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Eastern Mediterranean University, Mersin 10, Turkey and at Development Planning Unit, University College London, 34, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9EZ, Great Britain
openhouseinternational
houseopeninternational
ISSN
O16
8-26
01vo
l.38
no.2
201
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A f f o r d a b i l i t y
D i a s p o r a
E p h e m e r a l D w e l l i n g
G e n t r i f i c a t i o n
H i g h D e n s i t y H o u s i n g
I d e n t i t y
S o c i a l D i s p l a c e m e n t
V e r n a c u l a r A r c h i t e c t u r e
W i n d - c a t c h e r s
In this issue:Abdullahi, Aziz, Comert, Davidson, Dadour, Friedman, Gomez, Hoskara, Na, Park, Cho, Mahasti, Malyusz, Mokhtarshahi, Roka-Madarasz.
open house internationalVol 38 No.2 2013 ISSN 0168-2601
a C I B e n c o u r a g e d j o u r n a l
T h o m s o n I S I A r t s & H u m a n i t i e s
E B S C O p u b l i s h i n g
w w w . o p e n h o u s e - i n t . c o m
w w w . o p e n h o u s e - i n t . c o m E l s e v i e r S c o p u s
Director & Editor-in-Chief
Nicholas Wilkinson, RIBA, Eastern
Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus.
DPU Associate, University College London,
BOARD OF EDITORS
Collaborating Editor
Dr. Ashraf M. Salama,
Department of Architecture & Urban
Planning, Qatar University, Qatar.
The journal of an association of institutes concerned with the quality of built environment.The publishing framework is shaped around the forces which act on built environment,which maintain, change and transform it. The content consists of articles which deal withthese issues and in particular with responsive, self-sustaining and re-usable environ-ments which have the capacity to respond to change, provide user choice and value formoney.
w w w . o p e n h o u s e - i n t . c o m openhouse
openhouse
Dr.Iftekhar Ahmed, RMIT University, Australia.
Dr. Zainab F. Ali, University of Damman, Saudi
Arabia.
Dr. Robert Brown, University of Westminster,
London, Great Britain.
Prof.Marta Calzolaretti, Housing Lab, Sapienza
Universita di Roma, Italy.
Dr. German T. Cruz, Ball State University
Muncie, USA.
Carla Corbin, Department of Landscape
Architecture, Ball State University, USA.
Ype Cuperus, Delft University of Technology
Delft, The Netherlands.
Dr. Ayona Datta, University of Leeds, UK.
Dr.Md Nasir Daud, University of Malaya,
Malaysia.
Forbes Davidson, Institute of Housing & Urban
Development Studies, Rotterdam, The
Netherlands.
Diane Diacon, Building and Social Housing
Foundation, Coalville, Great Britain.
Prof. Yurdanur Dulgeroglu-Yuksel,Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Prof. Jin-Ho Park, Inha University, Korea
Prof. Avi Friedman, McGill University, Montreal,
Canada.
Dr. Ahmed Abu Al Haija, Philadelphia
University, Eng. & Arch. Dep.t, Jordan.
Prof. Keith Hilton, Mansle, France.
Dr. Karim Hadjri, University of Central lan-
cashire, UK.
Prof. Nabeel Hamdi, Professor Emeritus,
Oxford Brookes University, UK.
Dr. Sebnem Önal Hoskara, Eastern
Mediterranean University, Northern Cyprus.
Prof Anthony D C Hyland,Consultant in Architectural Conservation
and Heritage Management, Durham, UK
Dr. Mahmud Mohd Jusan, Faculty of Built Environment, Universiti Teknologi
Malaysia (UTM).
Ripin Kalra, University of Westminster, and .
(WSPimc), London.
Dr. Stephen Kendall, Ball State
University Muncie, Indiana, USA.
Prof. Bob Koester, Ball State University Muncie,
USA.
Prof. Roderick J. Lawrence, University of
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Dr. Fuad Mallick, BRAC University, Bangladesh.
Prof. Andrea Martin-Chavez, Universidad
Autonoma Metropolitana, Mexico.
Dr. Magda Mostafa, Associate Professor, The
American University in Cairo, Egypt
Babar Mumtaz, DPU, University College
London, London, UK.
Geoffery Payne, GPA Associates London, UK
Dr. Sule Tasli Pektas, Bilkent University, Turkey.
Prof. Gulsun Saglamer, Istanbul Technical
University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Dr. Mark Napier, Urban LandMark, Pretoria,
South Africa.
Dr. Masa Noguchi, MEARU, Mackintosh School
of Architecture, UK.
Prof. Ibrahim Numan, Fatih Sultan Mehmet
University, Turkey.
Dr. Yara Saifi, Al Quds University, Jerusalem,
Palestine.
Prof. Paola Somma, University of Venice, Italy.
Prof. Jia Beisi, University of Hong Kong.
Dr. Peter Kellett, University of Newcastle upon
Tyne, Great Britain.
Dr. Omar Khattab, University of Kuwait.
Dr. Levente Mályusz, Budapest University of
Technology and Economics (BME), Hungary.
Prof. Amos Rapoport, University of Wisconsin
at Milwaukee, USA.
Prof. Seiji Sawada, Meiji University, Tokyo,
Japan.
Dr. Florian Steinberg, Asian Development
Bank, The Philippines.
Dr. Inga-Britt Werner, The Royal Institute of
Technology Stockholm, Sweden.
Prof. H. J Visscher, OTB, Delft Univertsity of
Technology, Delft, The Netherlands.
Patrick Wakely, Professor Emeritus, University
College London, UK.
Dr. Christine Wamsler, University of
Manchester, UK and University of Lund,
Sweden.
: Yonca Hurol, Eastern Mediterranean University, Mersin 10, Turkey.: Esra Can, Emre Akbil, Eastern Mediterranean University Mersin 10 - Turkey. [email protected]: C. Punton, P.O Box 74, Gateshead,Tyne & Wear, NE9 5UZ, Great Britain. [email protected]: The Urban International Press, P.O Box 74, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE9 5UZ, Great Britain.: Printed by Eastern Mediterranean University Print House, Gazimagusa, Mersin 10, Turkey: By courtesy of Lívia Róka-Madarász & Levente Mályusz in Evaluating Indicators for Renewal of Properties
via Gentrification in Budapest,Figure1 Page 67.: Emmanuel Tibung Chenyi, Eastern Mediteranian University, Mersin 10, Turkey. [email protected]
Technical EditingCover DesignSubscriptionsPublished byPrintingCover Image
Web Manager &DTP Work
Aims
Open House International
The Open House International Association (OHIA) aims
to communicate, disseminate and exchange housing and
planning information. The focus of this exchange is on
tools, methods and processes which enable the various
professional disciplines to understand the dynamics of
housing and so contribute more effectively to it.
To achieve its aims, the OHIA organizes and co-ordi-
nates a number of activities which include the publication
of a quarterly journal, and, in the near future, an interna-
tional seminar and an annual competition. The
Association has the more general aim of seeking to
improve the quality of built environment through encour-
aging a greater sharing of decision-making by ordinary
people and to help develop the necessary institutional
frameworks which will support the local initiatives of peo-
ple in the building process.
The journal of an association of institutes and individuals
concerned with housing, design and development in the
built environment. Theories, tools and practice with spe-
cial emphasis on the local scale.
Delft University of TechnologyDepartment of Housing Quality and Process Innovation OTB
Research Institute of Housing, Urban and Mobility Studies
Jaffalaan 9, 2628 BX Delft, The Netherlands
(Henk Visscher) [email protected] www.otb.tudelft.nl
The Royal Institute of Technology (KTH)Division of Urban and Regional Studies, School of Architecture
& the Built Environment, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden.
(Inga-Britt Werner) [email protected]
www.infra.kth.se/BBA
McGill UniversitySchool of Architecture, Macdonald Harrington Building
Centre for Minimum Cost Housing Studies, 815, Sherbrook
Street West. Montreal, PQ. Canada H3A 2K6.
(Avi Friedman)[email protected]
www.homes.mcgill.ca
Ball State UniversityCollege of Architecture & Planning, Muncie, Indiana, 47306,
USA. (Stephen Kendall) [email protected]
www.bsu.edu/cap
The Development Planning UnitUniversity College London. 34, Tavistock Square London
WC1H 9EZ. (Caren Levy) [email protected]
www.ucl.ac.uk/dpu
HousingLabDipartimento di Architettura, Ateneo Federato delle Scienze
Umane delle Arti e dell'Ambiente, SAPIENZA Università di
Roma, Roma, Italy. (Marta Calzolaretti)
[email protected] http:w3.uniroma1.it/housinglab
The Glasgow School of ArtMackintosh School of Archirecture MEARU, 176 Renfrew
Street Glasgow G3 6RQ. Great Britain
(Masa Noguchi) [email protected]
www.gsa.ac.uk
Budapest University of Technology & Econ. (BME)Faculty of Architecture Budapest, Muegyetem rkp. 3.
1111 Hungary. (Levente Malyusz) [email protected]
www.bme.hu
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)Resource Development Division, Perpustakaan Sultanah
Zanariah, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) 81310 Skudai
Johor, Malaysia. (Anuar Talib) [email protected]
http://portal.psz.utm.my/psz/
Philadelphia University,Engineering & Architecture Department, Faculty of
Engineering, P.O Box 1, Jordan. (Ahmed Abu Al-Haija)
www.philadelphia.edu.jo/content/view/448/590/
University of Malaya,Faculty of Built Environment, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
(Md Nasir Daud) [email protected]
http://www.fbe.um.edu.my
Ajman University of Science & TechnologyAjman, P. O. Box 346, UAE. United Arab Emirates
(Jihad Awad) [email protected]
www.ajman.ac.ae/austweb/index87ec.html?catid=46&langid=2
Qatar UniversityQatar University Library, Aquisitons Department,
P.O Box 2713, Doha, Qatar. (Amrita Mckinney)
[email protected] www.qu.edu.qa
BRAC University,Department of Architecture, Dhaka, Bangladesh,
(Fuad H Mallick) [email protected] www.bracu.ac.bd
Universidad Del Rosario, Calle 14 No. 6-25, Bogotá, Colombia. (Janneth Espitia)
[email protected] www.urosario.edu.co
Birzeit University Main LibraryRamallah, West Bank, P.O.Box: "14", Birzeit,
Palestine(Taghgreed Shihadeh) [email protected]
www.birzeit.edu
Inha University, Department of Architecture, Inha University,
Incheon, Korea. (Jin-Ho Park) [email protected]
www.d-lab.k
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Contents
EDITORIAL: Nicholas Wilkinson
CIRCULATION AND OPEN SPACE IN AFFORDABLE TOWNHOUSE COMMUNITIES
Avi Friedman
A TYPOMORPHOLOGICAL STUDY: THE CMC INDUSTRIAL MASSHOUSING DISTRICT, LEFKE, NORTHERN CYPRUS
Nevter Zafer Cömert & Sebnem Önal Hoskara
LESSONS FROM VIETNAMESE URBAN STREET HOUSES FOR CON-TEMPORARY HIGH-RISE HOUSING
Le Thi Hong Na, Jin-Ho Park, Minjung Cho
TRANSLATING MEMORIES: RESHAPING SPATIAL PATTERNS ONEPHEMERAL URBAN DWELLING
Jaime E. Gómez M.
A PROPOSAL FOR THE FUTURE OF VERNACULARARCHITECTURE STUDIES
James Davidson
EVALUATING INDICATORS FOR RENEWAL OF PROPERTIES VIA GENTRIFICATION IN BUDAPEST
Lívia Róka-Madarász, Levente Mályusz
SYMBOLIC USE OF WIND-CATCHERS IN IRANRafooneh Mokhtarshahi Sani & Payam Mahasti Shotorbani
REDEFINING VERNACULAR: THE LEBANESE DIASPORA ECLECTICISMS
Stephanie Dadour
STATE MASS HOUSING SCHEME AND THE LOW-INCOME GROUP IN ABUJA
Bawa Chafe Abdullahi & Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz
Open House International has been selected for coverage by EBSCO Publishing, the ELSEVIER Bibliographic DatabaseScopus and all products of THOMSON ISI index bases, SSCI, A&HCI,CC/S&BS and CC/A&H The journal is also list-ed on the following Architectural index lists: RIBA, ARCLIB, AVERY and EKISTICS. Open House International is onlinefor subscribers and gives limited access for non-subscribers at www.openhouse-int.com
NEXT ISSUE: Vol 38.No .3 2013:ZERO‐ENERGY MASS CUSTOM HOME RESEARCHPARADIGMS, MEARU Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art,United Kingdom.
Guest Editor: Masa Noguchi, E-Mail: [email protected]
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open house in te rnat iona l june 2013 vo l .38 no.2 Open Issue: Covering Real Estate Crisis, Wind Catchers in Iran, Vernacular Architecture Studies, Mass Housing, Translating Memories, RedefiningVernacular, Environment Responsiveness. Editor: Nicholas Wilkinson, RIBA, AADipl. Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture, Gazimagusa, Mersin 10, Turkey. E-mail: [email protected]
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Previous Issues
Guest Editors: Prof. Dr. Magda Mostafa, Departmentof Construction and Architectural Engineering, TheAmerican University in Cairo, Egypt.Email: [email protected]
Guest Editors: Dr. Monjur Mourshed, BuildingEnergy Research Group, Loughborough University,UK. [email protected];Prof. Fuad H. Mallick, Department of Architecture,BRAC University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. [email protected]
Editorial:“Expanding Normal: Towards a more Inclusive Approach to Designingthe Built Environment” Magda MostafaEnriching our Understanding of ArchitectureThrough Disability ExperienceAnn Heylighen, Caroline Van Doren & Peter-Willem VermeerschA Computer-Based System for Mass Customization of Prefabricated Housing.Avi Friedman, Aaron Sprecher & Basem Eid MohamedTowards Inclusive Campus Environments: Evidence-Based Research Of AUniversity Campus. Evrim Demir MishchenkoEffectiveness of Tactile Surface Indicators in ‘Design For All’ Context.Halime DemirkanElderly-Friendly Inclusive Urban Environments:Learning from Ankara.Yasemin AfacanBook Reviews
Vol. 38 No. 1 2013
open house international
Theme Issue: ‘Built Environments for Special Populations’
Vol. 37 No. 4 2012
open house international
Theme Issue: ‘Adapting Buildings to Climate Change’
InterviewEditorial: Monjur Mourshed and Fuad H. Mallick The Paradox of Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Danish Housing.Rob Marsh Design Strategies for Houses Subject to Heatwaves. Helen Bennetts, StephenPullen, George ZillanteGenesis of Malaysia’s Policy Relating to Sustainability of The Built Environment.Abdul-Rashid Abdul-Aziz, George OforiSummertime Impact of Climate Change on Multi-Occupancy British Dwellings.Shariful Shikder, Monjur Mourshed, Andrew PriceAwareness of Climate Change Adaptations Among Dutch Housing Associations.Martin Roders, Ad Straub, Henk VisscherStudy of Building Adaptation in Warm Humid Climate in NigeriaMike Adebamowo (Ph.D), Adetokunbo O. Ilesanmi (Ph.D)A Strategic Approach for Existing Buildings to Withstand Climate ChangeT. Valdbjørn RasmussenBook Review
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Previous Issues
Vol. 37 No. 3 2012open house international
OPEN ISSUE:
Edited by Nicholas Wilkinson RIBA, Eastern Mediterranean University, North Cyprus.
DPU Associate, University College London, [email protected]
Guest Editor: Prof. Dr. Ashraf Salama, Department ofArchitecture and Urban Planning, College ofEngineering, Qatar University, Doha, Qatar.
e-mail: [email protected]
Vol. 37 No. 2 2012
open house international
Theme Issue:URBAN SPACE DIVERSITY, Paradoxes andRealities.
Editorial: Rethinking Urban Diversity. Ashraf M. Salama and Alain ThiersteinDiversity as a Unique Constellation of Superimposing Network logics
Alain Thierstein and Anne WiesePublic Space Networks as a Support for Urban Diversity Ana Júlia Pinto
and Antoni RemesarA Perceptual Approach for Investigating Urban Space Diversity in the City
of Doha. Ashraf M. Salama and Remah Y. GharibCultural and Economic Influences on Multicultural Cities: The Case of
Doha, Qatar. Yasser Mahgoub and Reham A. QawasmehDiversity In The Public Space Of A Traditional City - Zaria, Nigeria.
Shaibu B. GarbaUrban Space Diversity In South Africa: Medium Density Mixed
Developments. Karina LandmanDiversity In Conviviality:Beirut’s Temporary Public Spaces. Christine MadyA Tale Of Two Souqs: The Paradox Of Gulf Urban Diversity. Ali A. Alraouf
The (Im)-Possible Mosque; Spatial Mutation And Identity Needs InNorthern Ireland. Fodil Fadli
The Impact Of Digitalization On Social Interaction And Public Space. Susan j. Drucker and Gary Gumpert
Editorial: Nicholas WilkinsonDesign Principles of Narrow Townhouse; For Affordability and Adaptability.
Avi Friedman and Robyn WhitwhamFlexible Building and Construction Systems in Traditional Korean Architecture.
Kim Sung-Hwa and JIA BeisiUrban Squatting in Latin America: Relevance of ‘Guided Occupancy’.
Belén Gesto, Guillermo Gómez, Julián SalasThe Challenge of Complexity and Creativity Factor in Architectural Design.
Saim NalkayaFlexibility in Hong Kong Private Housing. T. H. Khan and T. K. Dhar
Connecting up Capacities: Integrated Design for Energy-Efficient Housing in Chile. Rodrigo G. Alvarado, Underlea M. Bruscato, Maureen T. Kelly,
Flavio C. D'Amico, Olavo E. OyolaAbandoned Housing Project: Assessment on Resident Satisfaction toward
Building Quality. Zamharira Sulaiman, Azlan Shah Ali, Faizah AhmadThe Impact of Passive Design On Building Thermal Performance.
Emad S. Mushtaha, Taro Mori, Enai Masamichi
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Vol 38.No .3 2013
ZERO-ENERGY MASS CUSTOM HOME RESEARCH PARADIGMS
Guest Editor: Masa Noguchi,
MEARU, Mackintosh School of Architecture, The Glasgow School of Art, United Kingdom. E Mail: [email protected]
Abstract:
In response to growing global warming issues and the constant increase of energy prices, house-builders and housing
manufacturers today are becoming more responsive to the delivery of net zero energy sustainable homes than ever.
Within this context, the sustainability may embrace housing economy and adequacy beyond the legitimacy in which the
quality barely coincides with individuals’ dynamic various needs, desires and expectations. Nevertheless, the industry’s
business operation tends to follow routines and the close system mode of operation often hinders the enterprises from
adopting unfamiliar innovations which may be inevitable in realising the delivery and operation of socially, economi-
cally and environmentally sustainable homes. In this special issue, the notion of ‘mass customisation’ is reviewed. This
paradoxical concept has been recognised as a means to lessen production costs of end-user products while achieving
the customisability through economies of scope rather than economies of scale. Housing is no exception. The idea
dates back to the 1950s as the gravity became explicit in Walter Gropius’ book entitled ‘Scope of Total Architecture.’
The essence of mass customisation applied to housing was speculated as he emphasized the need for ‘standardising
and mass-producing not entire houses, but only their component parts which can then be assembled into various types
of houses.’ This edition encompasses a wide spectrum of hopes and fears around the design, production and market-
ing approaches to both delivery and operation of zero-energy/emission mass custom homes, or ZEMCH, and show-
cases some exemplars budding out in different climates around the globe. This issue is developed in collaboration with
ZEMCH Network and IEA SHC/ECBCS Task 40/Annex 52 international experts with the aim to solidify today’s diverse
expertise in the realm as elicited research paradigms for further exploration and delivery of the homes that meet the
wants and needs of individuals and society.
CONTENTS
• Hybrid Models of High Performance Mass Custom Homes for Northern Climates
Thün, G., Velikov, K. (U of Michigan, USA) & Ripley, C. (Ryerson U, Canada)• Opportunities and Challenges to Mass Customize Low‐income Housing in Brazil
Tillmann, P.A., Formoso, C. & Miron, L. I. G. (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil)• Organisational Mass Custom Design Decision Making
Noguchi, M. (GSA, UK)• Solution Sets
IEA SCH/ECBCS Task 40/Annex 52 STC members (TBC)• Green Buildings and Appropriation
Shimizu, C. (Reitaku U, Japan)• Integration of Zero Energy Standards into Student Accommodation
Altan, H. (U of Sheffield, UK) • Thermal Behavior Optimization of a Zero Energy Building: Demonstrated through a Case Study of
Casa Zero Energy in Italy
Frattari, A. (U of Trento, Italy)• Customisable Low Cost Lightweight Steel Construction System: A Case Study of Novohouse
Sharpe, T. & Pickard, J. (GSA, UK)• Modular Homes and Mass Customisation for Sustainability
Danielmeier, T., Marriage, G. & IEA SCH/ECBCS Task 40/Annex 52 STC members (TBC)• Mass-customising a Photovoltaic Thermal Mechanical Heat Recovery System
Noguchi, M., Higuchi, Y., Udagawa, M., & Kim, J. (IEA & Kongju National U, South Korea)
Next Issue
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sonOpen House International (OHI) has come a long
way towards its recent accreditation as one of theleading academic journals in the field ofArchitecture and Environment.The journal has afocus on decision-making processes, which enablethe various disciplines dealing with built environ-ment to understand the dynamics of developmentand housing and so contribute more effectively toit.
From Maarten Cleeren of Elsevier: “Inrecognition of the high quality and relevance to thescientific community of Open HouseInternational we are pleased to inform you that yourpublication has been selected for coverage in theElsevier Bibliographic Database Scopus asof 2007.”
Its general aim is to improve the quality ofbuilt environment through encouraging greatersharing of decision making by ordinary people. Italso aims at developing the necessary institutionalframeworks, which will support the local initiativesof parties in the housing process. The subject mat-ter is Architecture and the Built Environment espe-cially related to the residential environment.
A relevantly new feature in its subscribingnetwork is the introduction of an institutional sub-scription base. This is mainly aimed at Faculties,Departments, Libraries and Institutions themselves.
Institutional support is important to the sta-bility and continuity of the journal helping to main-tain the framework for the subscription administra-tion, editing, printing and production costs. It alsoacts as a link to other major research universities inthe USA, Canada, Europe and the Middle and FarEasts. An institutional subscriber whether adepartment or faculty will be listed on the insideback cover of Open House International andreceive five copies each quarter as well as receivinga CD of the issue and a pdf print out of anyselected article. Annual institutional subscription is550 GBP a year.
The journal is published quarterly and isCovered by Elsevier Scopus, EBSCO PUBLISHINGand The Social Science Citation Index,(SSCI,) theArts & Humanities Citation Index, (A&HCI), SocialScisearch, Current Contents/Social & BehavioralSciences,(CC/S&BS) and the Current Contents/Arts& Humanities, (CC/A&H) and Journal CitationReports/Social Sciences Edition. The Journal is alsolisted on the following Architectural Index Lists: RIBAIndex, API, ARCLIB, Avery Index and the EkisticsIndex of Periodicals. OHI is online for subscribers atwww.openhouse-int.com
The journal is highly respected in thescientific and design disciple fields and can betaken for data and documentation for Masters the-sis writing and research at PhD level.
All further enquiries can be addressed tothe Editor in Chief Nicholas Wilkinson [email protected] Future editions ofthe journal follow a regular pattern of two themeissues every year and two open issues consisting ofa wide range of subjects.
Autho(s):
Nicholas Wilkinson RIBAEastern Mediterranean UniversityFaculty of Architecture, Gazimagusa, Mersin 10, Turkey
Editorial
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I n t roduc t ion
Economic constraints, socio-demographic changes and
environmental challenges have led to an increased inter-
est in townhouses as elemental building blocks in the
design and construction of affordable and sustainable
communities.
An “affordability gap” has emerged, whereby
the rise of the price of housing has surpassed the rate of
increase of family incomes. In most North American
cities, property prices have risen three times faster than
salaries in the past decade (Coates, 2007). This widen-
ing gulf in affordability can be explained by the scarcity
of serviced land and higher infrastructure and construc-
tion costs.
In addition, significant changes in the demo-
graphic composition of society have contributed to the
need to further diversify housing types. The iconic post-
World War II makeup of a nuclear family—breadwinner
father, stay-at-home mother—was so pervasive that
home builders could easily—and successfully—view the
bulk of their clientele as a homogeneous buying block.
This composition changed to include non-traditional
households such as singles, childless couples and single-
parent families. For example, single-parent Canadian
families have tripled in the past 30 years, from 467,300
in 1971 to 1,390,700 in 2006 (Statistics Canada,
2007). In addition, the average household has
decreased in size. Figure 1 shows the decline in the aver-
age number of people per family in Canada since 1950.
In a society that is becoming increasingly aware
of the human toll on the environment, common housing
practices are also being re-examined to lessen their
Avi Friedman
Abstract
Contemporary environmental and economic factors make the construction of narrow-front townhouses a continuous
attraction. As affordability is a primary concern for many homebuyers, opting to buy a townhouse can provide the cost
savings they are seeking. With their dense planning pattern, building townhouses results in the reduced cost of services
and land and affordability is achieved. However, limitations to community planning occur, namely, challenges to circu-
lation and open space. These are two critical issues that need to be resolved early on; using principles and case stud-
ies, this paper will offer strategies for maximizing efficiency and functionality in communities that use townhouses as
their main design feature.
In designing communities with townhouses, it is imperative to begin by paying close attention to roads and parking as
well as location and content of public and private open spaces. These issues will define the character of the commu-
nity. When choices are made about the location of the dwellings in conjunction with these aspects, a liveable place will
emerge and the stigma associated with developments with low-cost townhouses will be alleviated. Despite the fact that
townhouses are a building typology rooted in earlier centuries, its many attributes makes it relevant to our time. It pre-
serves the advantage of private residential living, yet offers higher density and the possibility to create sustainable com-
munities.
Keywords: Townhouses, Affordability, Flexibility, High-Density Housing
CIRCULATION AND OPEN SPACE IN AFFORDABLETOWNHOUSE COMMUNITIES
Figure 1. The decrease in size of the average Canadian
family has made smaller housing prototypes such as town-houses more attractive (Statistics Canada, 2006).
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manimpact on natural resources. The construction of the
ubiquitous large detached single-family home leads to
increased consumption of resources during construction
and after occupancy: 0.4 hectares of forest is needed to
build a 160 m2 home (Nebraska Energy Office, 2007).
It has also been demonstrated that, on average, 3.6
tonnes of waste are produced when a 190 m2 home is
constructed, all of which is shipped to landfills. With their
high-density arrangement and small footprint, the town-
house can be regarded as a sustainable solution to
some of the negative environmental consequences of
urban sprawl.
The Townhouse
Pfeifer and Brauneck (2008) argue that as a housing
form townhouses are a similar option to single-family
dwellings due to their private entrances and direct access
to a rear yard, while at the same time offer benefits that
result from increased density.
The density implication of a townhouse on land
use is significant. For example, compared with a one-
storey bungalow on an 18 m by 30 m lot (gross density
of about 12 homes per hectare), the two-storey row
house on an 18 m by 30 m lot (gross density of about
12 homes per hectare) can accommodate over four
times as many people. A hectare of land can house
approximately 50 people in bungalows, but the same
amount of land with the same amount of roads, sewers,
waterlines and storm-drains can accommodate over
200 people living in narrow rowhouses. The grouping of
units into clusters of three or more provides significant
construction and energy savings: grouping four
detached units as semi-detached reduces the exposed
wall area by 36 percent, and grouping all four units
reduces exterior wall surfaces by a further 28 percent.
Heat-loss reduction of 21 percent is achieved when two
dwellings are attached, and a further 26 percent in sav-
ings result for the middle unit when three of more units
are combined as townhouses build in a row (Friedman,
2007).
The design challenge in planning communities
with townhouses is to make them livable environments.
Also, not-in-my-backyard sentiments associated with this
type of housing, especially those located near develop-
ments with detached homes, can be overcome if they
are well designed. Parking, vehicular circulation and pri-
vate and public open spaces are important factors in
achieving pleasant environments. These attributes will be
outlined and discussed below.
Circulation and Parking
The efficient planning of roads, parking lots, and side-
walks in communities with townhouses contributes to
better circulation. When the density of a housing project
increases, more cars need to be accommodated due to
the higher number of residents. Therefore, designing
mobility and connectivity networks while suitably inte-
grating streets and parking is central to the planning of
such communities. Key features of these networks will be
elaborated below.
Roads
Movement systems are designed and function hierarchi-
cally. They are distinguished from each other according
to the volume of traffic they carry and their function.
Linking communities fosters social integration, makes the
flow of traffic efficient, provides residents with easy
access to existing amenities and saves on building new
ones. The internal road network of a townhouse devel-
opment should therefore not create an isolated entity but
an integrated one, linking parks, shopping, and other
social hubs.
When planning streets, thought must be given
to typology and hierarchy to reduce the amount of
through traffic. The road network of a residential devel-
opment forms part of a comprehensive movement sys-
tem of a district and a region. Prior to the planning of
street patterns, issues related to fitting a local network
into the outlying systems must be considered. The design
of community circulation will focus on reducing the
reliance on cars and ought to give priority to pedestrians
and cyclists in all decisions. The design ought to begin
by identifying the built areas and the amenities that sur-
round the site and how the community will connect with
them.
The design of the road system needs to primar-
ily be safe and cost-effective. The lengths, widths, and
construction specifications of streets and roads are
designed to respond efficiently to residents’ needs. It is
common to see streets in North American low-density
subdivisions with proportions that far exceed the require-
ments of the community. In the name of safety and
access for emergency vehicles, the street’s width has
expanded, and, as a result, costs have increased. Streets
should also be designed for energy conservation, to
accommodate public transit, to control noise and spare
motorists from driving long distances unnecessarily.
The efficiency of a road network contributes sig-
nificantly to the functionality of a community. A chosen
circulation network greatly influences the quantity of
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homes a development may support, its overall appear-
ance and cost. A suitable network can contribute to
lower traffic levels and foster a greater sense of comfort,
safety, and security. Townhouses can be constructed as
part of neighbourhoods with rectilinear or curvilinear
street networks, each with its own unique merits.
Combining both configurations can maximize their
advantages.
Yet, the rectilinear pattern is most suitable for
townhouses. Slim rectangular lots fit well within an
orthogonal grid, and alleys can easily be incorporated
into the network to provide rear access to units, further
accommodating townhouses.
Curvilinear circulation is composed of curving
roads which includes loops and cul-de-sacs. Unlike the
gridiron, this pattern adapts well to a site’s natural
topography. Existing environmental features such as bio
swells can be preserved and used. Through traffic on
loop and cul-de-sac streets is minimal since they only
provide access to homes on those streets. This creates
quieter and safer streets, benefiting a neighbourhood
such as one created by these homes. Townhouses built
around cul-de-sacs allow for the construction of pedestri-
an paths to connect adjacent streets, thereby resolving
lack of connectivity associated with curvilinear circulation.
Additionally, studies have demonstrated that
loop and cul-de-sac streets consume smaller amounts of
land than the rectilinear pattern (Tasker-Brown and
Pogharian, 2000). By increasing the percentage of
buildable area from 64.0 percent to 76.3 percent, curvi-
linear circulation is further beneficial, since land in these
communities is at a premium (Friedman, 2005). The
central space created by the core of the cul-de-sac can
be designed as a shared court onto which dwelling units
face. These courts not only make up for the lack of pri-
vate outdoor space associated with townhouses, they
also encourage social interaction and create a desired
sense of community. However, given that rectangular lots
are most fitting for townhouses, it is recommended that
the turnaround at the end of the cul-de-sac be square,
T-shaped or L-shaped to avoid the pie-shaped lots asso-
ciated with circular turnarounds. Curvilinear streets are,
therefore, another suitable choice for townhouses,
though they must be adapted to minimize wasted land
due to oddly shaped lots.
