Architecture in an unstable territory

Architecture in an Unstable Territory

by

Manuela Uribe Buitrago Bachelor of Architecture

Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana, 2013

SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHITECTURE IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ARCHITECTURE STUDIES AT THE

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY June 2018

©2018 Manuela Uribe Buitrago. All rights reserved.

The author hereby grants to MIT permission to reproduce and to distribute publicly paper and electronic copies of this thesis document in whole or in part in any medium now known or

hereafter created. Signature of Author: __________________________________________________________ Department of Architecture May 24, 2018 Certified by: ________________________________________________________________ Sheila Kennedy Professor of Architecture Thesis Supervisor Certified by: ________________________________________________________________

Lorena Bello Gómez Lecturer of Architecture Thesis Supervisor

Accepted by: _________________________________________________________________ Sheila Kennedy Professor of Architecture Chairman, Department Committee for Graduate Students

Architecture in an Unstable Territory

by

Manuela Uribe Buitrago

Submitted to the Department of Architecture on May 24, 2018 in Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Architecture Studies

This thesis argues that traditional architectural practice is insufficient to respond to the instabilities of rapid informal urbanization in Latin America. Traditional practice has mostly focused on designing objects, but informal territories instead need architects able to embrace complex social agendas, environmental risks, the lack of infrastructure and constant migration. Under these circumstances, this thesis proposes four new design protocols that constitute a new design process: 1. architects start by building trust and empathy with the community, 2. architects’ responsibility extends beyond designing objects to designing systems, 3. architects rethink the use of materials and get involved in their projects’ production process and 4. architects acknowledge that design is by necessity incomplete.

These protocols result from my experience working in an informal settlement surrounded by swampland in Cartagena, Colombia, where I worked hand in hand with the community and a local foundation. From a deep understanding of the place, I envisioned

an informal water-based mobility system. The system considers alternative material sources such as plastic waste and explores 3D printing´s potential to facilitate local production. The system joins actors who will economically support the project and identifies programs that enhance people’s livelihoods while promoting the swamp´s ecological restoration. Acknowledging that design is incomplete, the work presents possible “design hacks” or reinterpretations that result from the informal settlers’ agency. Ultimately, these design hacks can become catalysts for design upgrading and innovation.

These new architectural protocols present a paradox. They expand architects’ agency by requiring them to assume additional responsibilities. At the same time, these protocols require architects to relinquish some of their traditional responsibility for full control over the design. Even if paradoxical, this new approach can motivate future forms of architectural pedagogy and practice that envision new tools and adjust methods and agency consistent with informal urbanization. Abstract

Thesis Supervisor: Sheila Kennedy Professor of Architecture

Thesis Supervisor: Lorena Bello Gómez Lecturer of Architecture

I am very grateful for the support of my family, friends, faculty and administrative staff throughout this thesis project.

I want to express my sincerest gratitude to my inspiring and supportive thesis committee:

Professor Lorena Bello, for her immense support and guidance in this research. I especially want to thank her for having come with me to develop a participatory mapping workshop with the local community in Cartagena, Colombia. This was a unique opportunity; her experience, urban systems comprehension and organizational skills were fundamental for the success of this workshop, which was one of the most important moments in the research.

Professor Sheila Kennedy for her intelligence and creativity, as well as for her rigorous and constructive criticism that always pushed me to strengthen my arguments and expand design possibilities.

Professor Mark Jarzombek for his wisdom and intelligent ideas. It is an honor and a privilege to be one of his students.

I am also thankful for the feedback, encouragement and help I have received from faculty members throughout my time at MIT, in particular, Adele Santos, Jim Wescoat and Brent Ryan.

Especial thanks to:

My friends and colleagues Andrea Baena and Marcela Angel for their support, energy and friendship. To my SMarchS and DUSP fellows, who inspired and accompanied me: Sera Tolgay, Ranu Singh, Shane Reiner-Roth, Mackenzie Muhonen and Akemi Sato.

To my friends Luisa Brando, Natalia

Coachman and Daniel Blandón for helping and supporting me during the last critical days.

Finally, I want to thank MIT and the School of Architecture for a unique opportunity to expand my knowledge, meet exceptional faculty and fellows and enhance critical thinking, as well as for having given me tools to continue a meaningful career.

Acknowledgments

Thesis committee:

Thesis Supervisor: Sheila Kennedy, M.Arch Professor of Architecture

Thesis Supervisor: Lorena Bello Gómez, PhD Lecturer of Architecture

Thesis reader: Mark Jarzombek, PhD

Contents

1. Introduction 08

1.1 Selected precedents that have proposed alternative practices 10

(See the complete analysis of precedents in annex 1)

2. Proposed architectural protocols for unstable territories in Latin America 12

3. Testing the new protocols in Cartagena, Colombia 14

3.1 Architects’ responsibility extends beyond designing objects to designing 20 systems

3.1.1 Urban system 22

3.1.2 Collaborating with other experts 28

3.2 Architects start by building trust and empathy with the community 30

3.2.1 Participatory workshops 32

3.2.2 Discoveries that prompt design 36

3.3 Architects rethink the use of materials and get involved in their projects’ 40 production process

3.3.1 System conceptualization 44

3.3.2 Infrastructures production process 46

3.3.3 System operation 50

3.4 Architects acknowledge that design is by necessity incomplete 56

4. Conclusion 64

5. Bibliography 66

In this thesis, I argue that traditional architectural practice is insufficient to respond to the instabilities of rapid informal urbanization in Latin America. Traditional practice has mostly focused on designing objects. But informal territories need instead architects able to embrace complex social agendas, environmental risks, sanitation challenges, the lack of infrastructure and constant migration. The state’s failure or intentional negligence to provide basic services, in fact,

creates the space for informal settlers to necessarily participate in their own governance and urbanization.

Abdou Maliq Simone mentions:

In the most peripheral regions of city life, where there is neither clean water nor sewage, it is the people themselves who are the infrastructure. Infrastructure is human not material, people not pipes matter most, and city life—the lived reality—replaces the

City (Simone, A.M.,2010).

These instabilities and potentials of a different form of urban operation are challenging the traditional architecture protocols. We need to envision new tools and adjust agency consistent with informal urbanization—today’s largest way of world making.

