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FUTURE of the CITY
FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates of Multifamily Housing Complexes? ECO REHAB 3 CRACOW 2012
CHAIRMAN OF THE CRACOW UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY PRESS EDITORIAL BOARD Jan Kazior SERIES EDITOR DariuszKozłowski SCIENTIFICEDITOR: MateuszGyurkovich REVIEWERS: LucaMariaFrancescoFabris, JacekGyurkovich, AnnaK.AgataKantarek, CarlosMarmolejoDuarte, MaciejMotak, AdolfSotocaGarcia, GrażynaSchneider-Skalska COVERANDLAYOUTDESIGN: AgnieszkaWójcik&AdamBania ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS: byauthorsandPawełFranaszek PUBLIC RELATIONS: AgnieszkaWłoch-Szymla Alltheinformation,textesandilustrationspulishedbyapproval andresponsbilityofauthors PublishbyWydawnictwoTechniczne,CracowUniversityofTechnology,Cracow2012 Thebookispartialyfinancedfrom:DSResearchfoundsNo.A3/19/DS/2012 andA3/20/DS/2012 ISBN978-83-7242-673-4
INDEX of CONTENTS Foreword,JacekGyurkovich Introduction,MateuszGyurkovich 1. PLACE FOR PEOPLE IN THE YEAR 2035; Anna Palej 2. ONTHESPACEOFAMASSHOUSINGESTATE;AnnaK.AgataKantarek 3. PLANNING PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE URBAN DISTRICT DEVELOPMENT – RECENT EXAMPLES FROM GERMANY; MichaelPeterek 4. FROMGROUNDTOSKY,ORHOWTOLOSECONTACTWITHTHESITE;AdolfSotoca,XavierMatillaAyala 5. SOCIALIDENTITYANDMASSHOUSINGESTATES;XavierMatillaAyala,AdolfSotoca 6. REHABILITATINGMASSHOUSINGESTATES–THEROMANIANBLOCKOFFLATS,BETWEENREASERCHANDTEACHING EXPERIENCE;ZinaMacri 7. UNDERPRESSURE.THEFUTUREOFLONDON’SCOUNCILHOUSING;MarenHarnack 8. NOWAHUTA.INTRODUCTIONTOITSTOWN-PLANNINGANDARCHITECTURALHISTORY;MaciejMotak 9. TRANSFORMATIONSOFPUBLICSPACEINMULTIFAMILYRESIDENTIALCOMPLEXESINTHEWESTERNPARTOFCRACOW; MateuszGyurkovich 10. LARGERESIDENTIALCOMPLEXESINTHESTRUCTUREOFPUBLICSPACESINCRACOW;AgnieszkaWójcik 11. LECORBUSIER-HOUSINGUNITINBERLIN-EVOLUTIONOFTHEIDEASOFMULTI-FAMILYHOUSINGONTHEBASISOFCHOSEN POLISHPROJECTS;PiotrUrbanowicz 12. ADJUSTING PREFABRICATED HOUSING ESTATES TO CONTEMPORARY CONDITIONS AND LOCAL SPECIFITY IN REVITALIZATION PROCESS–GERMANEXPERIENCES;ElizaSzczerek 13. PROBLEMS OF MODERNIZATION OF LARGE SCALE HOUSING ESTATES IN POLAND; Katarzyna Pluta 14. HOUSINGANDTRANSFORMATIONSOFSOCIALSTRUCTURES:BETWEENDIVERSITYANDFLEXIBILITY;BartłomiejHomiński 15. THENOTIONSOFANETWORK,ADIAGRAM,ALOOP,ANDACONSTELLATIONASTHESTARTINGPOINTFORANEW TYPOLOGYOFAHOUSEINTHECITY;MichałPalej 16. HOUSINGESTATEINAPARK–REALIZEDIDEAINCONFRONTATIONWITHCONTEMPORARYSPACECOMERCIALISATION; Julian Franta 17. DOITTAKEATREE?LucaMariaFrancescoFabris 18. THE IMPORTANCE OF SPACE – MEANINGFUL SPACE; Anna Franta PART I FUTURE OF THE CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes?
