial, or operational structures: then it can quickly turn into the slums of tomorrow. “ ³ • East Bay Housing Organizations is a non-profit, membership based organization that has helped advocate for affordable housing in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area since 1984 • EBHO’s definition of “affordable housing” includes homes that are sustainable, beautifully designed, professionally managed, and connected to services and amenities—places that create dignity and opportunity for working families, seniors, and those with disabilities or special needs.
¹ East Bay Housing Organizations, 2013, “What Is Affordable Housing?” Available: http://www.ebho.org/resources/what-is-affordable-housing, (Accessed 2013, March 29) ² East Bay Housing Organizations, 2013, “What Is Affordable Housing?” Available: http://www.ebho.org/resources/what-is-affordable-housing, (Accessed 2013, March 29). ³Maysa Sabah, 2013, the Middle East Magazine.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING • What do people mean when they say “affordable housing?” • Affordable to whom? You might hear about a new building with “affordable housing” in it and find out that you could never afford that housing. Or you might find out that you earn too much to qualify for that housing. • So what it means when people call housing “affordable”!
• “Economists define the maximum households can “afford” to spend on housing as total income less than the amount needed to cover basic needs (food, clothing, transportation and medical care).” • The NYC government says housing is “affordable” if a family spends no more than 30% of their income to live there. This threshold is called “affordable rent burden.”
But
30% of $1 million is very different from30% of $20,000.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING • When the government says “affordable housing,” it means affordable for families in the middle or at the lower end of the income scale. But which families exactly? • The government calculates income limits for affordable housing programs using something called Median Family Income, or MFI. This is also known as Area Median Income, or AMI.
What’s MFI? • The Median Family Income is what the family right in the middle of the income distribution earns. By definition, half the families earn more and half the families earn less. • MFI isn’t the average income, just the income in the middle of the distribution.
The Center for Urban Pedagogy, 2009, “What Is Affordable Housing?”, NYC Edition
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING
D
ifferent affordable housing programs target different income categories. The government uses MFI to create income categories. Each category is a percentage range based on MFI.
Let’s say the MFI for a family of four is $50,000. Then the income categories are: • Extremely low income 0% to 30% of MFI = $0 to $15,000 • Very low income 30% to 50% of MFI = $15,000 to $25,000 • Low income 50% to 80% of MFI = $25,000 to $40,000 • Moderate income 80% to 120% of MFI = $40,000 to $60,000 • Middle income 120% to 250% of MFI = $60,000 to $125,000 • High income 250% Of MFI and up = $125,000 to ?!?!?!? Remember 100% of MFI is $50,000
The Center for Urban Pedagogy, 2009, “What Is Affordable Housing?”, NYC Edition
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LOW COST HOUSING
I
t is a general trend in Jordan and around the world that the term low-cost housing only applies to the cost of the construction, and refers to low quality. It is therefore essential to move towards a new definition, where low-cost housing refers to the cost of building, but more importantly the running cost of the building, especially in terms of water and energy use.
It is also essential that low-cost does not relate to the quality of housing, especially that low quality construction will usually be more expensive to maintain over time.
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LOW COST HOUSING
L
ow cost housing is defined as provision of housing which caters to the minimum requirements of masses within their income capabilities, without sacrificing the quality of construction.
Low Cost Housing is a new concept which deals with effective budgeting and following of techniques which help in reducing the cost construction through the use of locally available materials along with improved skills and technology without sacrificing the strength, performance and life of the structure. There is huge misconception that low cost housing is suitable for only sub standard works and they are constructed by utilizing cheap building materials of low quality. The fact is that Low cost housing is done by proper management of resources. Economy is also achieved by postponing finishing works or implementing them in phases.
Kanwarjot Singh, Civil Engineering Portal, Available: http://www.engineeringcivil.com/low-cost-housing.html, (Accessed 2013, March 29) A. K. Lal, 1995”Hand Book of Low Cost Housing” P. 37.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT
I
n the Middle East and North Africa, the population growth is around twice the world's average and the age profile is young. Given that housing demand is driven primarily by the two key factors of population growth and age structure, this means the demand for more homes, in particular at the lower segment of the market, is increasing rapidly in the region.
- 3.5 million
The Middle East Magazine, Available: http://www.themiddleeastmagazine.com/news-detail.php?nid=30, (Accessed 2013, March 29)
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HOUSING DEMAND IN JORDAN
U
rban population is about 78.7 percent of the total population and urbanization rate is 82 percent (Shapouri and Rosen, 2007). The general annual demand for housing is around 32,000 units, of which 14,000 are needed by low-income households (HSTYP, 2004).
Majd Al-Homoud, Salem Al-Oun, Al-Mutasem Al-Hindawi, 2009,�The low-income housing market in Jordan�, (pp. 234-235).
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HOUSING DEMAND IN JORDAN
Majd Al-Homoud, Salem Al-Oun, Al-Mutasem Al-Hindawi, 2009,”The low-income housing market in Jordan”, (pp. 234-235).
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INCOME GROUPS CATEGORIES IN JORDAN
Majd Al-Homoud, Salem Al-Oun, Al-Mutasem Al-Hindawi, 2009,”The low-income housing market in Jordan”, (pp. 234-235).
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PROJECT INFORMATION Project Target: Residential Project type: Affordable Potential Client: HUDC Housing and Urban Development Cooperation Potential Investor: Jordan Engineers Association
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POTENTIAL CLIENT/ INVESTOR
I
n our project the possible client/investor is HUDC - Housing and Urban Development Cooperation, which is an organization which seeks through the National Housing Strategy to achieve its vision and mission which includes:
• Enabling the Jordanian citizens to access adequate housing with special emphasis on limited income groups, • Contribute to the national development • Develop the housing sector in Jordan through formulating of comprehensive housing policies • Activating public private sector partnership. Also it support and develop the housing sector in Jordan through: • Develop comprehensive housing policies • Activate public private partnership • Enable limited income groups to access adequate housing • Provide high quality services to target groups
Target groups of HUDC Low-income family: family that the total annual income of its members do not exceed 1500 dinars. And divided low-income family into three sections:
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THOUGHT PROCESS
25 • Thought process 26 • Goals & objectives
THOUGHT PROCESS
T
his kind of project needs a strategic thinking, because many aspects are affecting the final results. The aspects which will be analyzed are the social, physical, and economical aspect. The social aspect is analyzed through studying the culture of our society, and the family size, age, kinship, and religion are affecting the pattern of life and activities. Therefore the physical output as arranging of spaces will be defined according to the results, where will be fitting the target users’ needs and life style.
