Reflections on Urban Design Practice | 06.02.2013

URBAN TRAILS & TALES Exploring urban design & decision-making through narrative and film Cristina Cerulli & Anna Holder SSoA, University of Sheffield

Why tell stories about urban design? “… narrative is an ancient method and perhaps our most fundamental form for making sense of experience” (Flyvbjerg, 2004

referencing Abbott, 1992; Arendt, 1958; Bal, 1997; Carr, 1986; Fehn et al., 1992; MacIntyre, 1984; Mattingly, 1991, p. 237; Novak, 1975, p. 175; Rasmussen, 1995; Ricoeur, 1984)

“… narratives not only give meaningful form to our experiences. They also provide us with a forward glance, helping us to anticipate situations even before we encounter them, allowing us to envisage alternative futures.” (Flyvbjerg, 2004)

Why tell stories about urban design? • What decisions surround the work we do as designers, and who makes them?

• Why are these important questions for urban designers?

• How do we learn about urban decision-making?

What is the role of the story-teller?

“Stories of planning practice do not and cannot ‘tell themselves’, although it will often seem as if they do to the researcher who is deeply immersed in uncovering the events and other minutiae that make up a particular chronicle. Stories have to be narrated, in writing or orally. That means the narrator […] has to make choices about where to begin and end the story, what to emphasize, etc.” (Flyvbjerg, 2004)

http://mappingcontroversies.co.uk/

BIG / ‘Yes is More’

Mike Horsewill / Venice Workshop 2011

Sogand / Venice Workshop 2011

Case Study 1 Social Housing, Mulhouse

Location: Mulhouse, France Client: Société Mulhousienne des Cités Ouvrières (SOMCO) Architect: Lacaton & Vassal / working with Jean Nouvel Project size: 2262 m2 (14 dwellings) Project cost: €1,05 M Motivations: To develop social housing that provides increased area without increasing costs

Funding from a Government initiative for new social housing is earmarked for Mulhouse, a former industrial area

The director of a social housing company, instigates a brief for an innovative housing development

01

02

An experienced architect with a track history of innovative housing design is appointed to the project

03

The architect proposes involving 5 teams from younger architecture offices to develop schemes in collaboration

04

The project is informed by data and analysis on housing demand structures in the French social housing sector - this research indicates widespread discontent with current conditions and few real alternatives for changing provision in the future.

05

One of the architects teams brings with them expertise in building housing at low cost with industrial materials and processes. They propose building apartments twice the standard area and volume but within the normal limits of financial support for the social housing sector.

06

They are supported by the leading consultant architect and the client.

07

Resistance from planning and regulative bureaucracy delays the project from starting on site for two years.

08 The project goes ahead. It is judged a great success by its residents, the client and design team, and the national press.

10

The team argues the validity of the project in both economic terms and sustainability benefits.

09

Local Authorities

Taxes

Planning

Building Regs

Actors Social Housing, Mulhouse

Client

Strategy Architect

Project Architects

PR

+ €€€

Policy

Research

Precedents

Media

- Both human and non- human actors have roles to play in the development of the project

- initiation and agency are co-created within the process of the project

Case Study 2 Social Housing, Iquique

Location: Iquique, Chile Client: Chile Barrio Architect: Elemental (‘Do-tank’) / a partnership with University and COPEC (oil company) Project size: 5025m² (93 dwellings) / Initial house: 36m² / Expanded house: 70m² / Project cost: 1,05 M€ net (75 000 € net per house) Motivations: To provide good-quality housing for those moving on from informal settlements, in city centre locations which support existing social networks, with possibility for families to expand their housing in time

01 The Government provides funding for low-income family housing

Families must approach the government, once they have identified other families to build with

02

The Government then matches them with an advisor from the Housing office, or from an NGO, who oversees the appointment of an architect and any other professionals necessary

03

Funding provided per family (approx US$7,500) has to cover land, housing and infrastructure, and thus only covers the cost of cheap land outside the city centre, and a small house (approx 30m2)