A combination of the above two patterns offers
the most desirable solution for planning a community
with narrow-front housing. The Residential Quadrant
network, shown in Figure 3, combines both rectilinear
and curvilinear systems to gain from each type’s advan-
tages. The Quadrant saves costs by allocating less land
for streets and infrastructure and by leaving more open
space (Grammenos and Tasker-Brown, 2002, Tasker-
Brown and Pogharian, 2000). The quietness, safety and
communal spirit of loop and cul-de-sacs streets remain,
along with the connectivity provided by straight through-
traffic roads. However, the layout creates rectangular lots
needed for narrow-front townhouses without the monot-
ony of the gridiron pattern and can also incorporate
alleys as a secondary network.
Park ing
In high-density neighbourhoods such as those designed
with townhouses, often a significant amount of outdoor
Figure 2. Rectilinear (left) and curvilinear (right) street networks are two options in planning communities with townhouses
(Author).
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space is dedicated to parking, leaving less area for parks
and dwellings. It is, therefore, important to treat parking
in an efficient and unobtrusive manner (Southworth and
Ben-Joseph, 1997).
Before designing parking areas, their require-
ments must be considered. The type of users, size of
dwellings, form of tenure, urban location, and proximity
to public transportation determines the amount of park-
ing needed. Studies show that the number of vehicles per
household decreases with increasing population density
(Litman, 1999). Residents of townhouse communities
therefore require lower than average amounts of park-
ing. However, each project must be examined to deter-
mine the recommended number and type of parking.
Creating too many parking spaces can increase unit
prices by up to 25 percent, as shown in Figure 4. In
Figure 5, increasing the number of parking spots per unit
from one to two spaces, for example, will reduce the
gross density by only 13 percent, while having a much
larger effect on communities of detached single-family
homes (Litman, 1999). It is therefore recommended to
overestimate the required number of parking spots, since
an insufficiency will most likely inconvenience residents.
Depending on the above-mentioned factors, it is valid to
say that each unit will need no less than one parking
space, and no more than two.
A circulation network’s visual impact—very
wide roads, expanses of asphalt in large parking lots,
long series of repetitive garage doors, for example—can
be reduced when parking is integrated with landscaping.
Several smaller screened parking areas result in less of a
visual presence than one large parking lot. Depressing
the parking areas or berming their perimeter combined
with appropriate landscaping are effective methods for
concealing them. Paving with textured blocks instead of
Figure 3. The Residential Quadrant combines both rectilinear and curvilinear patterns to maximize the merits of each net-
work (Grammenos and Tasker-Brown, 2002).
Figure 4. Increases in per-unit housing price due to parking
costs (Litman, 1999).
Figure 5. Maximum potential density declines as the num-
ber of surface parking spaces increases (Litman, 1999).
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asphalt increases the visual effect and absorbs stormwa-
ter, thereby reducing the infrastructure required for
runoff. An underground parking garage significantly
reduces visible paved surfaces and enhances the pedes-
trian quality of the neighborhood by limiting the use of
the car. With this, however, comes their inherent high
construction cost.
Pedes t r ian Paths
Vehicular circulation in high-density communities often
creates conflicts with pedestrian circulation and play
areas for children, who should be able to travel without
fear of vehicular traffic. This is particularly relevant to
communities with narrow townhouses where public open
space may be limited and thus become a shared out-
door place. The interaction between neighbours is
enhanced, and cars ought to travel in a reduced speed
to compensate for the vulnerability of cyclists and pedes-
trians. Narrowing street widths and establishing a clear
hierarchy of priorities reduces costs and improves safety
by slowing down automobile speed. The use of speed
bumps, cobblestone segments and highly textured dri-
ving surfaces, such as stamped concrete, as well as the
emphasis of entryways by the placement of gateways,
are useful strategies for controlling vehicular speed.
The integrated traffic system used in the
Netherlands, known as Streets for Living or Woonorf, can
be beneficial to townhouse communities. With this sys-
tem, street furniture and plants are integrated so motor-
ized traffic moves about on the terms on the non-motor-
ized users. A lack of differentiation between the roadway
and sidewalk creates unified streets, while strategically
placed parking spaces and landscaping reduce vehicu-
lar speed. Since townhouses have little private outdoor
space, street furniture such as benches or planter boxes
can be placed along the street to provide open areas
while calming traffic. This concept can also be applied to
existing streets without major expenditures on recon-
struction.
The increased density of townhouse communi-
ties, combined with the need to reduce car dependency,
has prompted planners to create walkable communities
where pedestrian and cycling paths are as common as
streets. Figure 6 shows an image of a community in
Porvoo, Finland, where there is a strong emphasis on
pedestrian-only pathways. A survey by the Canadian
Heart and Stroke Foundation (2005) found that people
who live in higher density areas are at a lower risk of
heart disease and stroke due to their active lifestyle. This
mindset is reshaping neighbourhoods by placing ameni-
ties within walking distance of residences. Strategic loca-
tions are then connected using walkways. When plan-
ning the pathways, they need to follow the “path of least
resistance,” and create shortcuts. To further reduce
reliance on cars, clusters of townhouses can be linked
via covered walkways to one another, and paths should
cross through the development. Parking lots can be
placed on the perimeter of the neighbourhood, freeing
Figure 6. A pedestrian pathway in Porvoo, Finland, a vehicle-free townhouse development (Author).
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manup traffic from the inner streets. The increased density
encourages walking, thereby contributing to a healthy
community.
Open Spaces
Public and private open spaces are commonly regarded
as essential to the quality of life of each resident and the
community as a whole. When housing density increases,
as is the case with townhouses, so do the functional and
psychological importance of outdoor areas. They cannot
be treated as mere leftover spaces and must be designed
to foster a sense of identity and unity while maintaining
privacy. Outdoor areas provide fresh air and let in sun-
light. Furthermore, they provide opportunities for infor-
mal interaction between residents, thereby creating a
healthy social web.
A designer needs to determine if a green
space shall be divided up among individual units,
remain a public amenity or be a mix of both.
Preferences for outdoor space configurations will also
vary, depending on the residents’ demographic pro-
file. A young household with children, for instance,
may want communal open space with a playground.
Conversely, an elderly couple might prefer a quiet pri-
vate area to relax and entertain others. When the
demographic make-up of the occupants is varied,
cannot be determined or is expected to change, pro-
viding various choices is a good strategy. When con-
sidering a townhouse’s ability to suit a mix of family
types, it is likely that there will always be resident diver-
sity and therefore an assortment of outdoor areas.
Ultimately, both private and public spaces are neces-
sary to establish an individual and communal sense of
identity.
P rivate Space
Townhouses usually have private outdoor spaces that
can be used for a variety of purposes. These spaces
can be divided into two categories: on-grade areas,
such as front, back and side yards, courtyards, patios
and porches and above-grade areas, such as bal-
conies and roof terraces. Private outdoor space on the
ground level forms a direct relationship with both
neighbouring yards and public open spaces.
Balconies on the upper floor ensure greater privacy,
while complete seclusion can be enjoyed with roof ter-
races (Stamm-Teske and Uhlig, 2006). A townhouse
unit will have on-grade outdoor area and perhaps
additional above-grade space. When given the
choice, most residents are likely to prefer completely
screened, private outdoor areas to public ones.
Many municipalities mandate that each town-
house unit have individual outdoor space. The City of
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada’s Land Use and
Development Policies and Guidelines (2005), for exam-
ple, mandate that each unit must be provided with a
minimum private area of 10 m2. However, in that city,
there are two types of townhouses that do not require
any private area. The first are units smaller than 65 m2.
The second exception involves dwellings that accommo-
date more than one household.
On-grade open spaces are those which are
located directly on the ground. These areas are the most
common form of privately owned outdoor space in
townhouses. Each unit has ground floor access with a
private entrance. The major concern is not whether
townhouses have private on-grade open space, but
rather how much they have. Larger on-grade areas are
suitable for families with children, the elderly, and per-
sons with reduced mobility. In townhouses they can be
provided in the front, the rear, or the side of an end unit.
The front yard is significant in the rowhouse
community because it is a transition zone between the
home’s private and public realms and a link with the
neighbourhood’s social fabric—a clear definition of
front-yard ownership along with its status as a location
where residents can interact with their neighbours. Due
to the close proximity of units in these developments,
social interaction between neighbours leads to a more
enjoyable community experience. The buffer zone creat-
ed by the front lawn provides greater privacy to residents,
an aspect that can be lacking from townhouse commu-
nities. Even when the building is “pushed” forward to
accommodate a larger back-yard space, the identity of
the front yard can be maintained with landscaping or
fencing. The demarcation provided by the home’s front
entrance can be achieved with a step, porch or other
carefully selected detailing. When private open space in
the front is highly limited, balconies affixed to staggered
(terraced) units provide valuable outdoor areas.In the back yard, the importance of visual pri-
vacy is achieved with hedges, fences, screens and trellis-es, which offer a sense of enclosure for personal activi-ties and domestic chores. Where patios and decks areavailable, sliding glass doors provide a direct link to andextension of the kitchen or living rooms. Although small,the back yards themselves are enhanced by creativelandscaping, as in Figure 7, and covered patio space,integrated with an available facility for the storage ofoutdoor equipment. Microclimate is another considera-tion in the design of back yards: shelter from the windand snow and a careful balance of sun and shade pro-vide orientations that extend seasonal use.
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A highly dense townhouse community with each
unit not having on-grade open space requires above-
grade areas. Since these areas are elevated, they are
concealed and therefore offer increased privacy. The
higher they are above the ground, the more privacy they
will provide. The two above-grade areas commonly
found in townhouses are balconies and roof terraces.
Balconies, which offer more privacy than on-ground
areas and can be located off bedrooms, living rooms or
kitchens, are also an extension of the interior spaces.
They offer larger expanses of open space with-
out compromising residential density. Roof terraces, when
planned properly, can give townhouses unparalleled pri-
vacy. According to Stamm-Teske and Uhlig (2006), the
denser a development is, the greater the importance of
private areas on roof terraces. They provide unobstructed
views and can be planned as an intimate atrium or an
enclosed courtyard. However, if a roof terrace is placed
on the same level for each house in the row, privacy
might be compromised. To avoid this, only a few houses
within each row should have one as well as walls or
screens to separate the terrace from its neighbours. These
terraces are especially suitable for townhouses built on
slopes.
Public Space
Public space is central to fostering a sense of
community identity and creating opportunities for social
interaction. When personal space is diminished in a
townhouse community, communal space takes on
added significance in addition to the visual and func-
tional stimulation it already provides. The planning of
these spaces must occur in parallel to the conception of
the community.
The first decision involves the amount of land
that will be devoted to green area. A minimum public
space requirement does not imply that the land be con-
solidated into one large park. Often it is better to evenly
distribute the green space throughout a development to
create smaller, human-scaled places, such as the com-
munity plan in Figure 8. Since children often spend more
playtime outdoors, there can be specific areas designed
for them (Russ, 2002). To retain the intimacy of a neigh-
bourhood, the size of shared common space should not
exceed 50 m by 50 m. Proper scale can be ensured
through the use of height-to-width ratios. A ratio of 1:3
to 1:5 for common space within a medium to high-den-
sity development can also be considered, as shown in
Figure 9.
Proximity of public open space to homes is
essential in determining the success of a community.
Dispersing the required open space throughout a devel-
opment greatly improves residents’ accessibility to it.
When there is only one single area in a community it
may seem too distant for some residents to enjoy. Ideally
all occupants should have access to the area directly
from their house. When this is not possible, a shared
space should be located less than three to four minutes
walking distance from each home (Wei, 2003).
All public spaces can be classified as either
“patch” or “linear” space. The patch space is character-
ized by a strong sense of enclosure with length-to-width
ratios between 1:1 and 1:3. This type of space can be a
square or a court and can be bounded by rows of
homes, roads or trees. Linear spaces are more fluid, and
have a length that significantly exceeds its width. Open
spaces that follow a stream or a bicycle path are exam-
ples of linear space. The patch space may be seen as an
outdoor ‘room’ while the linear space can resemble an
outdoor corridor (Wei, 2003). Within townhouse devel-
opments, both types of public areas should exist. Square
patches, which invite people to stay and linger, can be
used as gathering places for residents to socialize and
play, while long linear spaces are directional and con-
nect the patches with each other and with dwellings.
When there is no continuity or organization
Figure 7. The use of landscaping creates a comfortable and
private backyard environment (Author).
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between various open spaces the arrangement is called
separate patches and works well with a gridiron pattern.
The composite urban pattern is characterized by a strong
geometrical configuration and must be included in the
early stage of a new development. Its rigid nature
ignores a site’s natural characteristics, such as slopes
and vegetation. This layout, however, has the potential to
produce high-density communities.
It is clear that the planning and provision of
open spaces in narrow-front housing developments
require much care and thought. Private outdoor space,
whether in the form of front or back yards, patios, decks,
balconies or roof terraces, must be provided along with
public outdoor space, which can be implemented in a
variety of spatial patterns. Children’s needs ought to be
considered, since they are among the primary users of
outdoor spaces. Additionally, the design of the land-
scape itself, including man-made features and vegeta-
tion, should be functional and visually pleasing to offer
an inviting and relaxing environment.
Figure 9. A height-to-width ratio between 1:3 and 1:5 is
suitable for open spaces in townhouse developments(Author).
Figure 8. Having several smaller open areas rather than a single large one is recommended in communities with townhous-
es (Author).
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Conc lus ion
The need to achieve affordability and reduce a home’s
environmental footprint forces a search for an alternative
to the single-family detached dwelling. The narrow town-
house helps achieve these goals while maintaining a
desired residential attribute: access to a private back
yard. The need to align this prototype with contemporary
planning realities and challenges lead to the considera-
tions of two central planning aspects: vehicular and
pedestrian circulation and public and private open
spaces.
By paying attention to these two issues at the
beginning of the planning process, a more pleasant-
looking and functional place is bound to emerge.
Diminishing the dominance of the car by increasing the
versatility of streets and reducing their visual impact
make a place look as if it were designed for people.
Creating a variety of outdoor spaces that can accom-
modate people of all ages will also be appreciated by
residents.
In some municipalities, using these planning
strategies may require introduction of zoning bylaws that
favor medium density developments. Also, developers
and zoning official need to be willing to try alternatives
to conventionally designed communities for the purpose
of designing affordable and sustainable places.
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Acknowledgment s
The author wishes to acknowledge the contribution of
Robyn Whitwham to the background research and pro-
cessing of the images for this article.
Author(s):
Avi Friedman
Director, Affordable Homes Research Group, McGill
University School of Architecture, Macdonald-
Harrington Building, 815 Sherbrooke St. W. Montreal,
Quebec, Canada H3A 2K6
E-mail:[email protected]
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I NTRODUCTION AND THEORET ICALFRAMEWORK
The study of morphology is focused on the history of vari-ation in form (first use 1885) and refers to "the study ofthe physical (or built) fabric of urban form, and the peo-ple and processes shaping it”, as originally defined byGoethe (1952) and then quoted by Wilkinson andWillough (1962).In the field of urban morphology, dif-ferent scholars developed different approaches. Some ofthe pioneering approaches include the typo-morpholog-ical approach of Muratori (1950) and Cannigia (2001)and the evolutionary approach of Conzen (1960), whichare used as the basis for the analysis of the case area ofthis paper.
Saverio Muratori introduced a typologicalapproach in Italy at the beginning of the 19th century(Cataldi, et.a.l. 1997). According to Muratori, typo-morphology was a dialectic relationship between com-plementary and reversible moments in historic typologi-cal research and stages of design developments (Cataldi1998). He also worked on analytically built environmentconcepts, on various scales, through measurements ofbuilding constituents; determining the shape, structureand various uses of buildings; and measurements taken
on the scale of clusters, towns, and territory. Thisapproach enabled him to understand the rules at theroot of the structuring of building fabrics, urban organ-ism and territorial ranges (Caniggia G., Maffei G. L.2001). After Muratori, Caniggia developed the dynam-ics of urban form, shaped by its component types andtheir evolution, throughout its historical development. Hecalled these dynamics a “typological process”.Caniggia’s basic concerns were the historical formationsand transformations of these types, as well as the urbanfabrics that resulted (Levy A. 1997). He was interested inhow typological processes linked to more general mech-anisms of cultural transmission, from generation to gen-eration. Caniggia's work focused on the conceptual andpolitical basis of architectural design and composition.(Caniggia G., Maffeig.L. 2001). He carefully construct-ed the ways in which buildings come together as cities,as he conceptualised his theories into four levels: (a)buildings, (b) building fabric, (c) settlements, (d) cities.
Conzen’s main contribution was to urban mor-phogenetics, rather than town planning and he consid-ered maps of settlement types over the whole of region,symbolically showing the complete range of urban andrural settlements forms (Whitehand 1987). Conzenemphasised that a town plan was a combination of three
Nevter Zafer Cömert & Sebnem Önal Hoskara
AbstractWith the increasing number of universities in the country, research on urban form and architecture—with a focus on his-toric settlements—has accelerated in Cyprus in the last fifteen years. Lefke, a small traditional medieval town locatedon north-west Cyprus, warrants a detailed urban morphological study, as its traditional urban pattern has been shapedby a medieval character. Within its overall organic urban pattern, there are well-scaled narrow streets, a number of pub-lic buildings and irregularly shaped public spaces at the intersection of streets and/or in front of public buildings. Lefke’smorphological characteristics, which have developed throughout many years, have been significantly impacted byBritish influences, as the Cyprus Mines Corporation (CMC), established in 1916, turned Lefke into an industrial town.The CMC district, which is the first industrial mass housing district in Cyprus, has uniquely impacted Lefke’s urban pat-terns and still defines the morphological characteristics of the town today. Accordingly, this paper first explores urbanmorphology based on two pioneering morphological studies: Gianfranco Cannigia’s theories of typo-morphologicalunderstanding, and the evolutionary insights of M.R.G. Conzen. The ultimate goal is to set up a typo-morphologicalbasis for the CMC industrial mass housing district, which will drive future interventions, design and planning policiestowards its conservation and sustainability.
Keywords: Typo-Morphology, Cmc Industrial Mass Housing District, Lefke-Cyprus.
A TYPO-MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY: THE CMC INDUS-TRIAL MASS HOUSING DISTRICT, LEFKE, NORTHERNCYPRUS
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distinct but integral plan elements, which included thestreets and their street system, the plots and their plot pat-tern and the building arrangement within these patterns.He tried to explain the present structure of a town planby examining its historical development, which he calledevolutionary theory (Conzen 1981).
By comparing these two theoretical frame-works, the study of a built environment becomes ameans of regaining what has been lost, or at the least,preserving admired qualities of a traditional town. Theirmethods also allow an understanding of how thesespaces came to be. Thus, Conzen categorised the analy-sis and concepts of urban morphology into threegroups:(a) town plan, (b) townscape and (c) fringe belt,while Caniggia analysed his concepts through three dif-ferent headings: (a) building, (b) urban tissues and (c)settlement organism/urban organism. Table 1 presentsthe similarities and differences between their concepts.As observed below, Conzens’s town plan and Caniggia’surban tissues sub-divisions generally intersect with eachother, as does the descriptors of the former’s townscapeand latter’s settlement/urban organism. However,Conzen’s fringe belt and Caniggia’s building division arenot similar. Only Conzen’s building pattern under thetown plan heading shares common points withCaniggia’s structure and building type under the build-ing headings.
Based on Figure 1 and studying Conzen’s andCaniggia’s approaches in depth, Table 1 presents thesimilarities and differences between their theories, underthe common topics of methodology, medieval plan, townplan, plot/lot, plot series/pertinent strips, definition ofform, block, street/route, plan unit/tissue, urban organ-ism / morphological region. These topics can also beused as the general layout of urban morphologicalanalysis.
Accordingly, the main difference betweenConzen and Cannigia lies within the methodological
approach: On one hand, Conzen concentrates on evo-lutionary method in which he argues that tracing existingforms back to the underlying formative processes andinterpreting them accordingly, would seem to provide therational method of analysis of urban morphology.According to his understanding, the evolutionary methodprovides an understanding of the physical developmentof urban structural elements, resulting from the city's cul-tural and historical development (factors that stronglyinfluenced its morphological development), which is anobjective of the morphological approach. On the otherhand, Caniggia uses the typo-morphological methodwhich concentrates on the relationship between com-plementary and reversible moments in historic typologi-cal research and stages of design developments(Cataldi, 1998:35). He also worked on the analyticalbuilt environment concepts on various scales: reading ofbuilding constituents, determining the shape, structureand various uses of buildings, just as readings that canbe taken on the scale of clusters, towns, and territoryenable to understand the conforming rules at the root ofthe structuring of building fabrics, urban organism andterritorial ranges. (Caniggia G, Maffei G L., 2001: 10).He developed the dynamics of urban form in its histori-cal development throught its component types andthrough the evolution of these types; and he called thesedynamics a typo-morphological process. His basic con-cern is with the historical formation and transformationof the types and of the urban fabrics in three dimension-al formation that resulted. (Levy,1997: 52). He is inter-ested in how the typological process links to more gen-eral mechanisms of cultural transmission from genera-tion to generation.
(CaniggiaG.,MaffeiG.L., 2001:18). The otherdifference between the two scholars is on the concept oftown plan: Conzen focuses on buildings, plots and streetpattern at a macro scale where as Cannigia’s focus is onmore components of the buildings which represent amore micro scale. Although both scholars consider streetas an element connecting one place to another place,Conzen uses the term “street” in his analysis where heconsiders the street as a more physical element which isdefined by the effects of blocks, whereas Caniggia usesthe term “route” and he considers it as an experience ofthe travellers. Considering the plan unit and tissue defi-nitions of the two scholars, we may argue that there is asignificant difference: Plan unit represents the relation-ship between building types, street characters and plots,whereas tissue is determined by the typological relation-ship between blocks, streets and buildings. The final dif-ference between the two scholars is on their viewpointson morphological regions and urban organisms. Onone hand, Conzen considers morphological regions as
Figure 1. M.R.G. Conzen’s and G.F Caniggia’s main subdi-visions on morphology
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a combination of town plan, building fabric, land utiliza-tion pattern and site form; on the other hand Caniggiabelieves that, as a part of urban organisms, the buildingsare elements; a structure of an element is the urban tis-sue, and their arrangements form an organism of theentire time.
In addition to all these differences, Conzen andCaniggia have a similar understanding of plot and lot,plot series and pertinent strips and block although theyhave sometimes used different terminologies. Finally,one main similarity in both scholars’ studies is on theirconcentration on the medieval originated towns.
Although the issues mentioned here seem tofocus on the physical aspects of urban morphology, themorphological theories cannot be studied without con-sidering cultural, socio-economic and political aspectsof urban forms. Culture is a notoriously vague term thatincludes technology, symbolism, worldviews, social struc-
tures, and political and economic organisations; urbanform is a subset of culture. The culture of a society isshaped by its members’ lifestyles, and its physical struc-tures act as indicators, or markings, of the culture. Bystudying the urban forms and morphology of a city or atown, family life styles, social structures and residents’values, customs, traditions, and social and religiousbeliefs can be easily interpreted. Thus, it can be arguedthat there is a direct relationship between culture andurban form; that is, cultural aspects affect the formationsof urban morphologies in various ways. Urban morphol-ogy, then, reflects a society’s culture. Due to the fact thatcultural, socio-economic and political issues in daily cul-ture have direct/indirect effects on urban morphology, avariety of urban forms can be grouped according to thedifferences and similarities of cultural genetics(Ateşin&Hoşkara, 2000)
These discussions, then, indicate that in mor-
Table 1. Similarities and differences between G. Caniggia’s and M.R.G. Conzen’s theories
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phological studies, culture, socio-economics and politicscan/should be regarded as independent variables,whereas the components and elements of urban mor-phology—as presented in Figure 2—are dependentvariables. Thus, the study of a settlement’s urban mor-phology requires an in depth analysis of cultural, socio-economic and political factors shaping urban forms, inaddition to an analysis of morphological componentsand elements. Various tools such as 2 and 3-D draw-ings, illustrations, photographs, and graphs, can beused in the analysis of urban morphology.
The above discussions which are summarisedin Figure 2, led us to design a new methodologicalapproach by integrating Conzen’s and Caniggia’s theo-ries. We believe that this approach can be applied totowns shaped by different origins, as well as different cul-tural, socio-economic and political backgrounds.In this paper, we apply this integrated methodology to
Lefke’s CMC industrial district—the British extension of amedieval-originated Ottoman town—to test its applica-bility, as well as to contribute to the urban morphologi-cal studies of Cyprus.
TRANSFORMAT ION OF THE TRADIT IONALTOWN OF LEFKE THROUGH H ISTORY
As the multi-cultural home to many different cultures, thetown of Lefke is one of the best examples of medievaltraditional cities in the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. In the past, Lefke has been occupied by the Phoenicians,in AD 4000; the Byzantines, from789-1489; Lusignans
and Venetians, from 1192-1571; the Ottomans, from1571-1878; and the British, from 1878-1960 (Zafer1999).
Figure 3 shows the general distribution of set-tlements by different civilisations throughout Lefke’s his-tory. The town was established during the Phoenicianperiod; the water canal system and copper mine facili-ties were built during this period. The town took itsmedieval form during the Byzantine period, which con-tributed to its narrow organic street typology. The firstreligious building, St. Yorgi Church, was constructed inthe settlement’s centre, with the marketplace and the restof the town sprawled around this part. Although someresources have mentioned the Lusignan and Venetian
Figure 3. Lefke region periodical.
Figure 2. Components and Elements of Morphological Analysis
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civilisations in Lefke, there is no direct proof on buildings,nor any other traces of impact, to show where they lived.
During the Ottoman period, the town extendednorth, becoming one of the most important provinces ofCyprus and the Ottoman Empire. With the establishmentof its new core, the town’s centre included a number ofmedreses (religious schools), hans, mosques, and kiosks(houses) (Ferlison, 1986), as shown in Figure 4. Theoverall structure of the town during this period wasdefined by an organic urban pattern, with well-scalednarrow streets, cul-de-sacs, a number of public buildingsand irregularly shaped public spaces at the intersectionof streets and/or in front of public buildings.
During the British period, the town’s centreextended to the south through the construction of newshops, public buildings and a hospital. The overall urbantissue within the town was transformed and shaped by aBritish character, and included new additions, infill andalterations by the British.
The town of Lefke became the first industrialtown in Cyprus vis-à-vis the establishment of the CyprusMines Corporation (CMC) in 1916 (Lavender,1962).As shown in Figure 5, the copper mine in Foucassa HillSkuriotissa Region—a site near Lefke—started operatingin 1913, but the CMC formally started to employ work-ers in 1916. The copper ore extracted from the mine wasstored in another neighbouring site near Yeşilyurt. In1922, the company began building houses for its work-ers in Xeros (Gemikonağı), closer to the sea. In 1924, forpurposes of exporting the mineral ore, the CMC con-structed a jetty in Gemikonağı, and continued explo-ration of potential mines. In 1926, it was successful instarting a new extraction process in Karadağ,a sitesouthwest of Lefke, which is also this paper’s case studyarea. After 1926, the development process in the Lefke
region accelerated with the growth of the CMC facilities.In 1928, a second village for workers was constructed inKaradağ, and in 1930, the storage of cooper and flota-tion treatment plant which decompose the cooper fromother components in Gemikonağı was expanded. As aresult, the total number of workers in all CMC unitsreached 5720 in 1937 (Lavender 1962).
It was during this period that the town gained itsoverall urban identity, as it can be argued that Lefke’sorganic urban fabric and the dynamic silhouette definingits hilly topography are mainly products shaped duringthis period. It can also be argued that the town’s formalqualities, such as town life, density, population size,occupational differentiation, spatial distribution of urbanactivities, landuse (which has decayed in certain areas),and street patterns, were developed through various his-torical periods, under a range of social, cultural, eco-nomic and political influences.
Figure 5. Location of the CMC district at the region
Figure 4. Ottomandistribution in Lefke.
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Le fke
This new CMC industrial district, which is the focus of thispaper, is located in the southern part of Lefke. Figures 6and 7 show the general distribution within the CMChousing district. According to the site plan, the area isdivided into 4 sections, which include (i) the engineers’housing district, (ii) single workers’ housing district, (iii)married workers’ housing district and (iv) foremen hous-
ing district. This location strategy, which reflects the hier-archy between classes by separating cultural interactionsbetween each group, was created based on the town’sexisting topography. The engineers were mostly fromother countries, while half of the foremen were Cypriot,and the other half were foreigners. Single and marriedworkers were all from Cyprus (Lavender 1962).Engineers’ homes are located on the hilly part of the dis-trict, which maximise views of the sea and mountains.The foremen’s housing district, on the other hand, is
Figure 6. Lefke region including traditional core of the town and the CMC district. (Hoskara & Zafer 2005)
Figure 7. CMC industrial housing district: Site plan (Hoskara & Zafer 2005)
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located on another hilly area that controls the workers’houses, and also includes pleasant Mountain View. Theworkers’ homes are located on the valley, with limitedviews of the sea and mountains. Social facilities havealso been provided to the residents within the new dis-trict; these include the sport facilities tennis courts, recre-ational area and football fields, workers’ club, mastersclub, shops, a public market area and public facilitieslike the hospital. Although the site’s topography does nottolerate a grid form, the district is actually organised bya grid system.
TYPO-MORPHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF THECMC INDUSTRIAL MASS HOUSING DISTRICT INLEFKE
Typo-morphology is a study on the physical and spatialstructure of cities. Also it deals with the the relationshipbetween physical and social aspects of space. They aretypological and morphological because they describeurban form (morphology) based on detailed classifica-tions of buildings and open spaces by type (typology).Typo-morphology is the study of urban form derived fromstudies of typical spaces and structures. (Moudon 1994).Typo-Morphological studies are 'object-oriented' withboth the built and their related urban space, essentiallytreated as 'objects', and interconnected units. Emphasisis thus not so much into the study of individual buildingtypes or in the categorization of urban spaces in isola-tion, but in the study of the relationship between buildingtypes and their related urban open space. Caniggia(2001) indicates that, the typo-morphological approachis sensitive to the engraved historicity in the urban formas well it understands the needs and aspirations of thecity. Typo-morphologists are interested in typologies ofrelationships between built form and urban space.
Accordingly, based on the typo-morphologicalapproach of Caniggia and the integrated methodologypresented in previous lines (Figure 2), the CMC industri-al mass housing district will now be examined under theheadings of buildings, plot, street, urban tissues, fringebelts and townscape (this includes the morphologicalregion).
Buildings
As stated above, the buildings in the CMC district can bestudied under four categories. First, the single workers’building has a basic plan: it is composed of a kitchen,living room and bedroom. Living and bedding facilitiesare located in one room, with a separate kitchen; thekitchen and living room dimensions are approximatelythe same size. As observed in Figure 9, all door dimen-sions are the same, and they are located on the samerow that tolerates cross ventilation. The windows arelocated in the same positions as the doors. The cornerbuildings on the row have two more windows, but typo-logically they are also generated from the same baseplan. The niche in the living room exists as the beddingfacilities for users. Although the living room and kitchentypologies are the same, the separation of walls providessub-divisions in the living room.
The facades face either the road or the publicarea with verandas. While considering the facade, thetypologies of wooden doors and windows create thebase type of these elements. The repetition of the windowand door proportions on the facade, with cross shapewooden handrails, also indicate that this type of housingis the basic building form in this district.
Second, the married workers’ building plan isinfluenced by the single building base type, as the posi-tions of bedrooms are generally the same as the singlebuilding base type and the kitchen dimensions are alsothe same. Only the living room proportions and dimen-sions are different, with the cancelation of separationwalls. It can be said that the married workers’ buildingtype emerges from the single workers base type, with anaddition of two extra rooms that can be named as aleading type. Again, positions of windows and doors, aswell as their dimensions, emerge from the base type ofsingle workers’ buildings.
The building facade typology of the marriedworkers’ building carries the same typological features asthe single workers’ housing units. However, they aredesigned as detached houses, rather than as row hous-es. When building components are considered, windowand doors sizes’ and their proportions are exactly thesame as the single workers’ housing units; only the posi-
Figure 8. Types of housing units in CMC industrial housing district
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tions of doors and windows are different. This is how thebase plan type has been improved, arising from userrequirements. The windows and doors are wooden, and
have cross shape veranda handrails. This facade’s typol-ogy can be understood as a leading type of the singleworker facades.