INDEX of CONTENTS 1. FUTUREOFTHECITY-ECO-REHAB3;MateuszGyurkovich 2. THESITE:DYWIZJONU303,IIPUŁKULOTNICZEGO&KOŚCIUSZKOWSKIEESTATES;MateuszGyurkovich, MaciejWieczorkowski,AnnaCzepiec,WioletaChodacka,MalwinaBorowiec,KarolinaChodur,IzabelaSłodka 3. URBAN ANALYSIS BY CRACOVIAN GROUP OF STUDENTS WORKSHOP’SPROJECTS: 4. TEAM1 5. TEAM 2 6. TEAM3 7. TEAM4 8. TEAM5 9. TEAM6 10. TEAM7 11. TEAM8 12. JUROR’SOPINIONS PART II FUTURE OF THE CITY ECO-REHAB3 InternationalStudentWorkshops on Mass Housing Estates – CRACOW 17th–28th APRIL 2012
7 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes? FOREWORD Thepublicationyouareholdinginyourhandsisanotherissuefromaseriesofscientificbooksdevotedtoresearchon theconditionofthecontemporarycityaswellasforecastsofitsfuturedevelopment.Theyoriginatedontheinitiativeof theInstituteofUrbanDesign,FacultyofArchitecture,CracowUniversityofTechnology.Sixpreviouseditionsoftheresultsof researchcarriedoutbyawideinternationalcircleofspecialistswerepublishedwithintheprestigiousTechnicalTransactions from2004till2012.Thedirectreasonsforthecreationofthisyear’sbookwerethebeginningofinternationaleducational andresearchcooperationaswellastheInternationalStudentWorkshopsonMassHousingEstates–FUTUREOFTHECITY– EcoRehab3organizedinApril2012bytheChairofUrbanCompositionandtheChairofPublicSpacesforMovementatthe InstituteofUrbanDesignFACUTinCracow. Thetwenty-firstcenturyisandwillbetheageofthecities.Theirpopulationisincreasingatapaceunprecedentedin history,whilethespatialreservesofourplanetareshrinking.Theideasofacompactcityandeconomicalmanagementof urbanspaceseemparticularlyimportantinthiscontext.Theamorphousareasofmassprefabricatedhousingestates,built inthesecondhalfofthetwentiethcenturywithoutlegiblecompositionallayouts,stilloccupyextensivestretchesofEuropeancities.Theseareassuffergallopingspatialandsocialdegradation.TheseriesofinternationalstudentworkshopsEco Rehabisdevotedtotheproblemsoftheirrevitalization.TheworkshopswereinitiatedinBucharestin2010,whereasthenext editionstookplaceinBarcelona(2011)andinKrakow(2012).ThenextworkshopswillbeheldinMilanin2013.Eachedition issummedupinatradebookwhichpresentsthestudents’worksaswellasthelatestscientificresearchconcerningthese problems. Thispublicationisdividedintotwoparts:atheoreticalsurveyoftheresultsofresearchcarriedoutbyaninternational groupofscientistsinvolvedintheorganizationandsupervisionoftheworkshopsandareportofthiseventwhichincludes apresentationofthedesigns.Wewantourbooktoreachthewidestpossiblecircleofrecipients,includingyoungapprenticesofarchitecturewhowillberesponsiblefortheshapeofglobalurbanspacesinthedecadestocome.Iwouldliketo thankallthoseengagedinthecreationofthispublication–theauthors,thereviewers,theeditorialstaffaswellasthestudentsofsevenEuropeanFacultiesofArchitecturewhoparticipatedintheEcoRehab3workshops. JacekGyurkovich,FullProf.D.Sc.Ph.D.Arch. HeadoftheChairofUrbanComposition InstituteofUrbanDesign DeanoftheFacultyofArchitecture,CracowUniversityofTechnology
8 INTRODUCTION An increase in the global population, observed within three previous centuries, accelerated violently in four last decadesofthetwentiethcenturyanddoesnotseemtobeslowingdown.Itsapproximatenumericalprofileisasfollows: thepopulationofourplanetincreasedfromaboutthreebillionin1960throughmorethansixbillionin2000tonearlyseven billionin2011.Apartfromthedevelopmentofcivilizationandtechnologywhichfacilitatedasignificantimprovementof thelivingconditions,changesinmilitarytechniquesandtherisingglobalcommunityspirit(noticeableinthemultitudeof internationalorganizations),thewaywasalsoclearedbyanumberofotherfactorsbeyondarchitecture. Thesephenomenabroughtaboutanincreaseinurbanizationprocessesbecausethesecond and third wave societies –inotherwordsindustrial and