INTRIGUING ARCHITECTURE- Can Informal Architecture be Vibrant?
In the past three decades the mass migration has led to the
most rapid urbanisation ever witnessed in the history of mankind. The result is
an exorbitant and unimaginable increase in the number of informal settlement
cropping up. The phenomenon is on an exponential rise in the ‘World Cities’ of
Asia, Latin America, Africa and Eastern Europe. Government authorities have
often demolished them more as a knee-jerk reaction rather than a thoughtful
implementation without long-term objectives. Urban designers and planners, who
earlier used to see it as an eyesore and unapproachable part of the city have
understood their importance, changed their stance and now accept it and work
with the locals to include these areas in the main stream governance. People
over the world have recognised their rational and intelligent innovations in
fulfilling their needs and have been trying to incorporate this in planning of
formal settlements too. Informal settlements are evaluated in relation to their
surrounding landscape of poor sanitation, insecure housing, hazardous grounds,
lack of roads and infrastructure. We tend to focus mainly on improving and
providing these things and ignore the significant intangible knowledge that
these settlements provide about visual stimulus, resilience, resource
efficiency and community values.
The essay tries to investigate if these qualities exist
within these informal settlements and can formal infrastructure be flexible
enough for informal use by looking at different examples of Urbanised Cities
from around the world.
When Janice Perlman, in The
Myth of Marginality, questions us if we see a chaotic, poorly-built,
overcrowded, disorderly slum or a neighbourhood in progress, emphasized by
careful planning in the use of limited housing space and innovative
construction techniques on hillsides considered too steep for building by urban
developers, she not only sees favelas
as a physical expression of people struggling to move upwards against obstacles
but also as an inspiration symbolising true grit of human necessities.
The world we see is for us always
both form and significance. Our aesthetic experience reflects both. Thus, there
is a political aspect to aesthetics and an aesthetic aspect to political
judgement and political struggle. - Lisa R. Peattie, Aesthetic
Politics.
Society’s impressions play an important
role in shaping policy where squatter developments accommodating most of the
urban immigrants are seen as ‘urban villages’. It’s in these rural enclaves
within the city the slow transition from peasant values and skills into the
culture of the city takes place. This view suited researchers who had little or
no direct contact with the inhabitants of the settlements and needed to confirm
their presence without actually recognising them as fellow citizens. Even
Bernard Rudofsky's influential Architecture
without Architect dwells fondly on Mediterranean cliff villages and African
tribal settlements but overlooks the Brazilian favelas and Venezuelan barrios.
Probably because these informal settlements in spite of being true to the
resource efficiency, material usage and least energy consumption somehow do not
make it vernacular architecture.
1. Formal vs Informal (Chandigarh and Varanasi)
We as methodical
and structured beings have a tendency to picture formal architecture as planned
city with roads, pedestrians, boulevards, public buildings in downtown, high
end markets with plazas, residential and office complexes, all of them nicely
laid out in grids. For instance a Chandigarh or a New Delhi definitely has all
the reasons to impress an inhabitant. Both grid plans have eased out traffic
movement, services movement and efficient zoning. Planners and architects had
been so over thoughtful, that these ordered layouts and planning have squeezed
out all the excitement and intimacy that a city must share with its inhabitant.
Rationally laid out roads with a green strip and nicely separated bicycle and
pedestrian lanes might have made it safe for automobile users but have reduced ‘unintentional
interaction’ amongst inhabitants. The buildings are so carefully placed and
controlled that they are almost in isolation either having no dialogue or
looking all the same. Zoning is so thoroughly monotonous that there is no room
left to pleasantly awe a walker or a bicycle rider. A vibrant city is much more
explored on foot than in cars. Comparing these formally laid out cities to
Varanasi, the oldest city in India built along Ganges; one discovers that it has
much more visual treats and intimacy to offer within its squalor alleys than
any planned city in India. In many pre-modern villages before the intervention of planning, the
‘public’ path evolves out of the setback of building blocks rather than
pre-determines the layout of the physical space. Some say that it’s
the alleys of Varanasi, too narrow for traffic, that hold the charm of the old
city. Don’t worry about getting lost because sooner or later you will end up in
front of the river or on the main street. Virtually every life is carried out in public right in front
of your eyes – prayers, sleeping, cooking, eating, bathing, even roadside
dentistry. Streets that are not wide enough for even two bicycles have
occasional surprise elements like temples and heritage buildings waiting to
greet the visitor when it is least expected, as if these important structures
have been engulfed by the city itself. Like Bruce Mau mentioned in Massive Change-“The highest order of success
in design is to achieve ubiquity, to become banal.” Nothing is hidden, and
all the truth is out on the streets. And it is all these elements -the taste,
smell, people, and the hustle bustle that make these streets lifeline of the
city. These
unplanned meandering narrow pathways always have a story to tell with every
turn and intrigue us more often than not. They surprise us, confuse us and on
few occasions shock us too but never leave us with a dull moment.