Some scholars have also suggested to revise traditional architecture and planning practices has been addressed by authors

including David Governeur, Jota Samper, and Ananya Roy, among others.

Ananya Roy, criticizes that even though much of the urban growth of the 21st century is taking place in the developing world, many of the theories of how cities function remain rooted in the developed world (Roy, 2005). She suggests that instead we should create new theories that emerge from the urban operation of the developing world.

Beyond this mundane fact of urban growth is also the pressing issue of what might be learned by paying attention to the urban transformations of the developing world. (…) I am interested in what it means to locate the production of theory and policy in the

cities of the developing world (Roy, 2005).

As Ananya Roy challenges the planning theory applied today in the developing world, shouldn’t architects think about new protocols in the architecture theory and practice as well?

Beyond this

mundane fact of

urban growth is

also the pressing

issue of what might

be learned by

paying attention

to the urban

transformations

of the developing

world. (…) I am

interested in what

it means to locate

the production of

theory and policy

in the cities of the

developing world

-Roy, 2005

Ananya Roy, Indian planner

Urban Informality towards an epistemology of planning. Journal of American Planning Association. 2005

David Governeur, Venezuelan landscape architect

Planning and design for future informal settlements. 2015

Jota Samper, Colombian architect

Rethinking informality. Strategies of urban space co-production. 2015

Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) Curitiba, Brazil. Promoted by Politician Jaime Lerner. Source: http://petcivil.blogspot.com/

Makoko Floating School. Lagos, Nigeria. Designed by Kunlé Adeyemi. 2012. Source: Ground Rules for Humanitarian Design. Edited by Alice Min Soo Chun and Irene E Brisson, 2015. Page 145.

Urban Integral Project (PUI) Medellín, Colombia. Promoted by Politician Sergio Fajardo and architect Alejandro Echeverri. 2004. Source: www.rockefellerfoundation.org

Quinta Monroy, social housing prototype. Iquique, Chile. Designed by Alejandro Aravena - Elemental. 2003. Source: Aravena, A., Lacobelli, A. 2012. Elemental: Incremental Housing and Participatory Design Manual. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz. Page 145

Motivated by the unsolved design

questions that informality poses, this

thesis questions:

What alternative protocols are

possible for the architecture

practice in unstable territories

in Latin America?

1.1 Selected precedents that

have proposed alternative

practices

(See the complete analysis of projects in annex 1, page 68)

In order to propose new protocols, I revised projects developed in Latin America and other developing regions. I selected a few which have proposed alternative approaches to function, scale, level of completion, user’s agency and funding schemes.

These projects include the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) which was first proposed in Curitiba, Brazil, by an architect and politician Jaime Lerner. This transport system follows the principles of urban acupuncture,

which promote the notion of a re-scaled infrastructure. This strategy is the main takeaway of this project as is enabled more flexibility in the system’s operation, funding and expansion, compared to the traditional subway system

I also highlighted Medellin’s transformative interventions, achieved by networked

infrastructures that joined transport, housing and education in one integral project.

However, I am aware too of the unsustainable architectural interventions, which surpassed the local management and technical capacity. This problematic architecture questions a practice that needs to go beyond slum beautification or treating architecture as an object.

From Makoko Floating School, I am

convinced that architecture can be a form of activism to trigger innovation and provide other visions of how a city functions. Makoko School proposes an alternative to education accessibility in an informal settlement occupying a lake. Taking into account the inhabitants´ difficulties for mobility the school moves along the lake to reach out to every child. Even though the state did not approve the project, the architect was able to gather other actors, including the community, NGO’s and philanthropists.

Finally, from Aravena’s housing prototype project, I acknowledge the potential of the incompletion of design. This prototype enabled users to have an input into the design of their own homes. Their post occupancy experience and difficulties were considered by the architect to improve the prototype’s design in later versions. However, I am aware too of the loss of control over the aesthetic dimension.

New architectural protocols

Architects’ responsibility extends

beyond designing objects to

designing systems

Architects rethink the use of

materials and get involved in their

projects’ production process

Architects acknowledge that design

is by necessity incomplete

Architects start by building trust and

empathy with the community

Borrowing ideas from scholars and practitioners, as well as from my own

experience while working with a community in Cartagena, Colombia. I propose four new architectural protocols, which create a new design process. These protocols don’t necessarily follow an order and they can also be developed simultaneously.

• Architects start by building trust and

empathy with the community: They have

to directly engage conditions of informal environments, crossing boundaries of class, race and geography. This trust is accelerated by working through a local institution or mediators that have already gained trust.

• Architects’ responsibility extends beyond

designing objects to designing systems:

They take into account complex social, economic and environmental agendas. This implies that architects extend the boundaries of expertise and collaborate with other professional such as ethnographers, economists or engineers.

• Architects rethink the use of materials and

get involved in their projects’ production process: They work with alternative sources,

including transformed waste and recycled materials, and encourage local labor and production.

• Architects acknowledge that design is by

necessity incomplete: They relinquish design

control by acknowledging the informal appropriations and possible misuse of their designs when they enter in the ordinary life of informal settlers.

Certainly, these new architectural protocols present a paradox. They expand architects’ agency by requiring them to assume additional responsibilities. At the same time, these protocols require architects to relinquish some of their traditional

responsibility for full control over the design. Even if paradoxical, this new approach can motivate future forms of architectural pedagogy and practice that encourage architects to think more systemically. Informal urbanization involves another logic of urban operations, which necessarily need another logic of practice, other

representation language and other time-line. This practice uses design to achieve maximum impact with modest interventions, which do not diminish design creativity or sophistication. Under this logic,

architects become initiators, facilitators and coordinators. Their agency becomes more important during the process than in the final outcome, as design is never final, always re-morphing and re-purposing.

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TITLE

Tourist port

Industrial port Tourist area

Central market “Bazurto”

Cartagena, Colombia

Satelite Image from Arcmap

During the past year, I have been working in an informal settlement in Cartagena, Colombia. These protocols are the result of my experience reflecting on what worked and did not work in this context.