postindustrial societies–usuallyabandontheshrinkingagriculturalareasandmovetothe cities.ItiscurrentlyestimatedthatseventypercentoftheEarthpopulationwillliveinthecitiesbytheyear2050.Thisnumber alreadyexceededfiftypercentoftheglobalpopulationin2008.Itissupposedthatthetotalurbanpopulationincreasesby onemillioneveryweek.Thus,thecitiesarebecomingthenaturalhousingenvironmentforbillionsofpeople–theinhabitants ofourplanetwhichisgettingmoreandmoreconfinedinthiscontext. Thus,satisfyingthecitydwellers’risinghousingneedsisbecominganextremelyimportantproblem.Thehistoryof architectureandurbanismisfullofvisionsoffuturecitieswhichwouldofferbetterlivingconditions.Severalimplemented utopias(e.g.thesocialistrealistcityexemplifiedbyNowaHutapresentedinthisbook)standoutagainstthisbackground, while new visions keep springing up. In spite of numerous shortcomings, it seems that the historical European city remainstheunparalleledmodelofacompactcityadjustedtothehumanscalewhichoffersdiverse,richlyfittedpublic spaces. Asamatteroffact,however,theEuropeancitiesarenotidealstructures.Manyofthemgrapplewithvariousspatial problemscausedbynumerousfactorsoftransport,structural,socialoreconomicnature.Estatesofprefabricatedblocksof flats,builtacrosstheworldafterWorldWarII,lefttheirvisiblestampontheurbanstructureofmanycities,especiallyinthe countriesofCentralandEasternEurope.Rejectingthecenturies-oldtraditionofcitybuildingforthesakeoflayoutsloosely inspiredbytheinternationalstyleandtheguidelinesoftheAthensCharterof1933ledtounimaginablespatialchaosin extensiveareasofEuropeantownsandcities.Inspiteofthis,theidealized,unequalledmodelofaEuropeancityorsmall townunderliesmostreformativemovementsin20th-centuryurbanismaswellassignificanttheoreticalworksconcerningthe developmentofurbanizedareas1.Notaccidentally,the New Athens Charter2 isadocumentwhichrestorestrustinanew, cohesiveandcompactcity. Withinthreepreviousdecades,burdensomeheavyindustryandmassproductionhavemovedfromtheEuropeancities tootherregionsoftheworld.TheEuropeansociety,whichisnothomogenousbynature,isbeingintenselytransformedby therisingwaveofimmigrants.Despitethephenomenonofshrinkingcitiesobservedincertainplaces,thehousingneeds intheEuropeancountriesmustbestillsatisfied.Moreandmorefrequently,itisnotonlyaboutthe number of flats(asinthe postwarperiod)butfirstandforemostaboutthe quality of a housing environment.Moresophisticatedsocialneedsand requirementswithreferencetourbanspacesrelatedtofunctionswhichaccompanyresidentialbuildingsthanintheother historicalperiodsmakeoneofthefeaturesofacontemporaryEuropeancity. 1 From Ebenezer Howard and his Garden City inthebeginningoflastcentury, to American New Urbanism (Leon Krier’s term) in the late 20th century. The most importantandinfluentialbooksonurbanism also referred to the idealized image of a pedestrian-friendly European city with a compact structure and characteristic compositional elements. The elementary titlesinclude:CullenG.,The Concise Townscape; Gehl J., Life between buildings; Jacobs J., The Death and Life of Great American Cities; Lynch K., The image of the city;IshikawaS.,SilversteinM.,JacobsonM.,Fiksdahl-KingI.,AngelS.,Alexander Ch.,A Pattern Language.Allthesebooks werefirstpublishedinthe1960sand1970s. Theideastheypresentedfoundanumber offollowersandcontinuatorsamongthe theoreticians and practitioners of architectureallaroundtheworld. 2 The New Athens Charter 2003. A Vision of the 21st-Century Cities,CouncilforEuropeanUrbanism,Lisbon,November20,2003; Polisheditorialstaff:PolishUrbanists’Society.Originallypassedin1998bytheCEU as The New Athens Charter. The Charter of the 21st-Century European Cities – www. ceu-ectp.org FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates of Multifamily Housing Complexes?
