Booklet- Housing complex for low income community in flood risk area in El Salvador

RESEARCH ABSTRACT:

HOUSING COMPLEX FOR LOW INCOME COMMUNITY IN FLOOD RISK AREA IN EL SALVADOR

PRESENTS:CARLOS GÓMEZ|SERGIO GUERRA |GUILLERMO MAGAÑAFEBRUARY 2014

F.1- “My ideal house”; results from integrated design workshop

ORIGINAL TITTLE IN SPANISH:

INVESTIGACIÓN DE TECNOLOGIAS CONSTRUCTIVAS Y CARACTERÍSTICAS SUSTENTABLES APLICADAS A PROPUESTA DE COMPLEJO DE VIVIENDA PARA PRE COOPERATIVA EN SAN LUIS LA HERRADURA,

DEPARTAMENTO DE LA PAZ

RESEARCH DEVELOPED FOR ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE SCHOOL AT UNIVERSIDAD CENTROAMERICANA JOSÉ SIMEÓN CAÑAS

TO ATTAIN BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN ARCHITECTURE

THESIS SUPERVISOR:

ARTURO CISNEROS MAYEN

PRESENTED BY:CARLOS GÓMEZ | SERGIO GUERRA | GUILLERMO MAGAÑA

FEBRUARY 2014

Introduction:

The following document is an abstract of the research on the same tittle; its goal is to present in a short and clearer manner the achievements of said work.

We thank you a lot for your time and interest in our labor and hope its useful as a reference itself or as an introduc-tion to the whole research.-

Index:

1.0 Context and integrated design 1.1 Physical context 1.2 Social Context 1.3 Cooperative model and integrated design

2.0 Concept application 2.1 Concept application I- Space syntax 2.2 Concept application II- Porosity 2.3 Passive climate control

3.0 The proposal 3.1 Urban proposal 3.2 Type housing proposal 3.3 Shelter/ Multiple use hall proposal 3.4 Conclusion

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01 F.2- Current living conditions for members of the community

1.0 Context and integrated design

1.1 Physical context

The municipality of San Luis La Herradu-ra is located in the Department of La Paz, 61km from the San Salvador along Litoral Highway.

The intervention site (donated by a lo-cal church), is located 1.89Km from the municipality of San Luis La Herradura; it has abundant vegetation, there’s a lot of trees present on the boundaries, to the east separating the neighbouring lands and to the west creating a bar-rier towards the river.

The site is surrounded by private land, to the north with agricultural land, to the east with an untouched private land, west with a river “Rio Viejo” and south with the main highway leading to San Luis La Herradura.-

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F.3- Distance from San Salvador to municipality of San Luis La Herradura

F.4- Site location referred to San Luis La Herradura

1.2 Social context

The target for the project’s vulnerable population that doesn’t own a house or that has access to a space that barely supplements such need.

Lack of a space to develop their ac-tivities properly, puts these people and their families at risk.

These conditions force many of them into subsistence economy (only caring about the day’s food), limiting their ac-cess to education or better jobs; which in the long run fosters repetition of such conditions and thus poverty, mining the nation’s productive capacity.-

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F.5- Current living conditions for members of the community

F.6- Current living conditions for members of the community

2.3 Cooperative model and inte-grated design

To solve their need for housing, the members of the community are cur-rently in process of forming a cooper-ative. In such model, all of them own and benefit from the project but prop-erty rights are held collectively which prevents loss of housing for reasons such as seizures.

Due to the fact that such model de-pends on member participation and agreement; the decisions are taken and decided in general assembly by voting majority; this also applies to pro-ject design, which was started in inte-grated design workshops in which the users actively expressed their needs and determined spatial program and guidelines themselves for the develop-ment of the proposal.-

05 F.8- Results presentation at integrated design workshop

F.7- Community training in integrated design workshop

06F.9- Voting process at integrated design workshop

07 F.10- Urban proposal created by community at integrated design workshop

2.0 Concept application

2.1 Concept application I-Space syntax

People in rural areas develop most of their activities outdoors. This doesn’t imply spaces being unrelated or isolat-ed. Therefore space syntax theory and depthmap was applied to make sure:

1) In housing, multiple accesses were created and space integration was corroborated by using J diagrams.

2) In urban proposal the software depthmap (with a 1km range of dis-placement) was used to assess the best location for shelter and urban equip-ment. I was also a measure of the pro-posal’s functionality. These diagrams reflect by color scale the degree of connectivity or integration of the pro-ject, from warm to cold palette being warm more favorable for the proposal, since high integration and connectiv-ity rates were required.-

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F.11- J diagram for type housing unit

Considered elements for analysis were:

A- Access K- Compost latrineB- Kitchen IIC- Living roomD- Dorm IE- Dinning roomF- Dorm IIG- ShowerH- Kitchen II- Dorm IIIJ- Patio

F.12- Integration diagram as layout for equipment placement

2.2 Concept application II-Porosity

Once physical connection was achieved, it was also necessary to guarantee visual connection and preservation of natural environment as a complement.

In order to do so, the concept or po-rosity developed by Nan Ellin was cho-sen (specifically visual and natural po-rosity).

This fostered the creation of visuals (trough jalousies and windows) in al-most every space of the house to the exterior public spaces in order to cre-ate an atmosphere of safety inside the complex.