The settlement is located in the southern border of a swamp called Ciénaga de la Virgen “Virgin Swamp.” This border was formerly a thick mangrove forest which offers key ecological services to Cartagena. However, it has been gradually and informally occupied since 1930, mainly by people

displaced by the violence in the countryside. The experience working on site made me realized that I needed to unlearn most of the design process that I was taught, because this process remains rooted in the ideas of a modern architecture that includes hierarchical relations, a linear design process and a desperate desire to have full control over the design.

But, these territories are neither linear, nor static. They are instead unstable, mutable, porous, uncontrollable, diverse and unsafe. Urban regulations prevent this mangrove forest from being urbanized; and ironically, this restriction transforms these unoccupied territories in premier locations for informal settlers. My case study can be understood as a prototypical urban condition along many waterbodies in developing countries. The state is absent and formal, top-down infrastructure have proved inadequate for meeting the needs of this rapidly growing and changing territory.

Due to the unstable conditions, the informal occupation of the swamp is a situation that is almost impossible to control. The government has had some attempts to stop its further occupation. First it has relocated families into failing social housing project sin the outskirts of the city, however most of these families have come back because the informal settlement is closer to the city center. The second attempt was to build a peripheral road, which has actually stopped the expansion. However, the city does not have the capacity to continue this road along the entire perimeter of the swamp. And even if this road was built, it would be a huge mistake because this hard infrastructure acts as barrier between people and the swamp, motivating the loss of the cultural and ecological value that this swamp once represented for indigenous communities. Facing this challenge I aimed to try the protocols in a different approach. I envisioned a system that repurposes the swamp as a new cultural, ecological and economic centrality, instead of looking at it as a peripheral and neglected territory. I tested, edited and re-framed the protocols as I was advancing in the project.

3. Testing the new protocols in Cartagena, Colombia

Colombia

Cartagena

Initial stages of informal occupations. Ciénaga de la Virgen, Cartagena, Colombia. Source: Drone flight by Fundación Social, December 2017

Informal process of occupation in the wetlands of the Cienaga de la Vírgen, Cartagena, Colombia. Source: Drone flight by Fundación Social. December 2017.

3.1 Architects’

responsibility

extends beyond

designing objects

to designing

systems

Ciénaga de la Virgen Caribbean Sea Future airport Future expansion Future expansion Informal settlements

?

Regarding urban expansion, the city is expanding towards the north and the east. Currently, there is an extensive urban development in the north, mostly high-end residential and commercial developments, but also universities, hospitals and hotels. The east of the city is facing expansion of lower income, informal neighborhoods and social housing projects. The existing

airport will be relocated in a smaller town in the northeast, triggering real estate and infrastructure developments towards that area. This urban expansion trend is likely to continue developing the border of the swamp, and this is threatening the portion of the mangrove forest that has remained preserved.

Map: Manuela Uribe. Shape files source: IDOM. Estudio de crecimiento urbano, 2017

Urban expansion Ciénaga de la Virgen Caribbean Sea Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port Informal settlements

The first protocol: Architects’ responsibility extends beyond designing objects

to designing systems emerged as I acknowledged that in order to propose something for the informal neighborhood I had to understand it as part of a larger ecological and social systems.

3.1.1 Urban system

The red line represents the socio-economic division of the city. The historical center and main tourism developments are located facing the Caribbean Sea, with their backs to the swamp. To the right of the line, there are mostly low-income neighborhoods and the city’s investment is very little.

4km 0 Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 Socio-economic division

Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 4km Ciénaga de la Virgen Caribbean Sea Informal settlements Ciudad Bicentenario Serena del Mar

And finally, I visited a community of fishermen known as “La Boquilla”. They offer tours around the mangrove forest. I took the tour, and after learning about different mangrove species, I was served a massive fried fish, the eyes included and patacones, very typical of this region. The fishermen community became active protectors of the mangrove forest as it represents their livelihoods.

Borrowing ideas from La Boquilla”, and understanding the strategic location of the swamp. The system I envisioned uses the swamp as a connecting surface. It promotes cultural and economic exchange between high- and low-income neighborhoods. And finally, it enables low-income residents to participate in and benefit from the tourism economy.

Ciénaga de la Virgen:

Strategic connecting surface

Map: Manuela Uribe. Shape files source: IDOM. Estudio de crecimiento urbano, 2017

Ciénaga de la Virgen Caribbean Sea

Time to city center

Time to Serena del Mar cost cost walk 20-30min BRT Transcaribe: 1haprox. total:1h30min 138.000 COP/47USD 18% of minimum wage walk 20-30min BRT Transcaribe: 1h aprox. Bus: 40min aprox total: 2h10min 234.000 COP/80USD 30% of minimum wage Informal settlements Ciudad Bicentenario Last terminal Serena del Mar

Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 4km

The red line, represents the mass transport system, which stops before reaching the poorest neighborhoods. It takes people around 1h to get to the center, where they find most job opportunities, and additional 40 min to get to the urban development in the north where new hotels, hospitals and housing offer more job opportunities. Transport is so expensive for this community that I talked to people in the neighborhood who, even though they live in a coastal city, had never seen the sea.

Disconnection

Top-down, hard infrastructure proved inadequate to control further occupation

To control the informal occupation of the swamp, the city built a peripheral road, which has actually stopped the expansion. However, the city does not have the capacity to continue this road along the entire perimeter of the swamp. And even if this road was built, it would be a huge mistake because this hard infrastructure acts as barrier between people and the swamp, motivating the loss of the cultural and ecological value that this swamp once represented for indigenous communities.

Economic and ecological benefits.

Community of La Boquilla run an eco-tourism program. They became active protectors of the mangrove forest as it represents their livelihoods, cultural landscape and food

Tour around the mangrove forest. Source: Manuela Uribe, 2018. Peripheral road between the informal neighborhoods and the swamp. Source: Manuela Uribe, 2017.

The system I

envisioned is based

on this logic: if the

swamp and mangrove

forest represent

environmental and

economic benefits

to the communities

around them,

the communities

themselves will

prevent their further

deforestation

Traditional structure

Proposed structure

Cartagena University Faculty

Sergio Londoño CARDIQUE

Fundación Social UCG6 area

In order to put this system in place I propose that this project move away from the

traditional architecture triangular structure consisting of architect, client and contractor. This project moves away from the traditional triangular structure consisting of client-architect-contractor. Instead, I proposed a polygonal structure, in which the architect instigates collaborations among the multiple actors.

