Luanda’s New Frontier: The Peri-Urban Growth in Angola

Int | AR is an annual publication by the editors in chief: Markus Berger + Liliane Wong, and the contents Department of Interior Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design. Members of the Advisory Board: -Heinrich Hermann, Head of the Advisory Board -Friedrich St Florian, FAIA, Professor of Architecture Emeritus, RISD; Principal, Friedrich St. Florian Architects, Providence, RI. -Uta Hassler, Chair of Historic Building Research and Conservation, ETH Zurich. Editorial 05 Restoration Economy 07 Manufaktura in Łódó z Barbara Camocini and Agnese Rebaglio Flying Tea Rooms 17 On Search for Identity in Saudi Arabia Caroline Jaeger-Klein Learning from Old Xining 29 The Adaptation of Urban Form James Patterson-Waterston InterioReuse 33 Lucilla Zanolari Bottelli The Old Carries the New 39 The Museum of Slovenian Film Actors in Divaca Carole Aizenstark Sustainability as information 45 Caterina Tiazzoldi Submerging 55 Lessons from Developed Economies Tiziano Aglieri Rinella Reinterpreting Tal Chappar 63 Black Buck Sanctuary in Northwest India Revathi Kamath, Maitri Dore, Ambika Kamath Economics and Authenticity 71 The Case of Singapore’s Chinatown Lawrence Chin & Chen Binjuan Footprints of Industrial Giants 77 Voices of a New Generation in Haifa Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman Legacy of the Cold War 83 Richard Neutra in Pakistan Arif Belgaumi Luanda’s New Frontier 89 The Peri-Urban Growth in Angola Célia Macedo TRANSCENDING TIME 97 MYU Bar, Beirut; Photo essay Paul Kaloustian Project info and Author bios 109 -Brian Kernaghan, Professor of Interior Architecture Emeritus, RISD. -Dietrich Neumann, Royce Family Professor for the History of Modern Architecture and Urban Studies at Brown University; President, Society of Architectural Historians. -Theordore H M Prudon, Professor of Historic Preservation, Columbia University; President of Docomomo USA. -August Sarnitz, Professor of History of Architecture, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. -Wilfried Wang, O’Neil Ford Centennial Professor in Architecture, University of Texas, Austin; Hoidn Wang Partner, Berlin. Layout_ Dinah Fried, Patricia Lomando, Caitlin Santone Cover Design_ Patricia Lomando, Caitlin Santone Cover Photo_ Paul Kaloustian Inner Cover Photos_ Clara Halston, Nick Dufresne Inspired by “making of Int | AR”, class ‘2011_ Cheryle Cranbourne, Boback Firoozbakht, Christina Hermanns, Daniel Laster, Susan Nugraha Oey, Laith Obeidat, Susannah Stopford, Parima Sukosi, Peeraya Suphasidh Printed by DES PRINTING, Providence Int | AR Journal welcomes responses to articles in this issue and submissions of essays or projects for publication in future issues. All submitted materials are subject to editorial review. Please address feedback, inquiries, and other material to the Editors, Int | AR Journal, Department of Interior Architecture, Rhode Island School of Design, Two College Street, Providence, RI 02903 www.intar-journal.edu, email: INTARjournal@risd.edu Luanda’s New Frontier The Peri-Urban Growth in Angola Célia Macedo Introduction Angola currently faces an almost impossible mission of opposed to the earlier confusing arrangement of appar- healing its territory and people from the wounds left ently fragile settlements. Over the years, these thriving behind by nearly three decades of violent conflict. Since cities became points of attraction to many thousands peace was first installed in 2002, Angola and its entire of people arriving from Europe as well as from differ- population have been under the world’s gaze, a fact ent parts of Angola, generally seeking a better life. The that has highlighted the many issues and obstacles fac- demographic patterns, mainly characterized by rural- ing this sub-Saharan country. In order to address such urban movements, were further enhanced during civil challenges a general reconstruction strategy, which war, subsequent to the independence from Portugal in particularly emphasizes the need to mitigate the lack 1975. This caused further densification in the existing of housing and related social problems, has been put urban fabric, and the physical expansion of Angola’s in place. Understanding and rehabilitating the country’s major cities until exhaustion. Today Angola is a coun- built environment, particularly within urban areas, rep- try of deep social inequalities, where one of the most resents a paramount but much needed task to rebuild expensive cities in the world is built side by side with Angola as a whole. The complexity of this task is further endless sprawl of informal occupation and extreme enhanced by the many difficulties currently affecting poverty. With urban development not showing signs the poorer fringe of the population - those who have of stabilizing, the issues associated with lack of hous- been failing to sustainably accompany the emerging ing and urban-poverty are a difficult reality for many. In economic development of Angola. a time when sustainable