04

Families have new housing far from the areas they know, and the places they work

05

01 An architecture office, in partnership with the local university and sponsored by an oil company, are asked by the Government to rethink the standard model, for a specific case of around 100 families

They propose a change of perspective, thinking how to maximise the value of the houses over time, rather than give everyone a small house

02

The families are allocated the usual amount of Government funding for houses to be built, but are to be rehoused on the same plot they previously occupied – city centre land worth 3 x the value of land on the periphery of the city

03

The structure and permissions in place for the houses are designed to allow a second ‘phase’, where the space for expansion is filled in

When each family has saved some money, they extend into the empty adjacent plot, ending up with a more spacious house in their desired location

The more expensive city centre plot is developed to build a small basic house with kitchen and bathroom, with space to expand on the ground and first floor

04

05

06

Case Study 3 Children’s Centre, Tarlungeni

Location: Tarlungeni, Romania Client: The Foundation for Social Assistance and Youth (FAST) Architect: Voluntary Design & Build Project size: 159 m2 Project cost: £43,000 approx. Motivations: To self-build a project for a charity / to help underprivileged children, particularly Roma.

A group of architecture students with some experience of building projects for charity write to a British-funded QUANGO in various countries looking for charity projects that need building work

01 An NGO working with low income families and children from a racial minority group contacts the same QUANGO enquiring about funding opportunities

02

The QUANGO puts the two parties in touch

03

The NGO has identified the need for an early years children’s centre

04

The students propose to fund part of a project and provide free design and construction labour through a stream of graduate volunteers

05

10

The local school provides the land for the building from its grounds

As part of an agreement with the school, the local mayor provides funding for half the build cost

The NGO provides teaching materials and teachers

Successive waves of volunteers work in partnership with the local school, which provides and funds some local labour and subsidises accommodation for volunteers

The children’s centre is completed and is judged a success by its users and the local school who run it.

06

07

08

09

Motivations & values Children’s Centre, Tarlungeni

VD&B

FAST

Local School

Mayor

National Government

Want to provide funding for early years provision because it’s a requirement of EU membership

Older members want a project where they have some autonomy, a chance to develop skills & ideas

Other volunteers just want to experience a building project

Want to provide space for children under 7 and also provide washing facilities for Roma

Want to build a building that is inspiring and to enjoy the process of building and experimenting

Need to deal with overcrowding in classes for under 7s.

Want to get the building finished quickly

Want to use their resources as efficiently as possible

Will provide materials as part of an agreement with the local school, but only wants to pay for a ‘standard’ building

Reading Peter M. Kellett, Diana G. Dalton (2001) Managing Conflict in a Negotiated World: A Narrative Approach to Achieving Dialogue and Change. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Eckstein B, Throgmorton JA(eds) (2003) Stories and Sustainability: Planning, Practice, and the Sustainability of American cities. Cambridge, MA: MIT press. Fischer F, Forester J(eds) (1993) The Argumentative Turn in Policy Analysis and Planning. London: Duke University Press. Flyvbjerg, B (2004) ‘Phronetic Planning Research: Theoretical and Methodological Reflections’. Planning Theory & Practice, Vol. 5, No. 3, 283–306 Forester J (1999) The Deliberative Practitioner: Encouraging Participatory Planning Processes. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Forester J (2009) Dealing with Differences: Dramas of Mediating Public Disputes. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hajer MA, Grijzen J, van ’t Klooster S (2010) Sterke verhalen: Hoe Nederland de planologie opnieuw uitvindt [Strong stories: How the Dutch are reinventing spatial planning]. Rotterdam: 010 Publishers. Viewing Creedon, Kelly. We Shall Not be Moved: Stories from the Grassroots. 2011. – www.weshallnotbemoved.net RSA animate series - http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate Brown, Sam (2013)m MCCB Test Film - Time For Tea at Public Works. - http://vimeo.com/58089585