Figure 9. CMC district’s housing plans and facade typology
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Third, the foremen’s housing plan type is differ-ent from the workers’ housing type. Type I can be namedas the base type, in terms of its room organisation. TypeII can be classified as a leading type, as one more roomis added next to the base type organisation. Type IIIshows differences from the other types through either itsorganisation or dimension. Type III, then, is not influ-enced by Types I and II. The facade’s typology showsthat they are different than the workers’ housing facades,as they have solid and void ratios larger than the work-ers’ housing plan, as well as larger windows. However,their material and window divisions are exactly the sameas the workers’ base type. The entrances originate fromthe veranda, but do not face the front view. The housesare not in a row or attached but are, instead, positionedas free standing. Like a plan typology, the facade can beevaluated: Type I is the base type of the unit, whereasTypes II and III are the leading types.
Finally, when the engineers’ housing plan typesare evaluated, there are three types. Type III can benamed as a base type of the units, while Type II is an ele-mentary type of the units. However, the first type is verydifferent than the others. In the base type, the living roomis surrounded by a bedroom and a kitchen. Type I’sratios and spatial organisations, however, are extremelydifferent. When the facades are compared, Type II isinfluenced by the base type of the engineers' houses. Theengineers’ housing facade type shows many differences
from the others, but within itself, they are basically a rep-etition of the base type elements.
Finally, the engineers’ housing plan types are inthree different formation, which can be classified as TypeI , Type II and Type III . Type I is totally different than othertwo types in terms of its room organisation. On onehand, its entrance directly opens to the long corridor andit acts as an element giving access either to the livingroom or to bedrooms. Additionally, there is direct accessto bedrooms from the living room. On the other hand,Type III can be named as a base-type with the livingroom surrounded by a bedroom and a kitchen, whereasType II can be named as an elementary type because itis an adaptation of Type III with additional bedrooms andentrances added onto the plan typology of Type III.Considering the facade type of engineers’ housing, onwill notice many differences from the other main types,but within itself, they are basically a repetition of the basetype elements.
Plot Type
As observed on the site plan in Figure 10, the plot divi-sion is only performed on the engineers’ and foremen’shouses. On one hand, the plot typology of the foremen’shouses plot typology is rectangular; more or less, theirratios are similar. On the other hand, the plot typology
Figure 10. Plot division in CMC housing district
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steep topography, only the ratio of the plot size was con-sidered, which caused an irregular plot typology.Another plot typology is observed with the workers’ hous-ing district: all the plots show the characteristics of amal-gamated typology resulting in a rectangular block, whichthen has several houses—generally 8—in the sameblock. Within these blocks, every two houses share acommon toilet.
Street
The street typology shows typological differences withinthe class hierarchy. When considering the topography,engineers’ street and plot relations have been shapedaccording to topographic conditions; houses are placedin their own plots, mainly in the middle. Therefore, theirpertinent strip typology is not defined by buildings, andthus, does not show any regular characteristics. On theother hand, the pertinent strips of the foremen’s houseshave a linear order, as this topography’s houses areapproximately 2 meters higher than the road.Topography brings a different pertinent strip typologythat can be described as a pertinent and elevated stripcharacter within the environment. Although the area issloppy, the street system is a gridiron system in the work-ers’ district: the houses are settled along the street withtheir front elevation attached to the street defining thestreet pattern. Therefore, each street has a straight perti-nent strip. In this area, then, the street’s pertinent striptypology is linear and attached to houses. One of thesignificant characteristics in this area is the water chan-nels that carry the waste waters from the kitchens. Thefirst type is composed of V-shaped channels lying paral-lel to the street in the workers’ district. Another type iscomposed of V- shape channels, which are perpendicu-lar to the pertinent street. All these channels collect thewater at the end of the districts. A natural treatment isused for this water; the water is reused for the wateringof gardens located among the campgrounds of thehousing units. The topography allows the water to becollected efficiently at one place, then pumped for reuse,for agricultural purposes.Urban Tissue
The urban tissue in four districts presents differ-ent layouts. Although the single and married workers’districts have slopes, all the streets’ design layouts arebased on a grid system, as this allows substantial oppor-tunities for maximum ventilation in the houses. Singleworkers’ and married workers’ houses do not block theviews, and they are appropriate for microclimatic condi-tions. The houses’ designs fall into a typological order,
and the topography level’s differences and variations ofthe open space add unity and balance to the overall lay-out. This grid system on the slope in these two districts, isnot monotonous, but instead provides different viewsand perceptions at each point of the area. The forms ofthe streets are narrow and linear, as urban blocks arerectangular. Their ratio is 1:3.
Similarly, the foremen’s housing street layout isnarrow and linear. However, the block typology cannotbe classified in this district because all of these housestypes are located along the street, in a single row. Onthe other hand, the form of the street in the engineers’houses district is irregular, which is also based on thetopographical conditions. Another reason for this irregu-larly, besides topography, is the equal size proportions ofplots and buildings. However, just like the workers’ hous-ing district tissue, the engineers’ district block ratio isapproximately 1:3. Considering this area in its entirety,then, the following characteristics about the urban tissuecan be highlighted: urban block ratios are 1:3, with acircular ring route surrounding the district, which thenprovide easy access to the houses. The street typology isnarrow and linear.
Within the whole CMC district, the houses arelocated to take advantage of the potential wind pattern,which create cross ventilation in the houses. The topog-raphy also takes maximum sunlight during the winterand minimum sun light during the summer, which isgood for hot and humid climates. The uses of the brickmaterial for the construction of the houses change theurban tissues of the region. Before these housing units,the most commonly used building material was mudbrick or yellow stone. Most of the mud brick houses havecollapsed because of the lack of maintenance, but theCMC units have survived until today. Below, Photo 1indicates the district in 1950, while Photo 2 shows cur-rent conditions of the district.
Fringe BeltAccording to Conzen (1960), the fringe belt can be clas-sified under three headings: the inner fringe belt, the
Photo 1.The view from workers’ housing district in 1950
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outer fringe belt and the middle fringe belt. In this area,two types of fringe belts can be observed. As observed inFigure 11, the inner fringe belt is defined by the publicspace with a green field and sports area, while the outerfringe belt is defined by topography and the public ser-vice area.
Townscape
Generally the whole district is divided under 5 plan units;these include the engineers’ plan unit, the foremen’splan unit, the married workers’ plan unit, the singleworkers’ plan unit and the public buildings’ plan unit.The engineers’ plan units are in large plots, whichinclude three buildings; as observed in Figure 11, theunits are wide and large. The foremen’s houses utilise anarrow and deep structure plan unit, whereas marriedworkers’ plan units are rectangular in form. The singleworkers’ genetic plan unit are irregular plan units,whereas the married workers’ plan unit is amalgamated;their WCs are located in their backyards.
The CMC district contains 3 different types ofland utilisation (Figure 12), which includes housing dis-tricts, commercial districts and recreational district. Therecreation district is an area that has never been men-tioned by Conzen in his land utilisation classification.
Within the context of townscape, the engineers’building pattern shows 4 different types according totheir form, in which their plot divisions show varieties dueto a variation in building forms. In addition, the fore-men’s building pattern is divided into two parts. As Figure13 shows, the workers’ building pattern can be cate-gorised into two types: single workers’ and marriedworkers’. Their plot and building form relationship is notonly related to the form of the building but also to thefunctions of the buildings.
Morphological region
When the morphological region has been analyzed thefirst layers of the building pattern, land utilisation and the
Photo 2. View from workers’ housing district in 2012
Figure 11. Land Utilisation
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genetic plan unit can be overlapped, as shown in Figure14. The results indicate certain ranks: in the first rank, theinitial urban nuclei—which includes public activities—islocated in building forms and plan types different thanothers (Figure 15). The district starts at this point. Thesecond rank includes the workers’ housing district, withits building pattern usage and unit type. Engineers’ hous-es are ranked third because of their significant charac-ter; foremen’s houses are ranked fourth, with less signif-icant values than the other ranks.
FURTHER DISCUSS IONS ON THE OPENSPACES IN the CMC HOUSING D ISTR ICT
The morphological regions, along with the CMC dis-trict’s buildings, plots, streets, urban tissues, fringe belts,and townscape present the area’s typo-morphologicalcharacteristics. As has been observed, open spaces arereflected as separate elements within the existing mor-phology of the district, either located on the plot/land orblocks, or between the main districts. Therefore, it seemsnecessary to examine the open space characteristicsseparately and in detail, taking into consideration theirtypology and use, which will also contribute to the typo-
Figure 12. Land Utilisation
Figure 13. Building pattern
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morphological characteristics of the CMC industrialmass housing district in Lefke.
Open spaces o f the CMC hous ing d i s t r i c t
Open spaces among the married and single workers areutilised as gathering spaces. They also designate publicbathroom areas. These open spaces are positioned inthe middle of the plots among four housing units.Following the morphological terminology on plot divi-sion, block-heads are used as side yards for public use,while plot-tails are used as transition areas or gatheringareas. Single workers’ open spaces are also used asgathering areas and public toilets, but they do not haveany plot-tails or heads. The foremen’s housing area plot-tails are utilised as backyards; heads are used as linearpublic water canals, as well as transition areas betweenhouses. In addition, the engineers’ district has the sameusage of plot-tail, plot-mid and plot-head. Plot-mids areused as semi-private spaces between two buildings,while their front yards are used as semi-public areas, to
be shared between 3 or 4 buildings. Plot-tails are usedas private gardens in the district. Public buildings aroundthe houses are used as public spaces, while front yardsfunction as public gathering areas. Backyards functionas semi-private areas for the building users, whereas thesport areas are for common public use.
Considering the typology of these open spaces,workers’ mid-plot areas are rectilinear and the block tailsare rectangular. In addition, single workers’ courtyardsare also rectangular. Some of them have rectangularbackyards, and they are wider than the others. The formsof the foremen’s backyards are rectangular, but whenthey are joined together, their forms become linear, withlinear strips for plot tails. In the engineers’ housing area,open space is composed of rectangular and triangularforms, but it is not easy to classify the mass pure forms.The main green field, which is located approximately atthe centre of the overall housings area, is divided into 6irregular-rectangular forms, serving different functions byjoining another area, as shown in Figure 16.
Figure 14. Layers of morphological region
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CONCLUSION AND REMARKS FOR THEFUTURE
The town of Lefke and its CMC industrial mass housingdistrict, in particular, present a unique layout through itstypo-morphology.CMC houses, which represent a cer-tain historical period, show the characteristics of aunique morphological region within the town. However,today they face decay and deterioration—especially thesingle workers’ houses—because they are not designedfor the contemporary requirements of their users. Anurgent conservation and rehabilitation action, with goodurban management, is needed in this area. Any inter-vention for the purposes of repair, renovation and reha-bilitation in the district should have the goal of conserv-
ing the typological and morphological characteristics ofthe district.
This study, having explored urban morphologybased on Caniggia’s theories of typo-morphologicalunderstanding and Conzen’s evolutionary insight, haspresented a new theoretical approach to morphology;we have then applied this new approach onto the CMCindustrial mass housing district in the town of Lefke inCyprus. We suggest that by utilising the typo-morpho-logical basis presented in this paper, a strategic plan forthe CMC district’s conservation and sustainability shouldbe developed, through the participation of all stake-holders. We also suggest that the study’s typo-morpho-logical characteristics should lead future interventions,design and planning policies for the CMC industrial
Figure 15. Hierarchy of morphological regions
Figure 16. Open space form
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mass housing district.From a more general perspective, at the end of
this study, it is also hoped that the proposed analysismethod on urban form shaped by morphologicalapproaches will help designers, planners, cultural geog-raphers and urban morphologists to find better solutionswhile they are designing, analysing, planning and/orconserving existing—historic and traditional—urbanareas in town and cities.
REFERENCES
ATEŞIN,H.M. and HOŞKARA,Ş.(2000), Evolution of the built
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LAVENDER.D., (1962), The Story of Cyprus Mines corporation,
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Caniggia and his school thought, Urban morphology, 52-56
MOUDON, A. V., (1994) “Getting to know the Built
Landscape: Typo-morphology,” in Franck, K. and Schneekloth,
M. (eds.) “Ordering Space: Types in Architecture and Design”
New York. Van Nostrand Reinhold: 289-311
MURATORI,S. (1950), Vita e storia delle Citta,Rassegna critica
d’architecttura,
WHITEHAND, J.W.R, (1981), Background to the urban mor-
phogenetic tradition, in JWR Whitehand J.W.R. (ed.), The
Urban Landscape: Historical Development and Management,
Academic Press, London, 1-24
WHITEHAND, J.W.R. (1987), M.R.G. Conzen and the intellec-
tual parentage of urban morphology, Planning History Bulletin
9, 35-41.
WILKINSON, E.M. (1962), Goethe’s conception of form in
Wilkinson, E.M. and Willoughby, L.A. (eds.) Goethe: poet and
thinker, Edward Arnold, London, 167-84
ZAFER, N. (1999), Lefke Deniz İle Ağaç Kokusunun Karıştığı bir
yerleşim yeri, in Dağlı,U.U. (ed.) Kıbrıs Sokaklarinda mimariye,
yaşama ve cevreye dair. 76-83, Isik Kitapevi.
Author(s)
Nevter Zafer Cömert Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture,Mersin 10 Turkey Northern Cyprus.E-mail. [email protected]
Sebnem Önal HoskaraEastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture,Mersin 10 Turkey Northern Cyprus.E-mail. [email protected]
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I n t roduc t ion
In Vietnamese language, the term street house (SH) has
several different meanings.By physical layout, it is called
“Nha lô.” “Lô” originates from the French word, “lot”
which means a plot or parcel of land. In financial terms,
it is called “Nha dân tư xây”; lit., a self-financed or self-
built house. By typological layout, it is called “Nha ông”;
lit., a tube house, especially for the old SHs in ancient
areas. In relationship to the surrounding urban context,
it is called “Nha phô”; lit., a SH (Kien, 2008). For pur-
poses of identification, the SH can be defined as an
attached or semi-detached house with particular
dwelling patterns such as a “tube form layout,” a “tube
form arcade,” and a “narrow frontal façade” that allows
direct access from a street or an alley. The word “Street”
indicates a main thoroughfare in a busy commercial
area.
The physical characteristics of the SH may
slightly vary depending on regions and types of house-
hold inhabiting the dwelling. However, most SHs share
similar physical features: the height of the SH is usually
5 to 6 stories. The frontal width is much narrower than
the depth due to the shapes of the typical plots of urban
blocks in cities.
One of the primary features of the SH is the
mixture of residential and commercial spaces in a single
structure. In a sense, the Vietnamese SH has developed
to meet increasing commercial demands. The street-
fronting façade of the SH is advantageous for commer-
cial activities on the ground level. Rows of SHs are devel-
oped along market streets in wholesale or retail areas.
As such, a fronting street, sidewalk, or frontal terrace
becomes a communal interface where a private domain
is juxtaposed with a public realm in the street.
Le Thi Hong Na, Jin-Ho Park, Minjung Cho
Abstract
Accounting for seventy five percent of urban housing in Vietnam, street houses refer to a mixed-use housing typology
that emerged in the 17th century. Such housing has evolved in response to Vietnam’s unique culture and environmen-
tal conditions. Residential and commercial functions are integrated in a flexible and expandable manner, creating a
variety of compositional possibilities in spatial layouts. In addition, transitional spaces such as courtyards, balconies,
loggia, and terraces provide shading, cooling, and ventilation effects throughout the building. As one of the most adap-
tive and popular urban dwellings, the street house has promoted daily domestic activities and the identities of
Vietnamese urban areas. However, such valuable aspects have received less attention in many recent urban develop-
ments in Vietnam. As such, the goal of this study is to identify and analyze the unparalleled ingenuity of the street house,
particularly focusing on its spatial flexibility and environmental responsiveness. Furthermore, this study is intended to
apply analytical investigations to the design of contemporary high-rise housing in Vietnam.
With such purposes, this paper is structured in two sequences. In the first phase, typological characteristics of the
street house are studied; a field survey is performed to address the evolutionary transformation of the street house. By
studying several precedents in Vietnam, our study focused on understanding the ways in which spaces are manipulat-
ed and in which diverse indoor and outdoor spaces are created. In addition, passive environmental systems are stud-
ied, meaning systems that are integrated with the spaces in order to control the microclimatic conditions of the house.
Next, the morphology of the forms and space components are carefully examined through the contemporary examples
of street house models in Vietnam. Especially, the flexible nature of the street house, in terms of spatial composition and
expansion, is identified. In the second phase, a transition from the street house to high-rise housing is explored based
on the previous analytical studies; compositional logic for arranging internal and external spaces are outlined to gen-
erate typological unit plans of street houses. Out of diverse design possibilities, an exemplary high-rise building is pro-
posed to address the notions of spatial flexibility and integrated passive systems that are found in the street house.
Ultimately, the proposed design aims to enrich dwelling environments for new high-rise urban communities.
Keywords: Street House, Spatial Flexibility, Passive Design, High-Rise Housing.
LESSONS FROM VIETNAMESE URBAN STREET HOUSESFOR CONTEMPORARY HIGH-RISE HOUSING
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Other significant aspects are found in its flexi-
bility and adaptability, particularly in terms of spatial
composition and environmental adaptation; residential
and business functions can be arranged in a variety of
different layouts. Rooms can be expanded and adjusted
to accommodate the needs of the household. In addi-
tion, the intermediate areas between indoor and outdoor
spaces can play as buffer zones, protecting inner rooms
from direct sunlight and high precipitation. In fact, such
in-between areas provide a moderate microclimatic con-
dition mediating between the internal spaces and the
surrounding external environments.
Although many researchers and scholars have
emphasized the characteristics of Vietnamese urban SHs,
there has been a lack of discussion pertaining to how
such qualities can be applied to high-rise and high-den-
Table 1. The main facades of six SH precedents
Table 2. Floor plans
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Le T
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, M
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sity dwellings in Vietnam. For example, Chon (2007)
and Kien (2008) focused mainly on the characteristics
and preservation of traditional SHs. Tam (1999), Dan
(2005), and Song (2004) dealt with historical and social
issues with regards to the living environments of SHs.
Phuong (2010) studied the environmental responsive-
ness of Vietnamese vernacular architecture and pro-
posed a guideline for sustainable housing design in
Vietnam. However, his research was limited in a sense
that the guideline was not carried forward to suggest a
new design model. In addition, there have been a num-
ber of similar studies in other tropical countries of the
South Asian region. For instance, in a survey of human
responses and thermal comfort levels, Bay (2004)
demonstrated that a traditional open space, such as a
forecourt in a residence, is suitable for Singaporeans’ life
styles. Hence, the traditional forecourt space can be pro-
moted to improve thermal comfort levels of contempo-
rary high-rise apartments in Singapore. By using envi-
ronmental performance modeling, Srivastar (2009)
proved that traditional passive strategies can be effec-
tively adapted to modern designs and can improve com-
fort levels of dwellings in India. Yeang (1996) wrote
extensively on the systemic technologies of eco-sky-
scrapers. Yeang’s works demonstrate the integral use of
passive and active bio-climatic systems, which empha-
size clean means of reducing input and output energy
resources.
Urbanization and modernization have influ-
enced reconfigurations of the physicality of Vietnamese
cities and people’s lifestyles. Massive relocation of pop-
ulation has caused the problem of housing shortage in
the cities. High-density and high-rise developments seem
inevitable to cope with the Vietnamese urban housing
problem. As a result, high-rise apartments have replaced
a number of existing low-rise SHs. However, many new
developments have been criticized due to the fact that,
unlike the traditional SHs, they lack a sense of socio-cul-
tural and environmental concerns intrinsic to Vietnamese
urban areas.
Evolution of the Vietnamese SH
The first SHs emerged in the 17th century along 36th
street in the heart of Old Hanoi and in the Cho Lon area
Table 3. Longitudinal sections with indications of natural ventilation
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of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) nearly at the same time.
Later, SHs were gradually expanded to become one of
the dominant types of urban housing in Vietnam.
Based on physical characteristics such as con-
struction time, size (area and the number of
floors/storeys), location, and space composition, six SHs
were selected to illustrate the evolution of SHs. Details of
one older house in Hanoi and five contemporaries in
HCMC are given in Tables 1 to 4. A comparison of basic
characteristics is presented in Table 5.
In comparison with the older structures (A), the
contemporary structures of SHs (B-F) are different in
dimensions and forms; the newer SHs (C-F) are typically
four to five stories in height, whereas the older (A) has
only two floors. The contemporaries (B-F) are wider in
width and shorter in depth. The older (A) looks as if the
house is segmented with three zones that are separated
by a series of outdoor void spaces such as the inner and
back courts. However, all the examples share similar
aspects; flexibility in spatial compositions and expansions
creates multiple housing design possibilities. In addition,
the diversity of morphology and frontal façades show-
case the vital streetscapes of Vietnamese cities.
Table 4. Block models
Table 5. Comparison of basic characteristics
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Diversity in morphology, open orientation, and façade
style
In this section, the typological features of the SH are
reviewed, such as the morphology, open orientation,
and façade style, all of which combine to deliver the
dynamic and distinctive characteristics of Vietnamese
urban areas.
By morphology, there are four basic types in
relationship to plot size and building volume: full-plot
built, partial-plot built, full-height built, and partial-
height built. From these basic categories, many hybrid
variants can be further generated (Kien, 2008) (Figure
1). Of the ten hybrid types shown in Figure 1, the first five
types (1 to 5) are usually shop houses and are located
along busy streets. The remaining other five types (6 to
10) have forecourts and are developed along quiet
lanes. Types 3, 6, 8, 9, and 10 have natural ventilation
and are well-lit due to the inner yard, frontcourt, and
backcourt. In other types, such as Type 1, rooms are not
properly ventilated and illuminated.
Figure 1. Typology of SH classified by morphology.
Figure 2. Typology of SH classified by the number of open
orientation (open to streets, alleys, or other open spaces)(Dark: SH, Light: neighboring SH)
Figure 3. Figure 3. Disordered and ordered types of SH façade elevation (from left to right).
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With regard to the number of open sides, three
basic types can be classified, as shown in Figure 2 (Kien,
2008). While type 1 is the most common case, type 3 is
rarely found, especially in older dwelling districts with
denser housing clusters. On the other hand, type 2 is the
most popular in newer residential areas. Types 2b and 3
are usually developed on intersecting corners of streets.
Type 2a is the most properly ventilated and day-lighted,
whereas types 1 and 2b have poor ventilation.
In most cases, the SH is constructed by being
attached to adjacent SHs, creating a continuing
streetscape as a group. Façade styles formed by a group
of SHs can be classified in two categories: ordered and
disordered types (Figure 3). For the disordered type,
there is a lack of coherence among the street elevations
of each SH. This is due to the evolutionary process in
which various morphological types with different modu-
lar dimensions and façade elements are added through-
out time. As a matter of fact, there are no common rules
in the design of SHs. Most SHs are made-to-order,
reflecting owners’ needs and preferences. Often times,
SHs are built after typical models without professional
architects’ design services. As a result, many SHs are
built with similar floor plans and façade types. The down-
side of having such monotonous designs in plans and
elevations is that there are diminished opportunities for
conveying diverse lifestyles and vital streetscapes in the
cities.
Each SH displays different colors, forms, and
scales, which makes for an attractive and animating
streetscape (Figures 4 and 5); rhythmical skylines provide
unique impressions to people. Various colors in exterior
finishes add to the dynamic qualities of SHs. Different
façades not only enliven the city, but also highlight each
house’s individual identity. Diversity in façade has
become a distinctive quality of Vietnamese urban
dwellings.
F lex ib i l i t y i n spat ia l compos i t ion and
expans ion
The flexibility of the SH is reviewed by analyzing one of
the most popular SH typologies in HCMC. The house
was designed by the Nha-Vui Company in HCMC. It is
a four-storey shop-house residence built along a busy
street.
The overall plot size of the house is 5 by 15 m.
A staircase, toilet, and inner court form a central core in
the mid-section, where main circulation is distributed. In
the front section of the first floor is located a commercial
store or a garage, at the back of which there is a lobby
(traffic space), to which the residential zone is connected.
A dining-kitchen area is located at the rear section and
is separated from the front store by this lobby (traffic
space). The dining-kitchen room has direct access to the
Figure 4. Street views of SHs in district 10 of HCMC.
Figure 5. Figure 5. Street
elevation of SH façades
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Le T
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back side of the house. From the second floor up, a
small inner court is developed next to the staircase. In the
front and rear sections of the upper floors, bedrooms
and living rooms are distributed; three bedrooms are
located on the second and third floors. Common spaces
such as a living room, a family room, and a place of
worship are either on the second or fourth floor. Each
room is day-lighted at least from one side (Figures 6 and
7). There are two terraces on the top floor. In the front,
there is a “green” garden, next to which is allocated an
altar. A terrace at the back is often used for drying laun-
dry.
From the study of popular SH models in
HCMC, diverse compositional layouts of space pro-
grams can be derived. A garage, toilets, and stairs are
usually fixed in location; the garage is at the front of the
first floor. Toilets and stairs are in the mid-section, while
bedrooms, a dining-kitchen, a living room, and other
Figure 6. Plans of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors (from left to right, top to bottom)
Figure 7. Longitudinal section
showing inner courts andoutdoor terraces
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common spaces can be moved (Figure 8). Although a
commercial store is typically located only in the front sec-
tion of the first floor, the entire first and second floors can
be used as stores in certain cases. Bedrooms and other
common rooms are distributed throughout the house.
Bedrooms are usually placed on the upper levels for
more privacy. Instead, a living room occupies the lower
level. Dining room and kitchen are most often combined
to form a single dining- kitchen room, which is located
on any floor. A place of worship is integrated with a liv-
ing room or is independent as a separate altar room
near the top floor terrace. A garden can be facilitated in
the front or back courtyard of the first floor or in the top
floor terrace. Courtyards (forecourt, backcourt, and
inner court) are mainly used for the purpose of cooling,
gardening, relaxation, and natural ventilation. One of
the primary functions of the inner court is to help the
adjustment of the environment, providing ventilation and
daylight to the core space (Figure 9). The court(s), bal-
cony, loggia, and terrace can be altered for green gar-
dens. The spatial composition of the typical SH is sum-
marized in Figure 9.
According to Kien (2008), the SH has an excel-
lent expandable feature. Two possible methods of space
expansion are illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. Figure 10
shows horizontal expansion by utilizing a void space in
the mid-section. Figure 11 indicates vertical expansion
by adding more floors on top of existing levels.
As for the horizontal method, space expansion
is recommended only on the first floor, because void
spaces on the upper floors are necessary to ensure prop-
er natural ventilation and illumination in the interior
rooms. One suggestion is to have a small void area in
the inner court of the first floor to achieve continuous cir-
culation and cross-ventilation effect throughout the
entire floors. As for the vertical method, up to five-storey
expansion is mostly recommended, which is typical in
Vietnamese cities. Even if a single family occupies a one
or two-storey structure, the SH can be expanded by
adding more floors to the existing level, if necessary.
Therefore, a single SH structure can allow several gen-
erations of family members to live under one roof.
Passive design systems
The traditional Vietnamese house has been designed to
Figure 8. Diverse spatial compositions in section
Figure 9. Spatial composition of typical SH in plans
Figure 10. Horizontal expansion in plan
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suit the local climatic requirements using various rain
and solar control devices. It also has several sustainable
and energy efficiency features that can be applicable to
contemporary housing with suitable innovations (Na and
Park, 2011). Natural ventilation is a key technique that
can provide cooling and energy saving during day and
night, particularly in hot climates.
Most SHs are attached to each other side by
side, so that there can be no windows on two sides. The
deep, long, and narrow interior design of typical SHs may
result in a lack of adequate daylight in inner spaces, thus
causing a low level of comfort. However, an inner court
that opens directly to the sky is typically located in SHs for
the purpose of cooling, daylight, and natural ventilation.
Such a court is also incorporated with fenestration com-
ponents: windows, doors, and walls. It is important to
arrange for openings in the SHs to face the prevailing
wind, since this allows the creation of a healthy indoor air
quality. As a result, residents are able to feel comfortable
with the presence of air movement in the building.
The number and position of the inner court
depend on the dimensions of the house in depth. Mostly,
an SH has an inner court in the middle section near the
core. A staircase and toilet are located adjacent to the
inner court for better ventilation. In some houses, bed-
rooms are placed near the inner court for the same
effect. Natural cross-ventilation through the inner court
and staircase is illustrated in Figures 12. In addition, the
combination of the inner court and the staircase creates
diagonal and reciprocal views in the interior spaces.
The roof covers the inner court and staircase. It
is usually made of transparent material to improve nat-
ural illumination. Furthermore, it is built with under-win-
dows or wind-slits to strengthen the natural ventilation
effect. Ventilated roofs eliminate overheating.
Kien (2008) proved that traditional SHs in the
Old Quarter of Hanoi have a brilliant eco-sufficient fea-
ture: their spatial composition with alternating mass-
void-mass arrangement guarantees excellent natural
ventilation and daylight (Figure 13). The technical proof
Figure 11. Vertical expansion in section
Figure 12. Section with natural cross-ventilation through the inner court and staircase
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of this feature has been studied and results were pub-
lished by the research group (Uehara H., 2002).
Especially in this time of energy crisis, it is recommended
to consider the integration of spatial and environmental
issues in the design of contemporary Vietnamese hous-
ing.
Des ign o f hous ing uni t t ype s and compos i -
t ional layou ts
In the second phase, the previous studies on the flexible
spatial features and responsive environmental aspects
are employed for the design of housing unit types. First,
compositional logics of arranging indoor and outdoor
spaces are formulated, from which basic unit prototypes
and more detailed apartment unit plans are developed.
Diverse layouts of combinatory housing units are sug-
gested.
The compositional logic of new housing units is
based on the following criteria. First, the front area of the
housing unit is used for business activities, especially for
the lower level apartments. Second, every room in the
unit is arranged for more natural daylight and ventilation
by applying the alternating “Mass-Void-Mass” composi-
tional model of the SH. Third, the inner court is replaced
with a terrace by moving the court from the center to the
rear end or the side of the unit. The void space of the
inner court is difficult to simulate in a multi-family apart-
ment, because each unit should be stacked vertically one
after another. The new terrace space is expected to
improve interior environment conditions by allowing
more natural daylight and through-ventilation. Fourth,
the overall dimensions of the typical SH, with a narrow
and deep building footprint, are adjusted for reasonable
room sizes and proper daylight conditions for the pro-
posed unit. As such, the depth of the apartment unit
becomes shorter and the width increases. Fifth, each unit
is multi-leveled in either a duplex or triplex structure, just
like the typical SH.
Figure 15 illustrates the proposal for five basic
unit prototypes. The overall configurations of each pro-
totype maintain the rectangular shape of the original SH.
However, this design became shorter in depth and wider
in width in comparison with the SH. The T1 type is based
on the simplest alteration: the inner court is relocated to
the rear side of the unit. This causes a reduced room size
in the rear, while other spaces remain in the same loca-
tions. The T2 type is obtained by adding a room to the
side of the T1 type. In the T3 type, the rear room is relo-
cated to the center, while the stairs and toilet are moved
to the side. Thus, the terrace space occupies the entire
Figure 13. Old SH’s eco-sufficient spatial composition in plan and section (from left to right) (Note: Mass: Room; Void: Inner
court; Dark arrow: Natural wind; White arrow: Natural light)
Figure 14. Transition from master plan of SHs to contemporary apartment units (from left to right)
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rear section. In the T4 type, the toilet and inner court are
moved to the side, whereas the traffic space remains in
the center. The T5 type is created by mixing the T3 and
T4 types: the rooms of the T3 and the terrace, inner
court, and toilet of the T4.
Some potential combinatory units are proposed
rather than enumerating the exhaustive possibilities of
numerous combinations (Figure 16). For example, a pair
of the basic (Tn) and mirrored (T’n) units demonstrates
one of the simplest and numerous design possibilities;
the T1, T3, T4, and T5 types are of one or one and a
half modules in width, except that the T2 type is of two
modules in width. The T’1, T’3, T’4, and T’5 types are
obtained by mirroring the original basic types. The com-
bination of the basic (Tn) and mirrored (T’n) units occu-
pies three modules in width. The T1 type, spanning only
one module in width, is versatile and can be paired with
any other unit type. By using this method, a number of
flexible combinations can be achieved.
From the basic unit prototypes, the next step is
to develop units and their combinations. Units are mod-
ularly planned in a 5-by-5-meter grid module.