development is a global issue, As far as the evolution of the urban built environ- the question of how Angola will be able to mitigate the ment is concerned, Angola’s background does not dif- acute housing shortage arises as one in urgent need of fer significantly from that of other former colonies in an answer. Sub-Saharan Africa. Whilst under a colonial rule which endured for roughly five centuries, Angola was subject Peri-urban growth in Angola, the example of to a profound reinterpretation of the essence of its built Luanda environment, regardless of the country’s established The capital of Angola - Luanda - embodies the typical architectural traditions. New concepts of space, mainly example of the demographic patterns and urban devel- influenced by acclaimed European models, were grad- opment described above. Following its creation in the ually introduced all over the country but especially in mid 16th century, up until the mid 20th century, Luanda urban areas. Entire cities were thus designed and built was characterized by a reduced resident population and from scratch, composed of massive buildings framed by low economic activity. As described by Amaral (1983), large avenues and orthogonally organized streets, as the environment of 19th century Luanda was one of a Musseque Chicala 90 city well adapted to its context, displaying a morpho- Today, although numbers are solely based on estimates, logical and functional balance with its surroundings. The Luanda’s population already reached approximately 3.2 built environment was mostly composed of an array of million. This results in a high demand for housing, ser- adobe and wattle-and-daub houses, often built side by vices and infrastructure. side with Baroque churches. 91 As Fonte (2007) explains, during the colonial period The explosive growth of Luanda would only take of Angola, architecture and urbanism generally reflected place after the Second World War to then gain further the policies in place at the time, a fact that clearly influ- momentum with the industrialization of Angola. In enced the early planning and laying out of Luanda. The subsequent years the growing development of Luanda city revealed distinct layers or types of occupation, in would sustain a continuous rising trend, thus contribut- which location and morphology of buildings were ing to the redefinition of the city’s identity. The cityscape fundamental variables. Given that these were mostly of Luanda quickly revealed all the signs of a common determined by occupants’ social status, one could find western modern city where high-rise buildings, concrete, for example the planned area made by Europeans for steel, and glazing emerged to play the principal role. Europeans to occupy, other planned areas of the city This prosperous period, however, also had its short- occupied by a mixed race population, and finally the comings. One of the obvious consequences of the grow- indigenous bairros, planned by Europeans but to be ing prosperity was the rapid increase of the inhabitant occupied by indigenous population. population. Despite lack of current census data, this ris- Most of the unqualified work force of Luanda, how- ing trend was registered until the last general population ever, was sourced from one area that was not contem- census carried out in Angola in 1970, where Luanda’s plated in urban plans: the informal bairros surrounding resident population increased dramatically from 50,588 the main city. These areas, also designated as musseques, in 1930 to 475,328 people in 1970 (Amaral,1983). housed those who either could not afford, or were not Top 19th century view of Luanda Bottom View of a musseque considered sufficiently civilized, to inhabit any of the room rectangular house, and the façades began to incor- planned areas of the “cement city”. The existence of porate more windows than previously. Overall, the build- areas of informal huts scattered throughout the out- ing envelope was altered into something that accommo- skirts of Luanda date back to its origins and their physi- dated elements of both modern and indigenous forms cal expansion has been developing in parallel with the of construction. Therefore, despite the growing use of growth of the city, up until the present date. The mas- materials such as metal sheets or asbestos for the roofs; sive growth of peri-urban Luanda is mainly attributed to concrete blocks, fired bricks or timber for the walls and continuous fluxes of rural-urban internal migrations or cement for the floor, one could still find references to displacements of African population, nevertheless, over indigenous construction in the musseques. This view is the years the musseques also provided shelter for poor further supported by the data provided by the 1970s population with different origins and backgrounds. This census which reveal that the majority of houses in the meant that having a weak economic condition became musseques had wattle and daub walls (Monteiro,1973). the main feature of the musseques’ resident