The traditional unitary client, now

consists of various Foundations, NGO’s or philanthropists. These institutions act as mediators between the architect and the community, which is considered as another client. To be able to walk safely in the

neighborhood, I am collaborating with a local foundation, Fundación Social. which has been working with local leaders for 5 years.

The contractor also disaggregates. For this project, it includes the local manufacturing industry, which are willing to provide logistical and technological resources and the community as most of them have construction skills because they are commonly employed in the construction industry.

In order to have a broader understanding of the context I also met with members from the academic sector, environmental experts and the City Mayor, who is silent but once is prompted with a potent project that gives visibility to neglected neighborhoods, he is willing to reach out to other sources of funding.

3.2 Architects start

by building trust and

empathy with the

The second protocol that I proposed: Architects build trust and empathy with the community was necessary for me to engage the community in the process. I have traveled to Cartagena three times during this research. I developed participatory mapping and design workshops. This participatory methodology allows for the co-production of knowledge by gathering the community’s experiential expertise and the technical expertise of scholars, engineers, sociologists and politicians.

I proposed a transect, developed in

collaboration with local social work students. From it we produced a “life map”. This map complemented historical and cartographic documentation that I had gathered from Boston with the subjective perspective and mutable processes occurring in the neighborhood’s everyday life. This tool was borrowed from social ethnography. It enabled us to visualize, mobility patterns, unsafe places, flooding prone areas, informal economies and the lack of waste management.

At the institutional level, I developed a mapping exercise borrowed from Cesar Mc Dowell, co-founder of the co-lab in DUSP, called critical moments of reflection. This historical analysis enabled me to understand how the city’s general plans affected the neighborhood.

3.2.1 Participatory workshops

Mapping workshop - Nov 2017

TITLE

Life map. Tool borrowed from Simon Hosie, Colombian architect. This map combines cartographic information with the subjective perspective of the local habitants

Transect in which we collected information from the experiential knowledge. Image: Mariana Llano, 2017

Participatory mapping session with the community. Image: Inty López

“Life map” UCG6 Cartagena, Colombia

Plano realizado a partir de transect realizado en Noviembre 2017

1:2.500 200m 150 100 50 0 Transect 3

Ruta eje ambiental Canal Calicanto

Mangrove deforestation due to housing project

Quema de basuras Acumulación de basura y

escombros

Ruta para arrojar basura al canal Llenos con basura y escombros

Cancha de _futbol tienda de muebles Sopas y secos Iglesia Bautista Peluquería Peluquería Farmacia Ferretería minutos a celular y Wifi Familias desplazadas Hielo Hielo y bolis fast food Árboles frutales Cerveza e _hielo Restaurante minutos de celualr y wifi Reparación de calzado ALARMA DE EMERGENCIA Barbería y peluquería Guardería Colegio Fe y alegría Paletas Tomate Espinaca Platanera LA BALSITA Oregano Ají agua estancada Sede comunitaria peluquería y venta de hielo Peluquería y venta de hielo HIELO Venta de almmuerzos escombros VIOLENCE Escombros bloqueando la calle mobiliario urbano

construi-do con llanas reutilizadas

Taller de electrónica

Escombros acumulados

Muro de motel construi-do sobre la franja de protección del canal Calicanto Nuevo Torres de electricidad

Transect 2 Ruta calle comercial barrio Fredonia Fredonia

Transect 1 Ruta Villa Zuldani

Plano: Manuela Uribe, 2017 Nuevo Paraiso

Olaya St. La Magdalena

El Pozón Ipanema futuro proyecto

de interés social

Este sistema fue instalado por la comunidad, con el fin de alertar riesgos, peligros y eventos de violencia. Existen varias alarmas distribuidas en la comunidad ; sin embargo, la mayoría se han dañado

Suelos de nivel bajo donde se estanca el agua Desplazada del campo hace 12 años Lámparas de iluminación pública informales que se conectan ilegalmente al sistema de alumbrado publico.

Sección transversal familias recientemente asentadas aumentan el nivel de la topografía para prevenir inundaciones (ver sección transversal en archivo independiente )

Plataforma flotante que suple la ausencia de puentes en el barrio, mejorando la conectividad entre dos barrio. El paso cuesta entre 100 y 300 pesos Granja de gallinas

Casas que se han construido anteriormente quedan en niveles inferiores y son propensas a inundarse

Familias desplazadas del campo, que llegan a Cartagena a ocupar irregularmente las áreas de protección de cuerpos de agua

Villa Estrella Calicanto nuev

o

Av. Pedro Ramero Sección transv

ersalCalle constr uida por ISA para acceder a la línea de alta tensión en el perímetr

o de la ciénaga Esta vía ha facilitado el av

ance de la ocupación informal.

Ocupación rCasas constreciente.uidas con materiales r eciclados, conseguidos en obras en cosntr

ucción o en el puer to Algunas casas son constr

uidas sobre el agua y arr ojan las aguas servidas dir

ectamente en el canal

Areas anegables r ecientemente llenadas con escombr

os Limón Mandarino Mango níspero Guanábana

Critical moments of reflection methodology applied in session

And finally last January, 2018, I co-led with my friend and colleague Andrea Baena, M.Arch third year, a participatory design workshop in which we wanted to know the vision that the community had for their main water channel.

These workshops enabled me to broadly understand the sense of place. However, they left apart other key actors, who were not considered, but have a big influence in the neighborhood, including drug cartels, criminal organizations and the most recent settlers which are scared of gaining visibility. These missing actors and information

increase the uncertainty and the architect’s inability to have full control over the design Design workshop - Jan 2018

Co-led with Andrea Baena. March. MIT and in collaboration with local architecture students

Proposal from the local community for re purposing the water channel

co-creating a new vision for Canal Calicanto

Model of proposal

Presenting the proposal for the revitalization of Canal Calicanto to the community, representatives from the municipality, the water company and professors at the Universidad Cartagena

Rotating bridge, which becomes necessary as streets are

constantly flooding. Image: Manuela Uribe, 2018 Alternative row boat along Calicanto nuevo channelImage: Manuela Uribe, 2018 Car titanic, a floating platform that replaces bridges on Canal Calicanto

Nuevo.