9 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates of Multifamily Housing Complexes? InEurope,whoseurbanculturehasbeendevelopingforseveralmillenniums,therearelessandlessundevelopedareas, whereasalotofintactlandshavebeendevastatedirreversibly.Thosewhichremainareusuallyprotectedbythelawor actastheagriculturalhinterland.Thatiswhy–forthesakeofsustainabledevelopmentandrationalmanagementofthe resourcesofourplanet–areturntotheconceptofacompact city,whichcanbealsocalledaneconomicalcity,seems moreandmoresignificant.Itparticularlyconcernsourcontinentwhichfacesthreatsresultingfromsuchnegativephenomena as urban sprawl3.Thus,theproblemsofrevitalizingorrehabilitatingalreadyurbanizedareas,includingresidential grounds,aswellasprotectingthearchitecturalandurbanheritagearegettingincreasinglyimportant. Asubstantialpartofthispublicationisdevotedtotheproblemsofrevitalizingmultifamilyhousingcomplexesdating backtothepreviousdecades,creatingappropriatespatialandcompositionalrelationsintheexistingcomplexesaswellas preventingtheintensificationofspatialchaosindwellingenvironments.Itseemsthatmultifamilyhousingcomplexesmake amodelofresidencewhichwilldominatethecities,notonlyinEurope,inthefaceoftheforegoingglobalprocesses.This paperisdividedintotwoparts:atheoreticalpresentationandareportoftheInternationalStudentWorkshopsonMass HousingEstates–FUTUREOFTHECITY–EcoRehab3organizedinCracowinApril2012.TheyweredevotedtotherevitalizationofthreeselectedhousingestatesinthisPolishcity. MateuszGyurkovich,Ph.D.Arch. ResearchEditor 3 The phenomenon of urban sprawl (theuncontrolledgrowthofurban,mainlyresidentialbuildingsbeyondtheadministrativecity bordersandthecreationoflessintensively urbanized areas along the backbone of atransportlayout)wasborninNorthAmericainthe1920s.AreportfromtheEuropean Commissionof2006showsthatthisphenomenon,eventhoughignored,isstilldangerous inmanyEuropeancities.Atthattime,75% ofthepopulationofUnitedEuropelivedin urbanizedareas.However,analarmingfact wasthattheamountofadevelopedarea percapitaincreasedtwicewithinthepreviousfiftyyears.Itprovesadisturbingtendency,relatedtorisingwealthandsocialexpectations,realizedbynumerousEuropeans:an escape from the city insearchofasuburban lifestyle.IncertainregionsofEurope(mostly northernEngland,northernFrance,western Germany,IrelandandBelgium),almost95% ofresidentialbuildingsdatingfromtheyears 1960-1990arelowintensiveobjectsconsumingvastpatchesoflandtogetherwiththeir necessaryinfrastructure.Theauthorsofthe reportwarnusthatasimilarstateofaffairs couldbeobservedatthebeginningofthe 21stcentury.–cf.:URBAN SPRAWL IN EUROPE. The ignored challenge,EuropeanCommission, Directorate-General, Joint Research Centre,EuropeanEnvironmentAgency,EEA REPORTno.10/2006
48 PART 1 usuallyhaveasurfaceareaover70m2.Themostcommonfunctionalprogramincludesalivingroom,threebedrooms,one kitchenandoneortwobathrooms(fig.4). Thedirectresultoftheimprovementintermsofsurfacestandardshasbeentheincreaseoftotalbuiltroofand,consequently,theincreaseofbulk.Althoughthenumberofhousingunitsshouldbeequalbeforeandaftereverysingletransformationprocess6,theindividualsurfaceincreaseofeverysinglehousingunitmeans,automatically,higherbulkforthe wholeurbanlayout.Thisconsequenceappearstobeevenmoreevidentwhennewroofareaaddressedtobusinessand commercialusesisbuiltonthegroundfloor.Thus,inmostoftheremodellationprocessestheoriginalbuiltareais,atleast, doubledattheendoftheprocess.Andthisimpliesachangeinthebasicbuildingtypewhichthenewurbansettlement isbuiltwith. More public space Weshouldalsoconsidertheattentionthatremodellationprocessespaytothequalityofpublicspace. TheURPwasnotinitiallylinkedtotheincreaseofsurfaceaddressedtoopenspaces,sincethemaingoal wasimprovementofprivatespacehabitability.Neverthelesstheurbanlayoutresultingafterthetransformationprovidesinallcasesaremarkableincreaseof public spaces standards. The very deprived original conditionsononehandandtheCatalanlegalframework on the other are the main reasons behind this newprovisions: Regarding original urban layout, and according tothespeculativeapproachwithwhichthesehousingestateswerepromoted,thereisacommonoverdensificationinmanyPolígonswhereevenminimum distances between buildings to ensure health and sunlightconditionswerenotconsidered.Sinceproper publicspacedidn’texistintheseneighbourhoodswe departfromanoriginalsituationinwhich,evenwith verylittleprovisions,theincreaseofpublicspacestandardsisquitenoticeable. Ontheotherhand,theCatalanlegalframework assuresanincreaseofpublicspacesinallurbanrenewalinterventions:accordingtothearticle100ofthe 6 According to the catalan legal framework, the final proposal in remodellation processes are obliged to provide, in the verysamerenewedárea,ahometoeach oneoftheformerresidents.SincetheURP was promoted by public administration andneverprofitorientated,oncethisconditionisaccomplished,densityincreaseis neverconsidered. Fig. 4. Building and housing typologies in Bon Pastor. Above, existing ground-floor houseof40m2typology.Below,proposed 80m2apartment.DrawingsbySotocaA.
