Beschreibung
des Entwurfs-programmes |
With the modernisation and population growth of the 20th century, architectural plans for institutional-type buildings such as schools, hospitals and other welfare centers have been developed in the pursuit of functionality and rationality – or to promote specialized nursing. In the past decades, such architectural spaces have been composed as average spaces based on abstract human models. In the desire for safety and ease of management, such buildings have been tightly enclosed and located far from the city center, creating a condition of care within modern society that is difficult to see from day-to-day life of citizens.
In recent years, as many developed countries have experienced falling birthrates, an aging population and an increase in migratory movements, it is becoming increasingly clear that the future care for the socially vulnerable, such as the elderly, the disabled, children and immigrants cannot be provided by social security systems on their own. It is necessary to think about new forms of care architecture and its environment by thinking about autonomous mutual aid frameworks, beyond the systems that have been established since the modern era. We believe that by looking through the eyes of people in need of care has the potential to reveal the nature of the local community in a mature society, which is different from pre-modern farming communities.
This studio will focus on environments of care that need to be reconsidered, and aims to design new local community centers – Care Hubs –, where people can support each other independent of institutionalized frameworks. This studio will take place in Otelfingen, a rural village near Zurich with a population of about 3,000 people. While rapid population growth in urban areas weakens community ties, in peri-urban areas such as Otelfingen, a subtle network of people's lives and activities can be seen. In these areas, we want to find actors who can support and create the environment of care and think about the future of the community.
Thresholds will be the main architectural element that will serve as a focal point for looking at behavior of people and spaces of care. A threshold can be a door, a window, an opening, a skin, a space, a facade, a border, a room – it functions as a transitory element that allows for subtle gestures or harsh distinctions. It constitutes an intermediate area between territories of different purposes. One design is always in relation to another. A space of care that welcomes people of various kinds should always activate the public space surrounding it.
In Phase 1, the focus is on vulnerable people in need of some kind of care, and the relationships between things centered on them are drawn (actor networks), while the individual care environment is captured by focusing on the behavior of specific people. In Phase 2, based on the knowledge gained in Phase 1, each group designs an external space by creating a care hub, while individuals design facades and intermediate areas facing the hub. In Phase 3, based on the concept of the care hub and the façade design that creates human behavior, which were discussed in Phase 2, individuals will design an architecture that generates care while utilizing the existing buildings they are working on.
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