Image: Manuela Uribe, 2017 From my experience on site, I found

inventive responses to the absent mobility infrastructure: one, the Car titanic, a floating platform that replaces the absent bridges. This platform is managed by Carlos a former baker, who found a more profitable job moving people across the channel. The fees vary depending on age, if you bring a bicycle, or on how close friends you can become with Carlos during the ride. An interesting anecdote, Carlos told me is that he is almost the only one who does not have to pay “vacunna”, it means vaccine, which is a fee that local gangs charge to whoever runs a business. Carlos mentioned that since the gangsters’ mother and grandmother cross the platform every day, the gangsters take care of him.

Second, a self-built rotating bridge, which becomes necessary as streets are constantly flooding. And third, a recycled floating surface that enables mobility along the channel.

Mangrove deforestation and terrain drying. Image: Manuela Uribe, 2018

Process of land fills using trash bags. Image: Manuela Uribe, 2018

Initial stages of the informal occupation process. Image: Manuela Uribe, 2018

Plastic bottles block drainage channels. Image: Manuela Uribe, 2018

Critically damaged mangrove forest, caused by the rapid occupation and lack of waste management

The mangrove is critically affected by the rapid deforestation and settlement. Each family arrives, cuts the mangrove forest, creates landfills out of trash and debris and builds their house. The pace at which new settlers make improper land-fills in the swamp surpasses the mangrove forest’s restoration capacity, resulting in a critical ecological deterioration. In addition, large accumulation of plastic waste is blocking drainage pipes and resting on the ground and water bodies. Plastic waste is used for making improper land-fills. Instead of bringing the trash bag to the collecting points, people sell them to new settlers to make new land (information gathered from conversations with local residents).

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TITLE

2.3 Architects

rethink the use of

materials and get

involved in their

projects’ production

process

Corplas Colombia Plastic manufacturing industry. Images: Manuela Uribe, 2018.

Econciencia, construction system using post-consumer plastic waste. Images: Manuela Uribe, 2018.

Waste collecting point Cartagena Amigable. Images: Manuela Uribe, 2018. This critical plastic accumulation made me

proposed the next protocol: Architects rethink the use of materials and get involved in their projects’ production process

Considering the abundance of plastic waste, I searched ways in which I could use it as main source of construction material for the project. To expand my knowledge about plastic and its possibilities, I visited a local food containers manufacturing industry, an entrepreneur who developed a construction system using recycled plastic waste and finally, a waste collecting point in Cartagena. From this material research, I knew that there are cheaper and more available technologies to recycle plastic. Plastic can acquire almost any form and can be re-morphed on an on. These conditions enhance possibilities for transformable, upgradable or even ephemeral architecture. It can be mixed with other elements and form composites to increase strength, reduce fire risk, change physical features, etc.

TITLE

Ec_{o t} ourism r

out e

Serena del Mar r oute Fish r out e Ecotourism route

City center route

Market/fish rout

e Ciénaga de la Virgen Caribbean Sea Informal settlements Bridge Boat Platform Serena del Mar

Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 Historic Center La Popa hill Tourist area Tourist area Central market “Bazurto” Tourist port 0 4km

Map: Manuela Uribe. Shape files source: IDOM. Estudio de crecimiento urbano, 2017

3.3.1 System conceptualization

From the understanding of the place and the material, I envisioned an informal water-based mobility system, which is made of a local and readily available material, plastic waste.

The system proposes re-scaled

infrastructures that respond to different mobility needs. I designed a basic module from which a bridge, a boat and a platform can be built. These infrastructures can be portable, movable and upgradable,

PLASTIC RECYCLING LAB RECYCLED PLASTIC FAB LAB

Material source

Plastic bottles waste.

Recycling program

Managed by a local plastic collectors organization.

Material transformation

Collected plastic bottles are recycled and transfromed in 3D printing filament.

Digital Fabrication Lab

Community-managed 3D printing lab.

Assembly

System modules are assembled by community members

Infrastructures for mobility

which can be melted again and recycled to create more objects

Collaborative production process and cyclical material use

The production process is carried out

locally and contemplates the creation

of two organizations within the

community: first, a plastic recycling

group and second, a fabrication

group.

The recycling group collects plastic

bottles. These bottles are shredded,

melted and extruded to create

recycled 3D printing filament. The

3D printed filament is sold to the

fabrication group that runs a digital

fabrication lab where the boat, bridge

and platforms are 3D printed.

The plastic company and the

foundation showed interest in funding

the recycling and fabrication facilities.

1.20m

0.55m 0.40m

Module assembly The module

The infrastructures are created by the

aggregation of a basic module. The

module is also an assembly of smaller

pieces which can be printed in a small

3D printer. I printed this prototype in

half scale using the 3d printers here

which are some of the cheapest in the

market.

And finally, the pieces are easy

to assemble, enabling the local

community to participate in the

construction of the system.

The plastic and fabrication schemes

enable a cyclical production process

opposed to traditional production

lines. The final products are never

final, they can be melted again and

re-morphed on and on, opening up

possibilities for transformable and

ephemeral architecture.

Using his cart, Felipe will expand his services, bringing and intalling a bridge when flooding occurs

Ally object:

Plastic container, such as 5 gal oil or water containers, depending on height or flotation need

Module’s upper piece

Transport Stacking Basic module 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.6m 0.32m varies Details

Bridge

I envisioned that these mobility

infrastructures are managed by community members and can provide livelihoods. The bridge

The bridge is used in case of street flooding, which is a constant event in the neighborhood. It enables residents to walk to school or to work. When streets start to flood, people call the bridge owner, who brings it stacked in a bike-cart. The bridge owner charges for this service, earning some money.

The bridge is built by using the upper part of the module, attaching various pieces with ropes. The bridge is supported on plastic containers of various sizes available on site, which can enable flotation in case it is needed.