49 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes? CatalanPlanningAct,anyurbaninterventionthatmeansanincreaseofbuiltrooforhousingdensityautomaticallyimplies anadditionalprovisionofgreenareasupto20–22’5m2oflandforevery100m2ofnewlybuiltroofarea7.Thisconditionnecessarilyaffectstheresultinglayoutoftheremodellationprocesssincethesurfaceoftheplotswherethenewroofcouldbe placedaresignificantlyreducedinrelationtothepreviousurbanlayout. TOWARDS NEW RESIDENTIAL ENVIRONMENTS Moreroofarea,lessspacewheretobuildit:morebulkandlesslandoccupancy.Thesearethebasicconditionstobe accomplishedbyallnewneighbourhoodsproducedbytheURP.It’smorethanobviousthatthechangeofurbanparametersleadstoanewconfigurationintheurbanlayoutofthenewsettlements.Averysimplecomparisonbetweenprevious urbanfabricandnewsettlementclearlypointsoutthemaindifferences.Thefirstonehastodowiththebuiltspace,since newbuildingtypeshavetendedtoincreasesignificantlytheirheight.Thesecondoneisrelatedtothespacein-between buildings:theurbanpatternofthesenewdistrictshaveincreasedthepercentageofsurfaceaddressedtopublicspace buthavealsosignificantlyreducedtheamountofgroundfloorsurface.And,sincethisisthelevelofarchitecturethatis abletoestablishrelationsofsocialcontrolandexchangewithpublicspace,urbanitycouldbesomehowcompromisedby remodellation. Ground: From streets and squares to in-between parks Thedecreasinglandoccupancyofthebuildings,commontoallprocessesofurbanredevelopment,isparticularlyexplicitinthetransformationofViaTrajana,oneoftherecentlyconcludedoperationsoftheURP.Figure5clearlyshowsthe contrastbetweenpublicspaces’morphologyinpreviousandfinalstages.Thecomparisonbetweentheexistingbuiltfabric andthefinalplanningproposalshowsanexplicitchangeinthelayoutcriteriaofpublicspace.Theoriginalfragmented systemofsmallsquares,whichareinterspersedbetweenthebuildings,wasreplacedbyalargelinearparkthatisspatially segregatedfromtheareawheretheresidentialbuildingsareplaced.Onlythreehigh-risebuildingsandasmalllocalfacility aresitedonthe“greencarpet”ofthepark,followingtheprinciplesofthe“TowersinthePark”. Themainreasonforthischangeofdesigningcriteriaisrelatedtothescalethenewsettlementisfacingto.Theoriginallayoutwassofocusedontheself-sufficiencyoftheneighbourhood,thatitdidnotconsideranystrategyofrelationshipwiththe environment(fig.1).Therecentlyimplementedproposal,however,takesintoconsiderationthefuturemetropolitanaxisthat,at acityscale,willruntangentiallytothesite.Thelinearparkthatcrossesnorthtosouththesiteisthelarge-scaleresponsethatthe newlayoutgivestothataxis8.Moreover,oncethetransformationisfinished,thehighmaterialqualityappearstobethecapital improvementofpublicspaceinViaTrajana.Large-scalecontinuityandmaterialqualityare,therefore,evidentandobjective indicatorsofpublicspaceimprovement. Thereis,however,somethingthatthenewurbanlayoutdoesnotconsider.Theintimaterelationshipbetweenpublic spaceanddwelling,whichwasverystronginthepreviouslyexistingfabric,waslostinthenewproposal.Thesystemoflocalsquaresthatoncewereusedasspacesformeeting,proximityandsocialexchange,havebeenreplacedbyalarge 7 TheCatalanPlanningLawhasremarkablyevolvedinthelasttenyears.Since2002 thelegalframeworkforplanninghassuffereduptofiveveryimportantamendments. In2002afirstregulationofurbanrenewal interventionswasestablishedbutinavery genericterms.Since2004theLawestablishestheprovisionofadditionalsurfacefor public spaces in all interventions where densityorroofareaisincreased. 8 See “Un futur a l’entorn metropolità”, a“ViaTrajana,mésenllàdelafrontera”, pp.284–299.
