“We were forced to understand a completely different way of life”
by Johanna Strauß
“We visited lots of different dwelling areas, from slum areas to resettlement areas as well as middle-income areas”
We are students from Lund University who took part in a design project called “Architecture in Extreme Enviroments.” Our studies were structured in three parts: a pre-study in Sweden, a field study for four weeks in the Philippines, and a design period back home in Sweden for another three months.
In the pre-study period, teachers provided us basic knowledge about the people, tradition, architecture, politics, and trends of the country. During the field studies in the Philippines locals provided further information and reflections in lectures which were very inspiring. We had the chance to interview local people from the government, organizations, and inhabitants of different areas. We were able to understand the Filipino way of life and the requirements related to architecture. At the same time we visited lots of different dwelling areas, from slum areas to resettlement areas as well as middle-income areas and high-income “resorts.”
For my design project, I was inspired by the micro-climate in informal settlements. Walking through these areas, I often felt better climated because of the small and narrow pathways as well as lots of shading devices even if it was just hanging clothes.
The rule says that the smaller your private space is, the more often you use outdoor spaces. Unfortunately there aren’t that many designed comfortable public spaces in existing dwelling areas. People escape to malls instead. This was fascinating on one hand but on the other hand I felt bad about this situation. Many people told us that they did not have any playgrounds for the children. Indoors there is no space left for the kids and outside they play in dangerous zones and often disturb inhabitants. With easy methods it is possible to create comfortable outdoor spaces which can be used very well and can build social backbones.
I learned a lot about context. We were forced to understand a completely different way of life, traditions, and circumstances. And we had to observe and try to leave the European way of creating architecture or dwelling areas. We were forced to think in a much more practical way. How can we design for people who are living in very small spaces about 20 to 25 square meters? How can we improve these spaces for example with storage or loft systems? How can we build easily and cheaply? Quite innovative ideas came up which were about urban farming, pre-fabricated housing, and climatic aspects. Most of them were simplified concepts which showed how easy the implementation of these improvements can be.
For most of us it was a really interesting project not only because of the context but because for the first time in our studies we had actual clients we were working with. It is much more fun and realistic because we always had to question people about their needs and requirements. That is why I think there were really realistic concepts and approaches produced by our studio.
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About the Author
Johanna Strauß, 23, has been studying architecture in Dresden, Germany for four years. In 2008 she went to Sweden as an exchange student and studied there until June 2009. Part of this exchange year was coming to the Philippines and taking part in the project “architecture in extreme environments.” The following year will be her last year in her architecture studies.
Tags: johanna straus, lund university, urban shelter course
Reflections | rp | 15 January 2010 |