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GOALS AND OBJECTIVES GOALS
Create a green affordable housing targeting low-income groups, encouraging the integration between them and the urban core of Naour, in order to avoid getting a gated community. • Avoid the problems that HUDC faced during the planning and execution phase. • Increase and promote low-income housing ownership and provide housing for a diverse local workforce. • Create a self-efficient community. • Healthy dwelling, access to light, air, sun. • Exploring and incorporating a sustainable planning.
OBJECTIVES Economical
• Selecting land that is accessible to users and that do not require expensive site work for infrastructure. • Promote economic and social integration through the design that suits users’ financial capabilities and lifestyle – ensuring that families’ housing costs are not so high that they can’t afford to meet education and health costs. • The project is saving money and energy, as it will consider sustainable issues and green strategies, which reduce the costs.
Social
• Promote more interactive role for residents to do different kind of activities. • To be designed easy to understand and use regardless of the user’s experience and knowledge. • Create harmonious housing with people lifestyle and culture.
Physical
• Exploring and developing local construction materials and techniques that can reduce cost. • Compensate the form complexity for the unit design quality. • Promote personalization for each unit.
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PHYSICAL AND CULTURAL ANALYSIS
29 • Sites Evaluation: Targeting a sustainable development 30 • Site analysis 43 • History of the project development
SITE EVALUATION
T
o achieve the sustainable standards in our project we make sure to seek and select the more sustainable sites that are owned by the HUDC, and according to certain characteristics, we tested different three sites, and asked people from the neighborhoods, and came up with the results.
Here the schedule shows the comparison of three sites, Naour, Al-jezza, and Al-mostandeh.
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SITE LOCATION & CONTEXT Location: Naour. Total site area: 41,262 m². Land plot area: 25,000 m² (Based on HUDC: built up area around 50% of the whole land plot area). Potential built up area: 15,000 m²
Naour located at the west side of the capital, with 26 neighborhoods or residential concentrations. Population: 100,000 Inhabitants Distance away from other towns and residential concentrations • WADI AL SIR 15.9 KM • SAHAB 33.3 KM • AL-JIZA 24.8 KM • AMMAN 19.5 KM
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SOLID AND VOID
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ROAD NETWORK AND ACCESSIBILITY
MAJOR ROADS KING ABDULLAH STREET QUEEN ALIA AIRPORT ROAD AL-QUDS STREET SAIL AL HUSBAN STREET
Approach to the site through sail Al Husban Street 16.9 KM away from the 7th circle approximately 24 minutes away by car. Accessed through Queen Alia airport road and then right into king Abdullah bin Alhussein Street.
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AROUND THE SITE
• Health Services • Religious with 3 KM • Police Station • Educational with 5 KM
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NEARBY DEVELOPMENT
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INFRA-STRUCTURE
ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS WATER CONNECTIONS PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ROUTE
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PANORAMIC VIEWS
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CLIMATIC CONDITIONS
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TOPOGRAPHY
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FLORA AND FAUNA
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NAOUR
T
he town Naour was first established by the Circassian immigrants in 1900 by 55 families. The town Naour was well planned and engineered by the Cirassians where a mosque was placed in the center of the town with houses around and a very clear road network system connecting neighborhoods.
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SOCIO –ECONOMIC PROFILE Average family size is
5.5
Nationalities In Naour
Buildings types
Number of families Employed in Naour
12033 Age groups
Employed by current occupation
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Employment Sector
Employed by Economic activity
STAKEHOLDERS MAPPING
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TYPOLOGY HISTORY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
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TYPOLOGY HISTORY OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING
Austria 1920s USA 1935
Australia 1945 USSR(Russia) 1950 Jordan 1970s Page 45
Hong kong 1954 France 1956
AFFORDABLE HOUSING AUSTRIA 1927/1930 largely closed wall, and the ground floor is very high in order to prevent the insight into the rooms. Here and there the wall is interrupted by the window of a small business. The number of levels was limited to five. Only small homes have been built, consisting of entrance hall, bathroom, kitchen and rooms. 75% were 38 m² in size, the remaining 45 to 48 m². There was no shower or bath.
1954 Was the first high-rise community of Vienna, every apartment has bathroom and toilet. First was still working with the broken bricks concrete and later rose to be on precast construction apartments between 41 m² and 83 m²apartments between 41 m² and 83 m².
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KARL MARX HOF , VIENNA
Karl Marx-Hof was built between 1927 and 1930 by city planner Karl Ehn. It held 1,382 apartments (with a size of 30–60 m² each) 156,000-m² large area was built up, with the rest of the area developed into play areas and gardens. And included many amenities, including Laundromats, baths, kindergartens, a library, doctor offices, and business offices. It was a symbol for the social Vienna. Conceptually it was a "City within a city" with a large scale park-area inside.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING USA Requiring new buildings to meet certain standards for decent livability for poor people, Race was largely determined by the neighborhood surrounding the site, as American residential patterns, were highly segregated.
1937 604 living units comprised of 397 three-room apartments, 128 four-room, 53 five-room, and 26 single-room units, arranged in blocks of several twostory townhouses or three-story apartment houses. Landscaping was an important element of the original site plan. They were constructed of concrete to be fireproof. Only the doors within the apartments were of wood construction.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING USA
1950 High-rise building styles dominated the program . The architects designed a modern, spacious building that contained 574 apartments. In 1937 The buildings were 4 or 5 stories tall then they have been replaced by inadequate high-rises. Park-like settings for the housing projects improving the housing for African Americans.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING AUSTRALIA The Bend to meet an urgent need for housing in Port Melbourne and South Melbourne and a strong need for housing reform rather than the slums.
1945
1956
1973
1974
Built 962 concrete houses built large estates specifically to support industry. All the main types of timber and concrete pre-fabricated houses.
Needed to provide housing for people living alone. The walk-up, three-storey concrete flats developed specifically for elderly women living alone.
