Drawing

Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses: Presentation Drawings – Layout of Individual Houses

06/06/1990

Architectural Design, Presentation Drawing, Axonometric, Floor Plan, Section, Elevation

Document with the set of drawings of the 58 completed house designs. The document was presented to the local building department of the city of Santa Rosa de Cabal, Colombia, for design approval. All original approval seals are included in the second page of the document.

Designers:

Christopher Alexander, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou, Jeannie Ratclieffe, Fanta Lawrence, Seth Wachtel, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

Medium:

Photocopy

Size:

11"x17"

Scale:

1:100

Content of

Project

Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses 1986 to 1991

Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia

Low Cost Housing, Realized , Construction completed in 1993; C.E.S. involvement ended in 1991

Client:

The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) - John A. Neilson, Professional Advisor; "Construyamos" La Camara De Vivienda Popular Por Autogestion Communitaria - Mr. Hernan Mesa, President

C.E.S. staff:

Christopher Alexander, Ingrid Fiksdahl-King, Artemis Anninou, Kleoniki Tsotropoulou, Fanta Lawrence, Seth Wachtel, Jeannie Radcliffe

Contractor:

Built by the families and local subcontractors under the management of Constuyamos and the Center for Environmental Structure

Sponsor:

World Bank; Canadian Government (CETA); University of California

Design and construction process:

The step-by-step process on design consisted of discrete design phases, in the following order. 1) Site: The overall configuration of the project arose from the qualities and features of the land.The layout was done directly on the site, working with stakes and earth-moving equipment, in parallel to working with models. Common space in the form of central terraces, formed the central axis across the contours. Roads run on contours, perpendicular to the axis. The final layout was surveyed and presented as an initial subdivision map. 2) Streets: The forming of the streets was tightly connected to the "contribution" of each house to the formation of a larger whole, this being a public space --street, alley, terrace. Simple rules were followed with regards to the location of the main volume of each house and the determination of main levels -- sidewalk, front garden and main floor. As a result, the house volumes form a continuous street wall behind a front garden, while both house volume and width of parcel vary. The result of this phase was, besides giving shape to the streets and open public space, the plan and sections of foundation and retaining wall for each lot, and consequently the levels of the streets. This process was conducted with stakes on the site by the members of C.E.S. with representatives of Construyamos and the housing group. The detailed layout and lot subdivision was surveyed and presented. 3) House Design: Individual families working with a C.E.S. "layout coordinator" took over, working with stakes for the layout of their house directly on the individual site. Phase One of the House Layout: The first phase involves designing "five major centers": garden, veranda, comedor, final configuration of exterior volume, final configuration of front yard. Phase Two of the House Layout: The second phase is devoted to the interior layout of the house in detail: entering sequence, kitchen, sala, main stair, etc. 4) Construction: Members of the families were involved in the construction of the project. The first house was completed in Nov. 1990 to serve as a prototype house for the project as a whole.

Project stages:

Pattern language for the project by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by clients and C.E.S. Layout on the site by the families and C.E.S. Generative rules for urban growth process Design Development and Building Permit drawings done after layout D

Seventy low-cost houses in 4,2 acres, designed by families, and partially built by families, as part of the self help construction process of Construyamos, the largest self help cooperative in Colombia, with a total construction volume of 50,000 houses per ...

Contents

Drawings

SEE ALL Drawings

References

Scientific Research

Drawings

SEE ALL Drawings

Reports

Neighborhood of Seventy Low Cost Houses: Application documents compiled and submitted for a bank building loan 01/01/1990

Project, Contractual, Bank Loan Application

Language:

Spanish

Bank loan application package, which included the following documents: 1) Initially a 2-page list titled “Items Presented for Loan and Construction Approval Process”. 2) 15-page project description, titled “Proyecto Las Araucarias”; 3) 14-page document on the basic parameters of the ...

Records

Neighborhood of Seventy Low-Cost Houses: Notes & Sketches 01/01/1988

Project, Design Matters, Notes & Sketches

Authors:

Jeanne Ratcliffe, Center for Environmental Structure, Berkeley, CA, U.S.A.

9 pages presenting six individual house-design options according to notes of family information, preferences and architect’s evaluations and proposals. Sent for review and feedback on the issues presented.

Photographs

Neighborhood of Seventy Low-Cost Houses: Photographs of drawings 01/11/1989

Project, Drawing

Photographer:

Kleoniki Tsotropoulou/C.E.S., Santa Rosa de Cabal, Risaralda, Colombia

Source:

Digital

Characteristics:

B&W

Eight different house plan sketches for eight individual families, drawn with assistance of a draftsperson, but still reflecting the informal quality which comes about when families lay out houses for themselves. Such drawings were prepared for each one of the ...