Recycled materials are used as floating devices

People can use their own bike to transport others

Paddle boat

Bike-powered boat

3D printed Boat hull made of recycled HDPE, 15mm thick Bicycle connected to boat’s motion system

Propeller

Basic module

Details

Boat

The boat

The boat facilitates mobility along and across both the channels and the swamp. It could be owned by a community organization that rents them out to whoever needs them for personal mobility or as work means, including transporting others or bringing tourists around the mangrove forest, which constitutes a livelihood.

The boat is built by aggregating the basic module and other variations of it to achieve various lengths. The initial design contemplates that the boat can be moved by paddling or attaching a personal bike to power it. This enables biking commutes on land and water.

Platform possible aggregations

3D printed platform made of recycled HDPE, 15mm thick Anchor Anchor rope 0.55 1.20 varies 1.20 Cross section 1:25

Floating walkway agreggation Connecting modules

Basic module

Details

Platform

The floating platform

The floating platform aims to bring civic, economic and ecological programs to the swamp, where tourists and locals meet. The platforms are owned by community organizations that are already present, including la “Casa del Manglar” (the Mangrove’s House) and “Verde Calicanto” (Green Calicanto). These platforms provide an infrastructure to encourage initiatives that these organizations already have such as fish farming, floating markets and mangrove reforestation.

The platform is built by aggregating the basic module to form a floating walkway. Then various walkways act as pontoons to support wooden planks to create larger surfaces, where different program happen.

2.4 Architects

acknowledge

that design is by

Hack 1 Hack 2

Juana has a food stall attached to her house; therefore, she takes the modules for improving the

shelving of her stall.

Pedro recently arrived in the neighborhood and uses the modules to make a more compact foundation

Hack 3 Hack 4

Motor-boat Paddle-boat

Car engine-powered boat

Manuel works as tourist guide, bringing tourists who come in cruise around the mangrove forest.

To be more efficient, he attaches a car engine to them, so he can

make more tours

Daniel is a drug dealer and needs a high-speed boat for his job, so he detaches the ending module of the original boat and attaches a high-speed motor, so he does not

get so easily caught

María does not have a house, but has a canoe for work. She uses the floating platform as a surface to build her house

on top

Hack 5 Hack 6

Juan comes from a family of fishermen, he uses the floating walkways to build a fish farm. In addition, he uses them as pontoons to build a raw bar, where people traveling

along the swamp will stop by

However, since the raw bar is not very profitable Guillermo and Lucía join their raw bar platforms and decided to turn them into

4. Conclusion

As I mentioned before, Informal

urbanization involves another logic of

urban operations, which necessarily

need another logic of practice, one

that uses design to achieve maximum

impact with modest interventions,

which does not diminish design

creativity or sophistication.

This work demonstrates this

alternative practice in unstable

territories. Ultimately, I aim to present

the paradox of the architectural

practice in informality, where

architects’ agency expands in

non-traditional responsibilities and at the

same time they relinquish design

control. Speculations about possible

design hacks allowed me to adjust

the initial module. I added holes for

instance to facilitate joints with ropes,

made a track to hold a bicycle and

divided it into smaller pieces so it

could be fabricated by a smaller 3D

printer. However, my speculations

might be completely wrong, and

perhaps the community will hack

the initial design file as well to create

more useful objects.

I could have not envisioned this

project without the collaboration

from the foundation and the local

community, as they enabled me to

directly experiment and understand

the conditions of the site. My agency

went beyond the objects’ design

to think about how to add value to

plastic waste, turning this problem

into an opportunity. Finally, I thought

about how the system could generate

ecological and economic benefits for

the local community and engaged

it in the production and operation

schemes.

Under this logic, architects become

initiators, facilitators and coordinators.

Their role is relevant to enhance the

feasibility of projects in territories

of scarcity and abandonment,

where design could be a tool to give

visibility to these territories, pose

questions and present alternatives to

traditional State’s assistance. Finally,

in this alternative practice, architects’

role becomes more important during

the process than in the final design

outcome, as design is never final,

always re-morphing and re-purposing.

Infrastructure and the environment

Baud, I. and Pfeffer, k. Configuring knowledge in urban water-related risks and vulnerability. Habitat international, 54(2016) p.95-99.

Brown, H and Stigge, B (2017) Infrastructural ecologies, Alternative Development Models for Emerging Economies. Cambridge: MA. MIT Press

IDEAM, PNUD, MADS, DNP, CANCILLERÍA (2015). Nuevos Escenarios de Cambio Climático para Colombia 2011-2100 Herramientas Científicas para la Toma de Decisiones – Enfoque Nacional - Regional: Tercera Comunicación Nacional de Cambio Climático. ISBN 978-958-8902-57-9

Anthropology and sociology

De Certeau, M. (1984). The Practice of Everyday Life. Berkely: University of California Press Deleuze, G. (1897). A Thousand Plateaus – Capitalims and Shizophrenia. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Rapoport, A. (1969). A House, Home and Culture (Philip L. Wagner). Englewood Cliff, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc.

Cartagena:

urban and environmental studies

Cartagena Municipal Government (2017). Territorial Master Plan (POT).

Ministerio de ambiente y desarrollo sostenible. Alcaldía distrital de Cartagena. INVEMAR (2014). Plan 4C - Cartagena Competitiva y Compatible con el Clima. ISBN: 978-958-8448-61-9 Establecimiento Público Ambiental de Cartagena- EPA (2015). Proyecto Parque Distrital Ciénaga de la Virgen. Retrieved October 17, 2017 from http://observatorio.epacartagena.gov.co/ gestion-ambiental/ecosistemas/proyecto-cienaga-de-la-virgen/formulacion-proyecto-piloto-vivero-forestal/

Cartography

IDOM (2017) Estudios base para la ciudad de Cartagena, Colombia. Módulo 3: Estudio de crecimiento urbano.

Shape files: IDOM, 2017

Coordinate System: MAGNA Colombia Bogota Projection: Transverse Mercator

Datum: MAGNA

Urban planning and architecture theories in relation to informality

Alexander, C. (1977). A pattern Language: Towns, Buildings, Construction. Oxford: University press.

Governeur, David (2015). Planning and design for future informal settlements. New York: Routledge

Hosie, S. (2016) The Marginal City: Dreams of Upward Mobility. Post, notes on Modern and Contemporary art around the globe. MOMA. New York.