Comprised 30 one-bedroom units and 90 two-bedroom units over 16 floors. played a leading role in the Housing Commission’s slum reclamation. The increasing demand for affordable accommodation
Response to community opposition to high-rise developments these developments in favor of low and medium-density housing. Medium density maisonette
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING RUSSIA Eastern European countries had suffered due to the war and their economies were in a very poor state. There was a need to reconstruct cities which had been severely damaged
1950
1970
• Low-cost, cement-paneled or brick three- to five-storied apartment building • Typical apartments of the K-7 series have a total area of 30 m2 (1-room), 44 m2 (2-room) and 60 m2 (3-room). • shared bathrooms
• Space limitations forced a switch to 9- and 16-story concrete panel municipal housing in major cities, 7–12 stories in smaller urban areas. • The goal was saving space and creating as many apartments as possible • Bathrooms for each apartment
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING HONG KONG
1954 • Tittle more than small cubicles, and the original plan was to allocate 24 square feet (2.2 m2) per adult and half that for each child under 12 • occupied by more than one family
1967 • Blocks 8 to 12 were the first resettlement blocks in Hong Kong to be built with prefabricated parts • Apartment sizes ranged from 8.2m2 to 39.4 m2
1982 • Built with elevators. All blocks were 16-floor high, • It consists of 20 residential buildings
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1995
• It was the Society's first development under the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme
AFFORDABLE HOUSING FRANCE After World War II, the population increased at a rate previously unknown, the rural exodus increased, while war damage had reduced the number of houses in many cities. Rental prices dramatically rose
1956
1968
• Creation of new towns and new suburbs • built its huge housing complexes of hundreds of apartments. Quality was also effectively regulated, resulting in decent or even top quality housing for the standard of the time • The average size of buildings is 20 apartments. • 10% of all apartments had toilet and sanitary facilities
• 95% Since 2000 are houses or small buildings of 20 apartments • more rooms per residence were built in smaller cities and towns • 96% of all apartments had toilet and sanitary facilities • The new, large apartment buildings were perfectly rectangular, so as to allow a crane to roll along a track and place components on both sides of the building simultaneously, saving both time and effort.
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AFFORDABLE HOUSING JORDAN The increasing demand for housing due the increasing population growth and age structure, this means the demand for more homes, in particular at the lower segment of the market, is increasing rapidly in the region.
1973 • • • • • •
It was the first affordable housing project in Jordan It has three housing types A,B,C There are 19 buildings and on building consisted of 6 apartments The amount of the monthly payment 30 JDS Consist Visual and physical connections through a network of paths and walks that connect neighborhoods together. space organization create informal gatherings.
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CONCLUSION • • • • •
Most of affordable housing typology started as low-rise buildings with high density The typology of housing has changed in most countries to high rise buildings Low income housing has made social segregation The best way of making a good affordable housing environment was by enhancing social mix of different income people The low rise buildings with low density was the best solution for affordable housing
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CASE STUDIES & CONCLUSION 57 63 71 75 79 85 89
• • • • • • •
The Jordan Cement factory Employees housing Monterrey Housing by ELEMENTAL Low-Cost Housing in Egypt 52 Social Housing in Tarragona Incremental Housing Strategy in India 4 Houses / On OfficE Conclusion
THE JORDAN CEMENT FACTORY EMPLOYEES HOUSING
Designed in 1982, by the architect Rasem Badran, in Fuhais.
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PRIVACY
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PRIVACY Corridor in front of apartment door, Windows , placement of rooms.
The courtyard Acting as a multiple buffers between the public and the private zones.
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The entry axis, which introduces the sequence of spaces.
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SOCIAL ACTIVITIES Creating spaces(semi-private), meeting points, quite zones.
Community garden
Provide fresh produce and plants.
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COURTYARDS BUFFER ZONES
The importance of hospitality in arab communities is reflected in the design, where the Size of guest rooms is big to consider with the rest spaces in the houses.
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MONTERREY HOUSING BY ELEMENTAL
Architects: ELEMENTAL Location: Monterrey, Mexico Client: Instituto de la Vivienda de Nuevo León (IVNL) Site Area: 6,591 sqm Initial House Area: 40 sqm Expanded House Area: 58.75 sqm Initial Duplex Area: 40 sqm Expanded Duplex Area: 76.60 sqm Project Year: 2010
Santa Catarina is a city of 230,000 inhabitants, located in the state of Nuevo León, in the northwest of Mexico. This project is Elemental’s first outside of Chile. The Government of Nuevo León, México, commissioned us to design a group of 70 homes on a site of .6 hectars in a middle class neighborhood in Santa Catarina. The required density suggested the application of the typology we developed for Iquique. However, the climate in Santa Catarina is very different from the northern dessert climate of Chile. The 600 mm of annual rainfall required us to adapt our proposal to this new question.
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28% Housing units
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MONTERREY HOUSING BY ELEMENTAL
T
he commission to develop this middle class neighborhood with the financing of US$20,000 per dwelling (almost double the funds we had for the housing projects built by Elemental in Chile). However, the construction standards and building codes significantly raise the construction costs. In this case, it was pertinent to use the strategy of investing state resources to build “the difficult half” of the home, especially given the capacity do-it-yourself building observed in Mexico, ensuring a promising future for the expansions.
The Project ELEMENTAL Monterrey consists of a three-story continuous building that in section superimposes a home (first floor) with a two-story apartment above (2nd and 3rd story). Both units are designed to technically and economically facilitate the final middle class standard of which we will hand over the “first half” (40 m2). In this sense, the difficult parts of the house (bathrooms, kitchen, stairs, and dividing walls) are designed for the expanded scenario, that is, for a home of more than 58 m2 approx. and an apartment of approximately 76 m2.
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Secondly, given that almost 50% of the m2 of the complex will be self-built, this building is porous so that the growth can occur within the structure. On one hand we want to frame and give rhythm (more than control) to the spontaneous construction so as to avoid deterioration of the urban environment over time, and also make the process of expansions for each family easier. The proposed continuous roof above the volumes and voids protects the expansion zones from rain and ensures a definitive profile of the building toward the public space.
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Ground Floor
Household size 4-5
Initial House Area: 40 m² Expanded House Area: 58.75 m²
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Second Floor
Initial Duplex Area: 40 m² Expanded Duplex Area: 76.60 m²
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Third, experience tells us that in lower class neighborhoods the green spaces tend to be “earth spaces,� due to the scarcity of maintenance and the distance that exists between green space and the home that makes it difficult for neighbors to take care of.
