House as Thesis: Fog House in Imizamo Yethu Follow-Up Analysis

Below is the progress I have made on my Follow-Up Analysis. 

Major Weaknesses

1.     Unclear Self-Organization

The Fog House is intended to be a combination of strategies that can be implemented in part or in whole by the residents of informal settlements that hav­e a high number of fog days per year, in regions such as the west coasts of North and South America, South Africa, and Japan for example. The project was critiqued for being too heavy handed and interpreted as a top down approach. I believe what was missing in providing a successful argument was a clear perspective drawing or render of the project in situ. The render that I did present (Figure 01) was critiqued for having the houses too close to the foreground for their integration to be discerned.

2.     ‘Checklist’ Architecture

The tactics used in the design of the Fog House were considered to be too pragmatic, as if each gesture corresponded to an item on a checklist. The design was interpreted as the kind of intervention that an NGO or developer would propose. I believe that a more extensive range of formal experiments in the tactical implementation would have aided my argument and resulted in a more intriguing architectural expression.

3.     Lack of Detailing

I understand that my project had a lack of detailing. Given more time, I would have liked to complete a wall section and critical details to depict the sandbag and wood wall assembly, as well as its connection to the ladder, the foundation and the fog net structure. I attempted to show the construction in my plans and sections, but a larger scale wall section and critical details would have been extremely beneficial in making my argument.

Major Strengths

1.     Thesis & Strategies

I believe that my thesis statement and three strategies are well written and unambiguous. Their inherent universality will help me to continue to build upon them in future design work by allowing me to apply them in any context. I aim to refine them as the semester progresses.

2.     Tactics

I believe my project is well resolved tactically; each gesture was carefully considered and aimed to integrate multiple strategies. For example, the foundation addressed both the issues of flood prevention and water storage, and the envelope was designed to be secure and sustainable, both environmentally and economically. I will continue to build upon this in future design work by exploring different tactics that can achieve the same goals using a minimal number of architectural gestures to achieve the greatest effect.

Opportunities Moving Forward

1.     Further Exploration of Interconnectivity

I have the opportunity moving forward to develop a further interconnectedness of resources in my design work. In project two my mandate will not be to design for the global south, but for an entirely different context and demographic. As expressed in my revised thesis statement, I do not believe that the paradigm of treating water at the source is an effective strategy for providing safe drinking water for everyone. There are ways to collect, store, and purify water at the micro scale that can be integrated into a larger system that serves the entire community. In doing this I aim to return control over the survival of underprivileged communities to community members from large water purification companies that ignore them in the name of profit.

2.     Architectural Expression

I have the opportunity to further explore the architectural expression of my design work in the next project. I will try to be more experimental in my work by selecting a context and user group that allows me more flexibility in an economic sense to use higher quality materials and more innovative technologies. The larger scale of the second project will also aid me in working toward a more intriguing architectural expression.

Conclusion

The three new authoritative research resources that I will be investigating are:

1.     France, R. L. (2002). Handbook of water sensitive planning and design. Boca Raton, Fla.: Lewis Publishers.

This resource is relevant in my continued investigation because it offers a comprehensive list of tactics related to water collection and management. It will better inform my design by giving me a number of basic tactics that I can improve upon.

2.     Moe, K. (2008). Integrated design in contemporary architecture. New York: Princeton Architectural Press.

This resource is relevant in my continued investigation it contains a number of projects that have successfully integrated multiple aspects of their design, particularly with regards to systems and sustainable practices. It will better inform my design by broadening my understanding of integrated design and also provide a number of precedents that may be applicable to my future design work.

3.     Moore, C. W., & Lidz, J. (1994). Water and architecture. New York: H.N. Abrams.

This resource is relevant in my continued investigation because it will provide me with a number of potential precedents in my next design project. It will better inform my design by giving me a greater understanding of the symbolic relationship between water and architecture and how to integrate the tectonic qualities of water into my design.

Refined Thesis Abstract

“Innovation does not consist in loading a building with technology and complicated systems but in developing simple, passive, yet sophisticated means that can be easily communicated to the people who use it and are intuitively operated.”

- Francesca Galeazzi, Arup Associates, London

The numbers of people who lack access to safe drinking water suffer and are killed needlessly from curable waterborne disease every day are daunting; nearly half of the entire world population suffer at any given time from a health problem caused by water and sanitation deficits. Architecture has the potential to integrate crucial water collection and storage strategies to make a significant improvement in this growing global phenomenon. I believe that access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right, and that no other human being should have the power to withhold any of the elements critical to life from any other human being. There is an enormous imbalance of access to water weighted toward the wealthy, to the point that millions of people die each day from disease or dehydration.

Figure 01

References

Aquilino, M. J. (2010). Beyond shelter: architecture and human dignity. New York, NY: Metropolis Books :.

Bell, B., & Wakeford, K. (2008). Expanding architecture: design as activism. New York: Metropolis Books.

Current projects. (2014, January 21). Architecture for humanity. Retrieved February 6, 2014, from http://architectureforhumanity.org/projects

Design like you give a damn [2]: building change from the ground up. (2012). New York: Abrams.

Fog harvesting. (n.d.). ClimateTechWiki: a clean technology platform. Retrieved January 22, 2014, from http://climatetechwiki.org/content/fog-harvesting

Grotao Community Centre. (n.d.). Urban-think tank - interdisciplinary design studio. Retrieved January 21, 2014, from http://www.u-tt.com/projects_Grotao.html

Imizamo Yethu. (n.d.). Census 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/199043

Lepik, A. (2010). Small scale, big change: new architectures of social engagement. New York: Museum of Modern Art ;.

Meinhold, B. (2013). Urgent architecture: 40 sustainable housing solutions for a changing world. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.

Rainwater catchment. (n.d.). Architecture. Retrieved January 21, 2014, from http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Water/1-3-1-2-Rainwatercatchment.aspx

South Africa - Cape Town. (n.d.). World weather information service - cape town. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://worldweather.wmo.int/035/c00138.htm

Zaleski, A. (n.d.). Trudging through the township: on tour of imizamo yethu. Glimpse. Retrieved January 23, 2014, from http://archive.glimpse.org/people/blog/user/14125/2009/jun/7/trudging-through-the-township-on-tour-of-imizamo-y/