Essentially, a housing unit spans three modules in depth
and one to two modules in width, as shown in Figure 17.
The size of each unit ranges from 150 to 300 square
meters, because each unit occupies two to three floors
due to household types, required rooms, and areas. For
example, a duplex unit without a business function can
be positioned in the upper levels: E1, E2, A1, and A2.
Particularly, the E1 and E2 types, with a total floor area
of 350 square meters, can be proposed for luxury pent-
houses. They are suitable for an extended family with two
or three generations living together. On the other hand,
Figure 15. Basic unit prototypes
Figure 16. Examples of combinatory units
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Figure 17. Development of unit types from basic unit prototypes
Figure 18. Detailed plans of typical apartment units
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the A3 and A4 types are about 150 to 200 square meters
and are suitable for a family with three to four household
members. The 2D plans and 3D models of the proposed
housing units are illustrated in Table 6.
The stairs and toilets are mostly located in the
middle of the unit. The toilet gets fresh air from the ter-
race or through the stairs. The stairs work as a vertical link
and improve ventilation in the house. The common room
is typically located on the lower floor of the unit. Every
bedroom has at least one open orientation that is direct-
ly connected to the outside. The front room in the lower
level apartment units can be used as a commercial store
or a workshop. On the top floor of each unit is a large
terrace. The terrace is a transitional space between out-
door and indoor environments. It serves as an open
space for relaxation, planting, and outdoor activities. If
necessary, the interior room can be expanded to the ter-
race. However, it is recommended that the expanded
interior space occupy only a partial portion of the terrace.
In that way, the remaining terrace space can ensure prop-
er daylight and ventilation to the unit. Some of the
detailed floor plans of typical apartment units are shown
in Figure 18.
Various combinations of different apartment
units can be suggested (Figure 20), adding unique and
dynamic characteristics to the façades. The major orien-
tation of the apartment faces south or south-east.
Concern for low-energy loads, maximization of natural
daylight, and use of green spaces can contribute to a
sustainable high-rise community. Besides, each floor is
clustered with six to seven units served by a single loaded
corridor and two service cores on each end. The com-
mon corridor mimics a street or an alley, as in the SH.
The juxtaposition of private and semi-public open spaces
Figure 19. 3D models and floor plans of apartment unit combinations
Figure 20. 26-storey apartment model (a) Compositional
model showing unit combination; (b) south façade; (c)north facade; (d) model with a wire mesh skin.
Table 6. The main facades of six SH precedents
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is created by the combinations of different housing units
and service spaces, which will eventually encourage a
variety of communal activities.
In tegra ted des ign o f h igh -r i se hous ing
With the design of unit types and their combinations, a
synthesized high-rise housing building can be proposed.
As for a contemporary high rise housing model, a 26-
storey apartment with a total of 55 residential units is
proposed. A group of six or seven housing units are
arranged on each floor, served by a single loaded corri-
dor and two vertical cores on two ends. Common green
floors without dwellings are provided on the 19th floor
for communal activities and through ventilation (Figures
20 and 21). The green spaces, which provide natural
ventilation as well as appropriate landscapes with a
multiuse function, can significantly decrease the energy
required to cool buildings.
Every communal corridor faces to the north,
while the terrace of an individual housing unit faces to
the south. All green sky terraces are thus positioned for
protection against the northeast monsoon in winter.
Accordingly, this is also appropriate for apartments in
northern Vietnam, where the northeast monsoon is
severe.
The front room of an apartment unit is directly
connected to the common corridor. This area can be
used for commercial purposes such as a shop, an office,
a workshop, or a room for rent. Other rooms can be
easily manipulated in function when needed.
Some plans and models show a combination of
units (Figure 22). The floor plans are rectangular, and all
apartment units face the north-south direction. Every
green sky terrace faces toward the south. Before blowing
into the interior, the wind from the south-east is cooled
Figure 22. Plans and models showing the flexible combinations of units
Figure 21. Cross-section of high rise housing
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hoas it passes through the garden. During the winter,
rooms may be opened to allow air in from the garden.
Two cores, including the staircase and the lift, are posi-
tioned on west and east sides of the high-rise. Thus, the
cores protect the apartment units from the direct heat of
the sun.
Just like in the SH, the top terrace in the apart-
ment unit is always positioned directly facing the outside,
and serves as a green space. This also serves as an
expandable room when needed. Each apartment unit
receives maximum ventilation because of the large open
spaces formed by the terrace and the common space.
With the help of corridors, cross-ventilation is ensured in
every housing unit. Accordingly, energy consumption for
air conditioning in summer can be decreased.
Rainwater collected from the roof of the high-
rise housing is transported to a linked underground stor-
age tank. Water from the storage tank can be used for
secondary purposes such as toilet flushing, washing, gar-
dening, household cleaning, and so on. Green spaces
on roofs absorb heat, decreasing the tendency towards
thermal air movement. A fly roof on the rooftop is applied
for heat convection, solar chimney effect, stack effect,
and evaporative cooling as part of an air-conditioning
system.
A double layer is used for the façade. The outer
skin of the proposed housing is clad in expanded wire
mesh metal that ensures smooth airflow within the build-
ing. Not only does the wire metal mesh act as a cladding
on the exterior walls, it also serves as a sunscreen around
the building for an effective sun and glare screen.
Moreover, it reduces wind pressure on the upper floors.
The air gap between the two layers is for heat isolation
and ventilation.
Conclus ion
With the current trend in Vietnam’s urban developments,
existing SHs may soon be replaced by high-rise apart-
ments. Conveying the ingenious features of the SH “to
the sky” will offer new and comfortable living conditions,
because they originate from the lifestyles and environ-
mental conditions familiar to Vietnamese urban citizens.
Integration of spatial flexibility and passive design fea-
tures of the SH should be revisited to support diverse
lifestyles and enrich sustainable living environments for
new high-rise communities. Such interplay can evoke a
sense of strong communal relationships among high-rise
neighbors, which may otherwise be overlooked in many
contemporary architectural practices in Vietnam.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This work was supported by an INHA UNIVERSITY
Research Grant.
REFERENCES
BAY J. H. (2004). Socio-climatic design for high-rise dwellings.
PLEA2004 – The 21st Conference on Passive and Low Energy
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CHON B.H. (2007). Nha Ong and Shophouse. KOVAU
Workshop 2007, pp.29-39. (in Korean)
DAN L.T. (2005). The Alleys in Sai Gon – Concerning and
Hoping. Vietnamese Architecture Journal, Vol. 5 (121), pp.77-
80. (in Vietnamese)
HA N.M. (2002). Prospects on Housing Construction Industry
in Urban Areas of Vietnam. 1st Asian Forum Conference,
Tokyo, Japan.
KIEN T. (2008). Tube House and Neo-Tube House in Hanoi
City. Journal of Asian Architecture and Building Engineering,
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NA, L, PARK, J.H. (2011). Applying Eco-features of Traditional
Vietnamese Houses to Contemporary High-rise Housing, Vol.
36, No.4, pp.32-45.
PHUONG L., JANIS B. and NUR D. (2010). Applying environ-
mentally responsive characteristics of vernacular architecture to
sustainable housing in Vietnam. The Second International
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Development (SAUD 2010), 12-14 July 2010, Amman,
Jordan.
SONG I.H. (2004). Typo-morphological Observations of Deep
and Narrow Lot in Old Hanoi. International Workshop on
Urbanism and Architecture in Vietnam, pp.69-80. (in Korean)
SRIVASTAR S. and JONES P.J. (2009). Use of traditional passive
strategies to reduce the energy use and carbon emissions in
modern dwellings. International journal of Low-Carbon
Technologies 2009, Vol. 4, p.141-149.
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ouse
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ng.
TAM L.T.M (1999). Evolution of Street House in Vietnamese
Urban. Master Thesis of HCMC University of Architecture,
HCMC, Vietnam (in Vietnamese).
UEHARA H. et al. (2002). Study on the effect of arrangement
of voids on cross ventilation efficiency in Model House at
Hanoi, proceed. AIJ Annual Meeting, Kita Riku, 8/2002,
pp.1025-1026.
YEANG K. (1996). The Skyscraper, Bioclimatically considered;
a design primer. Academy Editions, London.
Author(s):
Le Thi Hong Na
Ph.D, Lecturer, Department of Civil Engineering,
Ho Chi Minh City, University of Technology,
Jin-Ho Park
Corresponding Author, Professor, Department of
Architecture, Inha University, [email protected]
Minjung Cho
Assistant Professor, Department of Architecture, Inha
University, [email protected]
4 7
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se in
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atio
nal V
ol.3
8 N
o.2,
Ju
ne 2
013.
Tra
nsla
ting
Mem
orie
s: R
esha
ping
Spa
tial P
atte
rns
on E
phem
eral
Urb
an D
wel
ling.
Ephemeral Urban Dwellings (EUD) stands for the impro-vised houses people build using leftover materials dis-carded by society. These structures are located on other-wise unused spaces (typically below highway overpasses,vacant lots and roadsides) on privileged land in city cen-ters. The fact that such dwellings are located on publicor third-party owned land holds back their gradualimprovement, as is the trend in self-built popular hous-ing. Their inhabitants do not have the incentives to ren-ovate or improve their homes out of fear to be evicted.This condemns EUD to be always temporary in spite ofhaving been sheltering its inhabitants for months, evenfor years.
This paper considers EUD to be vernaculararchitecture (Gómez 2010) since it is the material evi-dence of cultural landscapes that combine social segre-gation, scarcity and consumerism. Bogotá, an eight-mil-lion-people city, is one of the places where such a cul-tural landscape takes place. Aside from reflecting thesocial conditions of the city, it is also the result of a mix-ture of cultural traditions brought from Colombia’s dif-ferent regions to the capital. Often not only spaces arereproduced but also daily-life activities and rituals, allow-ing newcomers to adjust to the context of the big city.
The different ways these activities relate tospace are an essential part of a process of culturalappropriations that takes place in EUD. All inhabitantsinterviewed did have a permanent home at some point.
I argue that the way ideas of privacy are related to spaceand how and where activities are performed in theseprovisional shelters replicates attitudes and spatial pat-terns from the permanent homes left behind. Spatial pat-terns of use that, in some cases, were originally generat-ed by distinctive climates, topographies and culturalconditions of towns and rural environments, are present-ly reflected in the ephemeral homes.
This project proposes to read space through thelens of patterns of use. While the cultural appropriationsin EUD seem difficult to trace from the perspective ofbuilding technology and spatial configuration (due to itsprecarious materials and space limitations) they could betraced by linking specific activities and ideas of privacy tospatial arrangements. In order to probe this, three casestudies were analyzed. The methodology used started byproducing detailed drawings and photos of each select-ed building to determine their specific spatial character-istics. Then, semi-structured interviews and direct obser-vation indicated the patterns of use, determining each ofthe activities that are performed in each particular space,and which specific person in the household is associat-ed to any particular domestic space. The intervieweesdrew mental maps of their previous homes andanswered some questions about their former homearrangements. This information was used to comparethe spatial arrangements and activities of the houses leftbehind with the ones present in the EUD.
Jaime E. Gómez M.
Abstract
Vernacular transformations of underused places give shape to Ephemeral Urban Dwellings (EUD). By reading the spa-
tial patterns of use of three of these buildings, this paper demonstrates that EUD replicate the way activities and ideas
of privacy are related to space in the previous and permanent homes left behind by its inhabitants. The case studies
are located in central areas of Bogotá and, although ephemeral, they have stayed for years. Personal interviews and
mental maps drawn by the interviewees as well as on site drawings and photography by the author are the main sources
of this study.
The paper recalls the processes of cultural appropriation that take place when people adjust to new cultural con-
texts. In the case of the dwellings studied, these processes give clues on how the ideas that shape the way people use
space are translated into new places. The paper’s conclusion calls for further research on EUD as an object of acade-
mic interest.
Keywords: Ephemeral Dwelling, Vernacular Architecture, Memory and Space.
TRANSLATING MEMORIES: RESHAPING SPATIAL PAT-TERNS ON EPHEMERAL URBAN DWELLING1
1This paper is a revised version of the author’s paper presented at the 6th International Seminar on Vernacular Settlements, April 19-21 2012, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus.
4 8
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e E.
Góm
ez M
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en h
ouse
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3. T
rans
latin
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emor
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Res
hapi
ng S
patia
l Pat
tern
s on
Eph
emer
al U
rban
Dw
ellin
g.
Methodologically, this study is informed by LindsayAsquith’s study of the spatial arrangements in familyhomes in the United Kingdom (2010), and by RebeccaGinsburg’s study on memory and space (2004) andCanadian artist Marlene Create’s works using mentalmapping (1997).
Theoretical Framework
In the book “Stuff”, on the study of material culture,anthropologist Daniel Miller (2010:23-31) reveals theprocess of accommodation to the Indian Sari by adoles-cent girls. When this garment is worn for the first time itfeels uncomfortable. However, after wearing the Sari foryears, most Sari wearers become used to it and evenunaware of it. As could be inferred from the text, forthese women the Sari becomes an important part ofwhat they are, and it is expected that this idea is trans-mitted to their daughters in order to preserve this tradi-tion in future generations.Something similar happens with a dwelling. In our child-hood, we spend much time discovering a world made ofplaces, such as our home. As we grow up the houseteaches us how to behave, how to live and what we canand cannot do in each of its spaces. We eventuallybecome so used to what the space has taught us that ifwe have to move away, we initially feel uncomfortable.We then try to bring certain elements into the new settingand rearrange the space for it to feel more like home.Spatial traditions, as clothing traditions, are transmittedfrom generation to generation.
In a study on Mexican immigrants who movedto the United States for many years and then back toMexico, Ellen-J Pader (1993) explains how Mexicanhomes started to replicate spatial patterns from theirAmerican counterparts. In this case, the homes inMexico were influenced by what people had learnedwhile living in the United States for years. As in the pre-vious examples, a process of cultural appropriation2 isinvolved, establishing a permanent dialog between whatthere is around us and what we are.
Our identity –what we are- is shaped in part bythe house we inhabit, and our house is at the same timeshaped by our identity. A clear example of this is theShaker dwelling in the United States, as described byJulie Nicoletta in an article on the architecture of control(2003). The article shows how, with the aim to conveytheir beliefs, every corner of the Shaker dwellings wasthought to form identities. As a consequence, it is hopedthat the young members help to shape their younger rel-atives’ identities. In another example, a study onMongolian tents by Caroline Humphrey (1974) shows
how despite the changes the region had in the first thirdof the twentieth century, shifting from a feudalist societyto a socialist society and in spite of technological inno-vations, the main spatial features of the tent did notchange. In this case, although cultural changes wereexperienced, traces of the past were kept in the space byan unconscious need to transmit identity.
According to Finnish architect Juhani Pallasmaa(2009:18) “Memory is also the ground of self-identity:we are what we remember”; and space, we could say, isthe canvas where our memory keeps traces of our iden-tity. As Pallasmaa also writes “we understand andremember who we are through our constructions, bothmaterial and mental” (2009:17).
In John Ruskin’s words, cited in an article byEsther da Costa Meyer (2009:179): “We may live with-out her [architecture] and worship without her, but wecannot remember without her, How cold is all history,how lifeless all imagery, compared to that which the liv-ing nation writes and the uncorrupted marble bears!”.
However, memory is not precise. In the draw-ings made by the interviewees as well as in the inter-views, certain spaces were prioritized over others whentalking about their previous homes. As da Costa Meyer(2009:188) states: “Memory is interventionist: it magni-fies, diminishes, adjusts, darkens, or illuminates placesthat are no longer extant, transforming the past anewevery time it is called to mind, shorn of undesirable rem-iniscences, embellished by wishful thinking, colored bypresent concerns”.
Three Case Studies
The three case studies are located in Bogotá in mixed-use neighborhoods where EUD’s inhabitants have easyaccess to services and jobs. The cases were chosen ran-domly and the number of visits made ranged betweenfive and nine. The questions asked were strictly focusedon the spaces in the dwellings per se and were notintended to know anything about the personal life of theparticipants. The information collected from the case studies was ana-lyzed based on the activities that were performed in boththe former participant’s houses and the EUD. The com-mon names usually given to house spaces, such as liv-ing room, dining room, etc, were avoided when possiblesince using them could blur the identification of the realactivities that took place in each space of the dwellings.
Andrea’s Bridge
Andrea3 lives under a vehicular bridge that overpasses
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a sewage canal (Fig. 1). She, a mid-thirties woman, hasbeen living there for thirteen years. She inherited theplace and the “parche”4 from a woman who left whenher husband died there. Andrea lives with four men, oneof them her boyfriend, who respect her and follow herrules. She spends most of the day at home and goes outonly when she needs to use the bathroom at a sister’shouse nearby, get water from the neighbors, and collectand sell recyclable things. Andrea keeps the order underthe bridge and makes all the decisions regarding its spa-tial arrangement. Her leadership in those activities wasthe main reason why she was the chosen subject for theinterviews.
The permanent house she used to live in manyyears ago was located in another Bogotá’s neighbor-hood (Fontibón). She lived there with her husband andher two kids. Although Andrea spent most of the day inher one-story house, she sporadically went out to visit theclients who bought the cosmetic products she used tosell.
Welcoming visitors
Unlike Andrea’s former house, her house under thebridge does not have a place intended for attending vis-
itors. The “living-dining room” that was part of the for-mer house was barely used. Although it occupied a largeportion of the total area of the building (Fig. 2), Andrea’ssisters and a neighbor who lived in front of her housewere the only visitors she used to have. When I visitedAndrea’s bridge for the first time I was welcomed in thecorridor and an improvised bench was brought for me(Fig. 3). Later on, when we were familiar to each other,she stayed in the “kitchen” or at the space where shesleeps while I talked to her standing on the corridor. Whyshould she have a place intended for visitors at home if,as in her former house, they are uncommon?
Having meals
There were two spaces of Andrea’s former house whereher and her family used to have meals: the dining tableat the “living-dining room” and the room where theyslept. Although the dining table was mainly used byAndrea’s husband to work, from time to time it was alsothe space where family meals took place. On the con-trary, the room where they used to sleep was the spaceof the house where individual meals were taken, notbecause they ate alone, but because the turned on TVlimited family members integration (Fig, 2).
A similar situation takes place under the bridge. In thiscase the “kitchen” and the spaces the bridge’s inhabi-tants use to sleep are also the places where they havemeals. “Family” meals, where Andrea’s “parche” (her
Figure 2. Andrea’s former house (drawing by the author).
Figure 1. Andrea’s house under the bridge (photo by the
author).
2“Cultural appropriation” is understood as “the use of a culture’s symbols, artifacts, genres, rituals, or technologies by members of another culture” (Rogers 2006).3 Her real name has been changed to protect her identity. Information on Andrea and her dwellings is based on personal interviews held between November 25th, 2011, and January 8th, 2012.4“Parche”: In street jargon refers to a group of people who share activities and usually have a permanent meeting place.
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family) and the neighbors form the other side of thecanal (her extended family)5 meet, are held in the“kitchen.” On the other hand, is not unusual that eachmember of the “parche” goes alone to have meals attheir own sleeping spaces (Fig. 3). As in Andrea’s formerhouse, there is a space for family meals and for individ-ual meals.
Cooking and doing laundry
Both under the bridge and in her former house Andreahas always felt that the “kitchen” is her space. At the for-mer house she used to cook alone, although she some-times got help from her husband and one of her sons.Under the bridge, although cooking is a communalactivity that she shares with her “parche” and neighbors,she is the person in charge to organize who does whatand when.
In both dwellings doing laundry has beenAndrea’s responsibility. In her former house laundry wasdone in an area closely connected to the “kitchen” thatshe called “laundry patio” (Fig. 2). Despite of that thespace for laundry under the bridge has very differentspatial characteristics if compared with her previouslaundry patio, Andrea still calls it the same: “laundrypatio”. As in the former house, it is closely associatedwith the “kitchen” since the only way to reach the “patio”
is through it. It is important to note that, unlike most con-ventional homes where spaces for laundry and cookingremain closely connected mainly because of technicalreasons (e.g. placing them together optimizes the use ofpipes), this does not justifies the close connectionbetween both spaces in Andrea’s bridge (Fig. 3).
Sleeping
In Andrea’s former house she slept in the same roomwith her husband and her two kids. It was, aside of thebathroom, the most private space in the house. In thathouse coming from the street and getting into the roomwhere the family used to sleep, was a journey precededby the “living-dining room”, a corridor and a door. It wasalso a place intended for closer family meetings (Fig. 2).Similarly, in Andrea’s bridge the room where she and herboyfriend sleeps is the most private space of thedwelling. In order to get into it from the only entrance ofthe house, a person has to cross through a multi-usesloped corridor that runs through the dwelling connect-ing the “kitchen”, a space for storing recyclable materi-als waiting to be sold, and two other rooms. In additionto the privacy that the layering of spaces give to the roomby “hiding it”, it is additionally protected by a curtain. Ascan be seen in the images, there is no doors in Andrea’sbridge (Fig. 3, 4).
Figure 3. Andrea’s house under the bridge (drawing by the author).
5In this paragraph the term “family” is used in a figurative sense to refer to close friends.
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Unlike her former house, the room whereAndrea currently sleeps is not a place for family gather-ings. However, a room besides her bedroom, where theother three members of the “parche” sleep, is the spaceintended for that activity. In both Andrea’s former houseand Andrea’s bridge, a room used for sleeping is thefamily meeting place.
Growing plants
From the three case studies, Andrea was the only partic-ipant who refused to draw her former house. Instead,during the interview, I drew and modeled in plastelinewhat she was telling me about it. In spite of how difficultit was to imagine her former house, she told me some-thing which seemed to be one of its most important char-acteristics: “I had plants all over the house, even in thebathroom!”6. On the other hand, Andrea’s bridge has aspace exclusively used for plants, which is directly con-nected to the “kitchen”. Many times, when we were talk-ing about the dwelling, she mentioned her “garden”.However, the garden she planned did not really exist. Atable supporting some pots and a dying plant was allthat she had (Fig. 3).
Manuel’s Corner
When Manuel7 started living at the corner where hishouse is presently located, police did not like him. It waseight years ago in 2003. Five years ago, because hehelped to maintain the zone clean and tidy, police
allowed him to use four square meters of the sidewalk tobuild his home (Fig. 5, 6). Although Manuel lives with hisgirlfriend, he says she does almost nothing to up keep-ing the house. Perhaps it justifies the fact that she nevergave me any information about the dwelling.
Manuel’s single-room house is equipped withsome unexpected amenities considering this is built withdiscarded materials (mainly wood taken from pallets): aTV, a stereo and a DVD player which was stolen a cou-ple of days after he bought it. His house has also elec-tricity and potable water that police helped him to install.Since Manuel is the person who keeps both his dwellingand its surrounding area in good shape, he knows welleverything about the place. This was one of the reasonswhy he, and not his girlfriend, was the chosen participantfor this research.
The former house where Manuel used to live,which he considered his home, was in Sincelejo, close tothe Caribbean coast. He lived there when he was childwith his mother, four aunts and an uncle.
Working
Manuel’s uncle ran a small printing business at his for-mer house in Sincelejo where ads and banners weremade. His uncle taught Manuel the business and inexchange he helped his uncle when there was a lot ofwork. In fact, the first interior space he drew when I wasinterviewing him was the shop where the business usedto ran. The shop was so important to him, that the draw-ing was very detailed. Even some of the tools they usedwere drawn (Fig. 7).
Figure 4. The room where Andrea sleeps is hidden behind a curtain (photo by the author).
6Personal interview held on December 29th, 2011.7His real name has been changed to protect his identity. Information on Manuel and his dwellings is based on personal interviews held between November 24th, 2011, and January 8th, 2012.
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At the corner where Manuel lives now, hishouse is also related to his job (Fig. 6). He works col-lecting recyclable materials, particularly electric cables,in order to get the copper and sell it. He goes out twodays a week to pick up the cables from a factory thatmakes electrical devices. The rest of the week he is athome separating the copper from the rubber that coversthe cables. In his house at the corner, Manuel has aspace where the recyclable materials are stored. As in hisformer house, the space to work and the dwelling areclosely related.
Welcoming visitors
One of the things Manuel drew on the piece of paper Igave him, was the facade of his former house (Fig. 8).There, a human figure was drawn. It was his uncle who,as in many cities in the north of the country, spent muchof the day sitting on a bench in front of the dwelling.Manuel used to sit there with his uncle and, recallingthose times, he now spends much of the day looking out-side from a space in-between the interior and exterior ofthe house. It is here where he usually welcomes visitors(Fig. 6).
Although Bogotá has a variable climate oscil-lating from 24°C during the day to 8°C at night,Manuel’s house at the corner does not have a door. Hisformer house did, but it remained open the whole day
since it was needed to ventilate the dwelling and coun-teract the average temperature of 35°C in Sincelejo. Thisgave me the feeling that the spatial pattern of the opendoor was translated into the new climate without almostany change, also supporting the image of a welcominghouse.
Finally, as in Manuel’s former house, his houseat the corner has a place where a visitor can stayovernight. In Sincelejo there was a room exclusivelyintended for that purpose; when there were no visitorsthe room remained empty. In Manuel’s house at the cor-ner the place for visitors is temporary. A portion of thesidewalk can be occupied with an improvised sheltermade out of cardboard, wood and plastic bags, thatdoes not stay there for long (Fig. 6).
Bathroom
There are other people in the neighborhood who, likeManuel, live on the sidewalks. According to Manuel,they use the street as washroom without worrying aboutprivacy. For Manuel, whose former house had anenclosed bathroom, using an open space to replace it isnot an option. Seeking privacy when he needs to take ashower, he shapes a temporary space for that purposeusing a nylon fabric tied to poles in order to fix bound-aries. Although there is no shower, a hose that providesthe water is used for that purpose (Fig. 6). The washroom
Figure 6. Manuel’s house at the corner (drawing by the author).
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is located one block away from Manuel’s house and wasbuilt by him using an old blanket providing privacy. Twobricks on the floor shape a place for sitting. Manuel builtthe washroom not only for him, but also for all the peo-ple who live on the sidewalks close to his house. Oncein a while a truck from a trash removal public companycleans the space.
Ingrid and Luis’ Place
Ingrid and Luis8 live at a house on a river bank close toAndrea’s bridge (Fig. 9). Luis has been living at the placefor twenty-five years, although the dwelling he built whenhe arrived there was different from the one he and hiswife have now. Ingrid started living with Luis in 1993. Shehelped him to build the “new” dwelling and, as I couldinfer, she made most of the important decisions about itsspatial arrangements. Although Ingrid is the one whospends most of the time at home, both she and Luisseemed to know many things about the place.Therefore, both participated in the research.
The former house Luis remembers as home wasin Medellín. He lived there with his parents when he wasa child. Before starting to live besides the river he usedto sleep in cheap one-night hotels. Similarly, the houseIngrid remembers as home was also in Medellin. Shelived there for nine years since she was eleven. The sin-gle-room house she lived in was on the top of a hill andwas owned by her sister, who lived there with her hus-band and their six children.
Looking outside
In most poor neighborhoods in Colombian cities, sitting
in front on one’s house looking at what is going on thestreet for long periods of time, is a common activity. Luisused to sit in the sidewalk in front of his former house towatch the day go by. However he stepped into the houseas soon as someone would arrive, because he preferrednot having to engage in conversations with people.Ingrid also liked to spend time looking outside the win-dow in her former house and, unlike Luis, she was verysociable and enjoyed getting company.
Ingrid keeps being a very sociable person. Shelikes to be outside the house on the river bank and spendtime doing maintenance by cleaning the park at theback of her home. Although her present home has nowindows as her former house, a bench close to thedwelling replaces the space she used to have for people-watching (Fig. 9). On the contrary, as in the past, Luisdoes not like visitors or being outside. In fact when he isnot working as a car mechanic, he spends most of histime inside the house, going out only to use the bath-room.
Growing plants
In both Ingrid’s and Luis’ former houses taking care ofplants was important. Although it does not appear in hisdrawings, when Luis was describing his former house, hementioned many times how the backyard was full ofplants. In Ingrid’s former house, plants and trees werelocated in the front and back yard. In fact, in the draw-ing of her former home, she drew two majestic trees (Fig.10). Their large size gives a clue on how important theywere to her.
When Luis moved to the area there were noplants, only a couple of bushes. Soon he started planti-
Figure 7. Manuel’s uncle shop
(mental map by Manuel).
8Their names have been changed to protect their privacy. Information on Ingrid, Luis and each one’s dwellings is based on personal interviews held between January 6th and January 21st, 2012.
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ng trees, which, some years later grew and became animportant part of the landscape. In 2004 the city built alinear park along the river and, in order to build a bicy-cle path, many of the trees that Luis had planted werefelled. In spite of this the couple started planting newtrees right away. Today the trees are grown and, again,became an important feature of the landscape (Fig. 11).
Luis and Ingrid take care of at least 130 meters of the lin-ear park. They clean it, trim bushes, paint the benchesand evict street vendors. Both Ingrid and Luis identify thispart of the park as their “yard”, comparable to the yardsthey used to have in their previous homes. In fact, thissection is the best cared for part of the entire park.
Bathroom
The backyard was the place where the bathroom waslocated in both Luis’ and Ingrid’s former house. In bothcases it was separated from the main dwelling and wasa very private space. In the house on the river bank thebathroom is also located in the “yard” and separatedfrom the dwelling. It consists of four poles wrapped in aplastic canvas that provides some privacy (Fig. 9, 10).
Conclusion
When people move from a place to another place notonly objects but also ideas that molded people’s identi-ties are brought. Whether consciously or unconsciously
Figure 8. Manuel’s uncle sitting in front of his house in Sincelejo (mental map by Manuel).
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memories are reflected in the new places, as could beseen in the case studies. As I tried to prove, in spite ofrestrictions regarding place and construction materials,the way ideas of privacy relate to space and the wayactivities are performed in EUD replicate the ones fromthe homes left behind. In some cases the patterns repli-cated were evident; in another cases they were subtle.Both reflect a process of cultural appropriations in whichmemories from the past are brought and mixed with thenew reality.
In this study there were patterns whose origincould not be traced. There were others that seemed tobe in opposition to the ones present in the homes leftbehind. Therefore, further research that involves morecase studies and a longer period of time is needed. EUDhas proven not only to have the potential to show rele-vant information about the way spatial patterns of useare replicated, but also to give clues on other topicsregarding housing.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Without the help of “Fundación Niños de los Andes”,“Fundación Pocalana”, “Secretaria de Integración Social
de Bogotá” and Lauramaria Pedraza it would have beenimpossible to meet EUD’s inhabitants. I am particularlygrateful to Julia Tischer from McGill University whose cri-tiques and suggestions were crucial for the writing of thispaper.
Figure 9. Figure 9: Ingrid
and Luis’ house on the riverbank (drawing by theauthor).
Figure 10. The drawing shows how important were the
trees in Ingrid’s former house. The bathroom, on the right,is separated from the dwelling (mental map by Ingrid).
Figure 11. Ingrid and Luis’ house. Most of the trees in the picture were planted by them (photo by the author).
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HUMPHREY, C. 1974, Inside a Mongolian Tent. New Society,1974, 273-275.
MILLER, D. 2010, Stuff, Polity Press, Cambridge, UK.
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Nineteen–Century America, Journal of the Society ofArchitectural Historians, 62:3, 352-387.
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Space Use in Mexico and the United States. AmericanEthnologist, 20:1, 114-137.
PALLASMAA, J. 2009, Space, Place, Memory and Imagination:
The Temporal Dimension of Existential Space, in: M. Treib (Ed)Spatial Recall. Memory in Architecture and Landscape,Routledge, New York, 2009.
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Author(s):
Jaime E. Gómez M.Department of Architecture Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, [email protected]
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I n t roduc t ion
In 1980, Pierre Bourdieu wrote that in order to becomean authority on a given subject (for example ‘art’), onemust firstly consecrate (authorize) its value in the eyes ofothers and secondly continue to control belief in the sub-ject’s value with the ultimate aim being to monopolizepower in the field of human production (1980: 261-293). Bourdieu’s theory on the production of beliefserves as the theoretical kernel from which this paper isgerminated. It is the current author’s contention that thepresent lack of vernacular architectural scholarship (VAS)in mainstream architectural history and theory points toa more significant political issue than is suggested by asimple semantic divide; an issue which represents an
outdated worldview that extends back to the era whenVA scholarship was excluded as a serious endeavour in‘modern’ architectural theory. This paper challenges thesubjective motivations behind the original consecrationof a Euro-American centric canon of architecture and itscontinued authorization in the value of certain architec-tures at the expense of physical manifestations thatapparently lie outside its realm of influence and under-standing. In addition to referencing Bourdieu’s work, thetheoretical position of this paper builds on previous workby the author (Davidson 2010) and his colleagueMemmott (2008) as well as others such as Glassie(2000) and Upton (2007) who have taken a similarstance in the past.