Duplex
What we did in this case was to surround the green space with building, reducing the distance between communal space and the home to a minimum. This permitted us to define a collective space with secure Access that gives space to the social network and generates favorable conditions for maintenance and care.
All the apartments have direct Access from the public space and parking, a condition especially relevant in a country where every family can have access to an automobile.
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Apartment
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LOW-COST HOUSING IN EGYPT
T
he project of Low-Cost Housing Prototypes in Egypt (1987) is one of the governmental trials to solve the Egyptian housing problem to reach a greater number of lower – income families. The concept offered internal flexibility of the housing unit, permitting the participation of the user in the design decisions of his own house that matches his needs and affordability.
The partially completed housing prototypes comprised seven types of five stories apartment walk-ups, providing a variety of flat areas, namely: 45, 60, 75 and 90 square meters. Each flat was conceived as a minimal shelter, comprising: a finished bathroom, structure elements, all sanitary connections and electrical installations. Internal partitions as well as walls and floor finishing were left, to be gradually completed by the user according to his needs and affordability.
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Key Elements:
Family size:
Time:
• • • • •
• The start was in 1987. • Stage 1: 1987 Initial phase with supports, bath room, and outer skin. • Stage 2: 1987-1989 second phase with bath room, final finishing of internal wall and floors, kitchen, 1 bedroom, and 1 living room. • Stage 3: 1989-1997 third phase with bath room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 1 living room. • Stage 4: 1997-2010 fourth phase with bath room, kitchen, 3 bedrooms, and 1 living room. • Stage 5: 2010… fifth phase with bath room, kitchen, 2 bedrooms, and 1 living room.
1987-1989: New small family consists of 2 persons. 1989-1992: Small family consists of 3 persons. 1992-1997: Family consists of 4 persons. 1997-2010: Big family consists of 5 persons. 2010…….: Family consists of 4 persons.
Household income: The proved income: • • • •
1987-1992: 300 LE/month. 1992-1997: 500 LE/month. 1997-2001: 800 LE/month. 2001-2010: 1500 LE/moth.
Actual income: • It is not a fixed income, it comes from overtime work and family assistant and it is not supported by documents.
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WHY IN THAT TIME To solve the problem of accommodating the great number of lower – income categories. CONCEPT It is to be a key factor in decreasing the initial cost of dwellings. While developing architectural designs for the housing prototypes, allowing the incremental development of the dwellings within a scenario of flexibility and adaptability. The concept was welcomed as it combined the external appearance of a complete project and allowed the users to gradually complete and finish the interiors of their dwellings. HOW BUILT The government built the outer skin of the building. The user completes his housing unit with the help of the contractor User built the internal walls and he finished floors according to his needs and affordability. ISSUES The issue of users’ participation in the gradual completion and finishing of their dwellings. The issue of affordability and the impact of the family income on the process of gradual completion. The issue of the organizational procedure related to the provision of tools, materials and technical assistance for the gradual completion. FAMILY CIRCUMSTANCE The state has drawn some constrains on the beneficiaries, such as: Employment: users should be governmental employers , or have a proved income Income: between (200-400 LE)/month (1987 Requirements) as the residential unit take a loan repaid over 30 or 40 years at a rate of 4%, so the user should pay 25% of his monthly income . SERVICES The external appearance of a complete project, finished bathroom, structure elements of a housing unit, and all sanitary connections and electrical installations were supplied by the government.
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NUMBER OF ROOMS:
INFLECTION POINT:
• 1987: Initial phase with 0 room, supports, bath room, and the outer skin. • 1987-1989: 2 rooms (1 bedroom + 1 living room), bath room, and kitchen. • 1989-1997: 3 rooms (2 bedrooms + 1 living room), bath room, and kitchen. • 1997-2010: 4 rooms (3 bedrooms + 1 living room), bath room, and kitchen. • 2010…….: 3 rooms (2 bedrooms + 1 living room), bath room, and kitchen.
It is concentrated around the political decision. According to the civil Law No, 148, 2001, that outlining the boundaries of income category, the Egyptian low-income person is one ho gets 1500 LE /month.
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52 SOCIAL HOUSING IN TARRAGONA Architects: Aguilera|Guerrero Architects Location: Tarragona, Spain Architect In Charge: Aguilera|Guerrero Architects Design Team: Anton Armengol Tua Area: 4,706 sqm Year: 2013
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F
rom the architect. The Project, municipal commissioned to build 4.516m2HP. The place is located to the North of the city, in an environment of crop fields and wooded area of great landscape and visual quality, configured in a building housing single-family homes under
an urban layout quite orderly and understandable. Decide how to invest and give shape to 4516 m2 Constructible, Colonize the place meant to adapt it to our purposes, “to the impact of architecture�. It was, in some ways, to understand which attributes of the place would have been retained and which would have to disappear or transformed.
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52 SOCIAL HOUSING IN TARRAGONA
Analysis of the surface to build, to achieve a sustainable, proportionate and equitable distribution among proposed dwellings. The first operations, in groupings of “built masses� and its placement on the ground. It was thought as a big geometrical grid. A geometrical grid as a tool of rationality on the natural world and as the technical principle that facilitates the construction, economical building + technical rationality. Clear differentiation of the proposal, with respect to the surrounding urban, says his condition of ENCLAVE.
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The proposal we presented will be organized starting from the introduction of 6(32vpo) and 3(20vpo) blocks respectively in each solar, formed through the use of the typology of housing in duplex. The block type models its length depending on the relative position in the solar and the number of houses built in. The choice of a duplex allowed us to explore a compositional and organizational strategy that were able to give the set a “dynamic unit” or “unitary multiplicity” in which the privacy of each user’s space will become in the formation of the new skyline of the slopes of the place.
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INCREMENTAL HOUSING STRATEGY IN INDIA
T
he problem with social housing has been how to give the most with less money. We have very good examples in Europe, but the constrains are way different than the ones in developing countries. In these countries, almost all the constructions are done by anyone but architects. Clearly, in these countries architects can do something way better than just designing or constructing, developing strategies together with communities to achieve housing solutions that not only address today´s necessities, but that can also be extended over time as families grow, once again by themselves and without architects. A good example on this is Elemental, lead by Alejandro Aravena, which has been changing not only design aspects of social housing, but also public policy. Currently, they have built and on going projects in Chile, Mexico and more countries.