population, The complicity between the main city and its spa- rather than a racial one. tial surroundings where the musseques developed was, and still is, a major decision factor in choosing the build- Building and inhabiting the musseques: adapting ing technology for one’s dwelling. As Trindade (2000) to a life of uncertainty remarks, at times it was difficult to distinguish accurately The built environment in the musseques has developed where the city ended and the musseque started. The under unique circumstances. Up until the 19th century constant swelling of the city limits put extra pressure on the outskirts of Luanda were mostly used as agricultural the musseques’ population, who reacted to the authori- land. However, as the city expanded, clusters of settle- ties’ claim of land for urban development by moving and ments developed in stages to accommodate the vari- rapidly building shelter elsewhere, usually further away ous waves of migrants seeking a better life in Luanda. from the city. In this respect, Monteiro (1973) concludes With respect to the nature of the dwellings, unlike the that the preference for certain construction techniques main city, in which European concepts of architectural and building materials in the musseques would depend and urban space were gradually introduced, construc- on various aspects, namely cost, availability and flexibil- tion activities in the musseques during the 20th century ity of use. Further to this, the temporary or permanent tended to be associated with absence of planning and occupation, as well as the dynamic social structure of infrastructure and, therefore, with self-building activi- the household - which repeatedly required additions ties. These were areas frequently described as dense and/or modifications to the core structure of the build- labyrinths of wattle and daub huts which spontaneously ing - would also define the type of dwelling to be con- occupied any piece of land available. Moreover, given structed. This could, for example, make the difference the diverse ethnic backgrounds of its inhabitants, the between using stone, cement blocks (permanent mate- buildings frequently resembled traditional rural dwell- rials) or earth and timber (temporary and/or demount- ings found elsewhere in Angola. able structures). The proximity to the cement city, coupled with a later The uncertainty with regard to the ownership of land influx of a Portuguese poor population, eventually pro- combined with the precarious nature of the dwellings, vided the perfect environment for the metamorphosis lack of infrastructures and urban management, meant of the musseques’ fabric. This assimilation of European that the musseques have always been very susceptible architectural features extended not only to the building to disasters. Fires, floods, landslides and other naturally form of the dwellings but also to the building materi- occurring disasters frequently wiped out considerable als and technologies adopted. As illustrated in Redinha areas of houses. For this reason, the design and imple- (1964) and Thyssen’s (1966) studies of the Angolan mentation of a rehabilitation strategy of such areas is indigenous house, the single room circular plan house, currently considered to be an absolute priority, as shall for example, was abandoned in favour of the multiple be explained in due course. 92 Currently, probably more than ever, there seems to letter to the Executive Director of the UN-HABITAT, con- the musseques is the main objective. However, while able future for the musseques and its inhabitants exist an agreement on the urgency of providing Angolan demning the choice of Luanda as the location for the such plans do not come into practice, people have been According to the UN-HABITAT more than 80% of population with the right to housing and a decent qual- celebrations, arguing that it constituted an ‘insult to the developing creative solutions to adapt existing dwell- Angola’s population lives in slum areas, many of those ity of life. In 2004, extreme poverty was acknowledged injury committed against Angola’s thousand affected by ings to meet constantly changing needs. A building in a based in the peripheries of Luanda. Moreover, the capi- by the government as a serious issue in Angola, as can forced evictions’ (Amnesty International, 2008, p.3). tal has grown to more than four times the second largest be found in the document Strategy for Combating Life in the musseques today: building a sustain- 93 restrained plot of land can easily change configuration Nonetheless, the progress on the construction of to accommodate a growing family, create private areas city in Angola, and estimates indicate that it accounts Poverty (República de Angola, 2004). Herein, the reduc- houses since the launch of the National Urbanism and to rent out, or incorporate a small business accessible for about a quarter of the country’s total population tion of poverty and improvement of people’s quality of Housing Programme has been frequently reported