One of the projects of Familias de Esperanza is to build houses for poor families in the pueblos surrounding Antigua. It is unbelievable, the majority of the families that Familias de Esperanza helps do not even own the land that they are living on. They are squatting; and when the government/landowner tells them to move, they have to move.
There are two kinds of houses that the organization builds. One is a fixed house with 2 rooms and the other is a moblile house with 1 room. The mobile houses are able to be dismantled if/when the families are forced to move.
Keep in mind that these “houses” are just rooms with a roof. There is no running water or even a bathroom. However, in most cases its a big improvement compared to what the families had before.
Last Thursday we built the larger 2 room fixed version. The process of construction between the two houses is more or less the same, the only difference is in the foundation, the mobile house uses concrete tiles while the fixed houses use a poured slab.
So here`s the work crew:
Charlie - Team leader. He`s good times. He`s a longterm volunteer and has been working for the organization for over a year. Unfortunately he`ll be leaving in about 3 weeks. This was his 45th house.
Felix. He grows his own coffee (he has a bag of it in his hand). He is always good with the bromas. On the first day, when I was leaving, he said (in Spanish) "Ok, bye... say hi to your sister for me"... There`s alot of this kind of thing that goes on around here...
Pablo - Macho.
These guys are the main workers in the shop. Felix and Pablo have been working for the organization for over 10 years.
Getting ready to drive to the site.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O6LPRdVovs[/youtube]
Charlie giving everybody a rundown of what needs to be done.
Constructing the first corner
Chalk-line
Make sure everything`s square
Second corner
Pablo and Felix getting the roof started
Front of the house. Not sure if Pablo was blinking or if he`s just sleeping.
The amazing thing is that the house went up in only 1 day (not including the poured foundation).
Ok, so as far as design: When I first saw the houses, I felt that there was easily alot of room for improvement. I`d have to admit though, after building one, I came to the conclusion that they are actually designed really well. They`re about as simple/cheap as they can get and can be put together by a bunch of volunteers with no prior experience.
Brian,
Saw your photo and read your story in the Architectural Record email of today. I did a double take at your photo, realizing how familiar I was with that rooftop in Antigua! I am an architect in Roanoke, Virginia. When adopting our second daughter we lived in an apartment nearby for 3 weeks and I visited the Casa Santa Domingo rooftop and grounds at all hours and weather to photograph. So much rich texure in Antigua. Interesting how similar our photos are, taken through architect’s eyes. You got some great ones, inspiring. My wife goes back every year to do work for Mayan Families. Her adventures are documented on the blog above. Like you, we are amazed by the kindness and resilience of the people in the face of poverty. I hope to get time to read more of your blog. We often discuss moving there permanantly. If we ever do, it would be great to hook up with the organizations you are working with. All the best with your career plans!
Awesome…now use your Pratt Design skills!
wow… sunglasses on what mind as well be a “life is good” hat.
pale wash carrrrrharrtts.
oldies blasting in the wood embodied surround.
who might you say this is in another character body? I concur!
it all goes down to that, doesn it? the basic…simple and cheap design….and usually that turns out to be the best design…somehow we always complain about short of budget by creating not-necessary, complex design….reading Philip johnson’s book the other day, and in that book he was criticizing american architects being these design brats while praising the beauty and practicality of american industrial buildings of the century.
as mr. zumthor said, we gotta work for the silence of sleep…not the fancy design….cause at the end, it all goes down to that….doesn it?
Don’t forget that for as long as their have been Architects with identifiable names (several thousand years) the purpose of Architecture is to formalize cultural ideas. In other words, to paraphrase Joseph Campbell, the easiest way to identify a culture’s most important value is to look at what its tallest building was constructed for. Simple and cheap may be a good design to solve a problem, but it isn’t necessarily Architecture. These houses maybe as cheap, simple, and easy to build as possible, but you literally cannot build in the US using those same construction details, and for good reasons. Good design is entirely relative to the conditions of the problem to be solved.
And I think Zumthor has been a bit misinterpreted here. His designs are very simple on the spatial/formal level, but his tectonic detailing, based on the level of craft required to execute them, is extremely “fancy.” Top-notch craftsmanship is never cheap.
WHAT HE SAYS AND WHAT HE DOES ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS, AREN’T THEY? LIKE ALL WE DO…