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But also, there´s the work that Filipe Balestra and Sara Göransson have been doing in India, invited by Sheela Patel and Jockin Arputham from SPARC to develop an Incremental Housing Strategy that could be implemented anywhere. Both Filipe and Sara had a very interesting background for this kind of project: Filipe had previously designed and built a school and community centre in Rocinha, Rio de Janeiro’s largest slum, in a participatory design and construction process tother with the locals. The project was called Sambarchitecture and it was documented as a movie which was shown in Cinema Zita during Brazilian Film Festival in Stockholm. Sambarchitecture was also in exhibition in the Architecture Museum of Stockholm and in the Botkyrka Konsthall; Sara has been working on a strategy to connect Stockholm, framing the future urban development as urban bridges between segregated suburbs. Design team: Filipe Balestra, Sara Göransson, Guilherme de Bivar, Martinho Pitta, Rafael Balestra, Remy Turquin, Carolina Cantante With SPARC and Mahila Milan Soon after Filipe and Sara arrived to Bombay, a team of international architects, urban planners, landscape architects and graphic designers volunteered to set up the strategy which uses the existing urban formations as starting point for development. Organic patterns that have evolved during time are preserved and existing social networks are respected. Neighbors remain neighbors, local remains local.
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INCREMENTAL HOUSING STRATEGY IN INDIA When Filipe and Sara started working they did not know the Indian government would initiate a grant of 4500 euro/ family for the incrementation of their homes at a national scale. The grant is now active and it can be given to any family who lives in a kaccha – an old temporary structure, not suitable for living. It is called City In-Situ Rehabilitation Scheme for Urban Poor Staying in Slums in City of Pune Under BSUP, JNNURM. The strategy strengthens the informal and aims to accelerate the legalization of the homes of the urban poor. Their strategy was arranged to fit the parameters of this grant. All proposals are for one family and 270 sq foot area (grant regulations). Also, each house will have a new individual toilet and kitchen. The existing houses do not have neither toilets nor kitchens. The government will provide new infrastructure which will be brought into every house.
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All prototypes need the participation of the community to emerge. The rules of the grant say each family has to contribute with 10% of the total max 4500 euro that the house costs. Since some families are not ready to give that amount so we are working on alternatives ways to contribute, i.e. sweat contribution: after the reinforced concrete structure is up, the families can help placing windows, doors, painting the house the color they want, and placing their own floor tiles. Thus, the families end up owning the process by customizing their homes.
The pilot project will be implemented in Pune, India. Filipe, Sara and SPARC are now spreading the word to implement the strategy in other countries with similar needs: Brazil, Kenya, South Africa, The Philippines – the list is long – 1/3 of the world’s urban population is now living in slums. Each family is free to choose one of the 3 incremental prototypes:
House A: a 2 story house structured as a 3 story house, allowing the owner to extend the house vertically without structural risks in the future.
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INCREMENTAL HOUSING STRATEGY IN INDIA
House B: a 2 story house on pilots, allowing for the owner to either leave the space open for parking or to increment it as a shop or an extra bedroom.
House C: a 3 story house with a void in the middle. This void can be used like a veranda, living or working space, and the family can close it in order to create a new bedroom in the future.
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4 HOUSES / ON OFFICE
O
n Office (Joao Vieira Costa, Leon Rost, Ricardo Guedes, Francesco Moncada) designed a housing project located right outside Oslo. Since the existing neighborhood presents the same architectural atmosphere, where nature and landscape dominate the land between houses, for this project, the architects wanted to preserve that natural and built relationship. Working within the confines of a small site, the design of the stacked villas creates separate private gardens for each of the homes. And, their orientation toward the river provides great views to the users. Inside, the layout is simple and efficient, shaped to meet the landscape of the exterior.
Location: Oslo, Norway Program: 500 m2 (residential) Client: Hecht Status: Cancelled Architect. On Office – Joao Vieira Costa, Leon Rost, Ricardo Guedes, Francesco Moncada
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This proposed design follows the same architectural atmosphere of the neighborhood, where nature and landscape dominate the land between houses. The houses all have a private garden, and no fences. Privacy is achieved by strategically positioning green elements between family houses.
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4 HOUSES / ON OFFICE
FRONT VIEW
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SECTION
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CONCLUSION - ECONOMICAL ASPECTS Building Cost The building construction cost can be divided into two parts namely: Building material cost : 65 to 70 %Labour cost : 65 to 70 %
Now in low cost housing, building material cost is less because we make use of the locally available materials. Cost of reduction is achieved by selection of more efficient material or by an improved design. Areas from where cost can be reduced are: 1) Reduce plinth area by using thinner wall concept.Ex.15 cm thick solid concrete block wall. 2) Use locally available material in an innovative form like soil cement blocks in place of burnt brick. 3) Use energy efficiency materials which consumes less energy like concrete block in place of burnt brick. 4) Use environmentally friendly materials which are substitute for conventional building components like use R.C.C. Door and window frames in place of wooden frames.
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CONCLUSION - PHYSICAL ASPECTS Several issues are taken into consideration, such as: • • • •
Orientation. Zoning of function within each unit. Passive design techniques. Construction method, materials and insulation treatments.
CONCLUSION - SOCIAL ASPECTS Several social values are taken into consideration, such as: • • • • •
Privacy: Orientation of units in master plan. Interior ( placement of rooms) and exterior ( buffer zones) privacy within units. Entrances and openings treatment. Importance of hospitality. Family structure, age, gender.
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FINAL DESIGN 93 94 95 96 97 101 103 113 115 117 119 123 129
• • • • • • • • • • • • •
Vision and design statement Design Strategy: Incremental Housing Typology Pros and Cons Design Criteria Project program Concept diagrams & Plans of units Slope Evolution of the master plan Master plan Cluster plan Elevations & Sections 3D shots
VISION AND DESIGN STATEMENT
M
y vision for this project is to explore a new guideline in building low cost housing in Jordan, which consider the Family life cycle, and to be carried throughout Future Expansion. As well as passive design techniques and sustainable solutions that is at the same time socially accepted. To achieve this goal, I decided to use the Incremental Housing as a strategy.
Moreover it is important to involve people and make society aware of the possibilities, and encourage them to explore.
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DESIGN STRATEGY: INCREMENTAL HOUSING
T
he concept offered internal flexibility of the housing unit, permitting the participation of the user in the design decisions of his own house that matches his needs and affordability.