as through the elevation facing the road. Houses in the (UN-HABITAT, 2010). The poor conditions experienced life is set as a goal to achieve in a near future, which successful through local and international news agen- musseques thus grow organically, expand horizontally in the musseques today have not undergone dramatic necessarily entails action at the level of the building sec- cies. Additionally, despite the accusations of forced and/or vertically, usually according to peoples’ financial improvements over the last years. In fact, apart from tor. Thus, the government hopes to improve the overall evictions, the rehousing process of some of the people means. This dynamics has been possible partially thanks the few musseques existing inside the actual city, which conditions of the musseques and degraded buildings of whose houses had been demolished between 2004 to the wide availability of prefabricated building materi- did not have further room to grow, the settlements in urban areas, mainly through urban requalification pro- and 2006 is expected to start in September 2011, as als such as cement blocks or metal sheet roofing, which the periphery continue to expand outwards, increas- grammes. Such programmes would range from provid- recently announced by the government. The intention of have clearly outgrown traditional building practices in ing the distance between the city and the musseques. ing infrastructures to existing degraded areas, to design eliminating the musseques entails, yet again, profound popularity and appear to be the way forward when it In addition to the spreading out of existing areas, new and building of whole new parts of the city. The latter changes and adaptations from the low-income popula- comes to informal settlements in Luanda. musseques were even created after the independence. would include construction of social housing to accom- tion, who so many times throughout Angola’s history The Constitutional Law of Angola’s article 85th This is the case with the musseque Rocha Pinto which, modate and relocate the poorest fringe of population had to readjust to new realities and paradigms, building states that ‘every citizen has the right to appropriate as stated in Trindade (2000), has a population of roughly - particularly the homeless and displaced. In line with this new homes, livelihoods, social and economic structures housing and to a decent quality of life. It carries on by 900 thousand people and, due to the distance to the target, in 2008, the Government launched the National from scratch. Reusing existing housing does not seem to declaring that the state has the responsibility to ‘pro- city, has achieved nearly self-sufficiency by incorporating Urbanism and Housing Programme, with a very ambi- be included in any plan or strategy, which rather prefer mote the social and economic conditions to ensure the basic services within its limits. tious goal of building 1 million houses before the end looking at more radical solutions, whereby eliminating right to housing and quality of life’ (Assembleia Nacional Since the colonial period, efforts have been made of 2012, from which 115 thousand will be provided by towards finding the most adequate solution to tackle the government, 120 thousand by the private sector, 80 both the acute housing shortage as well as the problems thousand by cooperatives and 685 thousand will be con- resulting from the almost total lack of infrastructure structed through self-help building activities. in the musseques. Nevertheless, according to Amaral The programme is still ongoing and, therefore, the (1968), these urban planning experiments were not amount of information available remains rather scarce. always very successful, since they often failed to consider Nevertheless, questions have been raised regarding how natural and human environments. An example provided the 1 million houses goal is being pursued and, espe- by the same author was the inadequacy of the building’s cially, as to its effectiveness amongst the poor popula- design to people’s cultural context, ignoring for example tion of the informal settlements. International organiza- the importance of the outside space to cook or social- tions such as Amnesty International have reported that, ize. in order to clear land for the construction of new hous- Furthermore, many of the buildings were struc- turally unsound and formed monotonous streets were ing developments, continuous evictions of thousands landscape was scarce. As a result, valuable lessons were of families have been taking place in the periphery of learnt regarding the need to have an in-depth knowl- Angolan cities. Furthermore, as Amnesty International edge, of both the site and the inhabitants, in potential adds, this has been done without any ‘prior notification, upgrading programmes. Spaces where communities can information or consultation, legal protection, adequate thrive and live harmoniously, where family life can evolve alternative accommodation or an effective remedy’ and be