James Davidson
Abstract
Given the broad scale and fundamental transformations occurring to both the natural environment and human condi-
tion in the present era, what does the future hold for vernacular architecture studies? In a world where Capital A (some-
times referred to as ‘polite’) architectural icons dominate our skylines and set the agenda for our educational institu-
tions, is the study of vernacular architecture still relevant? What role could it possibly have in understanding and sub-
sequently impacting on architectural education, theory and practice, and in turn, professional built environment design?
Imagine for a minute, a world where there is no divide between the vernacular and the ‘polite’, where all built envi-
ronments, past and present are open to formal research agendas whereby the inherent knowledge in their built histo-
ries inform the professional design paradigm of the day – in all built settings, be they formal or informal, Western or
non-Western. In this paper, the author is concerned with keeping the flames of intellectual discontent burning in propos-
ing a transformation and reversal of the fortunes of VAS within mainstream architectural history and theory.
In a world where a social networking website can ignite a revolution, one can already see the depth of global trans-
formations on the doorstep. No longer is there any excuse to continue intellectualizing global futures solely within a
Western (Euro-American) framework. In looking at the history of VAS, the purpose of this paper is to illustrate that the
answers for its future pathways lie in an understanding of the intellectual history underpinning its origins. As such, the
paper contends that the epistemological divide established in the 1920s by art historians, whereby the exclusion of so-
called non-architect architectures from the mainstream canon of architectural history has resulted in an entire architec-
tural corpus being ignored in formal educational institutions and architectural societies today. Due to this exclusion, the
majority of mainstream architectural thinkers have resisted theorizing on the vernacular. In the post-colonial era of glob-
alization the world has changed, and along with it, so have many of the original paradigms underpinning the episte-
mologies setting vernacular environments apart. In exploring this subject, the paper firstly positions this dichotomy with-
in the spectrum of Euro-American architectural history and theory discourse; secondly, draws together the work of schol-
ars who have at some point in the past called for the obsolescence of the term ‘vernacular’ and the erasure of cate-
gorical distinctions that impact on the formal study of what are perceived as non-architectural environments; and final-
ly, sets out the form by which curricula for studies of world architecture could take.
Keywords: Architecture, Vernacular, Historiography, Cross-Cultural, Theory.
A PROPOSAL FOR THE FUTURE OF VERNACULARARCHITECTURE STUDIES
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S e t t i ng t he Scene
In setting the scene for the development of VAS, onemust begin by establishing the intellectual history sus-taining the schism between Capital A (‘polite’) and ‘ver-nacular’ architecture theory – the history of architecturaltheory itself (Davidson 2010). In the Euro-American tra-dition, the enculturation process for any student of archi-tecture normally begins with the work of Roman archi-tect-engineer Marcus Vitruvius Pollio (ca.70-25 BCE). In23 BCE, Vitruvius wrote a treatise on architecture anddedicated it to the Roman Emperor Augustus.Comprising ten ‘books’, de architectura is the earliestsurviving theoretical account of architecture and as suchis the foundation stone for the Euro-American architec-tural theory tradition. Of specific interest to the presentdiscussion is the statement Vitruvius (1960: 38) makes inBook II that ‘architecture’ was the phenomenon that sep-arated ‘modern man’ from the ‘wild beasts of old’. Hepresents the Roman house of 23 BCE as an evolution ofdwelling forms of the original beastlike humans andexplains that through a greater understanding of materi-als and a pursuit for “higher ideas born of the multipli-cation of the arts”, humans gave up huts and “began tobuild houses with foundations, having brick or stonewalls, and roofs of timber and tiles; next, observationand application led them from fluctuating and indefiniteconceptions to definite rules of symmetry” (Vitruvius1960: 40-41). For Cesar Augustus’ benefit, Vitruvius(1960: 39) writes: “That houses originated as I havewritten above, we can see for ourselves from the build-ings that are to this day constructed of like materials byforeign tribes: for instance in Gaul, Spain, Portugal, andAquitaine, roofed with oak shingles or thatched.” Thus,in reflecting the geo-political context of the day, the mod-est hut “of old times” served as a perfect example for thedistinction between ‘modern Roman man’ (23 BCE) anda “rude and barbarous mode of life”.
History shows that the next major theoreticaladdition to the canon of Euro-American architectural tra-dition coincided with the beginning of the Early Modernor Renaissance Period (1400s-1600s CE) in Western his-tory. With the term itself deriving from the Latin re-
nascere, to be re-born, the Renaissance Period coincid-ed with the end of the European Middle Ages (500-1400 CE), the rise of European nation-states, theReformation of Christianity, and the beginning of fivehundred years of European cultural expansion and glob-al domination. In saying this, the European expansion toareas of the world like the Americas and Asia was aneconomic windfall initially to the Spanish andPortuguese, and indirectly the Italians, who although notconquerors themselves were the merchants for Europe.
This cultural renaissance saw the rediscovery ofVitruvian thought in 1414 CE when Italian GianFrancesco Poggio Bracciolini (1380-1459) located acopy of de architectura in the library of the medievalAbbey of St. Gall. While Bracciolini discovered the book,architect Leon Battista Alberti (1404-1472) is creditedwith its reintroduction into Euro-American architecturaltheory. In 1450, Alberti wrote the first printed book onarchitecture, De Re Aedificatoria (On the Art of Building).His second publication, Ten Books on Architecture, wasreminiscent of Vitruvius’ classic and set out to establish anew way of building which reflected its 15th Century his-torical and cultural context (Rykwert 1955: v). In sodoing, Alberti used examples of his own ‘modern’ workto illustrate how buildings should be purpose built ratherthan simple replicas of Roman and Greek classicalantiquity (Rykwert 1988: x). Some 20 years after thepublication of De Re Aedificatoria, Alberti completed therestoration of the facade of the Santa Maria Novella(1458-1470) basilica in Florence. In combining Greekclassical proportions with local Florentine architecturaltraditions, the façade of the Santa Maria Novella repre-sented Alberti’s theory of a new Renaissance architec-ture. Through the use of local building traditions, therestoration of the Santa Maria Novella also presented hisposition on a much debated subject of the time –whether or not it was acceptable to theorise classicalarchitecture in the non-Latin vernacular of Florentine(Borsi 1977). This semantic debate led to questions ofarchitectural style whereby Latin was associated withClassical architecture, as the ancient, and Florentinebuilding traditions were the ‘modern’ vernacular. AsBorsi (1977: 12) states Alberti’s “…dignifying of the ver-nacular through the studia humanitatis and theennobling of architecture through the study of classicalmodels were merely different aspects of a single endeav-our.”
The Or ig ins o f VAS : The Gothic
In a similar manner to Alberti’s treatise 400 years earli-er, and inspired by the theory and practice of AugustusWelby Pugin (1812-1852), the Gothic Revival periodwas a reaction to the imitation of classical Greek andRoman architectural forms of the Neoclassical period soprevalent in 19th Century England, Europe and theUnited States of America. In searching for a ‘true’ 19th
Century architecture, Pugin, a devout Catholic, saw therise of Neo-Classical architecture as a further “decay oftrue Christian principles” and sought to bring about areturn to the ‘architectural excellence’ of the medievalGothic architecture erected prior to the Protestant
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sonReformation in England and Europe (1841: 3). In his
book Contrasts, Pugin (1841), like Alberti and Vitruviusbefore him, is attempting to reconfigure the definitionand representation of architecture to bring a new orderto English architecture and revive the Catholic cause inProtestant England. Along with Pugin, proponents of theGothic Revival called for the reintroduction of medievalarchitecture and construction techniques that exempli-fied a truth to materials, a human enjoyment in the mak-ing of architecture, and a respect for local building tra-ditions and histories.
Furthermore, the publication of Sir GeorgeGilbert Scott’s Remarks on Secular and Domestic
Architecture, Present & Future in 1857 was a watershedmoment in the history of vernacular architecture studies.Like Pugin, Gilbert Scott (1857) was a serious advocatefor the democratisation of Gothic-inspired architectureacross the entire English architectural canon, both pub-lic and domestic. He was also the first to link the lin-guistic term ‘vernacular’ with architecture, aiming “not ata dead antiquarian revival, but at developing upon thebasis of the indigenous architecture of our own country,a style which will be pre-eminently that of our own age”(Gilbert Scott 1857: ix-x).
Through the influential work of art and archi-tecture critic John Ruskin (1819-1900), the mid 19th
Century saw the beginnings of a slow evolution of theGothic Revival. Ruskin, in association with A.W. Puginand George Gilbert Scott, became an advocate for theGothic Revival, however, unlike his contemporaries, andpossibly because he was not actually an architect but asocial critic, Ruskin (1886) was not limited by nostalgiafor the architectural aesthetics of the Medieval Period.His concern, as outlined in his 1851 seminal work, The
Stones of Venice, was to draw on the social and religiousexperiences of the Middle Ages in an effort to propose anew 19th Century architecture. In focusing on architec-tural ‘honesty’ Ruskin was less concerned with the mim-icry of Gothic architectural types, and more concernedwith the social legacy of the medieval period, mostnotably its Catholic heritage. Growing out of the GothicRevival’s search for authenticity in architecture, the Artsand Crafts movement, commonly referred to as theVernacular Revival, was “a response to a century ofunprecedented social and economic upheaval...an aes-thetic resulting from the use of indigenous materials andnative traditions were also central to the movement’sphilosophy...” (Kaplan 2004: 11). Arts and Crafts archi-tects began to document local English cottages andfarm-houses as inspiration for this ‘new’ architecture.
The Arts and Crafts focus on reviving Englishvernacular traditions led to a more formalised method-ology in the study of traditional domestic architectures.
Architect Ralph Nevill’s Old Cottages and Domestic
Architecture in South-West Surrey in 1891 was one of thefirst in-depth scholarly studies of English vernaculararchitecture and detailed a survey of box-frame post-and-truss construction undertaken in Surrey in 1875,during his time as an assistant in the office of the Gothic-Revivalist Sir George Gilbert Scott. In the late 19th
Century non-architects became interested in the subject,with solicitor S.O. Addy, in association with architect C.F.Innocent, writing The Evolution of the English House in1898 and The Development of English Building
Construction in 1916. While Nevill, Addy and Innocentfocussed on English domestic traditions, Norman Isham,Albert Brown, Henry Mercer, and Irving Lyon were estab-lishing vernacular architecture scholarship in the UnitedStates, being “committed to the value of the arts andcrafts movement... and presented their works as explicitappreciations of the superiority of tradition, and asreformist in intent” (Upton 1993: 10). The work of theseEnglish and American founding scholars set the agendafor VA research to the present day, and their differentinterests and backgrounds reflected an original interdis-ciplinary research.
The Mode rn Movement and Def in i t ionalSemant i c s
The social and political upheaval of the First World War(WWI) stymied the development of the Arts and CraftsVernacular Revival. With an emphasis on European andBritish indigenous principles, vernacular architecture wasdrawn into the political debate building up to WWI.Traditional building forms, as historical representationsof national identities, were used as public displays ofnationalism across Europe, and the vernacular becamea political tool in defining national identity and differencebetween the nation-states of the day (Swenarton 1981).The subsequent decline in the Arts and Crafts movementin Europe and the United Kingdom, post-WWI led to therise of a new architectural movement in Euro-Americandiscourse and practice. Reflecting the advancement ofthe industrial age, this architectural ‘movement’ shiftedaway from the late 19th Century focus on traditional ver-nacular forms of architecture towards mechanisedmodes of production with a resultant revisiting of formalarchitectural principles once again. The fallout from theFirst World War’s nationalist tendencies led to a reti-cence of displaying national identity through architectur-al ornamentation/decoration and the International Style,or Modernism, was born.
The founding fathers of Modernism in Europewere the Austrian architect, Adolf Loos, and the German
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architect Hermann Muthesius. Writing in Ornament and
Crime in 1913, Loos (1998: 24) rejected ‘pretentiousbourgeoisie’ notions of architectural ‘style’ in favour ofcommon-sense ‘rational’ objects, such as men’s clothingand shoes, which required no such styling to be func-tional. Hermann Muthesius’ involvement in the theoreti-cal evolution of European Modernism related to his timespent as German cultural attaché to London in the1890s. Muthesius on the other hand was engaged bythe German Government to study the English Arts andCrafts movement and the works of its principal archi-tects. The results of his seven years (1896-1903) ofresearch were published in Das Englische Haus in 1904,which presented the historical development of Englishdomestic architecture from the 1870s through to the turnof the 20th Century. Inspired by the English VernacularRevival, Muthesius returned to Germany and in 1907established the Deutscher Werkbund, a guild of Germanarchitects, artists and industrial designers. The intentionof the Werkbund was to synthesise the principles of theBritish Arts and Crafts with the mass production of theindustrial age. A number of the original members of theWerkbund, Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, Peter Behrensand Eliel Saarinen, went on to become ‘modernist’architects of note.
The 1920s were significant as the period inwhich the term ‘vernacular’ became common architec-tural parlance, having previously been used inter-changeably with ‘primitive’, ‘folk’, ‘indigenous’, ‘sponta-neous’, and ‘traditional’ without it being formally definedin academic architectural discourse. As Upton notes in“Outside the Academy”, the scholar responsible for itsformal segregation from academic architectural dis-course was the American art historian Fiske Kimball(1888-1955). Kimball’s lasting influence over theAmerican school of VAS involved the classification of aseparate semantic definition of ‘vernacular’ in relation to‘architecture’ as being defined more by what it was not,than what it was – the vernacular was not academic, itwas not modern, it was not aesthetic – therefore it did notbelong. Interestingly, the question remains, if one wereto review so-called vernacular architectures againstthese major tenants, would they be relevant as points forexclusion today? Upton continues:
The scholars of Isham’s generation never usedthe term vernacular architecture, nor did they distinguishtheir buildings categorically from other kinds of architec-ture [...] Kimball thought differently. His Domestic
Architecture of the American Colonies [...] marks a turn-ing point in setting off the vernacular as a separate cat-egory of architecture [...] His point was that the intro-duction of ‘the academic spirit and the academic archi-tectural forms’ at the beginning of the eighteenth centu-
ry represented a qualitative intellectual transformation.‘It involved a transference of the emphasis from func-tional considerations to those of a pure form’. The corol-lary was that Kimball conceived vernacular architecture– still lacking the name – as a discrete though archaictradition, one based on function rather than aestheticsand thus existing outside of academiccanons…Kimball’s Domestic Architecture set the stagefor subsequent works that conceived vernacular archi-tecture as an anonymous backdrop, the medium of thecommon man and woman, against which to set themutable and distinctive building of the prominent patronand the named architect. (Upton 1990: 205-206.)
Coinciding with a rapidly changing world, the1960s saw a shift away from the focus on Euro-American architectural traditions towards the pursuit ofcross-cultural understandings of architecture that result-ed in a broadening of the epistemological and method-ological framework of both VAS and the art history dom-inated architectural history and theory school. One ofthe first ‘modern’ works in the emergence of cross-cul-tural architectural studies was the publication of archi-tectural historian Sibyl Moholy-Nagy’s Native Genius in
Anonymous Architecture in 1957. Being one of the firstmajor mainstream publications on the ‘house’ architec-tures of non-Euro-American peoples since Lewis HenryMorgan in 1875, Moholy-Nagy’s (1903-1971) bookwas a watershed moment in the history of VAS. Her workpresents an analysis and appreciation of ‘anonymous’wisdom in architectural form and technology throughphotographic records and sketches of house architec-tures, places of worship and other nondescript architec-tural forms throughout the United States of America,Canada, Mexico and Haiti. Furthermore, discussioncentres on the value to the discipline of architecture ofstudying ‘anonymous’ or ‘spontaneous’ architectures.Importantly for the current discussion, Moholy-Nagy(1957: 25) questions the ‘vernacular-academic’dichotomy in stating: “Spontaneous building cannot beseparated with a precise dividing line from technologicaland academic design.” History shows Moholy-Nagy’swork inspired another classic Modernist treatise on ver-nacular architecture in Bernard Rudofsky’s 1964Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) exhibition Architecture
Without Architects. Rudofsky’s cross-cultural presenta-tion, now widely criticised for its blatant ‘modernist’ over-tones (Highlands 1990), was seen as subversive at thetime with the American Institute of Architects (AIA)protesting against the devaluing effects of his claim thatarchitecture could exist without architects (Guaneri2003: 108.)
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Me thodo log ie s
An in-depth literature review (Davidson 2010) hasshown that the major advances in vernacular scholarshipsince the 1960s occurred with the incorporation ofcross-cultural studies into the research/educationalmatrix. As the rate of communication between peoplesof different cultures increased, new approaches forunderstanding ‘Others’ were needed which resulted inthe addition of research methodologies from outside thetraditional architectural repertoire of measured drawingsand taxonomic categorization of technical details andaesthetic forms. In searching for methods appropriate tothe understanding of other cultures, VAS returned to theinter-disciplinarity and multi-disciplinarity of the socialsciences. Over the 40 years since this time, there havebeen four main theoretical leaders – Rapoport, Glassie,Oliver and Upton – who have not only established thecritical parameters of the discipline but also raised its sta-tus as a serious endeavor counterpoised to the dominantart history paradigm of mainstream Euro-Americanarchitectural history and theory.
From a purely theoretical standpoint,Rapoport’s House, Form and Culture in 1969 was oneof the first cross-cultural studies of non-Western architec-ture to hypothesise that the vernacular house form “is notsimply the result of physical forces or any single causalfactor, but is the consequence of a whole range of socio-cultural factors seen in their broadest terms” (Rapoport1969: 47). He describes the importance of the so-called ‘unimportant’ dwelling to the environmental‘matrix’ of contemporary socio-cultural settings, and dis-cusses how contemporary Euro-American architecturaltheory ignores the so-called ‘simple’ dwelling in favourof more important, ‘high-style’ monuments and sup-posed ‘acts of genius’ and observes that those appar-ently ‘insignificant’ buildings have a latent capacity toteach the most about past, present and future culturalconditions (Rapoport 1969: 1).
From a similar cross-cultural standpoint anddrawing from an anthropological and sociological base,Oliver’s work, and now the work of his students, hasconsistently confronted themes such as: the etymologicalderivation and political significance of the term ‘vernac-ular’ in architectural theory; the architect-builder distinc-tion; the positioning of vernacular architecture researchas a serious field of study within the broader realm ofpost-modern architectural history and theory; and thevalue of ‘vernacular’ architectures in confronting cultur-al homogenisation through globalisation.
Rising to prominence in the 1970s with Folk
Housing in Middle Virginia, Glassie’s (1975) work
focused on the study of ordinary, everyday domesticarchitecture, and material culture as a means of inter-preting and understanding the past. Remaining withinthe Euro-American VA canon, the significance ofGlassie’s work lies in his carefully constructed and rigor-ously supported methodology for the study of vernaculararchitectures. Of specific note to the current discussionis the publication in 2000 of Vernacular Architecture inwhich he states that its study is “an approach to thewhole of the built world” and calls for a more expansiveacceptance of non-elite architectures in ‘academic’architectural history (Glassie 2000: 155).
A Common L ink : Red ress ing theD icho tomy
One common theme amongst all four scholars is theircall in one way or another for the democratisation ofarchitectural theory in relation to the architectures of‘others’ outside the dominant Euro-American architec-tural tradition. In discussing the dichotomy that exists,Glassie (2000: 20) is scathing of the lack of appropriateresearch into vernacular architectures, stating that toneglect the study of certain buildings while choosing tovalue the study of others is a sign of academic ignorancewhich in itself is a rejection of cultural diversity, differenceand conflict. He calls for a “more expansive and inclu-sive history, one fit to the world we inhabit, a history thatcan guide improvements in architectural preservationand in new architectural design, a history that can helpus live meaningfully and decently upon the earth”(Glassie 2000: 155). He is also critical of the art histori-an’s approach to architectural history:
Should we wonder why architectural study hasaped the study of art in its erection of a canon of impor-tant buildings, we will find, on reflection, a host of caus-es. One of them has to do with the ease of procedure.Selecting a few buildings, a few architects, and then link-ing them up chronologically, we can borrow the faciletechniques of the historian of great men and events. Buttaking the comprehensive view and recognizing diversi-ty, the study of vernacular architecture drives toward bet-ter historical procedures, ones that focus existentially onaction and leads to the construction of a multiplex ideaof time. We call buildings vernacular to highlight thecultural and contingent nature of all building. Proposingdistinctions and labelling buildings along the way, thestudy of vernacular architecture is an approach to thewhole of the built world. It favours completeness, rec-ognizes diversity, and seeks ways to use buildings as evi-dence in order to tell better versions of the human story.In the future, it will be obsolete, but now the term ‘ver-
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nacular’ is one of the tools we use when we face archi-tectural objects with a wish to crack them open and learntheir meanings. (Glassie 2000: 21.)
Perhaps the time has come for the term ‘ver-nacular’ to become obsolete as Glassie suggests? In asimilar manner, Upton calls for a ‘new architectural his-tory’ that might replace the present ‘art history’ domi-nated architectural history and theory, which largelyignores vast regions of what is presently defined as thevernacular built environment. He stresses that as VASdraws “nearer to cultural theory and to the new art his-tory” in looking at academic buildings with ‘vernaculareyes’, Fiske Kimball’s “line between vernacular and aca-demic architecture will be erased and the vernacular-academic dichotomy will be replaced by a much morecomplex paradigm that recognizes change and stasis,diversity and conflict, pattern and discontinuity in all vari-eties of architecture” (Upton 1990:21). In “The VAF at25: What Now?” Upton (2007: 20) builds on earlierassertions to propose two methods by which this theoret-ical transformation could occur. In defining the firstapproach, he states that “rather than remaininganchored to a style, a category (high or vernacular), anarchitectural movement, or any other single unit ofanalysis, [the building under investigation] can bemapped at the intersection of circles of knowledge thatmight be shared by any or many of its makers.”Following ‘everyday life’ political theorists Henri Lefebvreand Michel de Certeau, who see the built environmentas a ‘totalising socio-political structure’, Upton’s secondproposition for equality in architectural investigation callsfor the subdivision of the built environment “not into cat-egories of high and low, or monumental and vernacular,or by types and styles, but into spaces that encourageand discourage certain kinds of activities...ordinary andthe extraordinary would be action terms rather than aes-thetic, formal, or intellectual ones” (Upton 2007: 11).He continues:
This is not a definitional problem that can besolved by some newer or more precise conception ofwhat vernacular architecture ‘really’ is. If our intention isto understand the built environment and the people whomake and use it, then it seems we do ourselves a disser-vice by isolating and exalting some piece of it. In addi-tion, we make it possible for those who study otheraspects of the environment to isolate and ignore thisone. We have come to understand that processes ofidentity, design, and signification are more complex andmore difficult to explain than we once realised. Ourenterprise needs to rise to the challenge. (Upton 2007:12.)
Moreover, a number of scholars from disci-plines other than architecture have questioned the ratio-
nale of VAS remaining outside the academic architectur-al mainstream. For example, in Function and Meaning
in Classic Maya Architecture, Houston advocates a refor-mation of the architecture paradigm in creating a“sound theory that will relate elite and non-elite archi-tecture and establish better understandings of…systemsof design, patronage, and construction.” He criticises thesubjective dominant ‘art history’ approach as pooranthropology in evaluating difference in the architectur-al record through “the perpetuation of rigid distinctionsbetween so-called high-style buildings and vernacular,‘low-style’ structures”. From an archaeologist’s per-spective, Houston identifies that current definitions, whileperhaps useful in distinguishing between different kindsof buildings, make it difficult to evaluate architectural tra-ditions that fall outside mainstream Euro-Americanunderstandings of architecture. He states:
The view that vernacular tradition developsapart from high style, or that the vernacular respondspassively to design changes of an elite sort, fails to takeinto account the ‘variety and dynamics of societies’, thegreat complexity of interaction between differentbuilders, their techniques, and varied needs and motiva-tions…Many definitions, particularly traditional ones, sitfirmly in the Euro-American tradition, which defines ver-nacular buildings mostly in terms of what they are not:they are not created by professional architects, they areneither ‘high-style’ nor monumental, and they do notresult from individual genius. (Houston 1998: 525-527.)
Likewise, Willey (1977) in A Consideration of
Archaeology asserts: “The studies of so-called vernacu-lar architecture (like barns) no longer seem eccentric inan atmosphere in which architecture can be defined notin terms of monuments but as any changes at all thatman makes in his environment”. Similarly, in a recenttreatise, Memmott and Davidson (2008) call for thereconfiguration of the theoretical framework of ‘architec-ture’ in serving as a cross-cultural tool to understandingthe nature of designed, arranged and/or constructedenvironments used as human habitats across all culturalcontexts; they question why such a unifying position ofarchitecture has not been achieved in Euro-Americantheoretical discourse. Significantly, a review of recent lit-erature illustrates there to be a consensus among main-stream architectural historians that the future of architec-tural history as a field of study lies in a broader researchagenda with an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinaryfocus. Of interest is the work of Arnold et al (2006) inRethinking Architectural Historiography, who call for agreater inclusiveness of other disciplines in architecturalhistory. For example, they discuss the potential opportu-nities in linking the study of architectural history with thearchaeological method. However, the authors did how-
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sonever stop short of calling for an expansion of the archi-
tectural canon preferring to limit the discussion to thehistory of polite architecture in colonial and post-colonialsettings. It appears mainstream architectural theory isstill very good at recognizing and theorizing on its owntraditions, but lacks the ability to recognize those of oth-ers.
A New Cur r i cu la: S tud ie s in Wor ldAr chi tec tu re
In contemplating on the discussion above, the questionremains: what would curricula for studies of world archi-tecture look like? In establishing a revised disciplinaryapproach, which goes beyond the epistemological limi-tations of current thinking on architecture and the ver-nacular, the development of an inclusive, unifying theo-ry of architecture is necessary. One that draws on theo-retical and epistemological input from fields as diverseas social anthropology, human geography, cognitiveand environmental psychology, ethnology, householdarchaeology, material culture and philosophy in securinga truly cross-cultural theory of architecture that holds rel-evance for the study of all human cultures in all historicperiods. Readers are encouraged to view a previouswork by the author and his colleague Memmott titled“Exploring a Cross-Cultural Theory of Architecture”which sets out the basis from which a cross-cultural cur-riculum of world architecture could emerge.
Conclus ion
In this paper, the author has been concerned with keep-ing ‘the flames of intellectual discontent burning’ inproposing a complete reversal of the fortunes of VASwithin mainstream architectural history and theory.Discussion has shown that with the transformations inEuro-American socio-economic conditions through theages, each new generation of architects reinterpretedand challenged past theoretical constructs in whatappears to be a constant search for architectural ‘truth’and a consistent revaluing of physical form on the basisof style. The question remains, will this form of criticali-ty continue to be relevant in a future where climatechange and greater urbanization set the agenda forhuman responses over the next one hundred years andbeyond? Architecture does not have to be limited tomonuments and stylistic icons; it can contribute signifi-cantly to solving the inherent problems in the humancondition and its relationship to the world we inhabit.Perhaps due to its segregation from contemporary archi-
tectural history frameworks, VAS is better placed torespond to present and future difficulties than a disciplinewhose critical agenda is style, form and the celebrationof individual ego.
Furthermore, this paper has drawn together thethoughts of those scholars who have at some point in thepast called for the obsolescence of the term vernacularand the erasure of categorical distinctions that impact onthe formal study of what are seen as non-architecturalenvironments. Importantly, the paper points to a wayforward not only for architectural theory but also for builtenvironment policy makers and practitioners alike, withthe answer being to reconsider the past where there wasno dichotomy between distinctions of architecture andvernacular, where interdisciplinarity and multidisciplinar-ity was the dominant research paradigm and all archi-tectures were viewed as legitimate manifestations worthyof formal study. Surely so-called vernacular environ-ments hold greater value than simply to serve as inspira-tion for the ‘modern’ masters. It would be interesting toimagine what would have transpired over the last onehundred years had not Kimball’s distinction taken hold informal academic arenas when it did.
Importantly, this paper calls for the democrati-zation of mainstream architectural history and theory,inclusive of architectures that fall outside its currentmyopic focus. It is hoped the reversal of this dichotomywill result in an agenda that attempts to understand, rec-ognize and respect the architectures of ‘Others’. Thehistory of selecting individual buildings and individualarchitects as the gatekeepers of taste and style in repre-senting the ‘modern’ progressive society, the currentdominant agenda is too narrow a focus for compre-hending the complexities of human built environments,associated architectures and the transformations that willcontinue to occur in the future. It is evident that unlessthe academy adapts, the future of mainstream architec-tural history and its associated theoretical base will con-tract into irrelevance as time goes on. At the same time,fields such as VAS will undoubtedly rise in relevance inline with the urbanization associated with the economicand political growth of countries such as India, Chinaand Brazil, yet continue to have little bearing on the edu-cation of architects. The incorporation of VAS theoryinto mainstream architectural education may actually bethe solution to Euro-American architectural theory’sdemise, in contributing meaningfully to the design offuture built environments and ecological sustainability.
There is much still to be done, however, theseed of discontent in the current dichotomy has beensown. In raising this issue, it is hoped that others will takeup the batten for change with the ultimate aim being thatfuture architectural practitioners and academics become
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relevant to the 99% of the world’s population who cur-rently never experience what an architect has to offer.The question remains, is the field of VAS strong enoughto successfully redress the dominance of contemporaryart history scholarship in rising above its existing limitedstation?
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Author(s):
James DavidsonAboriginal Environments Research Centre, School of Architecture University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia E-mail:[email protected]
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I n t roduc t ion
Whereas in times of socialism the housing market of thecities of the Central and Eastern European Countries wascontrolled by the national administrations. This period oftime has lapsed in which little maintenance of the build-ing stock took place. After the liberalization of the hous-ing market has been almost completely deregulated inthese countries.
Gentrification generally refers to certain urbanchanges when previously poorly maintained inner-cityareas are renovated and turned into middle-classhomes. The architectural and spatial renewal occursocial displacement changes in retail/consumption ser-vices and the rise of property values in the nearly neigh-bourhoods. Gentrification occurs in a spatially unevenmanner on social, economical, environmental factors(Ley, 1996).
Since the reunification of East and WestGermany in 1990 happen many massive urban renew-al schemes in Berlin Germany. Gentrification in the dis-trict of Spandauer Vorstadt, Rosenthaler Vorstadt andPrenzlauer Berg of former East Berlin is the specific caseof tenant response to threats of displacement. Prenzlauer
Berg started to be repopulated by students, craftsmen,artists and people living on welfare. The combination ofits history of a neighbourhood in opposition to the for-mer communist regime, its new-found centrality and thecharacter imparted by these new dwellers have madePrenzlauer Berg a ‘hip’ place to live, prone to gentrifica-tion (Levine, 2002).
Substantial changes in the internal socio-spatialstructure of Prague are expected in the last decade, andthe revitalization process will have a significant impacton changes in Prague’s residential structure. Higherincome people will be recruited from successful entre-preneurs, managers and other highly professional staffserving the business community as well as from foreignrepresentatives of firms expanding to Central andEastern European countries. There is a potential for gen-trification occur in Prague (Sykora, 1996). Gentrificationis the movement of capital and middle- and upper-classresidents into urban areas which had previously been leftto deteriorate, causing property values to rise, and lead-ing, ultimately, to the displacement of the low-incomepopulation that had occupied the area when it wascheap and run-down. Beginning with the fundamentalcontributions of Von Thünen, and later of Alonso (1964),
Lívia Róka-Madarász & Levente Mályusz
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to evaluate the factors of gentrification based on the economical social and architectural frame-
work in the field of maintenance management of real estates. Andrássy Avenue, announced to be a part of the
UNESCO World Heritage site in 2002, is an inner-city neighbourhood in Budapest, which underwent a significant
renewal process during the last two decade. This area was chosen because it represents very different types of gentri-
fication processes. There are three research indicators defined and modelled over the statistical data. The applied mod-
elling for evaluation of the gathered data are descriptive statistics and main factor analysis for the Shevky-Bell indices.