The incremental Housing is The Past and Future Dwelling Solution for the Poor, as the Housing expert Roberto Chávez • Addressed surveyed plots give low-income families the greatest freedom to build, at their own pace and responding to their own needs, • Incremental housing solution to prevent developing countries from becoming a planet of slums. The idea basically the use a certain module/ prototype, which give the family • A system of modular units that can be expanded through time, horizontally and vertically. • It supports the participation of the users in the design decisions of their own house depending on their needs and income. • Internal partitions as well as walls and floor finishing were left, to be gradually completed by the user according to the user. This strategy “do advantages as it is
it yourself” approach” has many
• More likely to use local materials and local skills. • More sustainable (e.g. as materials do not need to be imported). • Promoting the local economy and jobs (e.g. as the construction allows for local labor).
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TYPOLOGY MASTER PLAN
O
n the master plan level, I go with the Hybrid housing ‘cluster housing’ which refers to a group of units, arranged around a communal space.
According to Richard Untermann, Professor of Urban Planning, cluster housing is “the most fundamental and enduring form of human settlement.” Basically my design will be a merge of row housing typology with the courtyard housing typology.
INSIDE OUT DESIGN On the apartment’s level, I decided to design three different typologies to fit the different topography all along the site. Also having mixed housing typologies encourage social integration and offer choice and diversity. I started designing form the inside out, and pay particular attention to the importance of the interior space , the apartment spaces were designed for potential natural ventilation and daylight.
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BROS AND CONS
BROS
CONS
• Uses land efficiently • Combination of typologies allows for mixed-use, mixedincome • Provides safe outdoor space • Builds community through shared space • Shared courtyard creates responsibility
• Diminished privacy through shared walls and communal spaces
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DESIGN CRITERIA
T
he role of land subdivision design is very important in determining the success and failure of a neighbourhood after occupation in many ways but the two important ones are cost of development and sufficiency of land for social activities designated as semi-public area.
It examines the economical and architectural factors that affect plot dimensions and land utilization percentages. It follows a systematic analysis using Horacio Caminos leading studies in land subdivision systematicity. But while Caminos investigated lot area range from 20-400m2 with constant increment of 20m2, the research uses lot area range 60-600m2 with increasing increment: 12, 20, 30, and 50m2. There are two factors under investigation that are affecting to a large extent the economy of land subdivision and are economical and social in nature. They are: size of the dwelling lot and its proportion on one hand and on the other percentages of land utilization mainly shown in the percentage of area allocated to public land represented by public streets.
Optimum residential dimensions and the impact of land utilization percentages In single family housing project - Faida Noori Salim Atto
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Length of streets Minimizing the length of streets in neighborhoods will decrease the cost of development for a large amount of cost of any housing project is consumed by engineering infrastructure services, which run along public circulation.
Width of streets Some studies suggest that the area of streets is the factor need to be considered in such studies. We agree with Caminos that the width of streets is not a matter of architectural design criteria rather it is more of technical engineering detail, and hence we need not consider the area of the streets rather what is important here is its length , where for practical purposes we can assume that the streets in any neighborhoods are of four types: main collector, secondary streets, arterial road surrounding the neighborhoods and connecting it to other neighborhoods, arterial road connecting the neighborhoods to the city.
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DESIGN CRITERIA Area of dwelling lot It is a straight forward assumption to think that decreasing the areaof the individual unit will increase the numberof dwelling units in any development and hence decrease the cost per unit
Lot dimensions It is important to include both dimensions in our set of variables: the width and the depth of the lot. The depth of the lot also will dictate the width of the dwelling block or cluster and hence will dictate the total number or transversal streets in the residential block.
Optimum residential dimensions and the impact of land utilization percentages In single family housing project - Faida Noori Salim Atto
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• • • •
Adequate plot sizes and proportions Small plots meet families’ interests as they are more affordable and at the same time benefit the city. Uses land more efficiently. Narrow and long plots have proven to be the most effective when it comes to designing low income affordable housing projects, as it allows more plots to have access to the street. • Nevertheless, too narrow plots can risk not having naturally ventilated and illuminated spaces and may restrict the possibility of making productive spaces and multiple independent entrances from the street.
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PROJECT PROGRAM
Site Area
41,480 m²
HOUSING UNITS
8305.06 m²
PRIVATE GARDENS
4817.2 m²
OPEN SPACES AND SERVICES
6841.99 m²
STREETS AND SIDEWALKS
6131 m²
PARKING
2224.93 m²
GREEN AREAS
13159.82 m²
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20% 11.6% 16.5% 14.8% 5.4% 31.7%
The analysis of the family size statics in Amman, and the topography of the site, were major reasons to create three different prototypes.
Prototype 1 =
34 Prototype 2 =
50
Prototype 3 =
44
Total of units= 128
Units
Units
Built Up Area : 20%
Units
Units
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CONCEPT DIAGRAMS First Prototype This Prototype is for four family, it shows how these four houses will go through the future expansion system. 6 persons household
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After analyzing the population statistics of Amman and the people’s needs and social habits as well as the site topography I came up with 3 typologies.
6 Person Household The first typology is for 6 persons household, the user will start with one unit 52 m², and the expansion will go through 2 stages, where the user can expand horizontally and vertically. This typology is located in the eastern side of the site where the contour lines are wide. The first stage is a finished unit with an area of 52 m², the next stage the user will go either vertically or horizontally which will add to the area to be 104 m². The last stage, the user will expand again either vertically or horizontally to have a final area of 156 m².
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PLANS
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AREAS in m²
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CONCEPT DIAGRAMS Second Prototype 4 persons household
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4 Person Household The second typology is for 4 persons household, the user will start with one unit 52 m², and the user can expand vertically. This typology is located in the middle of the site where the contour lines are too close. As this topography needed this kind of typology. The first stage is a finished unit with an area of 52 m², the next stage the user will expand vertically which will add to the area to be 104 m².
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PLANS
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AREAS in m²
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CONCEPT DIAGRAMS 2-3 persons household
Third Prototype
Basically the major reason of having this prototype in my project, is project �Mayo Clinic� which is under construction, this hospital is close to the site, and expecting a large group of workers.
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PLANS
2 Person Household The third typology is for 2-3 persons household, the user will have total area of 49 m². The total units of this prototype are 48 apartments. These houses are for rent. This typology is located in the last of the site where the earth is very sloppy. Therefore the stepped units are the best solution. The young married couple will have one big master bedroom that can be easily divided into two rooms, if the family have more members.