respected, creation of a diversity of spaces and (Amnesty International, 2008, p.1) which, in the view of houses which can be flexible and adaptable enough to the organization, constitutes a clear violation of human accommodate different needs in different periods of rights. In order to highlight such issues, during the cel- people’s lives, were aspects recommended as primary ebrations of the World Habitat Day in 2008, which took for any successful urban intervention in the musseques. place in Luanda, Amnesty International directed an open Kids playing in musseque Chicala 94 – Comissão Constitucional, 2010). Although, apparently, urban periphery is an incredibly complex reality and, Endnotes the country is heading towards this direction, it is clear therefore, any intervention or proposed upgrading pro- Redinha, J. (1964). A habitação tradicional angolana; aspectos da sua that there is still much work to be carried out, in order to gramme necessarily requires the action of studies, which Amaral, I. (1968). Luanda: (estudo de geografia urbana). Lisboa: Ministério do Ultramar sustainably mitigate the housing shortages in Angola. In should be conducted by a multidisciplinary team, given Amaral, I. (1983). Luanda e os seus “muceques” problemas da geografia República de Angola (2004) Estratégia de combate à pobreza Reinserção Social, Reabilitação e Reconstrução e Estabilização Económica. this respect, the way that built environment is conceptu- the different nature of the many issues inherent to the urbana. Finisterra - Centro de Estudos Geográficos Portugal XVIII (36), pp.293-325. alized may indeed play a significant role in assisting the periphery of Luanda (economic, social, technical, juridi- Thissen, L. (1966). A habitação entre alguns povos do médio-Cuango poor population achieving a better quality of life. The cal, financial, etc). Regrettably, this situation has not Amnesty International (2008) Joint letter for Executive Director of UN-HABIAT. London: Amnesty International International Secretariat . Available at: http://www.amnesty.org familiarity with self-help building of the informal settle- changed over the last years and the musseques still lack thorough studies and research. Considering all the aforementioned, if on the one hand it is a reality that the musseques are lacking even the most basic infrastructures and are, therefore, in urgent need of an intervention; on the other hand one has to wonder whether a radical solution based on demolishing the existing to rebuild according to western models is the most adequate one for this particular context. The flexibility and adaptability which characterizes these informal settlements, despite reflecting a sustainable practice, is also often regarded as a sign of insecurity. For this reason, it is likely that people are open to embrace a new style of living which will necessarily include a new approach towards the built environment. caso de Luanda. Lisboa: Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas. ments seems to have been picked up and is now being Assembleia Nacional Comissão Constitucional (2010) Constitiução da República de Angola – Projecto Final. Luanda: Assembleia Nacional Comissão Constitucional utilised as an important tool of the National Housing Programme. Self-building kits have been made available for the low-income population, who, according to the Government, will also be able to benefit from special financial schemes to buy or rent houses. As stated above, the programme is still ongoing, however, according to recent statements that consider the possibility of surpassing the goal of 1 million houses, the country’s reconstruction process mentioned in the beginning of this paper appears to be taking place in Angola. One will have to wait until 2012 to determine the immediate success as well as the sustainability of the programme. More importantly, it is fundamental to assess its effects A deep understanding of the social characteristics in areas such as the musseques, where the most press- of these informal settlements as well as of their social, ing issues exist. Fonte, M. M. (2007). Unpublished PhD thesis - Urbanismo e arquitectura em Angola - de Norton de Matos à Revolução. Faculdade de Arquitectura. Lisbon: Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. Monteiro, R. L. (1973). A família nos musseques de Luanda: subsídios para evolução. Luanda: Centro de Informação e Turismo de Angola. Luanda: Ministério do Planeamento Direcção de Estudos e Planeamento (Angola). Luanda: Instituto de Investigacão Científica de Angola. Trindade, A. J. P. (2000). O fenómeno urbano na Africa subsahariana: o UN-HABITAT (2003). Slums of the world: the face of urban poverty in the new millennium? Nairobi, Kenya, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT). UN-HABITAT & UNEP (2010). The state of African cities 2010 governance, inequality and urban land markets. Nairobi: UN-HABITAT. o seu estudo. Luanda, Fundo de Acção Social no Trabalho em Angola. economic and environmental contexts may prove