The statistical model predicts that property market prices will rise after the architectural transformation however it will
not have significant impact on the prices of the flats with bad conditions in the neighbourhood. This paper examines
the renewals of the residential apartments as rent-gap or social displacement occurs. Factor points out that what moti-
vate the young highly educated residents to move in the neighboured apartments of the Liszt Ferenc square area and
what is the architectural benefit of these displacements. The facility manager of these buildings must be aware of the
social profile of the owners of the individual properties inside the building to create their annual maintenance budget.
The effects of rent-gap and the change in property functions are demonstrated as case study of the renewed residen-
tial palace in the under Teréz Town area of the Andrássy Avenue.
Keywords: Gentrification, Rent-Gap, Social Displacement, Renewal, Real Estate.
EVALUATING INDICATORS FOR RENEWAL OF PROPERTIES VIA GENTRIFICATION IN BUDAPEST
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szRichardson (1977) urban economics has mainly consid-ered generated land rent in terms of the demand foraccessibility. Rent gap is a special measure of gentrifica-tion. The rent gap is based on theories first published byNeil Smith in 1979. It is essentially a measure of the dif-ference in a site’s actual value and its potential value at‘best use’. When the overall rent gap in an area is deter-mined to be great, it is suggested that the area willundergo gentrification as developers identify this differ-ence as an economic opportunity on which to capitalize(Smith, 1979). Researchers now argue that the construc-tion of luxury apartment developments in city centres(Smith, 1987) is forms of gentrification. RecentlyAndrássy Avanue in Budapest is going through econom-ic, social, environmental and architectural (physical)changes. The current approach on Andrássy Avanueverifies that there are certain building renewal and main-tenance processes, which has context to gentrification.
P roblem s ta t emen t
There exists an obvious gap in the body of researchefforts in the field of housing viz;
i) On one hand, there is the social researcherwhose main interest and knowledge bases is purely inthe social characterisation of housing and do not giveproper consideration to the implications and effects ofthe technical aspects of housing.
ii) On the other hand is the technical researcherwhose interest lies in the technology and architecture ofhousing as a building and effort is put into redressing thedecay process in building without sufficiently bringing thesocial aspects.
This problem has long been only partiallyrecognised by Holmes when he commented that avail-able data on local authority maintenance costs reflectglobal costing without including social environmentaland technical factors common to local authority estate(Holmes, 1985). This paper, as part of the authors PhDresearch programme, inter alia, sets out to develop abridge for the existing gentrification gap by exploring thecharacteristics of the landlord and or tenants of someBudapest housing estates and how they affect mainte-nance.
Objec t ive
The first plan for the construction of the new avenue wasassented to by the House of Representatives in 1870upon the proposal by Prime Minister Count GyulaAndrássy senior. This dynamic era brought an American
style development to Budapest and the capital thenbecame a modern European metropolis.
3.1. H i s to r i ca l background
The property development of the individual plots onSugárút (Radial Avenue) was strictly regulated. The sec-tion lined with blocks of flats from Bajza street changesinto a villa quarter. Design of the buildings lining the newavenue was assigned various famous architects amongothers to Miklós Ybl. The construction work has execut-ed by the Sugárút Construction Company. TheHungarian Municipial Credit Institute was one of theowners of the Sugárút Construction Company. The newavenue was opened in 1876, and the buildings of Neo-Renaissance style were finished in 1885. The avenuewas named after Count Gyula Andrássy at this time. Thefirst plot owners came from the upper middle class andthe aristocracy, and the intention behind the new prop-erties built here was often representation or investmentbecause the new buildings were exempted from taxation.The built palaces exemplifying the eclectic architecture ofthe 19th century, whilst at the same time symbolizing thearchitecture of the second capital of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. The rapid expansion of industry inAustro-Hungarian Monarchy created industrial architec-ture. The development of iron industry, the production ofthe partly welded wrought iron, later the various metallicstructures made construction work easier. Beside stonemouldings ceramics and stucco ornaments and glasswindows produced in factories appeared (Csáky et al.,2008). The facilities that made buildings comfortable,sewage and water supply were also improved. Theowner’s more elegant apartment occupied the mostvaluable street front on the first floor. The divisions wereapparent within the buildings, different social layers livedon different floors and wings.
Figure 1. The World Heritage Zone at Andrássy Avenue
(Source: Integrated Urban Development Strategy).
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3.2. Loca t ion spec i f i ca t i on
The World Heritage Zone at Andrássy Avenue can bedivided into three sections:•St. Stephen's Basilica at Bajcsy-Zsilinszky st. to Oktogon: 3 to4 storey buildings, apartment houses•Oktogon to Kodály Circus and Bajza Street: 2 to 3 storey buildings, bridle-road•Kodály Circus and Bajza Street to Heroes’ Square:Standalone palaces, villas
Re search me thodo logy
4.1. Gather i ng da ta
The analysed data could be divided into three types
• Cartographical representation (Local Authority of Teréz Town6th district Budapest)• Architectural drawings (König & Wagner Architects)• Statistical data (KSH The Hungarian Central Statistical Office)• Property values. The alphanumerical data was gathered fromthe on-line property database (www.ingatlan.com)
4.2. Mode l l i ng
Classical economic modelling of statistical data domi-nates the housing and property market surveys. Theapplied modelling methodologies for evaluation of thegathered data are:
• Descriptive statistics• Main factor component analysis
4.3. Def i n ing indi ca to rs
The broad literature provides a description of the mea-surable social, economical and environmental indicatorsof the gentrification process. In order to measure therelationship with the maintenance activities the followingindicators have been used.
• Social displacement (Atkinson, 2000; Brown-Saracino, 2004; Csanády,2004; Ley, 1994; Kovács, 1994 )• Changes in usage / rent gap (Friedrichs, 1996; Smith, 1979)• Architectural transformations / rising property values(Bailey, 1997; Egedy, 2010; Haussermann, 1998;Körner, 2010; Smith, 1987;)
4.4. Case S tud ies
For each research indicators the author has chosen casestudies. These are the follows:
• Residential Apartment ( Liszt Ferenc square 4 )• Krausz Palace ( Andrássy 12 )• Kodály House ( Andrássy 87-89 )
Figure 3. The Main functions of the buildings at Andrássy
Avenue and the research indicators (Source: author’sresults 2010).
Figure 2. The World Heritage Zone at Andrássy Avenue
(Source: Local Authority of Terézváros 6th district Budapest)designed by the author 2011.
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Results and findings
5.1. L isz t Fe renc Square and ne ighbour -
hood / soc ia l d i sp lacement
In contemporary Budapest inner-city area, there is anunnoticed social process separate and distinct from gen-trification: social preservation. Brown-Saracino (2004)refers to a process of ‘social preservation’, defined as‘the culturally motivated choice of certain highly educat-ed people to live in the central city in order to live inauthentic community embodied by the sustained pres-ence of old-timers’. Despite the efforts of the highly edu-cated to protect the ‘old-timers’ from displacement.Social preservationists view the original resident as anindispensable component of the social wilderness and asthe arbiter of authentic community. For this reason, theyengage in efforts to limit the displacement of old-timers.
Ethnographic data collected in Budapestimpact of the ideology and practice of social preserva-tion on the contemporary urban and milieu, as well ascultural motivations for residence in such places.
5.1.1. Soc ia l area ana lys i s
The framework of the Shevky-Bell indices (Shevky– Bell,2005) utilize census data by 1990 and 2001 censustracts and suggest that these tracts be classified accord-ing to three basic variables: social rank, urbanization (orfamily status) and segregation. The variables of themodel are:
Socia l rank
physically active seekers of all active viewfinder ratiouniversity or college graduates0-7 grades of primary school of population aged 14and over ratio
Urbaniza t ion - Fami ly s ta tus
Proportion of total population aged 0-14Proportion of active earnersNumber of persons per householdNumber of dwellings per residential houseStorey residential houses in the ratio of total residentialbuilding
Segrega t ion
All ethnic population of the total population ratio. Thisdimension shows the average size of the ethnic groupsshare.
The results of the main factor analysis, asdemonstrated in Fig. 5., show that the socio-spatial mapof 2001 has differential like the result of 1990. The
Figure 4. The Liszt Ferenc square area (designed by the
author 2011).
Figure 5. Socio-spatial map of
Budapest 1990 and 2001.(Source: after Berényi E.-Zábrádi Zs. 2006) (designedby the author).
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areas out of the Great Boulevard are dilapidated. Theisolated quarters in 1990 for example the diplomatquarter stay isolated in 2001 too. The Liszt Ferenc squareget 3B in 1990 and 3A in 2001, the research area pre-served its position related to the Social rank factor. Thesocial rank is equally highly represented in both the1990 and 2001 census tracts. The analysis discloses dif-ferences related to Family status factor. The area of LisztFerenc square get B category in 1990, was changed tolowest A category in 2001. In 1990, the census has notbeen a question on ethnicity, so that the segregation wasnot measured. Can be concluded that inner-city areasare advantageous in social rank factor and disadvan-tage in terms of family-wealth factor. Also be concludedthat between 1990 and 2001 values of the best areashave shifted from the inner city slightly toward the sub-urb.
5.1.2 . Cu l tu ral mot iva t i on, l i f e s t y le
The Liszt Ferenc square is traditionally the meeting pointfor artist and the cultural interested people. The journeyto Liszt Ferenc square can be pursued underground bymeans of the 111-year-old, superbly refurbished metroline M1 (Millennium Underground) and by the Combinotrams at the Oktogon square station. The HungarianState Opera House the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy theNew Theatre (former Parisiana) the Budapest Operettaand Musical Theatre the Budapest’s Broadway offers cul-tural entertainment.
The architectural transformations of the NewTheatre follow the different eras of Hungary’s social andeconomical circumstances from 1909 when opened theParisiana to 2010 as shown in Fig. 6.
A fascinating phenomenon that is particularlyevident in the Teréz Town districts is that of the temporaryopen-air cafes at the Liszt Ferenc square. Different types
of restaurants and shops are available for pleasure.Since the Párizsi Department Store has yet reopenedafter the renovation the Café in Lotz Room is a belovedand elegant place for every generation. The impressiveresult of Károly Lotz work reflects luxury and noble aspi-rations, and excellent taste of the Budapest nobility of thecentury. The store represents the both in name and archi-tectural style, the consumer culture and abundant com-mercial supply typical of the Parisian capital see Fig. 7.
5.1.3 . Di sp lacement i n f luence the bu i ld
env i ronment
These factors motivated the young highly educated resi-dents to move in the neighboured apartments. In thiscase there are many individual real estates that would berenewing inside the building. This could be mentionedwhen the owner of these flats changes the windows andrepairs or renews the HVAC system as s shown in Fig. 8.
Simply put, a significant proportion of the vari-ation in maintenance need will have its explanation inthe differences in tenants' personalities, life style andattributes.
Hence, a housing manager will be able to pre-
Figure 6. New Theatre (former
Parisiana) The listed building reno-vated meeting art history standardson the plan by Tamás König DLA andPéter Wagner DLA architects afterthe origin of Béla Lajta.
Figure 7. Párizsi Department Store, Lotz Room (Andrássy
39) ((Photographs by the author.
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dict a part of his maintenance budget accurately givencertain information about his residents. In this vein, ahousing manager who discounts tenant information inthe development of a maintenance budget will not applysuch resources to full effect.
The hypothesis, which this part of the paperseeks to explore, is that dwelling within the same estateand having every conceivable architectural attribute inspace and time in common will exhibit different mainte-nance need profile as a result of differences in residents’characteristics.
5.2. Usage changes / Rent Gap
Office function would be designed by 5 buildings atUnder Terézváros area it means 22 % of the buildingsaccess from the Andrássy Avenue has changed its func-tionality in the last 15 years see Fig. 9.
This area is perfectly situated for supply orient-ed capital controlled gentrification. The location is nearto the city and there are many poor maintained lowcomfort apartments, sometimes with very bad features.Smith claimed that the rent-gap is “the necessary centre-piece to any theory of gentrification” (Smith, 1987)because when the gap is wide enough, land developers,landlords and occupier developers (collective groupswho purchase and renovate property before inhabitingit) will realise the potential profits to be made by rein-vesting in abandoned inner-city properties and prepar-ing them for new inhabitants.
The Table 1 shows that the new office supply inUnder Teréz Town of Andrássy Avenue grew with 23.105m2 lettable area. The staffs of office function in Central
Figure 8. Partially renovated entrance and renewed individual flat with new windows and rolling shatter and ventilation outlet
(Liszt Ferenc Square 4) (Photographs by the author).
Figure 9. Usage changes Office function at Under
Terézváros area (designed by the author 2011).
Table 1. Office function in Under Teréz Town areaa Source:
(author’s results 2010)
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Business District (CBD) of Budapest offers 235.600 m2,so the 10 % of the staff located in the research field. TheAndrássy Avenue from the Bajcsy-Zsilinszky Street to theOktogon is part of the CBD of Budapest. Table 2 showsthe building staff with Office function in Budapest and itsdivision in tree main market field.
Case Study: Krausz Palace
The Krausz Palace, at 12 Andrássy Avenue, was built in1884 in neo-renaissance style according to the plans ofQuittner Zsigmond who was instructed by Count LajosMegyeri Krausz and was ornamented by the master-pieces of the famous building sculptor of the era, IgnácOppenheimer. The ground floor entrance lobby accom-modates frescos by Károly Lotz. The owner’s apartmentoccupied the most valuable street front on the main, thefirst floor. Fig. 11. shows the elevation drawing of theKrausz Palace. The listed building renovated meeting arthistory standards in 2001 on the plan by Tamás KönigDLA and Péter Wagner DLA architects. Fig. 10. and Fig.12. show the building before and after the architecturalrenewal.
The original function of the building was anapartment house currently functioning as an office build-ing offers 5.638 m2 lettable office area. There is anexclusive cortile offering a place for client service in thedaytime and a unique representative atmosphere for the
clients of a Bank that is one of the building’s tenants.Modern building services engineering systems with cool-ing and powered ventilation operates high quality innerconditions. Due to its central situation it is promptly andeasily accessible by both public transport and car.Parking facility is given in the parking houses and on thesurface as well.
5.3. Arch i tec t u ra l t rans format ions / r is i ng
proper ty va lues
Visible changes characterize this area, since the recon-struction scheduled by the contractor firm has yetended see Fig. 5. A significant difference describes inthe property prices as well. The Kodály Circus and itsneighbourhood offer the highest as well as the lowestvalues of the residential properties. Economic model-ling may incorporate increasingly complex refinementsto overcome the evident uncertainty or disequilibria inhousing markets, and contribute to theories thatbecome an end in gentrification.
This was a renovation project of the KodályHouse located on Kodály Circus financed by an inter-national property developer firm. The architects addedtwo new build floors to the top of the structure with lux-ury comfort apartments and panorama view. This pro-ject has significant impact for rising of mean supplyprices at the local property market of Andrássy Avenue,as traceable from the historical data analysis as shownin Fig. 15.
Table 3 shows that the highest value apart-ment gets 3.020.100 HUF/m2, this is the supply priceof an penthouse apartment in the renewed KodályHouse. Lowest value apartment at Szinyey Kmethy cor-ner gets 166.700 HUF/m2. The results gathering from
Figure 10. Frescos by Károly
Lotz before and after therenewal
Table 2. Office function in Budapesta Source:
(cbre.eu/research 2008)
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the online property database show that the prises in m2
rising by new build conditions see Fig. 16.
Figure 15. Mean supply price per m2 (1000 HUF)
Andrássy Avenue and Budapest from 1997 to 2010(Source: KSH author’s survey 2010)
Figure 11. Elevation Andrássy Avenue (Source: König &
Wagner Architects)
Figure 12. Before and after the architectural reconstruction.
Table 3. Descriptive statistics N=1031a Source: www.ingat-
lan.com (author’s results 2010).
Figure 13. The Kodály Circus area (designed by the author
2010).
Figure 14. The Kodály House before and after the renewal.
Figure 16. Value per m2 in relationship with conditions
(Source: author’s survey 2010.
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Conc lus ion
The different approaches to apartment renewals inBudapest Andrássy Avenue are best understood in thecontext of important differences in gentrification, socialand economic characterization environmental agendas.The analysis focused on resulting from the key indicatorparameter values of the model.
The main conc lusions are t he fo l low ing:
i) “Large” investors like international property developercompanies and risk capital investors and their invest-ments are able to reverse urban surroundings effectbuilding or block renovations and spatial transforma-tions. After the reconstruction the local property marketprices by new build condition will significant rise.
ii) The rising quality of houses and local neighbour-hoods results in a social displacement and occur reur-banization, cluster of people who are younger, highlyeducated and affluent enough to pay continually formaintenance of the individual properties. As higher-sta-tus groups moved in the neighbourhood, the mainte-nance management of the residential apartments, theinfrastructure the services changed and adjusted to theirdemands. It is worth noting that “small” investors likehomeowners cannot promote a general widespreadimprovement of the building stock.
iii) The market induced by investors and developersawaiting better capital returns when the rent gapwidens, and the function of the residential palaces willbe changed .
Moreover, the lost decade of Hungary’s property andconstruction recession offers important lessons seekingto underpin recovery in nation’s property markets.During that period Budapest’s response to the reces-sion was to focus on maintenance and sustainableredevelopment policy as a key platform for revitalisingits existing building asset.
Acknow ledgemen t
The authors would like to sincerely thank to TamásKönig DLA and Péter Wagner DLA for allowing themaccess to the architectural plans.
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Au thor ( s ) :
L í v ia Róka-Madará szDepartment of Construction Technology &Management, Faculty of Architecture,Budapest University of Technology & Economics,Mőegyetem rkp. 3-5, Budapest, HungaryE-mail: [email protected]
Levente Mályusz
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I NTRODUCTION
Good architecture… is the stone in the midst of running
water. The common environment, however, is the running
water and change by way of adaptation over time is
essential for its continued existence. N. John Habraken,
2006
One of the main predicaments for contempo-
rary architects is the impact the process of globalisation
has had on local and regional architectural identity
(Asquith & Vellinga 2006). From the onset of global
modernisation, the architecture in many countries has
faced dramatic change. The progression of this change
has been so rapid that the primary relationship between
regional identity and architecture is often lacking in con-
temporary designs. Furthermore, regional identity has
always had positive implications, partly because of the
implicit assumption that it joins people and regions
together, providing shared regional values and self-con-
fidence (Passi 2002).
Because of the increasing demand for encom-
passing regional characteristics in architecture, vernacu-
lar architecture has more recently received growing
attention. By exploring and learning from indigenous
architecture, some architects have tried to incorporate
contemporary architecture into vernacular traditions. The
efforts of this group of architects, (whereby their buildings
are in the style of a certain region), have created a pop-
ular comprehension of vernacular architecture (Brown &
Maudlin 2012). Through such integration, contempo-
rary built environments may obtain a genuine cultural
and sustainable basis. Consequently, studying different
ways to rehabilitate and adopt vernacular traditions has
been the leading motive in regional architecture.
Those studies, however, suggest that tradition
should be viewed as a creative adaptation of experience
to the needs of the present (Vellinga 2006). In view of
that, various approaches have been tried so far to adopt
vernacular features to contemporary needs. Because
vernacular architecture, essentially, does not pursue for-
malistic approaches in design, these efforts commonly
have focused on the functional modification of vernacu-
lar features.
In modern Iran, however, the re-use of vernac-
Rafooneh Mokhtarshahi Sani & Payam Mahasti Shotorbani
Abstract
In recent decades, Iranian vernacular architecture has defined the local architectural identity by demonstrating distinc-
tive characteristics. Defining such a critical role for vernacular studies has led to different approaches in the design of
the contemporary architecture of Iran. The first approach of integrating vernacular and contemporary designs has
focused on local people, their needs, local construction, and building materials. The revival of vernacular architectural
design and building elements has been at the forefront of this approach in Iran. However, recent use in Iran has con-
centrated on the symbolic/abstract reuse of vernacular building forms. Vernacular architecture is known to merely pro-
vide for the functional requirements of buildings, and not for aesthetic purposes. Conversely, in the second approach,
vernacular building elements are considered to be symbols of local identity. This paper will argue that although the sym-
bolic reuse of vernacular features may not uphold the functional expectations of the vernacular form, this reuse is use-
ful in reviving architectural identity. In addition, underscoring such a different role for vernacular building features in
contemporary architecture might help to expand the realm of vernacular studies. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to
provide an overview of the conversion of vernacular architecture in Iran by focusing on the instance of wind-catchers.
Wind-catchers typically were used in residential buildings and are considered potent symbols of climate adaptation. In
contemporary architecture, however, a form of wind-catcher has been used as a symbol for local architectural identity.
Through this transformation, the essential nature of the wind-catcher has found new life in the contemporary architec-
ture of Iran.
Keywords: Vernacular, Symbol, Identity, Wind-Catchers, Iran.
SYMBOLIC USE OF WIND-CATCHERS IN IRAN
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ular building elements and adaptation to present-day
needs, in some cases, has been for aesthetic purposes.
Although the imitation of traditional building features
has been viewed as kitsch and tasteless architecture, the
formal use of vernacular building features has added a
greater symbolic value to the contemporary architecture
in Iran. In fact, vernacular features are used to respond
to other needs of the built environment, such as the need
for meaningful places and regional identity in Iran,
rather than focusing solely on the functional aspects of
the built environment.
One of the most prominent Iranian contempo-
rary architects employing vernacular building elements
in new design is Kamran Diba (born in 1937). Diba is an
Agha Khan Award winner for his Shushtar New Town
design (1974-80). Although Diba is a contemporary
artist and architect, he is primarily known for his interest
in vernacular architecture. The main idea behind his pro-
jects was to develop a culturally adopted contemporary
architecture. To link regional and cultural values with the
essence of modern architecture, Diba has used various
features of vernacular buildings aesthetically. For exam-
ple, one of Diba’s most famous works is the contempo-
rary art museum in Tehran (1969-77). To design this
building, Diba used a vernacular building element, the
‘wind-catcher’. In traditional architecture, wind-catchers
were used to reduce heat in interior spaces. Diba, how-
ever, employed this iconic architectural feature to refer to
the vernacular architecture of Iran. Diba applied the
symbolic use of wind-catchers in his other design for the
Niavaran Cultural Center (1970-78). Other contempo-
rary architects have imitated Diba’s approach and have
also used vernacular building features, such as wind-
catchers, in a symbolic way.
Therefore, the installation of a wind-catcher in
contemporary construction goes far beyond its essential
characteristic as a passive cooling system. By the nature
of their symbolic status, wind-catchers have once more
become active and alive in Iranian architecture. Because
most of the studies of vernacular building elements
(including wind-catchers) are concerned with their docu-
mentation and classification as building elements des-
tined to disappear, studies of the revived use of vernac-
ular features introduce the possibility for their continued
use in architecture. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to
identify and present the components of Iranian vernacu-
lar architecture, which through transformation, are still
evident in contemporary architecture. Considering the
results of similar research, by linking vernacular archi-
tecture to other fields that study the built environment, it
might be possible to broaden the research of vernacular
architecture.
METHODOLOGY
The sample study is limited to exploring the new use of
the wind-catcher as a vernacular building element in the
contemporary architecture of Iran. Although there are
other vernacular features used in new architectural pro-
jects, (courtyards, domes and vaults), the repetitive use of
wind-catchers as an aesthetic element in contemporary
architecture has increased its symbolic value.
The sample study is conducted by using the
inductive approach (Table 1). According to Johansson
(2007), case studies draw on three principles of reason-
ing: deductive, inductive, and abductive. By induction,
we can discover a rule that is operative from certain facts
in a particular case, and this rule is most likely operative
in similar cases (Johansson 2007). Therefore, through
inductive theory-generation and based on analytical
generalisation from the sample study, this study has
attempted to reach possible recommendations.
Data collection is performed through observation. Based
on research by Coolen (2007), the observations can be
collected in a data matrix in which the rows represent the
units of analysis and the columns the classifications/vari-
ables. The results of observation, thus, have been placed
in a data matrix. (Tables 2 & 3)
SE LECT IVE OVERV IEW OF VERNACULAR
ARCHITECTURE
Vernacular architecture has been the center of attention
during the last two decades of the twentieth century, yet
in the words of AlSayyad (2006), vernacular architecture
is a nineteenth-century invention. One of the early stud-
ies that defined vernacular architecture was performed
Table 1. Modes of generalisation and reasoning within the case study methodology (Johansson 2007).
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by Bernard Rodufsky (1964). By focusing on structures
and materials, Rodufsky‘s study concentrated less on the
cultural and social aspects of vernacular architecture.
Rodufsky (1964), however, believes that ordinary people,
or as he calls them ‘untutored builders in space and
time,’ demonstrate an admirable talent for fitting their
buildings into the natural surroundings. Subsequently,
scholars such as Amos Rapoport (1969; 1990) expand-
ed the breadth of vernacular architecture studies to
include cultural issues and the meaning of the built envi-
ronment. In his book ‘house, form and culture,’
Rapoport (1969) argues that house form is not only the
result of physical factors but the consequence of the
whole range of socio-cultural factors seen in their broad-
est terms.
Paul Oliver also broadened the general under-
standing of vernacular buildings in several publications
(Oliver 2006; Oliver 2007; Oliver 1997) by discussing
issues such as symbolic and cultural meaning in tradi-
tional architecture. He states that traditional buildings
can express various meanings through their forms and
decorations. Oliver (2006), in defining the ‘vernacular’
architecture states that “Vernacular refers to language or
dialect of a people, while architecture is given a qualita-
tive status.” To link past with present, Oliver (2006)
speaks about the ‘neo-vernacular’ architects. He
describes them as architects who seek to recreate the
qualities of vernacular traditions without imitating them.
Oliver (2006) states that the work of neo-vernacular
architects reflects considerable sympathy for the work of
unknown artisans and anonymous builders of past gen-
erations.
In “the Culture of Buildings” (Davis 2006),
Davis echoes Rapoport and Oliver. By highlighting the
role of ordinary people in the creation and development
of built environments, Davis argues that large-scale
improvements to the built world depend mainly on the
gradual transformation of ‘building culture’. He defines
building culture as the coordinated system of knowledge,
rules, and procedures that are shared by people who
participate in the building activity and that determine the
form of buildings. Davis (2006) not only claims that built
environment is the product of building cultures but also
gives examples of some contemporary buildings that
present building culture as a living concept.
Vellinga (Asquith & Vellinga 2006), by widening
current vernacular debate to a broader multidisciplinary
audience, notes that throughout the world many vernac-
ular and modern traditions currently do merge, often in
creative and unexpected ways. Vellinga (2005), in
describing the process of evolution of vernacular archi-
tecture, argues that there is a growing interest among
architects, engineers and planners in the development of
architecture that can address environmental, economic
and social problems in a sustainable way. Vellinga
(2005), by highlighting the significant role of culture in
the acceptance of architecture by the public, states that
cultural issues need to be acknowledged for a project to
be deemed successful.
Maudlin (2010) emphasises the role of social
status in defining vernacular architecture. In several stud-
ies, Maudlin (2010; 2008) states that vernacular build-
ings can be interpreted as a tool for the transmission of
messages about social rank, social conformity, and sta-
tus. Defining such a pivotal role for these social aspects
might open a wider field for research on the interactions
between socio-cultural issues and vernacular architec-
ture.
VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE AS A SYM-
BOL OF REGIONAL IDENT ITY
Signs and symbols play a key role in defining cultural
characteristics. The importance of symbols in expressing
cultural similarities and differences has made some
scholars such as Eliade (1991) argue that different cul-
tural styles come from the realisation of their various
symbols, images and so on. Eliade believes that the his-
tory of symbolism is the best introduction to the philoso-
phy of culture.
To define symbol, Jung (1964) asserts, “What
we call a symbol is a term, a name, or even a picture
that may be familiar in daily life yet that possesses con-
notations, in addition to its conventional and obvious
meaning. It implies something vague, unknown, or hid-
den from us.” Avis (1999), by highlighting the role of
imagination, argues that at its simplest, a symbol means
imagining one thing in the form of another. Berger
(1998) to differentiate symbol from sign, professes,
“Signs are things which stand for other things or, to add
a different dimension to the matter, anything that can be
made to stand for something else.” Whitehead (1985),
on the other hand, by comparing symbols with direct
knowledge, explains their differences by stating that
direct experience is infallible, while symbolism is highly
fallible and includes feelings, emotions, and beliefs as a
consequence of its interpretation.
Symbols could provide for a better relationship
between people and the built environment. With that
view, Trancik (1986) points to the fact that cultural sym-
bols, replicated or reflected in modern forms, are neces-
sary to fit urban spaces into context; such cultural sym-
bols with modern forms are the physical connection to
the surrounding environment. Rapoport (1990) also
argues “there is no doubt that symbols communicate,
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that they are social, that they are related to status and
represent the social order and the individual's place in
it.”
In addition, the built environment has employed
symbols to convey meaning and sometimes to imply an
ideology. Rapoport (1974) believes, “The symbolic func-
tion of built form is to place man in contact with an ideal
universe, an ideal environment the idea of a ‘good
place’.” The meaning associated with the built environ-
ment has a fundamental role in defining place identity.
Appleyard (1979), in his study about environment and
social symbol by emphasising the role of identity states
that there are cases where people will place self-identity
above even survival. On the other hand, identity also has
always constituted within, not outside, representation
(Hall 1997). The image of the building or building ele-
ments, however, in this case is more important than func-
tional considerations. In view of that, Hull et al (1994)
claim “the meanings symbolised by place features com-
municate much more than how to function in a setting.”
Place-based meanings, they state, tell us about who we
are, how we have changed and into what we are chang-
ing.
In view of that, Lynch (1972) argues that the
built environment could have a primary role in defining
periods of time and maintaining the public’s wellbeing.
He says, “... the quality of the personal image of time is
crucial for individual well-being, also for our success in
managing environmental change...the external physical
environment plays a role in building and supports that
image of time.” That is the reason vernacular architec-
ture can stand as a symbol of regional and even some-
times, national architectural identity. For example, in a
study of traditional Cypriot houses, Pulhan & Numan
(2006) argue that sometimes existing traditional fabric
and the domestic built-form convey a material culture.
They go on to state that traditional houses could stand
as pictorial entities in the memories of people as a rep-
resentation of city life in the past.
Overall, based on such understandings from
symbolism and its role in vernacular architecture, the
diagram below illustrates the main frame of discussion in
this study. (Fig 1)
SYMBOLIC USE OF WIND-CATCHERS IN THE CON-
TEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE OF IRAN
To understand the contemporary architecture of Iran, it is
necessary to briefly review the evolution of socio-cultur-
al issues of the last hundred years. The arrival of mod-
ernisation in Iran dates back to the Qajar period (1785-
1925). During this period, the relationship between Iran
and Europe rapidly strengthened. During this period, the
West had a significant influence in almost every aspect
of life in Iran (Cleveland 2004). The admiration of
European culture was officially encouraged during the
Pahlavi era (1925-1979); therefore, Iran underwent a
phase of intense Westernisation (Banani 1961). During
this period, Iranian culture and architecture were mod-
elled after the West (Diba & Dehbashi 2004).
Consequently, a cultural identity crisis resulted and
became a significant issue in contemporary architecture
(Diba 1991; Diba & Dehbashi 2004; Mirmiran 2004;
Micara 1999).
In other words, within Iran’s contemporary
architecture, the significant function of ‘meaning’ has
become neglected. As a result, most of the new buildings
and cities display little evidence of belonging to the
Iranian culture. Therefore, evaluating regional values
and the search for the cultural manifestation in architec-
ture has been one of the major goals for Iranian archi-
tects during these last decades.
This tendency, however, is not limited to Iran, in
fact, because Lin (2002) states that the shift of intellectu-
al emphasis from modernity (homogenising processes of
cultural imperialism and Westernisation) to postmod-
ernism (fragmented global, cultural transformation
processes with great diversity, variety, and flexibility) has
been recently attempted in most developing countries.