Lydon, M. and García, A. (2015) Tactical Urbanism: Short-term Action for Long-term Change. Washington: Island press

Mehrotra, R. 2008. “Negotiating the Static and Kinetic Cities.” Other cities, other worlds: urban imaginaries in a glob-alizing age. Andreas Huyssen ed. Durham: Duke University Press: 205-221 Roy, A. (2005). Urban Informality: Toward an Epistemology of Planning. Journal of the

American Planning Association, 71(2), 147-158, DOI: 10.1080/01944360508976689 Samper, J. (2012). Toward an epistemology of the form of the Informal city: Mapping the process of informal city making. Retrieved from: http://informalsettlements.blogspot. com/2012/07/toward-epistemology-of-form-of-informal.html

Simone, A.M. (2010). City Life from Jakarta to Dakar. New York: Routledge

Architecture and Urban design projects in informal contexts

Adeyemi, K. (2015). Circling Research with Design. NLÉ’s African Water Cities Project and Prototype Floating School for Makoko in: Ground Rules for Humanitarian Design. Edited by Alice Min Soo Chun and Irene E Brisson. John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Alcaldia de Medellin. 2012. Medellin Laboratory: An Exhibit on Ten Ongoing Practices. Medellin: Mesa Ediciones

Aravena, A., Lacobelli, A. 2012. Elemental: Incremental Housing and Participatory Design Manual. Ostfildern: Hatje Cantz

Aga Khan Award for architecture (2014-2016 cycle) Makoko Floating School http://www.akdn.org/architecture/project/makoko-floating-school

Beardsley, J., Werthmann, C. 2008. “Improving Informal Settlement. Ideas from Latina America.” Harvard Design Magazine 28. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Graduate School of Design: 31-34 Lerner, J (2014) Urban Acupuncture. London: Island Press

Location: Lagos, Nigeria. Design: Kunlé Adeyemi Area: 220m2

Year: 2013 Actors involved

Iwaya Waterfront community NLÉ architects

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

Federal Ministry of Environment (AAP) Heinrich Boell Foundation from Germany Tafeta & Partners

Makoko floating School is a prototype of floating school, built in an informal settlement that has been reclaiming land of Lagos

lagoon, Nigeria. Over 100,000 people live in houses on stilts. Makoko School proposes an alternative to education accessibility in an informal settlement occupying a lake. Taking into account the inhabitants´ difficulties for mobility the school moves along the lake to reach out to every child. Even though the state did not approve the project, the architect was able to gather other actors, including the community, NGO’s and philanthropists, who built and managed the project. After three year of intensive use and service to the community, the structure collapsed under a heavy rain.

This structure addresses an innovative approach to social, environmental and geographical needs of this settlement. The structure aims to be self-sustained by incorporating off-grid infrastructures and technologies to capture sun’s energy and collect rain water.

Makoko Floating School

Image: Iwan Baan for Dezeen, 2014 Image: Iwan Baan for the travel club, 2015 NLÉ architects United Nations Development Programme Federal Ministry of Environment Heinrich Boell Foundation Contractor: Tafeta & Partners

Makoko lake community Architect Audio visual Funding Client

Open plan for program flexibility Organizational structure

Recreational and community gathering Educational program

Design suitable for the flooding conditions

Design dimensions

Technical and material languages were highly influenced by the local culture and identity. The local community’s relationship to water was one of the main concept ideas.

Makoko Floating School was built from by a team of local residents, using wooden offcuts from a nearby sawmill and locally grown bamboo. It sat over a 256 plastic drums and was powered by rooftop solar panels. (Frearson, 2016).

The first floor is dedicated to recreational and community programs, this space responds to the lack of gathering spaces within the settlement. The second floor is dedicated to educational programs. The space in both floors is very flexible and can be divided in different configurations.

The structure’s envelope reflects climate and environmental conditions of the site. Consequently, the second floor’s classrooms are enclosed by a louver envelope, which enable light and ventilation control.

Social dimensions

The school brought legitimacy to a community considered illegal by the local government, which was undertaking actions to demolish most of the self-built houses. However, Makoko Floating School gave global visibility to this informal settlement preventing its imminent demolition. The school reinforced community-building, as it provided spaces for both, education and socializing. Therefore, community building was encouraged by educational and playful spaces.

Shortcomings and lessons learned

The structure was always considered illegal by the Nigerian Government, what did not facilitate the evolution and replication of the project. The structure entailed constant maintenance, which was not provided neither by the community nor by the sponsors or governments institutions; therefore, the wear of the material

Location: Iquique, Chile Design: ELEMENTAL

Area: stage 1: 30m2 - stage 2:70m2 Year: 2003

Budget: $7,500 per basic unit Actors involved

ELEMENTAL is a Chilean based firm, whose founder, Alejandro Aravena, was awarded the Pritzker price in 2016, for this commitment to reviving socially-engaged architecture that builds on the social, cultural and economic context of a site.

MINVU: National ministry of Housing and Urbanism

COPEC: The Chilean energy company

The University Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.

Social Housing Prototype

Image: Aravena, A., Lacobelli, A. (2012). Elemental: Incremental Housing and Participatory Design Manual. Ostfildern: Hatje

Cantz. Page 145 The project aimed to grant housing to 100

families who had informally occupied the plot of land for 30 years. The project proposed an innovative housing typology following the principles of incremental building.

The architects’ premises for the project were: first, to guarantee that the community remain in the same neighborhood and not displace them to the periphery of the city, as it is usual in social housing projects in Latin America; and second, to consider social housing as an investment and not as an expense; hence, the house was able to increase in size to gain value over time. (Aravena and Lacobelli, 2012).

The result was a two-family house typology, which enabled both houses to expand their area in the future. Finally, given the limited budget per unit, the architects strategy was to use the total budget of $7,500 USD to build half of a middle-income house, that could grow and gain value, instead of building a complete low-income house that would lose value over time.

This strategy resulted in an initial unit of 30m2, which can expand into 72m2.

