VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability

A new construction approach for tiny house on wheels: POD THOWs

2023-06-10T14:37:59+02:00

Although the size of the houses has increased in recent years, the number of house users is decreasing. The decrease in the number of users has brought forth the concept of tiny houses which use less materials, less energy, and produce less waste compared to large houses. There are several types of tiny houses, with tiny houses on wheels (THOWs) being the most preferred type. However, THOWs are subject to high-way rules because they are not permanent structures. Such rules limit the dimensions of THOWs, thus preventing the creation of necessary spaces in the interior. In this study, we exanimated mobile housing, revealed barriers to their use and dissemination, and proposed a system called POD-THOW, which could offer a solution to the space needs of THOWs. As a result, it was understood that POD-THOWs provide a solution to size restrictions, but they should be combined with lightweight constructions and sustainable energy sources to prove effective.

Social housing in Spain: obsolescence and intervention strategies

2023-06-10T14:37:16+02:00

Social housing in Spain has its origin in the first Cheap Houses Law that was promulgated in 1911, trying to provide a solution to a housing need for the working class who flocked to the cities in waves of migration from rural areas. Since then, legislative initiatives have been taking place to mitigate the housing problem. Each one of them was contributing elements that presumably contributed to the hygiene and habitability of the house without forgetting the economic conditions. At the moment, in Spain there is a large real estate park inherited from these initiatives. In many cases, these are neighborhoods that currently show notable energy and social vulnerability. Aware of the need to adapt these homes to the regulatory requirements related to energy efficiency, comfort and the physical and technical characteristics of the construction, the Research Centers are developing multiple investigations aimed at favoring the adaptability of homes and improving the quality of life of its inhabitants. This article takes a tour of the evolution that social housing has had during the 20th century in Spain and the current state of research aimed at adapting it to the new energy, habitability and sustainability requirements.

Decolonizing South Asian architecture: Sustainable and community-oriented social housing in India

2023-06-10T14:37:00+02:00

Decolonization process in India involved a range of political, economic, and social changes aimed at dismantling the colonial system and building a new, independent nation. One of the most significant challenges India faced during the decolonization process was the issue of partition. The partition of India in 1947 led to the creation of two separate countries—India and Pakistan—and resulted in widespread violence and displacement. Millions of people were forced to migrate across the newly formed borders, resulting in one of the largest mass migrations in human history which created huge demand for housing. The methodology adopted for this research is based on qualitative analysis and the data source for this study are government reports, research articles, books and newspaper. Further, it examines four case studies of social housing projects designed to provide sustainable and livable solutions for low-income families in different regions of India, including Aranya Community Housing, Incremental Housing in Belapur, ATIRA Staff Housing in Ahmadabad, and CIDCO Housing in Parsik Hill in Navi Mumbai. At the core of the article lies an investigation into the dynamic nature of architecture in the aftermath of independence, coupled with a detailed examination of four distinct social housing ventures. The social housing studies demonstrate innovative and flexible approaches to social housing, with a focus on community building, energy efficiency, and social amenities. The projects have been successful in providing access to affordable and sustainable housing for low-income families in different regions of India. The case studies highlight the importance of a community-centered approach to social housing, emphasizing the need for shared spaces and amenities. The article discusses the challenges and opportunities of implementing sustainable and livable social housing solutions in India.

Innovative housing policy tools: impact indicators in the NRRP Urban Regeneration Programmes

2023-05-24T10:39:01+02:00

The topic of indicators as measurers of the effectiveness of urban and housing transformations strongly re-emerge because of the performance approach the funding of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) is based on. Within the NRRP specific programmes, the issue of performance measurability of interventions was managed with the application of different indicators and application methods. The research group had the opportunity to work on the construction of a system of indicators for a national urban regeneration programme, financed within the NRRP.

This paper describes the research aimed at the definition of the indicators for evaluating the design proposals applied to the NRRP financed program called PINQuA (Innovative Programme for Housing Quality). The proposed system of indicators proved useful to promote an objective reading of the interventions and to encourage, in the design proposals application, the response to housing quality criteria aimed, among other issues, at improving the cultural condition of the contexts.