CONTEMPORARY VERNACULAR ARCHITECTURE IN
IRAN
The modern movement in Iranian architecture began
during the 1920s (Mirmiran 2004). During this period,
under the sponsorship of the Iran government, most of
the important public buildings were designed by western
architects. The first attempts to revive Iranian architectur-
al characteristics were made during this period as well.
Figure 1. Symbolism and vernacular architecture relation-
ship
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Diba & Dehbashi (2004) categorised these attempts as
a new trend in Iranian architecture. This trend, while
being modern, embodied nationalistic goals by referring
to examples of Iranian pre-Islamic architecture. The
National Museum of Iran, designed by André Godard,
is one of the better examples of this trend. This
approach, while valuable in its intention, has been criti-
cised for being limited to a repetition of previous archi-
tectural forms (Mirmiran 2004).
The second important trend to achieve a cul-
tural identity in Iranian architecture was developed dur-
ing the 1960s and 1970s (Diba & Dehbashi 2004). For
architects following this trend, vernacular architecture
was a source of inspiration. They tried not to copy from
the past, but to link past and present in such a way as to
impart a sense of belonging. Within this group, some
architects have focused on the functional adaptation of
vernacular features, while others have concentrated on
the formal alteration of vernacular building elements (Fig
2). Among the works of prominent architects such as
Kamran Diba, Ali Amanat and Nader Ardalan, the ver-
nacular features of the urban fabric of a desert town,
such as a series of courtyards, or the use of vaults, cupo-
las, and lanterns recalling Badgirs, become the main
compositional device (Micara 1999).
The contemporary use of wind-catchers as aes-
thetic building elements could belong to the vocabulary
of this group of architects. Because wind-catchers have
a familiar shape in the eyes of Iranian users, they evoke
memory, and this quality imparts a strong symbolic value
to new, altered wind-catchers. The new wind-catchers
become the messengers of the past, embodying the spir-
it of Iranian culture.
Maintaining such a symbolic value will provide
meaning to the built environment. As Rapoport (1990)
claims, “the meaning of its built environment is often
expressed through signs, materials, colours, forms, fur-
nishings, landscaping, maintenance, and specifically by
people themselves”. The new wind-catchers, if still we
can call them wind-catchers, embody a meaning
beyond their aesthetic building additions. They became
the symbol of local identity mainly because the public
needs to see them as symbols. In fact, people always
have this tendency to unconsciously transform objects or
forms into symbols (Jaffe, A., in Jung, 1964).
WIND-CATCHERS
A wind-catcher was an essential component of tradition-
al buildings in hot regions of Iran, both dry and humid
(Fig 3). This building element performed an essential role
Figure 3. Main location of wind-catchers in different cities
of Iran
Figure 4. Principle of wind catcher
Figure 2. Contemporary use of vernacular architecture in
Iran.
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in providing thermal comfort. A wind-catcher was a
tower designed to ‘‘catch’’ the wind at higher elevations
and direct it into the living spaces (Bahadori et al. 2008).
When the wind encounters the walls within the internal
wings of the wind-catcher, it descends and enters the
inner space. This structure uses the natural forces of wind
pressure and stack effect to direct the movement of air
through spaces (Khan et al. 2008). Wind incident on a
building face will produce a positive pressure on the
windward side and a relative negative pressure on the
leeward side. This pressure difference as well as the pres-
sure differences inside the building will drive airflow
(Khan et al. 2008) (Fig 4).
Wind-catchers are often classified according to
the total number of their openings: One-sided, two
sided, four-sided and six-sided (Montazeri & Azizian
2008) (Table 3). Shapes, heights and internal structures
of Iranian wind-catchers were not only responsible for
the volumetric air delivery and cooling capacity of the
building, but represented the wealth and social status of
the house’s owners (Montazeri & Azizian 2008).
The various ways that wind-catchers were
placed on top of houses differed from one plan to
another (Zarandi 2009) (Figs 5 & 6). Wind-catchers had
various shapes, such as octagons, polygons, squares,
and primarily rectangles (Fig 6 & Table 3). Although the
origin of this building element is unknown, it has been in
use for at least five hundred years (Rodufsky 1964).
Wind-catchers were commonly used in traditional
Iranian houses. Often, the use of this building element in
Iranian cities had a direct effect on city silhouettes.
Therefore, the familiar image of the traditional Iranian
Figure 5. Different types of wind-catchers used in Aghazadeh house, Abarkouh, Yazd province, Iran, photo: Authors 2006.
Figure 6. Various types of wind-catchers in Iran, photos: Authors 2006
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built environment in hot regions shows wind-catchers on
top of buildings.
CONTEMPORARY USE OF WIND-CATCHERS IN IRAN
Sample one : Teh ran Museum o f
Con tempora ry Ar t , I ran (1969-77 )
This museum, designed by Iranian architect Kamran
Diba, is considered to have one of the largest collections
of Western modern art outside of the Western world
(Murphy 2007). In designing this building, Diba was
inspired by some elements of traditional Iranian archi-
tecture, such as wind-catchers. He was often conscious-
ly influenced by the local vernacular environment in his
other works as well (Abolghasem 2002). The Tehran
Figure 7. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, photo:
Authors 2012.
Figure 9. Overview from city of Yazd, Iran, photo: Authors 2006.
Figure 8. Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, photo: photo: Authors 2012.
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Museum of Contemporary Art is one of his best archi-
tectural works. The museum is designed with interrelated
galleries. The circulation is based on a system of ramps
with minimal use of stairs. The general image of this
museum consists of light wells that extend from the build-
ing’s roof (Figs 7 & 8).
Because the major portion of this museum is
located underground, these external light wells are the
dominant features. Diba designed these building ele-
ments with inspiration from wind-catchers found in the
desert cities of Iran. The use of wind-catchers in this
building, however, goes far beyond its functional origin
as a passive cooling system. These new wind-catchers
are made out of concrete and stone, and their form rep-
resents the vernacular wind-catchers. In other words, the
wind-catcher form is symbolic, integrating Iranian tradi-
tional architecture with the contemporary architecture.
The overall schema of the ‘Tehran
Contemporary Museum of Art’ symbolically represents
the general view of Iranian desert cities with numerous
wind-catchers appearing on the skyline (Figs 9 & 10). In
the search for a neither purely modern nor traditional
identity, the works of Kamran Diba were one of several
valuable architectural examples. Through his architec-
ture, Diba defined a more intellectual and abstract idea
of tradition (Micara 1999).
Sample two: Niavaran Cultural Center, Tehran (1970-
78)
The architecture of the Niavaran Cultural Center reflects
a similar use of this vernacular building element, the
wind-catcher. This building has a plaza that is connect-
ed to a Persian-style garden. Overall, although the
design of this building obviously is modern, it strongly
reflects regional architectural characteristics (Figs 11 &
12).
Samp le t hree: Dez ful Cul t ura l Cen te r
(1995)
Figure 11. Cultural Center of Niavaran, Photo: Authors
2012
Figure 12. Cultural Center of Niavaran, Photo: Authors
2012.
Figure 10. Comparison between general overview of ‘con-
temporary museum of art’ and city silhouette of ‘Yazd’.
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The symbolic use of wind-catchers in the contemporary
architecture of Iran is not limited to the aforementioned
buildings. Among the most recent projects, the Dezful
Cultural Center, designed by Farhad Ahmadi, is signifi-
cant. Ahmadi is the Agha Khan Award winner (2007) for
the design of the Iranian Embassy in Seoul. The principal
motive behind Ahmadi’s work has also been to incorpo-
rate modern and regional architecture. To do so, he has
often used vernacular architecture as a source of inspi-
ration. In his design for the Dezful Cultural Center in
1995, he also used the symbolic image of wind-catch-
ers (Fig 13).
“Comparison between different types of wind-catchers
and contemporary forms inspired by them”
Conc lud ing remarks
The issues of contemporary architecture in Iran are
mainly a result of socio-cultural factors. New technology
and modern science have offered an opportunity for
architects to produce different types of buildings. This
opportunity, however, has led to the creation of a gener-
ic architecture in Iran, as well as in many other develop-
ing countries. In recognising contemporary architectural
problems, many architects in Iran have resurrected valu-
able vernacular traditions. As a result, vernacular build-
ings have been the source of inspiration for some promi-
nent Iranian architects from the nineteen sixties and nine-
teen seventies to the present time. This architectural
approach is neither modern nor regional; rather, it tries
to provide a cultural architecture based on the juxtapo-
sition of these two extremes.
In this approach, vernacular architecture is an
abstraction, focusing on its formal aspects rather than a
Figure 13. To be provided........
Table 2. Data matrix of observation: “Comparison
between general schemas of contemporary and vernacularbuildings using wind-catchers”.
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functional basis. Such tendencies toward the formalistic
use of vernacular architecture, although perhaps not
meeting the expectations of vernacular studies; seem to
be useful in reviving vernacular features. Moreover, this
inclination toward the use of vernacular features in con-
temporary architecture creates cultural symbols. In other
words, the symbolic, abstract use of vernacular architec-
ture serves a vital cultural demand in countries that are
facing an identity crisis.
Studies in contemporary vernacular architec-
ture, therefore, can move toward determining such
architectural symbols in each region, which can be used
in contemporary designs. It is hoped that, through such
studies, vernacular architecture through transformation
would become a substantial part of future architecture.
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Author(s):
Rafooneh Mokhtarshahi Sani
Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture
E-Mail: [email protected]
Payam Mahasti Shotorbani
Eastern Mediterranean University, Faculty of Architecture
E-Mail: [email protected]
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I NTRODUCTION: THE LEBANESEDIASPORA
Generally, the rural landscape constitutes an importantaspect of a country’s vernacular architecture. It is regionspecific, as it must adapt to different needs, on siteresources, geography, climate, history and local culture.Man’s ability to constitute for himself an environmentreflective of his identity and favourable to his activitiesemanates from cultural and socio-economic (Guindani,Doepper 1990) imperatives transmitted most often byimitation. In a rural setting, vernacular architecture haslong been engaged in combining the needs of the hometo those of work. However, beyond these two functions,rural vernacular architecture also incarnates its dweller’sattachment to “a traditional system of beliefs, to a sym-bolic that doubles, even multiplies the material attach-ment of the community to its territory (Parent 2009).Innumerable definitions (Bisson 2007) of the word “ver-nacular” exist, all different from each other. This paperseeks a redefinition stemming from a particular context
that, as Rapoport underlines, does not necessarily con-stitute an object/subject of study in itself but serves tostudy the relationships between environment and behav-iour (Rapoport 1999: 92).
In Lebanon, rural vernacular architecture ischaracterized differently depending on its regional speci-ficity, its geography, economic means, its dwellers’needs, religious confession and cultural models.Lebanon is a country of varied topologies where in addi-tion to being Mediterranean, is mountainous. Its variedclimates and geographies has lent itself to building usingdivers materials such as wood, stone and mud contraryto those of the neighbouring countries that use a small-er array of building materials. Typically, rural Lebanesedwellings are individual houses with typological particu-larities that evolve and are classified in eight categories:the mountain shelter, the nomad dwelling, the troglodyt-ic house, the rectangular plan house, the Iwan house,the Riwaq house, the house with courtyard and thehouse with three arches. These categories evolved withtime: some transformed themselves; others mutated from
Stephanie Dadour
Abstract
Unlike postwar reconstruction of urban districts, the architectural projects developed during the Lebanese war are a rel-
atively unexplored subject, moreover if one is dealing within housing in the rural realm. Little attention has been paid
to its contemporary propositions, especially to the ones directed by the Lebanese Diaspora during the war. By living
abroad and by maintaining a link to their origins, members of the Diaspora put together all their strength and wealth
to keep in touch with their land. For a large part, the idea of dwelling refers to their identity: by investing and building
houses in their native village, they aim at preserving a place in their community.
In this article, the Lebanese Diaspora will be regarded as an ethnoscape, figure of the globalization introduced by
Arjun Appadurai, namely a social and political matrix structured by and for the production of a cultural model and iden-
tity. Our hypothesis postulates that each village constitutes a micro ethnoscape (with, of course, exceptions and alter-
natives) and uses a particular architectural language. However, it is not a question of homogenizing all constructions
but rather to find a common vocabulary referring to identity and appropriation in the various villages of origin of the
Diaspora.
The houses built on the native soil by emigrants’ take part in the debates that oppose the local production to the
global one. Thus, contrary to many researches that denounce globalization for the cultural standardization that it pro-
duces, this article intends to show the imaginative character of the members of the Diaspora, their resistance to the tra-
ditional models and the contemporary interbreeding which results from it. In this sense, the local and the global are
intrinsically related one to the other.
Keywords: Lebanese Diaspora, Displacement, Redefining vernacular, Eclecticism, Hybridity.
REDEFINING VERNACULAR: THE LEBANESE DIASPORAECLECTICISM
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ouran existing type and established new ones; more adapt-
ed to new or changing needs and also those that inte-grated elements influenced from numerous other civi-lizations.
If in other countries vernacular architecturestemming from an agricultural tradition was transformedafter the Industrial Revolution and subsequent rural exo-dus, in Lebanon, it is rather travels abroad, the to-and-fros of the Lebanese Diaspora (Abi Samra 2010:17) ,that redefined it: “This migration has been mostly that ofyoung peasants often illiterate, who left the mountain insearch of new opportunities to maintain and improvetheir standard of living.” Thus, as pointed out A. Khater,“it is the high expectations of farmers (and not theirpoverty) that drive many of them to leave the mountainand to emigrate. Emigration was for them a mean forassuring and eventually for improving their standard ofliving, relatively cheap, that culture and its silk industryhad previously guaranteed. Moreover, this migration isfar from being one-sided: it has also contributed to largeflows back and back and forth that had significantimpacts on local society.” (Abi Samra 2010:17)
In this case, the word vernacular takes on anew meaning, one that implies the creation of new archi-tectural languages. One can readily perceive, after onlya first visit to some Lebanese villages, the common act ofborrowing various visual representations – such as post-cards, advertising, etc. – often coming from unusualrepertories. The objective of this research is precisely tosurvey different Lebanese villages in order to understandthe basis of these transformation processes. InArchitecture Without Architects (Rudofsky 1964), BernardRudofsky claims that the house built on native land bymigrants participates in the debate that opposes local toglobal. Using this opposition as a starting point, this arti-cle seeks to rethink beyond it the “otherness paradigm”of the Lebanese Diaspora’s conception of dwellings.
Thus, contrary to numerous studies thatdenounce globalization as the culprit behind culturalstandardization, this article intends to illustrate the imag-inative character of the Lebanese Diaspora, their resis-tance to traditional models and the resulting contempo-rary mélanges. Local and global are intrinsically boundto each other, hence the proposition of a new vernacu-lar defined by concept displacements such as defined byColquhoun, and thus by the creation of a local person-alized language, inherent to the Diaspora, but whichborrows its symbolism from a global body of references,among others. The eclectic quality that emerges fromthese dwellings actually defines new vernacular expres-sions. They are considered vernacular in the sense ofthem being specific to each of the Lebanese Diasporacommunities.
Very often, inhabitants from the same villagemigrate to the same country, facilitating, through com-munity outreach, their cultural and socio-economicalintegration. Living abroad, the members of the Diasporainsist on maintaining a connection with their origins, inorder to remain in contact with their homeland, throughcultural and financial investments. The most importantcontribution of the Diaspora to Lebanon is the transfer offunds – more than 6 billion annually – and of course thedevelopment of cultural exchanges. Many consider thenotion of home in relationship to their identity andbelonging, so by investing in their native village, they aimat preserving their place in their community – their pre-sent residence (as migrant) being considered solely astemporary. Continuously, since the beginning of the 20thcentury and following the numerous wars that prevailed,the Lebanese Diaspora has increased and spread out. Itshould be noted that there are more than 12 millionLebanese citizens abroad (Abi Samra 2010), which isfour times more than its population.
A case study: the Christian village of Meziara
Meziara is an agricultural village located in the northernpart of the country at 800 meters of altitude. The villageoverhangs the sea on one side and the eternal snowmountains on the other. Consequently, its inhabitants areparticularly proud of their village. The first wave of immi-gration left for Brazil during the 19th century, while theone that followed was directed towards Africa (for finan-cial reasons) and dates from the 20th century. This lastmigration left a distinctive mark on the village, todayessentially a summer village or rather a ghost town in thewinter. This is a time during which but a few elderly peo-ple, women and children can be seen, as the men, whobarely finished their studies - mostly university studies -leave with their families to go work in Africa. Aptly, thevillage slogan is: “Miziara: Your Home Away fromHome”.
According, from an interview held with itsmayor and published we are told that 90% of the popu-lation of Meziara earns their salary abroad and 50% ofits migrant population lives in Nigeria. According to themayor, this emigration is explained mainly by commer-cial ambitions that have persisted for many generationsand allow for a more advantageous lifestyle than inLebanon.
Its inhabitants declare themselves “builders atheart” and return to Lebanon motivated by the need toleave a mark attesting to their identity: “The situation ofnever feeling at home but in one’s own country pushesus to keep a tie, even if only temporary” this in order to
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build that which they dream of, a house. In fact, the vil-lage overflows with large-scale single-family houses thatare often left incomplete. For lack of means, these hous-es are never built all at once, the work possibly stretch-ing out over a decade. Many of the interviewed dwellersstated that they preferred starting to build a housebeyond their means in order to hand it down to anothergeneration to be completed.
The people of Meziara, who continually migratebetween Africa and Lebanon, rather than creating a placeof dwelling for themselves, re-appropriate elements that,put together, act as identity signifiers and markers. Thesesignifiers and markers are the result of a quest for identi-ty, a researcher confirms: “near the family community, onthe ancestral land, appears [like] the locus of genealogi-cal interrogation, the quest for roots, especially for thechildren of this emigration” (De Villanova 2003:375).
In fact, the two types of traditional dwellingsfound in this village are the rectangular plan house, alsocalled koukh, and the house with adjacent rooms (dis-tributed along a median corridor), called sakan or bayt.One consists of a single low longitudinal room, the other,of the same shape, differs by the fact that it is divided intoa number of non-communicating rooms that areassigned distinct functions. The four walls are generally ofload-bearing stone masonry, the roof, originally of beat-en earth is now obligatorily covered with red ceramic tile.Also, the koukh has a functional scheme with a frozenlogic. Without putting into question its building method orchange the way it organizes daily life, it cannot grow. It’sa definitive combination” (Davie 2004) whereas thesakan’s constructive system allows the house to evolve byadding rooms. As such, in both cases, the dwellers mod-ify the necessary, most often by adding stories (concreteslabs), enlarging and adapting these houses in order towelcome new generations of the same family and caterto their new needs.
S t range Dwe l l i ngs
The gap between the traditional and the contemporaryhouses - those built by the members of the Diaspora -arises essentially from a mash-up of cultural models typ-ically gathered from their voyages, among other things.The resulting houses are a cross-reference of differentsources and constitute a sort of multicultural collage thaterases confirmed categories to infer new ones “in themaking”. The multiple dimensions within the object con-vey upon it a creative dimension that, far from wantingto blend into the existing landscape, distinguishes itself atthe expense of tradition and habitual references.
The specificity of this community’s dwellings isno longer tied to the land or a unique cultural model butmore so to a dynamic vision, to eclecticism specific tomobility, to multi-local dwelling, hence the necessity toutilize markings resulting from a contemporary imagi-nary tied to heteroclitical and disparate schemes. Justly,Perla Serfaty introduces the sociologist Alain Tarrius’notion of “circulatory territory” (Tarrius 1993: 51-60) tounderline “the articulation between the host country andcountry of origin” not “the substitution of a home withanother proper to that culture of mobility” (Serfaty-Garzon 2006:18). This was confirmed following aninterview with the architect of these two houses. It wasdeduced that the imposing singularity of these houses onthe landscape represents for its owners certain prosperi-ty and attests to, by way of their form and significations,a difference with the norm.
Indeed, the architect repeated several times thenecessity for his clients to have a house built that is out-side the norm. The desire to inhabit a space consideredother, singular, becomes the common aspect of thesenew rural dwellings. In addition, this confirms Serfaty’sconclusion when she juxtaposes the point of view of menfor whom “the house built in the native country [is] theplace where they find a valorized social status and the
Figure 1and 2. : A street of Meziara with many houses in construction © 2010, Randa Mirza.
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proof that migrating wasn’t done in vain, also that itbared fruit and that the symbolic debt towards the com-munity he seemingly abandoned is now paying back”,whereas for the women “they are always ready to leaveagain […] their way of dwelling retains a degree ofnomadism that, even when in conjunction with a highlysedentary residential mode – for example in the form ofa doubling of a local residence – maintains them, atleast in the imaginary, in a doubled relationship to thehome, where mobility and sedentariness do not contra-dict themselves but entertain intimate relationships”(Serfaty-Garzon 2006:18).
Consequently, the gendered reading of Serfatyis a point of departure that will aid this study in its questto understand the manner in which voyages and exile
seem, at first glance, to participate in the transformationof the status of the house. In addition, the interviews thatallowed us to conclude that the Diasporas houses varyenormously according to gender, socio-cultural andfinancial status of the members of the Diaspora, the geo-graphic origin, the host country of immigration, confes-sion, education, age, the year of departure and the timeelapsed since the first generation of emigrants will alsoguide us toward this goal.
The dwel led in the t ime o f mobi l i t i e s o rLearn ing f rom ( Ventu r i , Sco t t Brown,I zenour 2008) Mez ia ra
Figure 5. A house with the shape of a plane built on an existing family house © 2010, Randa Mirza.
Figure 3 and 4. View of the village of Meziara and traditional house © 2010, Randa Mirza.
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Numerous studies on the subject of housing createdarguments that allowed confrontation between notionsemanating from diverse disciplines. The verb to dwellhas been used in all its variants to illustrate these notionsas well as to question the constancies and transforma-tions tied to the domain of the dwelling. Heidegger(Heidegger 1958) used the verb to dwell to signify theexistentialist concept of living space as rootedness, con-tinuity and familiarity. As for Bachelard, the home, oftenuninhabitated, arises out of reverie and refuge and isrendered as a haven of security and comfort. It opposesthe notion of “uncanny” (unheimlich) or that of the“uncomfortably strange” (Bonaparte 1987), initiallyFreudian [elaborated and developed from Ernst Jentsch
first identification] but retrieved by Anthony Vidler (Vidler1992) in architecture. In opposition to canny or heimlich(heim being the house or the hearth) which is a space oftranquility tied to the familiar and daily life, the uncannyis introduced by Vidler to evoke anguish or fright. In hisbook, The Architectural Uncanny, he establishes a rela-tionship between uprootedness and forced nomadism tothe home. However, examples taken from the Diasporaquestion this anchoring of the home space seeing asdwelling is no longer tied to a form of sedentariness orfamiliarity but, on the contrary, it is marked by to-and-fros between country of origin and host country withoutconferring them both with the same status.
The connection normally established between
Figure 8. A house entitled “the White House” © 2010,
Randa Mirza
Figure 6. House in the shape of a pyramid © 2010, Randa
Mirza compared to an advertisment for touristic Egypt.
Figure 7. Same facade as Baalbeck Temple © 2010, Randa Mirza
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dwelling, sedentariness and privacy sees itself replacedby the experience and multiplication of travels and pas-sages from one place to another where mobility andbelonging are, according to Johanson and Saarikangas:two mutual notions of home, the house is not “one or theother’ but ‘both and’ (Johansson, Kirsi 2009:13). Thusis introduced the notion of mobility that, through the timeof the voyage, becomes the space of transition parexcellence for the members of the Diaspora that oscillatebetween their country of origin and host country. Thismobility implies a differentiation between the statuses ofboth homes since the one that is built in the native vil-lage is marked by a symbolic singularity that stigmatizesspace.
Beyond that marking and formal interest, thesymbolic iconography that emerges from these houses iswhat is of interest. Easily legible and analogical, they arecharged with meaning and, initially, reference figuresassociated with power and wealth. In that sense they area testament to a certain discomfort and a lack of famil-iarity with usual mental representations of the house.
(See images below while reading) Normallybuilt for: the death of a Pharaoh; the sacred or a cultspace dedicated to the Gods: the American President;royalty; these houses suggest manors of appropriationthat lead to an experience of alterity in relationship totheir status. The appropriation of these figures sets inmotion a process of creation and hybridization that pro-duces in some of the presented cases a singular experi-ence that puts into question the village’s habitus and thepractices of dwelling. The values of the migrant societyof Meziara are the expression, among others, of theircultural values that are all the more transmitted by them-selves, that is without the help of an architect, and thusrepresentatives of an image they would like to give them-selves.
Far from answering to the practical uses of thehome, the residences built by the Diaspora in their nativevillage distance themselves from the normally attributedfunctions and uses, to instead participate in the con-struction of a space of personal claim. They are in fact a
space of claim, of representation of the self, thus nolonger a living space in conformity with the habitus of theinhabitants of Meziara. The eclectic nature of this builtlandscape engages the inhabitants in an interpretationand production of meaning or as Venturi, Scott Brownand Izenour underline, the importance resides in thesymbol in space before form in space, as system of com-munication nor as space as the architectural quality(Venturi, Scott Brown, Izenour 2008: 22).
The relationship to the landscape and thespaces allocated to certain social rituals characteristic oflife in the village are redefined and articulate relation-ships drawn from a composite accumulation originatingfrom numerous registers of belonging – like that of ahybrid imaginaire – in which the inhabitants would like tobelong in addition to the one of the host country, to thenative village…
Conc lus ion: Othe r spaces , heterotopias
If in general it is said that globalization standardizespractices and behaviours, Meziara confirms a differentstance that, marked by the dash of imagination of itsDiaspora, sees itself multiplying the forms of appropria-tion and identification to the land. Pierre Alphandry andMartin Bergues (Alphandéry 2004:5-12) expression “themise-en-scène of the singular” to express the need to
Figure 9a, 9b, 9c: Castle-shaped houses © 2010, Randa Mirza
Figure 10. This is not a Plane
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manifest and claim ones belonging corresponds to theexample of Meziara’s Diaspora members. Far frombeing houses in the “traditional” sense of the word, theseconstructions are objects of transmission (in an all-encompassing sense of the word). The shift of conceptsmaterialized by analogy between house and icono-graphic symbol operates as representations of identityand locus of investment in the imaginary, but also leadto spaces of confrontation with that which already exists.Collective social cohesion and belonging to a certainland are, through spatial forms, perturbed and trans-formed: the references and registers are fundamentallydifferent. The sedentary villagers in contrast to those whocontinually migrate in and out of Lebanon mark the ter-ritory in a distinct manor, leading to a sort of asymmetri-cal conflict stemming from their differences as much atthe level of actions undertaken than the induced signi-fiers. The singular nature of Diaspora’s houses becomesin fact the space of alterity where distinction is not onlynecessary, even indispensable, but pushed to the brink ofbelonging to the strangeness register.
This Diaspora is thus representative of a collec-tive imagination as defined by Benedict Aderson or beconsidered as ethnoscape (Appadurai 1991: 191-210),the expression of globalization introduced by ArjunAppadurai that is a social and political matrix structuredby and for the production of a cultural model as well asa cultural identity. By re-evaluating the role of symbol-ism, by demonstrating an interest in the choices, analo-gies, tastes and values that are transmitted, from thehouses of the Diaspora emerges a new architectural lan-guage distinct to their community.
That shift, marked by the constructions of themigrant population, constitutes an inscription on theland of otherness, or as Foucault states of heteropias:“One could perhaps classify societies, [...] according tothe heteropias they prefer, and the one they constitute”(Foucault 2009:26). In fact, even if these houses repre-
sent an important part of a certain society, they arenonetheless a marginal contribution to the villagers’houses, their cultural models and social practices.Spaces of materialized utopias, the houses built by theMeziaran Diaspora are non conventional and as suchmust be radically different, to the point of constituting aredefined vernacular.
Finally, this research will be completed with theexperiences of other villages and hypothesized that thereis in each of these villages, micro ethnoscape (with ofcourse exceptions and variations) that use their ownarchitectural vernacular languages. Its aim is not to stan-dardize or homogenize all construction conceived andbuilt by the Lebanese Diasporas but to find commonground of identity appropriation in the various villages oforigin of those as memory holds an important role forwhom the homeland is the basis of the collective con-sciousness.
Figure 11.African Jewellery and paintings representingAfrican landscapes. © 2010, Randa Mirza
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ourREFERENCES
ABI SAMRA, M. 2010, L’émigration libanaise et son impact surl’économie, Cahiers des migrations internationals, no.105.
ALPHANDÉRY, P. and BERGUES, M. 2004, Territoires en ques-tions. Pratiques des lieux, usages d’un mot, Ethnologie
Française, Vol.34/1.
APPADURAI, A. 1991, Global Ethnoscapes. Notes andQuesries for a Transnational Anthropology, Recapturing
Anthropology. Working in the Present, School of AmericanResearch Press, Santa Fe, 1991.
BISSON, M. 2007, Vernaculaire Moderne?, Montréal,UQAM, p.92.
BONAPARTE, M. and MARTY, E.(trad.) 1987, L’Essai de
Psychanalyse appliquée de Freud, Gallimard, Paris.
DAVIE, M. 2004, Maisons traditionnelles de Beyrouth: typolo-
gie, culture domestique, vaeur patrimoniale, APSAD/CEHVI,Beyrouth.
DE VILLANOVA, R. 2003, De la double résidence, Dictionnaire
de l’habitat et du logement, Armand Colin, Paris, 2003.
FOUCAULT, M. 2009, Le corps Utopique, les Hétérotopies,Nouvelles Éditions Lignes, Paris, 2009.
GUINDANI, S. and DOEPPER, D. 1990, Architecture
Vernaculaire. Territoire, habitat et activités productives, PressesPolytechniques et Universitaires Romandes, 1990.
HEIDEGGER, M. 1958, Bâtir, habiter, penser, Essais et con-
férences, Gallimard, Paris, 1958.
JOHANSSON, H. and KIRSI, S. 2009, Homes in
Transformation : Dwelling, Moving, Belonging, SuomalaisenKirjallisuuden Seura, Helsinki.
PARENT, M. L’Architecture Vernaculaire rurale, ses modes deconservation et ses limites à l’adaptation, Monumentum,Vol.XV-XVI.
RAPOPORT, A. 1999, A Framework for Studying VernacularDesign, Journal of Architectural and Planning Research, Vol.16/1.
RUDOFSKY, B. 1964, Architecture Without Architects: A short
introduction to non-pedigreed architecture, Garden City (N.Y.),Doubleday & Company: New York. Museum of Fine Arts.
SERFATY-GARZON, P. 2006, En mouvement. Le chez-soi àl’épreuve des mobilités, Un chez-soi chez les autres, BayardÉditions, Montréal, 2006.
TARRIUS, A. 1993, Territoires circulatoires et espaces urbains.Différenciation des groupes migrants, Annales de la recherche
urbaine, no 59-60.
VENTURI, R. and SCOTT BROWN, D. and IZENOUR S.,1972, Learning from Las Vegas, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
VIDLER, A. 1992, The Architectural Uncanny, Essays in the
Modern Unhomely, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Au thor (s ) :
S t ephanie Dadour8 Rue du Marche Popincourt, 75011 Paris, France.E-mial:[email protected]
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1.1 INTRODUCTION
One of the fundamental objectives and directive
principles of state policy in Nigeria is the provision
of suitable and adequate shelter for all citizens (FGN
1999). However, the situation of Nigeria according to
the UN-Habitat (2008:8) was “one of the most
unfavourable social environmental conditions in the
world” due to its pathetic state of housing infrastructure.
This is because, of the 50 percent of the country’s
150 million population live in urban centres, 70%
reside in informal settlements, lacking in all char-
acteristics of a decent shelter (UN- Habitat 2008).
And the 2006 National Population and Housing
Census estimated that there were only 19.2 million
households in the country that live in houses of their
own (NPC 2006). A housing deficit is estimated to
be between 14 and 16 million units (UN-Habitat
2008). Furthermore, poverty is present at 52-70% of
the population (UN-Habitat 2008). The inadequacies
of institutional and legal frameworks, development and
its control strategies have contributed immensely to the
‘urbanisation of poverty’ and to the deepening of hous-
ing shortages in Nigeria. It is apparent that the worst
affected are the LIG who have “to rely on their ingenuity,
energy, skills and resources in order to meet their vital
shelter needs” Bredenoord and van Lindert 2010:279).