to be In 1983, we were reminded by Amaral (1983) that a fundamental tool to orient towards a sustainability the research focused on the evolution of the musseques’ agenda of any future policy or upgrading plan for the environment is very scarce. He further adds that the informal peri-urban settlements in Luanda. Left Wide availability of prefabricated building materials in the musseques Middle Eliminating the musseques entails profound changes for the low- income popoulation 95 Right Self-building kits in the musseques 96 project credits and Information Restoration Economy name of project_MANUFAKTURA location_Łódz, ó Poland name of design firm_Sud Architectes (Lyon) Virgile & Stone Company (Imagination Group, London) names of key architects/designers involved_Sud Architectes + André Mrowiec Marciniak & Witasiak OTH / Bovis J. Lutomski name of owner_Horyzont (APSYS International, ó Paris) name of contractor_Mitex, Budumex name of photographer_Manufaktura archives + Marcin Romansk (Fabryki Muzeum) year completed_2006 cost of construction_280,000,000 USD website address of design firm_www.sudarchitectes.com, www.virgileandstone.com, V+SM.html name of project_ANDEL’S HOTEL location_ Łódz, ó Poland name of design firm_Jestico & Whiles (concept: public space, rooms) OP ARCHITEKTEN (other areas, detailed design) names of key architects/designers involved_Jestico + Whiles Wojciech Popławski (Main Architect) Andrzej Orlinski name of contractor_PORR Polska S.A. name of owner_UBM / WARIMPEX year completed_2006 – 2009 (project) / 2007 -2009 (construction) website address of design firm_www.jesticowhiles.com www.op-architekten.com Flying Tea Rooms name of research team_Dr. Vittoria Capresi (Urban Analysis), Dr. Petra Gruber (Building Structure and Bionics), Dr. Ulrike Herbig (Photogrammetry and Recordings of Architecture), Prof. Caroline Jaeger-Klein (History of Architecture), Prof. Erich Lehner (Architecture of non-Western traditions), DI. Irmengard Mayer (Building Research and 3D-Laserscanning), Prof. Hermann Mueckler (Social Anthropology) and Arch. DI. Gudrun Styhler-Aydin (Building Research) name of photographer_Andrea Rieger-Jandl department_Department for the History of Architecture and Building Archaeology (Architekturgeschichte Bauforschung) UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY VIENNA / AUSTRIA website address of University_www.TUWien.ac.at Learning from Old Xining location_Xining, Qinghai Province, People’s Republic of China graphic Illustration_James Patterson-Waterston acknowledgements_The paper addresses a piece of ongoing research into the adaptation of the urban form of the city of Xining. Already the research is demonstrating engineering and environmental value in the existing city grid and building layout, while further fieldwork is due to take place in early 2012. InterioReuse Submerging name of project_Multi functional complex Le Terrazze: Hotel, residence, shopping mall, SPA, offices, bar and restaurant name of design firm_Studio Marco Piva names of key architects_Studio Marco Piva location_ Carità di Villorba-Treviso, Italy year completed_2011 name of photographer_Andrea Martiradonna Reinterpreting Tal Chappar name of project_Tal Chappar Sanctuary location_Chappar Village, District Churu, Rajasthan, India name of design firm_Kamath Design Studio names of key architects/designers involved in project_Revathi Kamath, Shruti Soni, Satandra, Jaskirat Sangra name of owner_Forest Department, Rajasthan name of contractor_ Bhageetath Prajajapat Suratgarh name of head mason_Karni Ram name of photographer_Sooraj Singh Poonia, Mangi Lal Gupta, Ayodh Kamath year completed_September 2010 acknowledgements_Sooraj Singh Poonia and T.C. Gupta provided many of the photographs; Ayodh Kamath organized the images. Economics and Authenticity location_Kreta Ayer, Chinatown, Republic of Singapore name of photographer_Lawrence Chin names of researchers_Lawrence Chin & Chen Binjuan department_Department of Real Estate, National University of Singapore graphic_Dinah Fried Footprints of Industrial Giants images_Karen Doviner, Yigal Tartakowsky and Michal Morad acknowledgements_I would like to thank architect Alon Zohar, my partner in studio, for his inspiring comments and his time and effort devoted to advance our students. I would like to thank our students for their cooperation and enthusiastic spirit, for the hard work and excellent performance. In particular I would like to thank the students whose work is presented in this paper: Yigal Tartakowsky, Michal Morad and Karen Doviner. location_Guangdong (Canton) Province, People’s Republic of China name of photographer_Lucilla Zanolari Bottelli survey year_February 2010 acknowledgements_The survery was a joint partnership between the Department of Architecture at Politecnico di Milano and the Huiyang Municipality. Legacy of the Cold War The Old Carries the New Luanda’s New Frontier name of project_The Museum of Slovenian Film Actors name of architects_Matjaž Bolcina, Ernest Milcinovic, Teja Savelli name of