50 PART 1 metropolitanpublicspace,alientolocalarchitectureandsocial control(fig.6).Thenewproposalshiftedfromasystemofpublicspaces,whichwereconceivedasanaturalextensionofthe homes,toacontemplativespace,oblivioustotheurbanlayout theformerbuildingsweredisplayedaccordingto.Thereasons foralienationbetweenarchitectureandpublicspacecouldbe found,firstly,inthelackofroofareacapabletoprovideenough activityonthegroundfloorand,insecondterm,intheextremely simplegeometryoftherelationshipbetweenbuildingsandpublicspaces.Thisrelationship,previouslystructuredbyacomplex set of diverse spaces linked by porticoed thresholds, was dramaticallysimplifiedintoasinglelinethatsplitspublicspaceand residentialbuildings.Thecomplexrelationbetweenarchitecture andpublicspacewaslostinthetransformation. Sky: From house to apartment Arichandcomplexurbangroundfloorprovesthatarchitectureisintimatelyrelatedtoaplace,butthebuildingtypesthat constitutetheurbanfabricarealsoimportant.Thescale,theproportionbetweenpublicspaceandarchitectureandthevisual relationfromdwellingtoouterspacearekeyelementsthatdefinetheidentityofeverysingleresidentialenvironment.Thus,in mostoftheestatesbuiltinBarcelonabetween1929and1955, acertaincultureoftheplacewascreatedthroughtherelationshipbetweenarchitectureandpublicspace.Themainqualities ofthisuniquerelationshipwerefundedinfourverysimplerules. Thefirstonewasthepredominanceoflocalscalepublicspace that,intheformsoftraditionalstreetsorlittlesquares,wasthe stagefordailycommunityencounter.Thesecondwasthepredominantbuildingstypologyofnomorethanthreefloorsthat allowedthesocialcontrolofpublicspacefromwithinthehomes. Thirdrulehadtobewiththepresenceofintermediatespaces, communalorprivate,thatfunctionedasinterfacebetweenthe publicrealmandthehousingunit.Andfinally,fourthrulewasthe appropriationofafirststripofspacethat,intimatelyrelatedto Fig.5.Evolutionoftheurbanlayoutforthe remodellation of Via Trajana. First above, existing urban fabric. Below, several versionsdraftedduringtheplanningprocess. Last below, finally approved proposal. DrawingsbyMassuet,M.
51 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes? thebuildings,wasusedforprivateorcommunal purposes. All these virtues did not compensate allthe deficienciesthatthreatened thehousing stockoftheseestatesfromtheverybeginning.But theyprovidethenecessaryconditionstopromote certainsocialusesofurbanspace.Thisparticular usesmadepossiblethesenseofcommunityand strengthenedthesocialfabricintheseneighbourhoods. Itmustbealsoaddedthatacommoncriteria to all remodelling processes is that ground floor shouldn’thostresidentialuses.Assumingthatcommercialactivitywouldbeabletoprovideurbanitytothenewsettlements,allgroundfloorswere systematic and uncritically reserved for tertiary uses.Whatatfirstwasintendedtobeastrategy for urbanity promotion turned to be, after some time,aseriousproblemforurbanlifeinthesenew residentialenvironments,sincemostofthespaces addressedforbusinesseshavenotbeenoccupied. Theurbanscapeofmanynewneighbourhoodsis built,eventoday,byubiquitousmetalshuttersthat witnessunoccupiedshoppingspaces. Remodellation,assaidbefore,meansavery substantialchangeintermsofbuildingtypes.The increaseofhousingsurfacestandardhousingand the consequent increase of building types requirestheoptionforhigh-risebuildings.Therefore, fromexistingneighbourhoodswheretheaverage height was no more than three storeys9 a new high-risepatternisadopted,shiftingtonewdevelopmentswherethedominantbuildingtypeisthe linear block of six/seven storeys combined with isolatedbuildingsoftenstoreysormore.Thisnew typology breaks the relation between residents andstreetleveland,tosomeextent,meansaloss Fig. 6. Social uses of public space in La Verneda. Above, historical images of inhabitantsinformerneighbourhood.Below, resultingpublicspace,wherehighstandard qualitycanbeappreciated.Thenewlinear parklacksofactivity,asprovedbyallclosed metalshutters.ImagestakenfromPRADAS, R.:“ViaTrajana,mésenllàdelaFrontera” 9 SeeSOTOCA.A.;NOGUER.N.:“Preserving theuntouchable:thecaseofCasasBarates inBarcelona”in“InterventionApproaches inthe20thArchitecturalHeritage,ICOMOSMinisteriodeCultura,Madrid,2011