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SLOPE Dealing With The Slope - Go with the contour lines , which will create a gradient heights in the units. - Cut at the top and fill at the bottom, to minimize the expenses of moving soil,cut and fill should be calculated to balance each other in the site. - Use the potential of slope to create grey water collector system.
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There are two critical points in the site, which are make a good place for collecting water or harvesting rainwater to be managed and distributed for irrigation plants in the project.
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EVOLUTION OF THE MASTER PLAN
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EVOLUTION OF THE MASTER PLAN
T
he success of higher density housing depends more on how the space between buildings are treated than the interior design of the units.
The layout of the buildings aim to provide all residents natural sun light, natural ventilation and open spaces. Also achieve privacy through spatial arrangement but not isolation. This diagram shows basically the major design decisions I made, starting from the street hierarchies, the layout and orientation of the buildings, and the creation of private and public open spaces.
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MASTER PLAN
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Urban core The project is built near the city center of Naour, many affordable housing is planned to be built outside the urban center. As this strategy aims to improve social housing integration in the area Naour.
Form I give the priority to focus more on the functionality and compensate the form complexity for the unit design quality. Row housing typically allows the efficient mass production of similar housing types. Which is also important to get low construction budget, short construction schedule, and efficient plan layout. Each prototype is stepped in a fixed distance, as this is highly important for construction work to reduce both cost and time. The south facades are extended in the first floor, to obtain aesthetical and vital appearance, as well as it is providing the south side with desired shaded areas.
Design and the Layout The total of apartments 128 units The total build up area for affordable housing 20% The building blocks have main north-south orientation to maximize energy efficiency. And the long axis directed east-west. Where South is facing Living room and guest room, while North & east/west are facing private areas and bed rooms. This arrange of units is also to allow each unit maximum view. In south the openings are small to prevent excessive heat gain and keeping the interior space private.
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CLUSTER PLAN - Ground Floor
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Cluster Each apartment has a guest room placed directly at the door of the apartment, allowing easy entrance/exit without affecting the privacy of the rest of the home. A toilet is provided that is separated from the rest of the house. A private living and dining area is provided for each apartment.
Respect the city Skyline Two stories buildings to go with the sky line of the surroundings building that has rural regulations, which is also a comfortable human scale. Moreover smaller building blocks also enhance a sense of security through relating to fewer neighbors in the one building.
Space utilization In the first and the second prototypes houses, there is an empty space before the expansion, which the family can utilize the open space, and use it in different ways. It could be a nice seating area and barbeque, or effective storage area, also it is a good space to fit a table tennis or kids toys. Of course it is according to family’s needs.
Storage
Seating Page 121
Toys
CLUSTER PLAN - First Floor
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Variety of open spaces After talking with people who are living in low income societies, I figured out that they tend to socialize often, therefore the design focus on the different types of open spaces between buildings to create a new means communication, and serve the social needs, as well as achieve sustainability. There are vast variety of outdoor activities for different age groups, starting form kid’s toys, sand boxes, playground, seating areas, and community gardens.
Community Garden The low income societies always find ways to reduce household expenses, as I have interviewed a wife that use her small balcony to grow different herbs, so she could get some fresh ingredients and also save some money. I tried to implement this concept into my design through community garden. Every apartment has their own community garden, where housewives could socialize and share gardening secrets within their own building and circle of community.
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ELEVATIONS
1st prototype - 6 persons household In this drawing, it shows the expandable prototypes in random point. Where all the slabs are built for users, as they have only a big hole with roof to be expanded when the user want. BUT the jurors have advised me not to build the slabs, and leave them for the users to be part of the expansion stage, to reduce the costs, which will make a remarkable difference if this goes with all the units.
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2nd prototype - 4 persons household Later in the next pages, I will show the phasing of the project as expected to grow with time, without building the slabs.
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SECTIONS
1st prototype - 6 persons household
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2nd prototype - 4 persons household
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ELEVATION
3rd prototype - 2-3 persons household
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SECTION
3rd prototype - 2-3 persons household
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3D SHOTS
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3D SHOTS
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VALUES OF THE DESIGN 135 139 143 145 149 150 151 152 153
• Phasing of the Project - Elevations • Phasing of the Project - Sections • Sustainability - Construction material - Material selection - Landscaping - Water conservation - External Shading Devices - Space wise Design
PHASING OF THE PROJECT - ELEVATIONS
1ST PROTOTYPE Page 136
2ND PROTOTYPE Page 137
PHASING OF THE PROJECT - ELEVATIONS
1ST PROTOTYPE
T
he character of the project is always changing, it is not a fixed image. Because the project is going through phases of expansion, and through time the houses will grow according to the families’ conditions and needs. This kind of strategy is adding a unique and lively image to the project which will be nice for the residents and visitors.
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2ND PROTOTYPE
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PHASING OF THE PROJECT - SECTIONS
1ST PROTOTYPE Page 140
2ND PROTOTYPE Page 141
PHASING OF THE PROJECT - SECTIONS
1ST PROTOTYPE
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2ND PROTOTYPE
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SUSTAINABLE ARCHITECTURE
S
ustainable architecture is architecture that seeks to minimize the negative environmental impact of buildings by efficiency and moderation in the use of materials, energy, and development space. Sustainable architecture uses a conscious approach to energy and ecological conservation in the design of the built environment.
The idea of sustainability, or ecological design, is to ensure that our actions and decisions today do not inhibit the opportunities of future generations.
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SUSTAINABILITY Every development should aim to achieve three different tiers of sustainability: social, economic, and environmental. If these are achieved the community, neighborhood, and greater city will benefit from a continuous vibrancy in all respects. In theory, these neighborhoods will be resistant to dilapidation and require less outside support. • Social Sustainability – a strong sense of community and social inclusion. • Economic Sustainability – financial feasibility and economic vitality. • Environmental Sustainability – physical interventions that enhance wildlife habitats and mitigate the negative physical effects of a development.
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SUSTAINABILITY - CONSTRUCTION MATERIAL Modern Examples
Rammed Earth
I
n selection of construction materials for the building we took into consideration the cost factor in parallel with material performance, thermal characteristics, and lifespan.