Design dimensions

The typology was the sum of a set of conditions through which a housing unit can increase its value over time; this without having to increase the amount of money of the current subsidy. (Archdaily, 2008) 1. The neighborhood needed to stay in the same site, to maintain the opportunities that the city offered and for the property to increase its value.

2. The provision or the collective space, a common area with restrictive access, created by 20 families. This intermediate level of privacy strengthens the collective support to overcome social vulnerabilities.

3. The provision of an area and a supporting framework that enable the expansion of the house within a set frame to prevent problems with its surroundings or neighbors at time of expansion.

4. The provision of the most technically demanding elements of the house, including kitchen, bathroom, stairs, and partition walls.

Second prototype with roof included since the initial stage.

Image: Archdaily, 2013 Interior customization. Image: Tadeuz Jalocha in Archdaily, 2008

Social dimensions

One of the main successes of this project is that the families were kept in the same location, where they had been living for 30 years. Their privileged location not only facilitated their mobilization through the city, and kept their social and economic networks, but also enabled for the houses to increase value over time.

Several participatory workshops were developed to communicate the residents the restrictions and opportunities of the new typology. This participatory process enabled households to be fully prepared to expand their houses once the project was complete. The participatory processes enabled to understand the convenience of having smaller groups, both for the decision-making process and later for the cohabitation. The community was divided in groups of 20 families; this group size resulted very convenient to produce consensus and allow for coordinated efforts. This division informed the urban layout, resulting in shared courtyards among 20 houses.

Elemental COPEC

Contractor: National Ministry of housing

and urbanism

Universidad Católica de Chile

Architecture Funding

Client

Half of the house is completed by its residents Phase 1 Architect’s agency Phase 2 Family’s agency Family agency Architect’s agency Architect relinquish design control

Shortcomings and lessons learned The initial building trust process was very difficult due to prior relationships between the community and the governmental agencies. Social housing projects usually relocate families in peripheral areas, and this preexistence caused difficulties in the first phase, when existing houses needed to be demolished and families were moved to transitory shelters (Elemental, documentary). There was concern about whether the

families were going to respect the set of rules and conditions posed by the architects. This is a challenge that open frameworks and incremental architecture faces; hence, the importance of simple, and well-defined and communicated rules.

Shared courtyard. Image: Tadeuz Jalocha in Archdaily, 2008

The project did not propose solutions for the collective space. Limiting the housing problem to the private space. The lack of attention that the collective space had, resulted in its inadequate use, including parking lots, and scarce presence of vegetation or furniture to promote social cohesion among each housing cluster. Even though the typology has evolved project by project, the initial typology was proved to be unsatisfactory because it did not account for the need for skilled labor and technical systems such us for roof construction, thus, the initial cost estimated for the house’s expansion of $1,000 USD was well beyond. Therefore, future typologies include the roof at the initial stage.

Second floor plan

Elevation

Plans source Archdaily, 2008 Neighborhood plan, divided by clusters of 20 families.

Location: Medellín, Colombia. Design: EDU (Urban Development Enterprise). Led by Architect Alejandro Echeverri

Area: 296 houses among new construction (48m2) and retrofiting

Year: 2004-2007 Budget: 4Million UDS Actors involved

EDU (Urban Development Enterprise) Metro de Medellín

Fenavip: National Federation of Popular Housing (Federación Nacional de Vivienda Popular)

This project consisted of a large scale urban renewal of Comuna 2, one of the most impoverished areas in Medellín, Colombia. The project was developed through the Integral Neighborhood Improvement Program (Programa de Mejoramiento Integral de Barrios ) known as PMIB. This program has a holistic approach to urban interventions in marginalized areas including not only physical improvements but also social, economic and educational programs. Therefore, the PUI included mobility

infrastructure, social housing, cultural and educational facilities, public space qualification and environmental restoration. The Integral Urban Intervention in Comuna 2 was chosen to be the pilot project to deploy the plan and set strategies to replicate in other areas of the city, with similar conditions. The project was initiated by Sergio Fajardo, Medellín Mayor from 2004 to 2007, through the EDU, Urban Development Company. Comuna 2 has faced critical environmental degradation and is known for the presence of gangs, which control drug corridors. Due to these conditions, the PUI had to address complex social and environmental agendas.

PUI - Integral Urban Project in the Comuna 2

Urban Integral Project (PUI) Medellín, Colombia. Source: www.rockefellerfoundation.org

Occupation ofJuan Bobo stream before intervention.

Image: EDU, 2008 Juan Bobo stream after intervention. Image: EDU, 2008

Contractor: Funding

Networked interventions Organizational structure

Stitching historically divided neighborhoods

Design dimensions

One of the main strategies of this project was to innovate in mass transportation system. The topographical condition and difficult accessibility to this neighborhood required a different approach to moving people. Therefore, the Metro Cable emerged as a solution to connect people in this neighborhood to the city center. The cable car presents a lighter, more efficient and safer alternative to subway systems or buses. This infrastructural intervention triggered other mobility upgrades, including streets upgrades, walk sides and bridges, these interventions were made along with public spaces qualification to promote social cohesion and inclusion. Bridges and parks aimed to destroy some of the invisible borders.

Complementing the cable car line, social housing projects were developed on site to relocate families that were occupying Juan Bobo stream (Quebrada Juan Bobo). This social housing project kept families within the same neighborhood so they could continue

their social and productive networks. (Puerta, 2012).

Finally, the project was complemented with cultural and educational facilities including, the renown Biblioteca España, (Spanish Library) and Colegio Santodomingo, (Santodomingo high school)

Social dimensions

The plan was developed under the “Social Urbanism” framework, which is based on assisting the communities to become the promoters and main players of urban improvement projects. This plan aimed to pay back the historical segregation and to compensate territorial inequalities that these neighborhoods have faced since their settlement (Perez, 2011). Several participatory workshops were focused on building trust and empathy with the community to facilitate the following stages of the project.

The construction of these projects was made by local labor, creating more than 2.300 jobs (Pérez, 2010, cited in Echeverri and Orsini).

EDU Urban Development Company City Mayor Sergio Fajardo Urban consultants Laboratorio de Barcelona FENAVIP Metro de Medellín Local community Design Mobility Housing

Infrastructure for connectivity Education