52 PART 1 of social control of public space. Moreover, large volumetries meananewscaleandanunprecedentedrelationshipbetween architectureandanthropomorphicmodule.Fromlocalgrainof theneighbourhoodthenewproposalsevolvetothedimensions of metropolitan residential architecture. From the very modest detachedhousewithprivatepatios,frommodestblocksofflats withcommunalcourtyard,anewcultureofhigh-risemulti-storey buildingsisestablished,closertoskythantotheground(fig.7). FROM GROUND TO SKY Theimprovementsthattheremodellingprocessesbroughtto theinhabitantsofancientestates,newneighbourhoodstoday, areextraordinary.Fromthearchitecturalandurbanpointofview hugecontributionsareparticularlynotableintheprivatesphere, thatofthehousingunits.Betterhousing,moresafe,morecomfortable.These areaddedvaluesresultingfrom remodellation. Wecanalsostatethatmorepublicspacewasobtained,that ahighermaterialqualitywasachievedthoughtreurbanization. Andthisiscertainlyalsoanextraordinarycontribution,thebasis forasocialuseofpublicspace.But,isthereanythingleft? The social uses of public space: process as a test Remodellationisatermthatstillneedstobeproperlydefined (footnote 4). In the definition of the concept made by theREURSAaspecialinterestonmaintainingthesocialfabric ofexistingneighbourhoodsisemphasized.Sincepublicspace isconceivedasthestagewheresocialfabricissetarelevant questionarises:AreresidentialsettlementsresultingfromtheURP abletomaintaintheessenceoftheexistingsocialfabricofpreviousneighbourhoods?Couldthedrasticchangeofmorphologycompromisethesocialuseofpublicspace?(fig.8–9).The currentlyon-goingtransformationofCasesBaratesdelBonPastorconstitutesafieldwherebalancebetweentransformation andcontinuityissettled. Fig. 7. Before and after remodelation: dominanttypologiesintwoCasasBaratas estates and their relation with the street. Above,ground-floorhouseinElBonPastor. Below, multi-storey building resulting from theremodellationinBaródeViver.Pictures takenbyNoguerN.andSotocaA.
53 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes? BonPastor’sNeighbourhoodisinSantAndreu’sdistrict,in thenorthlimitofBarcelona,justintheshoreoftheriverBesòs. ThegroupofCasesBaratesconsistsof784subsidizedrented houses that were built in 1929 by the Municipal Institute of Housing,now“PatronatMunicipaldel’Habitatge”.Builtwith verylowcost materialsandtechnology, thishousing estate suffered an unstoppable process of degradation from the verybeginning.Despitethat,renewalwasneverintheagendaduringthepost-warperiod,sincethisneighbourhoodwas traditionallytheoriginofpoliticaloppositionandriotsagainst thedictatorialregime.Withtheupcomingofdemocracythe urbanimprovementofthisestatewasforthefirsttimefaced. Fromlate70’tofirst90’thegroupsofBaródeViverandEduard Aunós,verysimilartoBonPastor,weretransformed.Heritage preservationcriteriaweresetapartandbothhousingestates weredemolishedandreplacedwithanurbantissuefarfrom beingrelatedwiththehistoricalbackgroundoftheirrespectivesites. BonPastorisaneighbourhoodthatissufferingnowadays thetransformationderivedfromthe“PlanofRemodellation” approvedintheyear2003.Itisforeseentheintegraldemolitionof784CasesBaratesconstructedintheyear1929,and the location of all the tenants to new multi-storey buildings withouthavingconsideredthepossibilityofconservationand rehabilitationoftheexistingbuiltfabric.Theurbandevelopment project has generated confronted opinions between thosewhosupportthePlan,thosewhorejectitenergetically, andthosewhoacceptitbecausethelackofalternatives.In thiscontext,theInhabitants’InternationalAlliance(AIH)summonsacontestofideasfortheneighbourhood’srenewal.As a popular response to the Municipal Plan this International Competitionhasbeenworldwideknownasaparadigmatic casestudyoflocalengagementandcivicparticipation10. The intentionistoexplorenewpossibilitiesforBonPastor’stransformation,andbythis,toopendiscussiontootherapproaches forurbanregeneration. Fig. 8. Public space in Cases Baratas de Can Peguera. The street is used as a naturalextensionofthehome.Picturetakenby Noguer N. Fig. 9: Public space in the remodellated estate of Cases Baratas del Bon Pastor. Groundfloorofmulti-storerybuildingslacks ofactivity.Therefore,publicspaceisempty.PicturetakenbySotocaA. 10 Visit the site: http://repensarbonpastor. wordpress.com/