Architect Eddie Jones
Rammed earth is a technique for building walls using natural raw materials such as earth, chalk, lime or gravel. It is an ancient building method that has seen a revival in recent years as people seek more sustainable building materials and natural building methods. Rammed earth buildings are found on every continent except Antarctica, in a range of environments that includes the temperate and wet regions of northern Europe, semiarid deserts, mountain areas and the tropics.
Nk’ MIP Desert Interpretive Centre, Canada
The availability of useful soil and a building design appropriate for local climatic conditions are the factors that favor its use. Building a rammed earth wall involves compressing a damp mixture of earth that has suitable proportions of sand, gravel and clay (sometimes with an added stabilizer) into an externally supported frame or mould, creating either a solid wall of earth or individual blocks.
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Rammed earth interior home
A History of Building with Earth
E
arth has been the most widely used construction material for at least 10 000 years and even today at least a third of the world’s population live in houses built of earth.
Today, with the high and increasing cost of modern construction materials, most people in developing countries cannot afford to use them. Hence the use of earth, the most ancient and ubiquitous of building materials and a do-it-yourself approach. Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels have made possible most of the construction in developed countries, meaning that they have been able to overcome the limitations of human labour. This has been at enormous cost in terms of pollution and carbon emissions, massive overconsumption of resources and an increase in unemployment.
1000 year-old earth-built skyscrapers- Shibam, Yemen
People in industrialized countries are rapidly realizing that the days of cheap energy and gross wastefulness are numbered. The quest for low cost, healthy, non-polluting, low energy building materials and techniques is gaining momentum, and earth is being rediscovered as being superior to so-called modern materials such as concrete, glass and steel.
The entire village of Ait Benhaddou, Morocco is rammed earth
www.earthbagbuild.com/brief_history.htm
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E
arth construction techniques have been known for over 10 000 years. Mud brick (adobe) houses dating from 8000 to 6000 BC have been discovered in Russian Turkestan (Pumpelly, 1908) and rammed earth foundations dating from ca. 5000 BC in Assyria. The 4000-year-old Great Wall of China was originally built solely of rammed earth; only a later covering of stones and bricks gave it the appearance of a stone
wall.
Many centuries ago, in dry climatic zones where wood is scarce, construction techniques were developed in which buildings were covered with mud brick vaults or domes without formwork or support doing construction. Bronze age discoveries have established that in Germany, earth was used as an infill in timber-framed houses or to seal walls made of tree trunks. Wattle and daub was also used. The oldest example of mud brick walls in northern Europe, found in Heuneburg Fort near Lake Constance, Germany dates back to the 6th century BC. In Mexico, Central America and South America, adobe buildings are known in nearly all pre-Columbian cultures. The rammed earth technique was also known in many areas, while the Spanish conquerors brought it to others. In Africa, nearly all early mosques are built from earth. In the medieval period, earth was used throughout Central Europe as infill in timber-framed buildings, as well as to cover straw roofs to make them fire-resistant. In France, the rammed earth technique called terre pise, was widespread from the 15th to the 19th centuries. Near the city of Lyon, there are several such buildings that are more than 300 years old and still inhabited. In Germany, the oldest inhabited house with rammed earth walls dates from 1795. Its owner, the director of the fire department, claimed that fireresistant houses could be built more economically using this technique, as opposed to the usual timber frame houses with earth infill (Minke G –‘Building with earth’ – 2006)
Mosque of Djenne, Mali- Adobe
Blair Burrows House, Ontario Rammed
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Weilburg, Germany, 1828
Characteristics • • • •
• •
•
• •
Simple to construct Noncombustible Thermally massive, strong, and durable. They can be labor-intensive to construct without machinery (powered tampers), however, and they are susceptible to water damage if inadequately protected or maintained. Low-cost and sustainable resource, and utilizing it in construction has minimal environmental impact. Unskilled labor can do most of the necessary work, and today more than 30 percent of the world's population uses earth as a building material. Rammed earth has been used around the world in a wide range of climatic conditions, from wet northern Europe to dry regions in Africa. Rammed-earth construction without mechanical tools can be very time-consuming. High thermal mass; like brick or concrete construction, it can absorb heat during the day and release it at night.
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SUSTAINABILITY - MATERIAL SELECTION All materialused in the design are locally produced. Sustainable and green materials
Car Parks Flooring 10 cm trowelled concrete, asphalt Stairs from local marble Internal Flooring: Terrazzo tile Kitchen and Bathroom Finishes: Local ceramic Doors: Timber swedish soft wood Walls and Cieling Finishes: Typical plaster with emulsion paint VOC free internal paints. Sidewalks Flooring: Cement tile, exposed aggregate concrete, curbstone
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SUSTAINABILITY - LANDSCAPING Landscaping I tried to select plants and trees that do not consume a lot of water. Where people can enjoy a panoramic view of the urban landscape. • The use of deciduous trees in the eastern side to allow solar gain in winter. • The use of deciduous trees and low shrubs in the southern side to protect the building from the direct southern sun in summer, and to allow solar gain in winter. • The use of high evergreen trees in the western side to block the strong winter wind.
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SUSTAINABILITY - WATER CONSERVATION
W
ater conservation will be achieved through the direct use of grey water. The grey-water from showering, bathing and hand washing can be recycled by the proposed “green� plant filtration system, after filtering the grey-water it can be used for flushing toilets, washing machines, irrigation, car washing, and other activities. . This is an extra source of water for gardens.
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SUSTAINABILITY - EXTERNAL SHADING DEVICES
I
have designed external fixed devices, which are a mixed of Horizontal and Vertical as they are effective on the south facades. External shading devices is used to keep out unwanted solar heat. Exterior systems are typically more effective than interior systems in blocking solar heat gain.
Design the building to shade itself If shading attachments are not aesthetically acceptable, use the building form itself for exterior shading. Set the window back in a deeper wall section or extend elements of the skin to visually blend with envelope structural features. It is important to give south windows shading priority. Because the morning sun is usually not a serious heat gain problem. So for the project the budget is tight, therefore I decided to invest in south shading only. Also the first cost and maintenance costs are lower than movable devices, so it is more efficient. Shape building for self-shading. Building form can assist cooling by providing self-shading through wings and other mass articulations, balconies, deep reveals, or arcades.
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SUSTAINABILITY - SPACEWISE DESIGN
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SUSTAINABILITY - SPACEWISE DESIGN
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THANK YOU Page 157
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