2. Informal WITHIN Formal- Taiwan’s Informal Urbanism
Informal
urbanism is usually a visual perception about the uncontrollable high-density
living in the rapidly urbanized world which adjusts quickly to the collective
need and wants without paying regard to dominant law and order. On one hand,
the appearances of informal urbanism are crudely condemned as defiant invasion
of public spaces; yet on the other hand, celebrated as an amazing collage of
complex urbanism which expresses the true nature of city and denounces the
rational self-righteousness of planning. It challenges architectural
dictatorship, authorship, and control by expressing idiosyncratic individualities
in a collective mode. It is also attractive in the sense of organic and
piecemeal evolution instead of implementations of imposed plans. The
visualization of informal urbanism is not to be achieved by a singular author;
therefore, it is collaborative, symbiotic, unpredictable, and impacts the
social fabric of the city. The following case study of the South Airport Apartment
embodies Taipei’s version of informal urbanism and signifies the role of
individual households’ living patterns in shaping the informal city.
The diagram below explains
the process of a gradual transformation which is incremental and subtle as the
addition of floor area is not always on solid ground. With understanding
neighbours and disinterested local authorities every inhabitant achieves his
own version of informalisation. A normal apartment owned by a single guy
demands some changes when he gets married and starts a family. A big hall is
partitioned to provide a bedroom for privacy. The balcony is encroached
and covered from 3 sides to provide an extra bedroom with the arrival of the
first child. As the second child adds into the family the public space of
staircase well is added with the consent of the neighbours who do not object as
it gives them prospects for later additions too. So a one room flat is
transformed into a three bedroom flat over a period of time. And some
inhabitants buy the flat next to it too to break the in-between wall and make
the whole house bigger. That’s how a normal 26sq.m flat for one person is changed
into 105sq.m flat accommodating five people comfortably.
However, the most commendable thing is that all these transformations are
practical and economic. Interior rooms are partitioned with light panel walls
and relinquish the use of wall closet for more interchangeability. Hooks and
poles are deployed to hang items on the walls and under ceiling, which explains
why many of these flats still look transitional after decades of living.
The extended room on the street
side is suspended by steel cables on metal sheet surface. Small contractors and
material suppliers those are dexterous, versatile, resourceful, and community-based
are Indispensible chains to Taiwan’s small-scale industry boom. Their network
responds quickly to the domestic need yet distinguishes itself from the market
dominated by corporate builders and developers.
Public space is usually operated under strict
guidelines and regulations, yet the threshold of the public domain is not well
respected in informal city. Territorialisation of these transitional spaces for
private use by inhabitants is the most expressive desire of Informal city. Porch-corridors
facing the central court at various levels are the most significant spatial
feature. According to fire code they ought to be clean and open. Yet these porch-corridors
are perfect settings for laundry and drying clothes in the compact living
condition of the apartment; and by scattering benches and chairs them they fulfil
the neighbourhood’s collective desire for an extended living room. The unwelcoming
atmosphere of the original modernist landscape would suddenly be tinged with an
aura of ‘human flavour’ and colours of individualities whenever the informal
activities emerge.
Reclaiming Public space for Public use-
An initiative taken up by government in collaboration with citizen bodies, ‘Raahgiri day’, inspired by Cyclovia in Bogota, is one of the first steps towards making New Delhi suburbs a sustainable and environment friendly city. A portion of the busies roads are cordoned off every Sunday morning for four hours and many organisations offer to conduct health programs, theatre, music etc for the benefit of the community. Children and adults are invited to bike, skate, run and walk; to partake in community leisure activities such as street games, street dancing; to learn yoga, aerobics and zumba; and to come together as a community and celebrate life. The project has received such positive response that it is getting introduced in almost every major city of India. The basic aim behind the Raahgiri event is to promote social integration, protect the environment and facilitate sustainable transport.
3. Informal WITHIN Informal- Shivaji Nagar, Mumbai
Within the
informal city, there are multiple social, economic, and urban relationships
that can hardly be understood by the macroscopic tools used by planning authorities.
