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Architecture for the poor

Augustin IOAN architect, essayst

One of the most serious issues of the contemporary Romanian society is the non interest whatsoever for the social houses, within the true meaning of the word, i.e. houses for those assisted by community whether big/national or rather local. Any concerned has been shown also for the buildings on the edge of disaster, in a country that is hunted by acts of god, such as earth ua!es. "his is why, form time to time our governors or local counselors are caught off guard by any cataclysmic phenomenon# the answer they come up with is merely lamentable$ for the ones affected by such misfortune houses are indeed built, but on very high prices and why do not say it very ugly. And out of this alleged strategic preoccupation there results one solution, which is responded to in an enticement manner, with callousness and no perspective intended. %o we need earth ua!es as those from "ur!ey or &reece, in order to understand why such a study must be done'

"he wooden church (starting from the left)$ plan and the pantocrator tower plan, as it was created. On the right, the plan of a possible e*tension, using the same modular system.

+ere, we did it. "he +AR ,oundation together with the -ucharest .niversity for Architecture and .rban /lanning 0Ion 1incu2 and with the 3alcea 4ounty 1useum supported by our foreign partners the "immerdraget 4ompany from 5weden and the R.&.I. from Italy and also with the help of e*ternal financing ("he 6777 4ulture /rogram of the 8uropean .nion) and some other institutions with which we collaborate. Actually this is not much, literally$ it is a pilot9pro:ect meant to demonstrate that it is possible to openly build not only e*treme decent houses, but also religious houses, for those less fortunate ones, where they could anchor their gloomy souls while in poverty or trauma. In such moments we do not need only forests of emergency houses as happened in the above9mentioned countries hit by similar catastrophes, but also some locations for the commencement of new small communities. 5ince any other criteria then those of the cost effectiveness and common sense (i.e. modulation, proportion, ade uate scale and efficiency of the used material) seems of no importance, we do not whish to be :ugged for more than we have intended. ;e did not want to solve here and now, the reality issue of vernacular tradition, whatever interesting as it may sound. Nor did we intend to praise the spirit of the location of any location there is no time for caprices while in crises situations. ;e simply created a pre9manufactured wooden system made up of four s uares of <.=< * <.=< m, describing four cubes having those sides# out of this we created a house and a church. "hat>s it.

"he wooden church construction in progress.

4onse uently, with modesty and wisdom we believe we have managed to offer for those who really are interested, viable, cheap and mostly spiritually reasonable solutions. ;e are also aware of the fact that since they do not bring any money for political groups or any commissions for intermediaries, our house and church will not become so popular. "he life we are living is not one of generosity or 4hristian self9giving (or at least one of the social9democracy). Now, it is the time for wolves and vultures to ta!e action, at least while there is still something left to be captured or grabbed hold of this country. -ut, when the time comes and we so badly need such locations, we would li!e you to !now that we did not sit doing nothing when we were supposed to wor!, as they did, that we did not build houses for the newly rich people, while those who live beyond the limit of poverty are dealing with merely unbearable circumstances. And thus, that we were no part of the general indifference, either of the right or left side.

818R&8N4? AR4+I"84".R8 Or how can @77 men build @77 houses in @77 days
4AtAlin -8R854.
Architect, essayst primo tempo In @B=C, 5!op:e was shoo! by a devastating earth ua!e. 1uch of the central areas became no9man>s9lands overnight. "he international community a much too cold phrasing for people who devotedly and compassionately involved themselves in this city>s drama started an emergency pro:ect the surprising results of which certainly deserve telling. A decision was reached that some wooden shac!s will be built each C by 6D meters. 8ach country donated a few such homes and temporarily the relocation problem was solved or so it was thought. "he city has a few hundreds of such buildings uasi9identical in their e*terior appearance, monotonous and anonymous at first sight but amaEingly different as purpose. Across the hotel where I stood one of the sheds hosed a private constructions enterprise with a grand view towards the best par! in town, e*tremely well finished inside and right ne*t to it the +F of the most important political party in 1acedonia. I would have never learned this e*cept that in my documentary innocence I too! some photos that worried the guard somewhat. 0/oliti!al partyG2 he said. 05mallG2 I said loo!ing at the poor building with pity. 0No, &rand. Numero uno, 1acedonia2.

"he social/emergency house$ plan of the ground and those of the floor. %own, possible modulation of the plan.

Across the street the marriage registry, across the par! the 4ity +all, two bloc!s away the 4ounty +ospital, %rama 5chool, etc. ?ou must not get the impression that all institutions are housed in such buildings (let it be said though that they loo! better inside than most public institutions in -ucharest). 1ost are regular homes. "he most delightful phenomenon occurred in time$ at the beginning only the poorest inhabitants lived in wooden houses# today to live in a 0shed2 is a lu*ury. "he chance to transform, infinitely improve, the small garden in front of the house and the fact that you live on the ground level raised the prices and their status. "he eagerness to build bigger and more e*pensive as well as the temptation to tear down what can be thorn down were replaced by the pleasure derived from escaping the concrete buildings that the communist regime had endowed 5!op:e with, after a most familiar model.

ergo "he theme we proposed was a home that would be useful to families in need$ whether a family with modes income or refugees. "echnically they are called 0social homes2 and are destined to those who cannot afford to pay rent or 0emergency home2 for refugees and cataclysms victims. ;ishing to test a pro:ect that may be reproduced on a larger scale we respected the legal norms regarding habitable surfaces for our first version of the pro:ect. "he home we built is less a classical 0home2 and more of an utility building that will serve the museum and the foundation for various events. "wo imperatives were utmost$ it had to be cheap and modular. Regarding an investing value (complete it will not surpass @7777 8uros if built in house) we can say that the price will drop impressively if it will be made industrially and if the materials needed are produced in Romania. ;e can say a lot about it being modular$ standardiEed elements lead to uniformity even in combinations. "he warm feelings created by a space modeled by the owner lac! here. "hat is why we opted for a small module, easily maneuverable and typologically 0wea!2 its industrialiEation can be replaced without loss by the beneficiary>s semi9 ualified wor!. "he structural constraints are minimal and one has the possibility to 0brea! the shell2 in numerous instances all these leave enough room for adaptation of shape and faHade according to the site, creativity, money, e*ecution time available, etc. "he wor!ing model starts from the chosen finishing materials and mediates between the standard cardboard9 plaster plan!, the standard thermo9insulation plan!s and the cheapest and most common wood plan!s. Nothing is lost from the cardboard9plaster plan!s because all cuts are down the middle width, the same is valid for the insulation and it is even possible to ma!e a variant of the model where all wooden elements that compose the frame have the same length.

"he module$ <=<I<=< cm (left) was used to the house and also to the church.

-uilding the social/emergency house

It is the result of an effort to use a minimum of technology (I am not saying low9tech because that would involve esthetics and such buildings have none). It is possible to build the entire house with :ust a handsaw, a drill and a hammer. Aside from a few stairs and some of the :oints in the modules all angles are right. All materials used have deadweights calculated so that they will fit in a %acia automobile pic!9up. ;e can imagine then a group of @77 voluntaries that will transport various modules for @77 homes in improvised locations. "hey can transport and maneuver the materials at a disaster area and they can build them in ma*imum @77 days. ;e are not tal!ing here about an e*ercise in architecture nor about a very rigorous essay in economics efficiency but rather about the testing of an honest wor! formula. +onesty is what we need for this program. ;e have to be honest when dealing with tools, materials and resources. 1ore and more competent and sad people !eep telling us that in today>s Romania one cannot build for less than 667 8uros per day. ;hat ifJ.

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