54 PART 1 Thecompetitionproceedingsliterallysetthemostimportantguidelinesforparticipants:“Throughbothrehabilitation orrenovationthearchitectural,historicalandethnologicalvaluesofthesocial,workingclassneighbourhood, should bepreserved.Therecognitionoftheparticularwayoflifeoftheinhabitantswillbespeciallyappreciatedbythejury,as wellasthesocialusesofspace,thewayofrelationsamongneighboursandthesignsofcollectiveidentitiesandtheir specialconsiderationinthefinaldesign”.Allproposalssubmittedtothecompetitionexploreddiversestrategies,based onthepreservationoftheexistingmorphologyandsocialusesofpublicspaceassociatedtoitandestablishingthe basisforacomprehensiveregenerationoftheneighbourhood.Allproposalsexplicitlystatedtheassessmentofexisting publicspaceasthestageofthesocialcapitalthatexiststodayintheElBonPastor(Fig.10). Re_modellation, Re_side “Re_Model,Re_novate,Re_construct,Re_form,Re_make,Re_habilitate,Re_Vitalize,Re_live,inshort,toliveagain,inandforthehousingestates; housingestatesthatnevershouldhavelostthebasicconditionsofdignitythatliferequires” (Literallytakenfromthebook:“Re_livetheneighborhoods. Substitute housingplansforimprovementofUrbanAreasinCatalonia” This set of terms sharply defines the goals pursuedbytheURP.Weshalladd,however,anotherone:Re_side.Thisverybasictermcallsfor theideaof“takingpossessionofaplacerepeatedly“(fromthelatinvoices“re”and“sedere”)Andthisiswhatalltheactionofresidingin aplaceisabout:takingpossessionofasiteuntil itbecomesaplace.Therewasatimewhenall existingcommunitiesinthePolígonswere,even notinthebestconditions,residinginthem.And theyweredoingthatbytheeverydaysocialuse ofpublicspace.Oncethepublicspacepattern ischanged,thesitechangeswithit.Andsothe actionofresidingissomehowinterrupted. A very good friend, who is also architecturbanist,usestosaythatthebestfacilityinthe cityreliesinadecent,goodhome;thatthefirst goodpublicspaceisthehouseitself.Thatis,we believe, an undeniable truth. As it is also true thatweneedthecommunitytobuildouridenFig. 10: Brochure announcing “Repensar BonPastor”,theInternationalCompetition forthe urbanregeneration ofBon Pastor. Thecompetition“aimsatthesametimeto analysenewproposalsforthetransformationofaneighbourhoodandgeneratea debate on the possible transformation of cities,wheretheinhabitantsarenotmere costumers or users, but leading actors in the future architectures” (literally taken fromthebrochure)
55 FUTURE of the CITY Mass Housing Estates or Multifamily Housing Complexes? tity,ouressenceassocialbeings.Andoncegoodlifeisassured,oncedecenthousingisguaranteed,itisnecessaryto considerconditionsthatallowthefabricofcommunitymeanings.Therightsittingofarchitectureinplace,theconfigurationofacomplexnetworkofrelationsatthegroundlevel,inshorttherelationshipbetweenbuildingandpublicspace, istheessentialbasisonwhichtheindividualtiesitsidentitywiththecommunity.Inremodellatedareasthecommunityis hopefullystillthere.Andsocialfabricwillbeinmotion,sincepublicspacewas.Let’sgivesomemoretime,sothatwewill seewhereto. BIBLIOGRAPHY AA.VV:“Reviureelsbarris:SubstituteHousingPlansforImprovementofUrbanAreasinCatalonia”.GeneralitatdeCatalunya.DepartamentdePolitica TerritorialiObresPubliques,Barcelona,2001. AA.VV,“Delescasesbaratesalsgranspolígons,elPatronatMunicipaldeBarcelonaentre1929i1979”,AyuntamientodeBarcelona,2003. AA.VV.:“AftertheProject:UpdatingofMassHousingEstates”,IdentitatDigital,UPC,Barcelona,2012 DOMINGO,M.;SEGARRA,F.“Barcelona:LescasesBarates”,AyuntamientodeBarcelona,1999. FERRER,A.“ElsPolígonsdeBarcelona:l’habitatgemassiuilaformaciódel’àreametropolitana”,Barcelona,EdicionesUPC,1996. PRADAS,R.:“ViaTrajana,mésenllàdelafrontera”,INCASÒL,Barcelona,2010. SOTOCA,A.;NOGUER,N.:“Preservingtheuntouchable:thecaseofCasasBaratesinBarcelona”in“InterventionApproachesinthe20thArchitecturalHeritage,ICOMOS-MinisteriodeCultura,Madrid,2011.