Natural porosity integrated housing units and other elements with site to guarantee connection with nature.-

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F.13- Visual porosity in housing unit, black arrows signal an existing visual

F.14- Concept scheme for natural porosity in urbanization

2.3 Passive climate control

Since site is located in the coastline, the main obstacles to achieve thermal comfort were excessive humidity and sun heat at different times of the day.

Taking these factors into account, the space inside the house was con-ceived as a “shade generator”; the roof was covered with waste natural matter (palm, abundant in site) in or-der to reduce heat rate transfer inside the units and openings were worked as jalousies to guarantee crossed ven-tilation (only passive strategy available to control moisture).-

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F.15- Ventilation in housing unit (left) and humid area (right)

F.16- Ventilation in shelter (Multiple use hall)

12F.17- Connectivty diagram for urbanization (see 2.1)

13 F.18- Urbanization aerial view

3.0 The proposal

15 F.19- Plot distribution in urban proposal

3.1 Urban proposal

The urbanization is developed in ac-cordance to local regulation; a non-building construction fringe 30m away from the river (flood zone) and respect-ing 1apple of land (required from the church as condition to donation).

Making use of smallest plot category, the urbanization manages to allocate 63 families in 9mx16m plots (144sq.m); using more space would compromise spatial quality since it would reduce public and recreational spaces.

The urbanization was conceived as pedestrian zone, only allowing a single lane for vehicles (with access to agri-cultural lands; this is done in order to reinforce connections and urban con-ditions within the whole complex.-

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F.20- Equipment location in urbanization

F.21- Trails and pedestrian streets in urbanization

17 F.22- Front view of housing unit

3.2Type housing proposal

As for the spatial program, the house is developed in 3 areas (left): (1) “Dry space” (red), (2) “Humid area” (blue) and (3) “compost latrine” (yellow); de-veloped in less than 50sq.m with the in-tention of protecting soil infiltration and keep natural character. This is done while it considers as many physical and visual connections to the exterior as possible.

In terms of resilience and technical specs, the housing unit is developed 0.80m from ground floor in order to pro-tect it from flooding.

Wood is used as building material due to its low carbon footprint and low en-ergy cost in production; besides it al-lows to design components that can be easily replicated in great numbers with the support of the community to reduce labour costs and improve the availability of economic resource since the very beginning.-

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F.23- Housing unit and its areas

F.24- Exploded isometric with housing unit components

19 F.25- Front view for Shelter/ Multiple use hall

3.3 Shelter/ Multiple use hall proposal

The shelter is designed to supply any additional needs from the coopera-tive such as classrooms or workshops which take part on their ordinary ac-tivities. To do so the spatial program considers the following spaces (left): (1) Multiple use hall, which can be di-vided in 4 smaller spaces by means of light divisions, (2) kitchen (blue), (3) Storage (yellow), (4) laundry (orange), (5) showers (green) and (6) com-post latrine battery (magenta). All of these elements are necessary in case the building has to be used as shelter (which is its primary function).

In terms of specs, it’s raised 1.60m (twice the housing unit) and its condi-tioned to receive the complex popu-lation if required while supplying their most basic needs in short term and al-lows for easier evacuation; its logic for construction is the same as the house (usage of components) with only mi-nor changes to housing panels in or-der to involve community.-

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F.26- Spaces in shelter

F.27- Exploded isometric of shelter components

3.4 Conclusion(Transcripted from original research):

The importance of design developed under the methodology of integrated design lays in putting our professionals in touch with the realities of those most forgotten in our society, for whom wrongfully design is a luxury; attitude re-flected in spaces with little or no quality that are taken as “accepted” typologies of housing with “minimal” spaces that don’t answer to anyone’s needs excused by “economic reality” as a poor and convenient excuse.

This has been particularly suffered in rural housing, which is not considered within its reality and is seen only as a poor copy of its urban counterpart with complete disregard for the relationship its inhabitants share with nature. Connectivity and porosity, conceptual guides of the project with preference for sustainable materials and respect for the environment are the factors that should lead our future rural developments and perhaps even our urban designs.

These statements are valid since they’re based on essential values shared by every human being; such as the need to create relationships or our interest in nature in order to benefit our minds and bodies, being both fields where designers can continuously innovate.

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Projects such as this one, out of their undeniable social value offer a new technical perspective which potentiates the self-built capacities of our communities; making use of materials which are known to them or similar to the ones they already use, that trough the passage of time they have unknowingly applied in their homes; allowing them to refine their abilities and increase their development opportunities by the means of technical employment, imple-menting resilient techniques and making clear proposals for the protection of their families.

Thus we can confirm that this projects’ objective (which is to bring a better quality of life to our population in risk zone, represented by the members of this community) has been reached and it offers a new perspective for social dwellings, making use of its own architectural language, accessible and much more sensitive towards the needs of these populations; granting them tools that will allow them on a wider measure to supply their needs themselves and take a more active role in controlling their destiny.-

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23 F.28- Urbanization aerial view

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HOUSING COMPLEX FOR LOW INCOME COMMUNITY IN FLOOD RISK AREA IN EL SALVADORSUPERVISOR: ARTURO CISNEROS MAYEN- WORK TEAM: CARLOS GÓMEZ|SERGIO GUERRA |GUILLERMO MAGAÑA

FEBRUARY 2014- Contact: [email protected]