On account of this, housing has become what
Cullingworth (1991) called a ‘perpetual problem’ con-
fronting government, posing a formidable challenge in
formulating policies that would not only increase the
supply of decent housing to the citizens, but also tackle
problems that are associated with it (UN-Habitat 2008).
Against this background, necessitates Nigerian state to
change its housing policy to market-led, consistent with
international housing policy paradigm shift (Sandhu and
Aldrich 1998). The agent of delivery became private real
estate developers, popularly known in the country as
organised private sector (OPS). Despite the enthusiasm
for enablement approach in Nigeria, there are few
researches conducted on the efficacy of OPS in achiev-
ing the housing of LIG under the MHS. This is the core
contribution of the paper and argues that the market-led
supply might not be appropriate, considering the coun-
try’s highly volatile economy, its state inefficient institu-
tions and the inadequate vibrancy of the OPS in the
country.
Accordingly, this paper seeks to examine the
performance of the MHS in Abuja. Abuja is the adminis-
trative federal capital of Nigeria, created in 1976
(Moore 1984) and officially became seat of government
in 1991 (Morah 1993) with total land area of 8,000
square kilometres (KM2) (IPA 1979). The bulk of PPP
MHS project sites fall within the 163 KM2 area of Phase
Bawa Chafe Abdullah & Wan Nor Azriyati Wan Abd Aziz
Abstract
In 2000, Federal Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (MFCT), Abuja launched a mass housing scheme (MHS) under
the platform of a public-private partnership (PPP).This paper reports an evaluation of this reform in order to understand
the scheme’s impact on the cohort of low-income group (LIG) in Abuja, Nigeria. The study explores the multiple data
sources available, including literature and policy material and empirical evidence collected through structured and
semi-structured questionnaires. The findings of the study suggest that the scheme did not significantly improve the hous-
ing status of LIG. The research suggests that the cohorts’ history of exclusion in housing delivery in the Abuja deepened
further due to partly an inadequate mortgage infrastructure to support their participation. Moreover, with poor scheme
implementation, it is clear that the scheme strengthened the polarised position of the Abuja with respect to housing
which runs counter to the stated policy objective to provide all Nigerians with decent and affordable housing. The paper
concludes by showing the wider implication of the contemporary approach of the housing strategy in Abuja and Nigeria
in general.
Keywords: Nigeria, Mass Housing Scheme, Low-Income Group, Exclusion, Organised Private Sector.
STATE MASS HOUSING SCHEME FOR THE LOW-INCOME GROUP IN ABUJA
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III of Abuja development area (Figure 1). With not up to
50% of planned development of Abuja attained
(Daramola & Aina 2004); the city is estimated to have a
population of over 6 million, which by far exceeds the
original design capacity of 3.2 million when the city is
completed (Imam et al. 2008). And Abuja was reported
as one of the fastest growing city in Africa, with annual
growth rate of 8.3% per annum (UN-Habitat 2008). The
repercussion of geometric growth of Abuja in terms of
population is apparent on housing that witnessed the
emergence of over 65 informal and unplanned settle-
ments (COHRE 2006). Hence, the MHS is seen as
panacea to the widening gap between the unmet
demand and supply in the city. How far has this been
achieved, particularly among the LIG, is the subject of
this paper.
The paper first set out the background to the
study. This is subsequently followed by a context of the
institutional efficiency and review of historical develop-
ment of Nigeria housing policy. The housing challenge
of the LIG is situated against the Abuja experience, as
the Federal Capital of Nigeria. The results of empirical
analysis are presented to demonstrate the incapability of
state institutions and non-vibrant OPS in addressing the
historical exclusion of the LIG in Abuja. The paper con-
cludes by showing the wider implication of the contem-
porary approach of housing strategy in Abuja and
Nigeria in general.
2 .1 STATE INST I TUT IONAL EF F IC IENCY
AND MARKET IN N IGERIA
The performance of any strategy or programme is
explained in terms of its existing institutional structure
(Jenkins and Smith 2001). The success of reforms insti-
tuted by the states in developing countries hinged on the
creation of capable, viable and sustainable institutions to
deliver a successful outcome. This is because the eco-
nomic efficiency in delivery of public goods and services,
institutions are quite relevant when consistently the
agents and structures have failed to cope with the
upsurge in demand (van de Klundert 2010). This is why
according to North (1990) the economic efficiency of a
given society is explained by how the institution structures
the political, economic and social interactions among its
members. North (1990) viewed the difference and inter-
actions between institutions and organisation in the inter-
pretation of institutional changes in the society. The dif-
ference can be seen from the definitions, according to
North (1990:3,5) institutions “are rules of the game in a
society”; while organisation are “group of individuals
bound by some common purpose to achieve objec-
tives”. On interaction, the process and emergence of
organisations depends on the institution to create the
institutional framework and they also influence signifi-
cantly on the way institution evolves the framework.
However, it is the state institutions that play the role of
creating and shaping the opportunities to be exploited
by organisations. The pattern of the symbiotic relation-
ship outcome might be positive or negative. In develop-
ing countries it is interpreted that such interaction pro-
duces negative outcome, because it favour “redistribu-
tion rather than productive activity; that creates monop-
olies rather than competition; that restrict choices rather
than extend them” (Rowley 2000:144-5).
The policy reform that set out to create efficient
organisations under such unfavourable institution would
tend to be inefficient and unproductive. The institutional
changes were resisted as observed by Economides &
Egger (2009) when the attempt made by states in devel-
oping countries to achieve economic outcome was
thwarted by the political elites and interest groups over
the redistribution of income and wealth. These group-
ings challenge the institutions on change, essentially to
achieve the preservation and ensure the continuation of
Figure 1. Maps of Nigeria, FCT and FCC phases 1, 2, 3 & 4 respectively.
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rent seeking and extraction. The flagrant outcomes in
such societies are the institutions malfunction and decay
in attempt to achieve economic efficiency.
The significance of institutions in the operations
and performance of market have been researched by
new institutional economists (Coarse 1937; North
1990; Williamson 1973). It was these foundational
authors promoted the role of institution, and consider
markets as always the superior institution in achieving the
most optimal outcomes. Similarly, they were in agree-
ment that an institutional change is conditioned on time
and space, and economic activity as subject of reform,
being the key determinants (North 1990). This stand-
point culminated in World Bank (2002) expressed the
primacy of institution in developing countries gover-
nance and development.
For this purpose, World Bank (1993) promoted
neo-liberal housing policy to developing countries,
whereby private market rules and government retires as
enabler and facilitator in housing delivery. Thus the
housing policy strategy has the singular focus on the
poor, transparency and private sector market housing
delivery. The policy framework sought “to redirect devel-
oping country governments from engaging in building,
marketing, financing and maintenance of housing units
toward facilitating expansion of the provision of housing
units toward facilitating expansion of the private sector’s
role in such activity” (World Bank 1993:62). To create
the enabling environment for the participation of private
sector, the governments works towards building property
rights development, mortgage finance, targeted subsi-
dies, infrastructures for urban land development, regula-
tory reform, organisation of the building industry and
institutional development. Consequently, the expected
benefits to governments are identified to be budgetary
relief, innovation, increase productivity, cost effective-
ness, risk allocation etc (see Ng et al. 2012). Thus,
against this background was what informed Nigerian
state to pursue a market-led housing policy reform.
3 .1 THE N IGERIA HOUSING POLICY
Nigerian housing policy from the early 1950s up to the
recent times was deficient in a number of ways (see
Ikejiofor 1999). Particularly, the limited public sector
direct housing contribution over the years was inade-
quate to remedy housing problems and consistently
failed to reduce housing deficits. According to Ogu &
Ogbuozobe (2001), between 1971 and 1995 the pro-
gramme could only construct 76,870 housing units or
13% of the total units intended to be constructed.
Consequently, it made very little impact on the overall
housing programme in the country and to the LIG who
remained without adequate shelter. Accordingly, the sub-
sequent government housing programmes failed to
complete as many units as it promised (Ikejiofor 1999).
Thus public direct construction at the end left a gap in
housing delivery in the country that was not capable to
be filled easily. On the other hand, the presence of an
organised formal private sector was not visible in hous-
ing markets, but was limited to the execution of the con-
struction of government housing projects.
Thereafter, housing provision to the cohort LIG
in Nigeria became minimal. This development attracted
the attention of scholars who advocated an enablement
strategy as an alternative to government provider
scheme (Ogu 1999; Ogu & Ogbuozobe 2001). This
was along the lines of an international paradigm hous-
ing policy shift to market-led in developing countries. The
Nigeria government responded with a housing policy
aligned on the path dependence of enablement strategy
to reorient the policy towards housing the poor and vul-
nerable groups. The implementation of the new systems
is intended to act as an aberration of public direct sup-
ply. The military administration of Babangida began it all
with the promulgation of national housing policy (NHP)
in 1991 (FGN 1991).
By 1999, however, another round of NHP
begins with the setting up of Presidential committee on
Housing and Urban Development (PC-HUD) in 2002
and culminated with NHP, 2006, from which is supposed
to represent a housing model put in place. The NHP
2006 (FGN 2006) perfectly fitted the World Bank 1993
policy document. The NHP is built on OPS driven and to
be supported by agencies that would create the required
competition and provide the financial support service.
Therefore, policy promoted the creation of primary
agencies of the OPS known as Real Estate Developers
Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Mortgage Banking
Association of Nigeria (MBAN) and Building Materials
Producers Association of Nigeria (BUMPAN). The
REDAN are to build the houses, the MBAN to finance the
development and consumption and the BUMPAN to
produce and supply the required building materials.
With the creation of these professional agencies, the
government could then ‘roll back’ and tried to create a
relational one, by providing an enabling environment.
Finally, the OPS was challenged to produce houses that
are decent and affordable to all citizens, who could then
use mortgage financing to access the houses produced.
But the irony of the OPS driven housing delivery was pur-
sued with little learning on the consequences from such
a path dependant strategy.
The Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN)
being the sine quo of the new dispensation was a
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home’. It opened series of financing windows to both
OPS and individual National Housing Fund (NHF) con-
tributors to access. Based on the capital base of FMBN
with NGN5 billion (or USD$17 million) in view of the
housing finance gap which runs into trillions of Nigerian
Naira (Thisday 2009). Even the said capital base was
not forthcoming from the stakeholders of Central Bank
of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigerian Social Insurance Trust
Fund (NSITF) equity contributions of NGN1.5 million
and NGN1.0 billion respectively (Thisday 2009). The
concern is how could the new approach with poor mort-
gage infrastructure be more effective?
The current position of the Nigerian housing
policy of its withdrawal policy from direct public provi-
sions was taken at a time when the government had no
projections of housing demand in the country, no con-
crete programme of action to resolve the housing issue,
except policy shift to OPS developers to supply. But this
is a wrong position so far taken when it is ‘require a dif-
ferent type of state involvement, not necessarily less state
involvement’(Mukhija 2001). Hence, the new housing
policy “could be likened to pouring new wine into old
wine skins- a recipe for disaster” (Ndubueze 2010:1).
4 .1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study adopted the case study method in developing
an understanding of the implementation of MHS in the
study area. The context of MHS implementation is con-
sidered an important issue in exploring its impact on LIG
(Yin 2009). The actual data collection was conducted
between November, 2009 and March, 2010. The data
for the study was collected using a combination of sec-
ondary sources, questionnaires and interviews. The study
selected and examined six completed and occupied
housing estates in the study area. From the developed
housing estates, the selection was based on the willing-
ness of the developers to participate and provide the
study with data, and essentially having housing unit’s
developments which ideally should be occupied by LIG.
And a total of 400 structured questionnaires were admin-
istered to purposively selected residents occupying the
said ideal houses units in the selected estates mentioned
above, as respondents. The heads of household are used
as the unit of the study. On the other hand, the semi-
structured questionnaires were administered to the public
and private sectors agencies, departments and private
developers firm. The interviewees were chosen from the
management staff of the public and private sectors. These
are considered very relevant to this study since they are
intensely involved in the scheme implementation.
5.1 STUDY FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 .1 Mobi l i sa t ion o f OPS pa r t i c ipat ion
and modes o f implemen ta t ion
The OPS participation under the auspices of PPP known
MHS commenced in the year 2000, aimed at providing
‘sufficient housing to meet the ever growing demand at
an affordable cost to the residents of Abuja’. The imple-
mentation of the MHS was first managed by an ad hoc
committee set up in the office of the Minister of the then
MFCT, now Federal Capital Territory Administration
(FCTA). The participating OPS were made to sign a
development lease agreement (DLA), and contained all
the associated rights and responsibilities in the partner-
ship. Under the scheme, the FCTA was to provide pri-
mary infrastructure whilst the developer would provide
secondary and tertiary infrastructures “compliant with the
standard specified by the Master Plan of Abuja” (FCTA
2008). However, it was provided in the agreement that
where after the completion of the estate, the government
fails to provide the primary infrastructures as stipulated,
the developers were allowed to provide such infrastruc-
tures as necessary to make the estate habitable, initially
at the expense of the government, but later changed at
no cost to the government.
Major setback experienced in the course of the
implementation, the government did not fulfil its part of
agreement of providing the primary infrastructures due
to funding constraints. For instance from the records of
the Department of Engineering Services (DES) shows that
the FCDA cost of providing infrastructure to relatively flat
and rough terrains in Abuja was estimated at about
N10,000 and N17,500 per square metre respectively.
The interview with the private developers shows that the
failure of the government to provide these infrastructures
necessitated them to provide, like access roads, water,
electricity main and transformers at their sites and which
all add up to the cost of the developments with serious
consequence to unit price of the houses produced. In
part, such provisions by the developers explain directly
the high cost of houses from the scheme.
The implementation analysis shows that the
DLA was completely discarded and disregarded, and
both agents were working outside the context of the
agreement. The end-result shows that the private sectors
were producing houses and infrastructures that were not
in compliance with the specification of the DLA signed.
The mixed development densities in the form of
detached, semi-detached, terraced and block of flats
known with Abuja development was apparently ignored
and dumped by the private developers. Instead, much of
the development by the developers concentrates on high
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and medium costs, in the form of mansions, duplexes,
bungalows, with very few units or none at all of low-cost.
Even the authorities of FCTA criticised such extensive
low-density developments that were not commensurate
with values of land in the city, considering the high cost
of infrastructure provision in the city (FCTA 2008).
The study further found that there was apparent
failure from the relevant departments to enforce sanc-
tions from the above observed breaches of the DLA.
Perhaps this was due to the absence of department in the
FCDA/FCTA directly responsible for the coordination
and monitoring of the MHS, to document and forward
the breaches to the departments responsible. As pointed
out earlier; the MHS was under an ad hoc committee
under the Minister’s office and it delivered the most inef-
fective coordination and monitoring of the scheme. It is
left to be seen how the management of the newly estab-
lished Department of Mass Housing (DMH) would han-
dled the numerous contentious issues associated with the
implementation of the MHS that was so much not deliv-
ering the desired result.
5 .1 .2 Al locat ion s , p lanning and develop-
ment con tro l s i s sue s
At the beginning of the scheme, the FCDA did not have
the detailed prepared land use plans and engineering
designs of the districts before the allocations were made
to the private developers. Consequently, there were
cases of multiple allocations, encroachments and dis-
putes between the private developers. Thus, the alloca-
tions of the MHS were made ‘arbitrarily without recourse
to neither the detailed site development plan nor engi-
neering design for those districts’ (FCTA 2008:28). With
this abnormality, the private developers also went into
development without equally preparing their individual
estate land use plans and engineering designs. Even
among the few that submitted the plans and design, not
all secured the FCDA departments of engineering ser-
vices, development control and urban and regional
Planning approvals, but all the same, went ahead with
the developments. For instance, a finding shows that
from the 79 private developer’s onsite, only 51 or 64.5%
made applications for development approvals and only
13 private developers’ secured requisite approvals of the
Development Control Department (DCD). These prob-
lems arises because the stakeholder departments were
not carried along and in fact there was no known exist-
ing standing committee that comprised of all the stake-
holder departments coordinating, monitoring and
reviewing the MHS in Abuja. During the interviews, the
private developers expressed their dissatisfaction to the
lack of commitment from the public institutions on
scheme implementation. While the government accused
the OPS of deviating from the DLA signed and develop-
ing sub-standard houses. The consequences of this on
Abuja are that the objective of boosting housing stock
supply remained unfulfilled; compounding the disorder-
ly growth and development of the city, and these prob-
lems would persist and much would defy solutions later.
From the speculative activities, these private
firms were involved in double dealings, shoddy projects
and absconding from sites and other malpractices, out
of self enrichment and aggrandizement to the detriment
of the aims and objectives of establishing the pro-
gramme. For instance, a report observed that “many of
the buildings in the ... sites were poorly executed using
poor materials” ((FCTA 2008:47-48). Same report indi-
cated that out of the 245 allocations made, only 79 or
32.2% private developers moved to site, while the
majority of 166 or 68.8% were not on site. In relation to
this, it is observed that since the lands were given to the
developers at zero cost, the developers were trading in
plots rather than in completed house units and enjoying
unprecedented gains. The field work survey data shows
that the OPS developers’ sale such plots of land between
NGN8-10 million or more per plot and collecting
NGN2-3 million as infrastructure cost depending on the
location. Additionally, the MHS projects exceeded the
completion period, the hope of increasing supply of the
houses remaining unfulfilled and the city is littered with
abandonment of the construction sites and by implica-
tion further worsens the housing shortage of the city. By
this misconduct, has contributed significantly to the
occurrence of substandard houses on these MHS hous-
ing estates, since the development were not accorded
with prerequisite approvals from the DCD of the FCTA.
It has been found that after expending their life time sav-
ings such developments have been subjected to demoli-
tions by the DCD, dashing hopes of some Abuja resi-
dents to own their homes.
5 .1 .3 Enab lement incent ive s and suppor t s
o f fer ing to t he OPS pa r t i c ipan ts
A major finding of the study shows the participation of
OPS in Abuja MHS is organised under the umbrella of
REDAN, to benefit from the enabling environment
opportunities offered by the government. For instance,
the land was offered to OPS at “no cost” and the FMBN
opened a special window providing estate development
loans, minimum of NGN50 million at 10% interest rate
p.a. The loan is offered for a maximum term of 24
months solely for the development of the housing units
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ziz to be sold at prices between N1.5 million and N5.0 mil-
lion, targeting the low-and medium-income groups. At
the inception of the FMBN financing scheme, 31 appli-
cations were approved from the 75 OPS applications
received, to the tune of NGN12.2 billion (USD$82.3
million) in respect of 7,397 housing unit and only
NGN5.2 billion (about USD$35 million) was disbursed
(Mabogunje 2004). According to Fortune-Ebie (2006)
by April, 2006 through this window the sum of about
NGN10 billion (about USD$67 million) has been dis-
bursed. Only two of our six OPS developers’ respon-
dents accepted to have access this loan from the FMBN.
Others claimed to have used their company resources
and bank loans. Unfortunately, the OPS sees the financ-
ing as opportunity to grab from the FMBN as share of
“national cake” (Housing 2005). In fact from this atti-
tude of OPS developers were indebted to FMBN to the
tune of NGN11.24 billion (about USD$75 million)
(NBFTopiconline 2009). And from the list we can identi-
fy that those three of the OPS respondents that refused
to disclosed to us whether they have access the loan,
were found to be indebted to the tune of about NGN2.5
billion (about USD$17 million) accounting for more
than one-fifth of the total loan outstanding.
5 .1.4 E x t ent o f a ccess ib i l i t y o f MHS hous-
ing among the L IG
Result of the primary data shows that more than 50% of
the respondents as renters (Figure 2) and the data sug-
gest that many bought the houses for investment and
serve as the available options of cost recovery. More
than two-third of the respondents were in occupation of
the houses between 1 and 5 years and renting in most
cases (Figure 2). By exploring the opportunity of renting
out, afford the recovering part of the money invested,
generate income and perhaps to some serve as source
of paying back some of the borrowed money used to
possess the house at the first instance by the investors.
This compared to practice in Ghana where 40% of the
surveyed respondents bought their houses for investment
(Grant 2007). The data suggests that there were emerg-
ing investors, mostly the rich and high-income groups
acquiring the houses developed from developers in
Abuja, and the houses are rented out immediately.
Against the background of housing shortage among the
LIG in Abuja, there is need to put forward measures to
control the emergence of this trend in the interest of
equity.
The recent study of Ndubueze (2009) finding
indicates a ratio of about 3 to 5 Nigerian urban resi-
dents were having housing affordability problem. Also
other researchers have shown that income level prove
as the major factor that affect house purchase
(Aribigbola 2008; Arimah 1997; Udechukwu 2008)
and sourcing of loans from formal financial institutions
in Nigeria (Ojo & Ighalo 2008). Consequently, it is
then not surprising that the study data, the annual
income of the respondents at the time of house pur-
chase and now obtained shows that majority of the
respondents (84.7%) earn more than NGN100,000
p.a and the remaining 15.3% earned less than
NGN100,000 p.a. Using the NHP, 2006 bench mark,
the result shows the majority that bought the housing
units are outside the bracket of LIG. It is then not sur-
prising that the houses that this new set of agents in
housing provision have prove unaffordable to greater
number of the population. This finding concur with
Ndubueze ( 2010) conclusion that the current nation-
Figure 2. Showing status and duration of house occupation.
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al housing policy reform is serving ‘interests’ other
than the Nigerian households, for whom it is meant to
serve.
Further details of the data shows only 24% used
FMBN facilities to purchase the houses, while 43 percent
sourced the money from personal savings and assistance
from relations, bank loan and employer financing
account for 27% and 6% respectively. This shows the
interplay of traditional source of housing finance for
most Nigerians through accumulation of savings and
assistance by borrowing from relations and friends
occurring in the acquisition of houses on these estates.
Considering the focus of the NHP, 2006 (FGN 2006) on
mortgage financing as prime focus of the policy, the
implication of the findings indicate that not much has
been achieved and perhaps the inadequate accessibility
to this type of financing might be the explanation for
negligible number of LIG participating and dominance
of the market by the emerging group of investors buying
over the houses developed by the OPS.
Another finding indicated that the developers
offered the purchasers with the choice of full and instal-
ment payments. The purchasers were expected to com-
plete within the period of three and six months, which
varies from the developers. The instalments payment
terms regime also varies, but most common are 70-
30%; 50-30 and 20%; 30-40 and 30%. The data shows
that more than 60 and about 22% made upfront pay-
ment of between 11 and 49% and more than 50%
respectively. Contrary to the believe of Mabogunje
(2004) the finding demonstrate that the emphasis on
cash and carry basis housing market has not changed
with the housing policy that encourages home ownership
through mortgage financing. Although most of the 90
PMIs were located in Abuja, the LIG were reluctant to
take such mortgage financing on housing development
and acquisition because of their high interest rates and
as such they considered such loans as oppressive (Jibril
2009). The recent offering of mortgage financing by
commercial banks, are nothing more than consumptive
loans than mortgage, offered between 18 and 20%
annual interest rates for period of 12 to 24 months, did
not help much either. The results of these are expressed
as the inability of intending borrowers to take such high
interest rate loans on short term basis and this is nega-
tively impacting on housing delivery in the city. This study
further strength the findings of Struyk and Roman (2008)
which shows under nascent mortgage there is low-inci-
dence of mortgage financing with about 25 percent
interest and cash payment prevails with about 3 for every
4 house purchase in Cairo.
6 .1 CONCLUSION
In summary, the MHS scheme in Abuja was executed
without proper procedure, adequate planning and
implementation. The scheme also suffered from lack of
coordination and monitoring from the relevant stake-
holder departments of the FCDA and the worst originat-
ed from the ad hoc committee that made the selections
and allocations. This singular institutional failure brought
about the confusion; lack of focus, coordination and far
from realising the goal of the scheme. Also the scheme
was not integrated with the overall framework of the
country’s national housing policy, that prioritise to
achieve housing for all Nigerians to own or have access
to decent, safe, and healthy accommodation at afford-
able cost.
In conclusion, the institutional malaise in Abuja
could not create the PPP, as shows case the strategy as a
veritable tool for housing delivery. The findings prove that
to accomplish desired policy outcomes there is need for
an integrated decision making and implementation. The
fragmented system of the implementation explains the
confusion and lack of focus of the programme and gen-
erating an adverse consequence on the city housing situ-
ation. The OPS driven approach suggest that the MHS
programme has not improved housing or reduced the
cohorts LIG and poor homelessness in Abuja, with its
good intention to provide houses that are affordable and
decent. After a decade of MHS implementation, it did not
record a success tips to addressing the housing predica-
ments and there was no hitch it appeared the new dis-
pensation had eliminate, or even necessarily reduces their
housing shortages and affordability. The result remains as
dismal as ever. There is need to have a rethinking on the
strategy once again. Housing the vulnerable groups of
the LIG through market is clearly not going to address the
problem and definitely is not a solution. The concern
whether the government minimal rapprochement should
continue instead of market is a legitimate rethinking. This
is indeed the logical fallacy underlying the enablement on
the market to supply. By implication, the Abuja present
housing predicament exposes the state institutions on
three dilemmas. One of such is that the city’s residential
housing ownership and growth were not a central preoc-
cupation of government policy. The OPS intervention has
further distorted supply, by not targeting the group that so
much matters.
Finally, housing problem in the city remained by
far resolved and solved and in fact the cohort’s history of
exclusion deepens. The ingredients of political will, effec-
tive sustainable development state, public interest and
appropriately nested institutional conditions among oth-
ers are required to drive the housing delivery system for-
ward.
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Author ( s ) :
Bawa Chafe Abdu l lah i
Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Built
Environment, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. E-mail: [email protected]
Wan Nor Az r i ya t i Wan Abd Az iz
Department of Estate Management, Faculty of Built
Environment, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
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SuStainable Humane(e) SettlementS: tHe uRban CHallenGe
two documentary films were made in South africa andin the netherlands and aim to portray the state of hous-ing and suggest approaches and challenges in achiev-ing Sustainable Human(e) settlements in South africa.
the central premise of the films is to explore the uniqueapproaches being taken towards a transformation ofhousing into sustainable human settlements. the filmsbring together architects, government officials, urbanplanners, engineers, academics and more importantlyordinary people to grapple in an honest way about thehuman settlements challenges facing us today.
the films present the contrasts between the two contextsand reveal the possibilities for both countries to dealwith the global question of creating sustainablehuman(e) settlements.
the films look toward the netherlands, due to thestrong link we see with the netherlands in terms oflessons in social housing, unique finance models andan approach to the design of medium density andmixed developments.
Social Rental Housing in South africa is to some extentbased on Dutch precedents, thus the films in part,become an investigation into the possibility of govern-ment investment in social housing by developing “basebuildings”, allowing for multi-skilled teams to providethe “infill” – possibly achieving long-term sustainabilityof the housing stock, better return on investment withregards to government subsidies and allowing for moreinvolvement of users in the decision-making process.
this alternative design, delivery and procurementapproach would allow for adaptation of rental housingto achieve income generation activities as well as dif-ferent family configurations and alternative lifestyles.
the movies therefore intend to start a conversation inthe application of the concepts of Open building in theSouth african housing context.
in the netherlands, the focus is on presenting andcommenting on past and recent projects as relevantcase studies to extract the positive qualities as well asthe difficulties dealt with during the realization of theprojects.
executive Producer: amira OsmanCreative producers/directors: nduka mntambo (uJ) +beate lendt (x!mage)Production: uJ, FaDa, Johannesburg and x!mage,amsterdamDirecting, camera, editing: nduka mntambo + beatelendt + FaDa, uJ studentsDVD 2 x 25 minutes, language: english/Dutch, subti-tles: english
Price per DVD: 19,95 euro/200 ZaR (incl.shipping)
Orders must include name, postage address and con-tact details of the person requesting. DVD and invoicewill be posted on receipt of payment confirmation.
university of Johannesburgamira Osman, [email protected] bank account: 284 014 5770, branch Code:632005, Swift Code abSaZaJJ, Reference:05.10.090990.x!mage, amsterdambeate lendt, [email protected], triodos 198564465, iban/SePa number:nl38 tRiO 0198 5644 65, biC number: tRiOnl2uor order online, payment with paypal: www.ximage.nl,www.ximage.nl/shop
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book title: Climate CHanGe etHiCS –navigating the Perfect moral Stormauthor’s name: Donald a. brownPublisher’s name: earthscan from RoutledgeReviewer’s name: Yonca Hürol, easternmediterranean university. Cyprus.iSbn number: iSbn13: 978-0-415-62571-5Dimensions of the book: 15 x 23 cmsHard or Soft Cover: Softnumber of Pages: 271Order address: www.earthscan.co.uk (and for price)number of illustrations: 10 charts and tables.
KeY WORDS: Climate change, ethics, policy making
Climate change is a subject with which many profes-sions are involved. Donald a. brown, the author of thisbook called “Climate Change ethics – navigating thePerfect moral Storm,” is an environmental lawyer whoalso worked on climate change as Program managerfor un Organizations in the uS ePa Office ofinternational environmental Policy.
brown says that climate change is the greatest envi-ronmental and social threat facing the human com-munity. the objective of his book is to examine priori-ty ethical issues in relation to climate change and tomake recommendations on making ethical considera-tions influence policy formation. according to brown,climate change must be understood as a moral prob-lem, because many policy issues which need resolu-tion to achieve a global solution require looking toethical principles for their solution. the book achievesits objective by introducing thirty-five years of climatechange policy debate, by discussing all ethical issuesin relation to climate change (including cost argu-ments, scientific uncertainty arguments, national emis-sions targets, adaptation costs, obligations of sub-national governments, organizations, businesses andindividuals and independent responsibility to act) andby showing the crucial role of ethics in climate changepolicy making.
“...For climate change is a problem that, if not con-trolled, may cause the death of tens or hundreds ofthousands of helpless victims caused by intense stormsand heat waves; the death or sickness of millions thatmay suffer dengue fewer or malaria; the destruction ofsome nations` ability to grow food or provide drinkingwater; the devastation of forests and personal proper-ty; and the acceleration of elimination of countlessspecies of plants and animals that are already stressedby other human activities...” (p.126)
“...one cannot say, of course, that human-induced cli-mate change is the sole cause of those events, butrather that climate change makes these events moreprobable, and, that statistically extreme weather eventsare increasing in frequency...” (p.217)
the book also shows that there is an ethically flawedand ideological disinformation campaign. accordingto brown, climate change ethics should be introducedto people and a worldwide social action should becreated in order to force formation of a powerful pol-icy against climate change.
the book is useful for everybody who wishes to knowmore about climate change, its history and the politi-cal truths about it. it collects a large amount of knowl-edge and information with the help of an understand-able and clear language. the book has a large refer-ence list and an index.
Book Review
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DeCiSiOn maKinG FOR FleXibilitY in HOuSinG
by avi Friedman
the urban international Press
iSbn: 1- 872811 - 11 - 6
Soft Copy, 20cms x 22cms, 136 pages.
Price: 40 uSD or 25 GbP
Order address: [email protected]
bOOK ReVieW
by Dr. Jia beisi,
Department of architecture, the university of Hong Kong.
although experimental buildings have been built around the world, the difficulties of implementation on a larger
scale prevail. Only a few efforts have been made to organize the knowledge and to formulate the implementation
strategies for the builders and designers. the research on flexible buildings address the technical components, but
the possibility of integration with the current housing market is overlooked. thus, this book is a significant contribu-
tion in the effort to fill the gap “between theories pertaining to flexibility and the reality of housing market” not only
for north america, as the author explained, but also for the rest of the world. the publication of the book is a sig-
nificant addition to the literature on flexible housing.
the objectives of the book are premised on the understanding that flexibility has not been generally accepted
in north america because of the problems of implementation. it intends to develop a project based decision-mak-
ing model to assist designers and builders in determining the relevant level of flexibility which is best fit to their par-
ticular projects.
the book is informative and serves as a conceptual instrument for the housing decision makers, including
governmental housing organizations, private housing developers and builders, designers, and other promoters who
want to design flexibility projects. it is useful for programmers, housing researchers, and students of architecture and
building management. it can provide inspiration to residents and the general public who are interested in new living
styles as well as in benefits from monetary savings and better living standards during their residency.
Selected keywords: Flexibility, implementation, strategies, economics, alternatives.
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pen
iss
ue.