Review of socio-residential vulnerability identification methodologies. Application to the cities of Bilbao and Barcelona

2023-06-10T14:37:31+02:00

This article presents the most widely used methodologies to measure, analyse and assess the state of the building stock and the life conditions of people living in vulnerable neighbourhoods, in an attempt to identify limitations and opportunities within the design of more suitable instruments that will allow us to identify residential communities in a vulnerable situation, residential exclusion or at difficulty to access rehabilitation subsidies or allowances. The methodology adopted is based on the obtention of a first vulnerability index constructed from quantitative data that allows us to focus on the most vulnerable areas of the cities under study. Later, it is complemented with qualitative analysis, interviews to technical officers, entities’ representatives, and site visits and observations. The main obtained results consist of different methodological approaches and analytic and geospatial measurements of the residential vulnerability in the cities of Barcelona and Bilbao: from quantitative large-scale multicriterial analysis, geospatial analysis on specific aspects, to small-scale qualitative study cases, fieldwork and interviews to different actors. In conclusion, by applying those different methodologies in the same specific areas, we were able to determine how data disaggregation and specificity in relation to urban and building form and location provide relevant differential results that help to qualify certain patterns that can be detected but not explained by quantitative larger-scale integrative analysis. Besides, the qualitative information provided by key local agents of different networks was crucial to explain and understand the nature of geographical and time-changing patterns of residential vulnerability.

Sustainable strategies to preserve tangible and intangible values in social housing rehabilitation: an Italian case study.

2023-06-10T14:36:46+02:00

The European social housing stock, built since the early post-war period, now needs major energy, structural and functional upgrading. The owners, almost always public bodies, are therefore called upon to adapt these buildings to the new regulations issued by the European Community. To reduce the costs of intervention, the preferred solution is that of a complete demolition and a subsequent reconstruction by using newly supplied materials, without considering the non-sustainability and social fallout of this choice. The contribution, starting from the hypothesis that more sustainable building rehabilitation interventions are possible, analyses which social and material supply aspects must be considered, and which design strategies can be applied to achieve the objective. First, the characteristics of social buildings in their historical evolution are summarized to understand their value in a broader non-economic sense. Subsequently, the requirements for a sustainable renovation of the existing social dwellings are analysed, and three, out of many other, design strategies are proposed. A case study is then presented and the application of the three strategies done through three Master thesis works is described. In conclusion, the results of the application of the strategies to the case study is analysed to assess whether it is possible to intervene on existing social housing complexes to achieve better results with a more sustainability-oriented perspective.

A participatory project for the Librino Social Housing Community.

2023-06-29T13:08:06+02:00

Social housing is the outcome of policymaking aimed at guaranteeing adequate living conditions for disadvantaged social groups. In Italy, in the post-war reconstruction period, buildings designed by internationally renowned architects, led to results of such high design quality that it is essential to preserve them. Nevertheless, their advanced degradation and functional obsolescence are due to being built with construction systems focused on quick completion and cost-effectiveness, as well as a lack of maintenance. Such conditions now impose performance upgrades and reuse for services and collective spaces. The paper addresses the issue of the recovery of this housing stock in the Italian context, analyzing the case of Librino (Catania). The research question is based on evidence that the lack of services and collective spaces in the suburbs leads people to move to other areas of the city for work, health, education, culture, and leisure. The proposed approach investigates the overall organization of the neighborhood, up to reuse pilots, as for the Moncada Theater, to improve the overall quality and attractiveness of the area, even with minor renovations. The theatre, which was abandoned before completion, is an example of how only housing was built or completed in residential areas designed to provide a wide range of services for citizens as a result of a funding shortfall. Reuse decisions are the result of user involvement with a view to social and cultural sustainability.

Zvi Hecker

2023-06-28T14:55:31+02:00

Zvi Hecker (Krakow, 1931) is a Polish -Israeli architect and artist. After the Second World War years spent with his family in Samarkand where he first approached architecture by sketching monumental Islamic buildings, he began his studies in architecture in Krakow and completed them at the Technion in Haifa, where he graduated in 1955. Later he studied painting at the Avni Academy of Fine Arts in Tel Aviv. From 1960, with an office in Tel Aviv and until 1966 in association with A. Neumann and E. Sharon he designed residential complexes, synagogues, schools, and administrative buildings. In Israel, Tel Aviv, he realised his most iconic building, the Spiral House (1984-’89). In 1991 he opened a second atelier in Berlin after winning the competition for the Heinz Galinski school, the first Jewish school in the city after the Shoah. In the same year he took part in the Venice Architecture Biennale, as well in the 1996 and 2000 editions. In 1996 he was awarded the Deutscher Kritikerpreis and in 1999 the Rechter Prize for architecture.

Editorial

2023-06-30T10:08:41+02:00

Editorial VITRUVIO - International Journal of Architectural Technology and Sustainability, Volume8, Issue 1 (2023)