Satellite images, top-down development plans do not register the rich spatial
and programmatic connections that are revealed by simply taking a walk down
the narrow alleys. The combination of mixed uses, and slow, minimal car traffic
encourages residents to turn every residual space into a playground or a
‘public square’. One of the most ignored areas in slum rehabilitation schemes
is spaces for children and community gatherings. So the inhabitants have to
device their own indigenous solutions to deal with these issues. Big events
like a festival or marriage take place within the streets and courtyards by
simply demarcating space with a bamboo structure covered in sheets. The concept
of public space goes beyond the restricted parks and gardens model bounded by
iron gates. Instead, walkable, compact and dense mixed-use neighbourhoods offer
richer moments for public interaction. Playgrounds liberate young minds and
help children develop their abilities, teaching them personal responsibility,
and to thrive as a member of a team or community. Open spaces attract mothers
and families living in vulnerable areas to experience social services and
other exchanges. So it is quite fundamental that the design of playgrounds and
public spaces within informal settlements propagate social inclusion. Even in
areas of low material resources, a rich cultural and social life of the
community contributes to the well-being of the children. Some of the most
positive physical qualities depend upon freedom from physical dangers, and
freedom of movement supported by a diversity of activity settings and peer
gathering areas. As mentioned before, the typology of informal settlements
contributes to create such an environment better than planned developments flawed
by sterile rigidity. Planners and architects should seek to learn from the
walkability and playability of its informal settlements to devise new design
solutions that weave interventions and infrastructures strategically into the
socially rich fabric.
4. Formal WITHIN Informal-
Caracas
Limited land
and high crime rate in a dense informal settlement make it unsafe for
children to play and participate in sports. In seeking to give informal
settlement communities safe places of recreation, local architects at Urban
Think- Tank in Caracas created the Gimnasio
Vertical (Vertical Gymnasium) prototype, a prefabricated construction
system that transformed a rundown soccer field into a four story Vertical Gym
in the La Cruz barrio. The vertical structure of the gym provides recreational
and cultural events facility without encroaching into surrounding properties. It
has numerous sport activities in the same space in order to meet the necessities
of both serious athletes and general public. Building system has been developed
as a kit of the prototype parts, which allow flexible design and construction
and can be reassembled and programmed for different locations as per local
needs.
Working with
the San Rafael-Barrio Unido community in La Vega, a team of architects, engineers, a road designer, and a geologist studied
the settlement’s conditions to assess that vertical typography was the
determining condition limiting accessibility, services, and public spaces.
Based on community-established priorities, the team devised an Integral Urban
Project to help solve the problem. The existing pedestrian walkways were a
series of resident-built stairs, narrow in width, with variable step size, no
handrails, high slopes, and no stairs higher up the hill. To connect neighbourhoods
and improve daily commute, the team designed a network of stairs which
incorporated basic services such as electricity, drainage, sewer, gas, and
water. Every spare space was integrated into walkways, and public landings
inserted at intervals acted as new spaces for social interaction. Most importantly
families were able to remain in their homes, which was critical to maintaining
social cohesion.
Conclusion
The
residents of the informal city duel everyday - negotiating with the system as
outsiders, improvising around the shortcomings of public-private institutions,
and somehow managing to improve their lives. And in the process they create a
socially active and vibrant environment around them that cannot be ignored. If
designers, architects, and planners hope to be relevant in this context, then
they must first improve the immediate well-being of the residents through small
interventions and proposals. Such proposals have to be tactical,
executed involving the local people and create solutions that maintain the core philosophy of informal settlement. The end-goal is to change policy by demonstrating
real change which depends on
self-reliance and ingenuity and not necessarily on political will. From an individual household to a porch-corridor to
an apartment shrine to a street market, these growing spaces of different
scales somehow strive to reach an
equilibrium with the formal city. Beyond the informal façade- either as a
spectacle or chaos, traces of everyday life continue to weave a rich fabric of urban narratives.
References:
Peattie,
Lisa R. (1992). Aesthetic Politics:
Shantytown or New Vernacular?
Rudofsky,
Bernard. (1965). Architecture without Architects. New York. Connecticut Printers
Mau, B.
(2004). Massive Change. New York. : Phaidon Press Limited
Kang, Min
Jay. (2009). Informal urbanism from inside-out– Internalizing Taipei experiences of
informality.
Raahgiri
Day. http://www.raahgiriday.com/about/
Davis, Mike.
(2006). Planet of Slums. London. New
Left Books
Correa, C.
(1989). The New Landscape: Urbanisation in the Third World. London.:
Mimar
Biswas, Saurav K. (2013). Play!
Tactics & Strategies for public spaces in Mumbai’s informal city.
Image References:
Fig-4,5,6,8,9,10- Biswas, Saurav K. (2013). Play! Tactics & Strategies for public
spaces in Mumbai’s informal city.