client_Community of Divaca with the Ministry of Culture location_Kraška cesta 25, 6215 Divaca, Slovenia site area: 6000m2 built area_476m2 completion date_ 2010 construction company_ Kraški zidar d.d. structural engineering_Edo Wallner electrical_Aleš Mrkun HVAC_Jana Kotar acoustics_ Saša Galonja project manager for the Community of Divaca_Mateja Maganja project supervisor_Nataša Ðukic Vasic heritage supervisor_Eda Belingar construction cost_2,030 million euros ($2,795 million) made possible by Norway grants name of photographer_Miran Kambic images_Celia Macedo acknowledgements_This article arises from the research the author is currently carrying out for her PhD thesis, which looks at the sustainability of the use of earthen building technologies in the periurban areas of Angola. The research is being supervised by Prof. Ray Ogden, Dr. Bousmaha Baiche and Prof. David Sanderson. This project was awarded an Individual Doctoral Grant from FCT (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia) – Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Portugal. Sustainability as Information name of project_The Rubber Tyre School, ARCò covered surface_350 square meters, 2,200 tyres construction time_15 days address_road n°1, between Jerusalem and Jerico, Al Akhmar year_2009 construction_Vento di Terra image permission_Valerio Marazzi for ARCò name of project_Recyling Plant, Senegal image permission_LVIA name of project_Project Formal Modulation for acoustic performances image permission_Caterina Tiazzoldi and Chris Whitelaw, the Non Linear Solutions Unit, GSAAP Columbia University and Nicholas Tixier, Ecole d’architecture de Grenoble acknowledgements_Alessandro Bobba (LVIA), 109 Chiara Rigotti (Architects without Frontiers - Burkina Faso), Giorgia Dalby (Architects without Frontiers – Italy) Gloria Pasero (Politecnico di Torino), Heather Leson (Ushaidi), Lia Curcio Massimo Annibale Rossi (Vento di Terra) (LVIA), Pierre Alain Croset (Politecnico di Torino), Sara Williams (Columbia University), Stefano Pensa (Politecnico di Torino + ETH Zurich), Rocco Curto (Politecnico di Torino), Valeria Cottino (Architects without Frontiers – Italy) name of photographers_Arif Belgaumi, Lucien Hervé TRANSCENDING TIME name of project_MYU Bar location_Gouraud street, Gemayze, Beirut, Lebanon name of design firm_PAUL KALOUSTIAN ARCHITECT name of key architect_Paul Kaloustian name of photographer_Paul Kaloustian owner_Joe Mourani contrator_Khater engineering cost_225.000$ total area_140m2 date of completion_ 2006 (due to the 2006 war the project was delayed, the bar opened as soon as the war ended) lighting_cold cathode lights and candles sound system_ alcons audio furniture_custom designed - manufactured by ARDECO amatouri website address of design firm_www.paulkaloustian.com 110 colophon AUTHORS Carole Aizenstark’s interest in adaptive reuse has its roots in Paris where she was born and raised. She holds a Master’s in Interior Design from Florida International University and works as a design professional in Miami. Arif Belgaumi is a registered architect and heads his own practice in Karachi, Pakistan. He holds an MArch from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia USA. He is a member of the adjunct faculty of the Department of Architecture at the Indus Valley School of Art and Architecture, Karachi where he teaches Design. Prior to establishing his practice in Karachi he worked for architectural offices in the US and Pakistan. In addition, he writes occasional articles on urban and environmental issues in a local newspaper. Lucilla Zanolari Bottelli, architect, has always studied different cultures by attending schools in Switzerland, Italy, USA, Spain, China in her formative years. She graduated in Architecture in 2004 from Politecnico di Milano, with a thesis on visual perception as a design tool. Her experiences abroad and her professional background have led Lucilla into interior and furniture design. She lives in Milan and collaborates as an assistant lecturer at Politecnico di Milano in Architecture and Design Faculties, while completing her PhD in Interior Design and Exhibition at Politecnico di Milano, Department of Architecture. Lawrence Chin & Chin Binjuan Dr. Lawrence Chin is the Director of the Real Estate Career Centre in the Department of Real Estate at the National University of Singapore. He graduated with a BSc (Estate Management) with honours from the University of Singapore and holds a PhD in Business Administration from the University of Georgia, USA. He is a town councillor with the Tanjong Pagar Town Council. Ms. Chen Binjuan holds a BSc (Real Estate) degree with honours. Barbara Camocini, Architect and Ph.D in Interior Architecture and Exhibition Design, is an adjunct professor and temporary research fellow at INDACO Department – Lab.I.R.Int - Politecnico di Milano. Her research work focuses on the effects of adaptive re-use upon urban evolution and living and working interiors. She also takes part, as an expert, in conferences and jury of competitions