WISH
workshop international social housing
USI-AAM
Ahmedabad, India
Martino Pedrozzi, Snehal Shah, Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi
crit. Mario Botta, Sebastiano Brandolini, Marianne Burkhalter, Andrea Nardi
The Workshop takes place every year from beginning August to half October, having for objective the planning of social housing in cities of developing countries with high urban growth. The group of participants is composed by five students of a faculty from the country of the studied city and five students from the Accademia di Architettura of Mendrisio, Switzerland. The students work under the guide of the responsible of the Workshop and an assistant of the Accademia.
The group elaborates low cost housing projects located in an area of the city already destined to this aim. The program of the contents, the techniques of construction and the tipologies considered are included in the projects as in a concrete feasibility context. Because of these reasons, the program and the project site are chosen in collaboration with the involved institutions (government, university, private sector).
During the course some specialists take part in order to have lessons on specific arguments and to participate in the intermediate and final critics of the projects. The first two weeks are carried out at the partner university and are dedicated to the preparation of the design phase, which has place in Mendrisio in the following weeks. The results of the course are exposed first at the Accademia and then at the partner university or city.
The activities of the Workshop are part of the international cooperation for the aid of development.
The site is separated from the urban context by the presence of two important infrastructures, a highway and a railway line, both also clearly defining the limits of the place. The resulting autonomy of the site becomes suitable for the proposition of a self referent urban structure. Single storey buildings are geometrically organized around a void. According to the dimension of this open air space, it get different connotations ranging from domestic courtyard, collective playground, park to central square. An existing water tank in a tower acts as a landmark. Its position gives significance to the biggest of the sequential voids.
WISH - Martino Pedrozzi - Otto Krausbeck
Accademia d’architetura di Mendrisio - Largo Bernasconi 2
Exposition:
MAD
23 Sep 2010 - 15 Nov 2010
Palazzo Canavée
Via Canavée 5 CH-6850
Mendrisio, , Switzerland
15-20 Sep 2010
CEPT University, Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology of Ahmedabad, India
15-29 Sep 2010