within the international programme for the development of the Baltic Sea Region. In 111 2003 she was a consultant in the City of Culture project led by David Chipperfield Architects, for the conversion of the former Ansaldo factory of Milan into a museum complex. Dafna Fisher-Gewirtzman is a Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Architecture & Town Planning at the Technion in Israel. Dafna teaches and coordinates architectural design and Interior architecture design studios focusing on recycling/regenerating and adaptive reuse in architecture. Her research focus is in the field of visual analysis, quantitative methods and tools on subjective human response. She has published many papers in leading professional journals and presented her work in many international conferences. She has received much recognition and is the recipient for the UNESCO fellowship. In addition to her academic activities, she is a practicing architect. Her work has been published in local professional journals. Revathi Kamath is an architect and planner based in New Delhi, India, and a partner in Kamath Design Studio. The Kamath Design Studio has designed over 300 buildings, each informed by an explicitly environmental agenda. Their work is a creative synthesis of attitudes and technologies into an aesthetic habitat and way of life. Maitri Dore is a final-year student of architecture at the Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture, Mumbai Ambika Kamath is a first-year graduate student in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University. Ayodh Kamath is a partner in Kamath Design Studio. Ayodh has a BArch degree from the Sushant School of Art & Architecture, and a SMArchS degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Caroline Jaeger-Klein is Associate Professor for History of Architecture at Vienna University of Technology as well as at UBT Prishtina in Kosovo. After university studies in Austria and the United States, she wrote her PhD on Austrian Architecture of the 19th and 20th centuries. In addition to her theoretical focus, she continued teaching design courses on building in a historical context, her master thesis topic. For the moment, she is leading a research study on current Austrian school buildings as well as on Traditional Architecture of Saudi Arabia. She is national expert-in-court and member of ICOMOS. Célia Macedo studied architecture as her first degree at Universidade Lusíada of Lisbon in Portugal. Following some years of professional experience in architectural practices, both in Portugal and the UK, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with an MSc in Energy Efficient and Sustainable Building in 2009. At the moment, Célia is doing research on the informal settlements of Luanda (Angola) for her PhD in Architecture at Oxford Brookes University, UK. Agnese Rebaglio is a researcher at the INDACO Department - Industrial Design, Arts, Communication and Fashion - of Politecnico di Milano, Phd in Interior Architecture. She is part of the faculty of the Interior Design Course at the Design School, Politecnico di Milano. She is part of the research team “DHOC”, Design for Hospitable City. Their research aims to design interior and exterior urban spaces, to set up new kind of hospitality in the contemporary city, through temporary, diffused services, new quality for public spaces, innovative models of re-use of disused spaces. Caterina Tiazzoldi is an Adjunct Professor at the Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at Columbia University and visiting Researcher at the Politecnico di Torino - DIPRADI where she presented her PhD thesis on the topic of Nonlinear Design Strategies. She is the principal of the architecture firm Tiazzoldi.org by Nuova Ordentra and co-founder and director of the research lab Nonlinear Solutions Unit at the GSAPP, Columbia University NY. Her work won several awards and has been published in several books, magazines and national newspapers. James Patterson-Waterston is an MPhil researcher in Environmental Design in Architecture at the University of Cambridge. His research focuses on the ‘sustainable design’ of new urban areas designated within the Chinese Western Development Plan. Before starting his MPhil in 2010, he worked as an architectural and urban designer in the Shenzhen, China office of Ove Arup & Partners. He currently works as a planning and development consultant at Happold Consulting in London. His main research interests are urban planning, environmental design and the role of social anthropology in the study of the built environment. He is affiliated to MIASU (Mongolian and Inner Asian Studies Unit) within the University of Cambridge. Paul Kaloustian received his masters degree (M.ARCH II) from Harvard Graduate School of Design in 2000, worked as a design architect at Herzog and de Meuron in 2001, PAUL KALOUSTIAN ARCHITECT was established in 2002 in Beirut, Lebanon. Paul Kaloustian is a visiting instructor at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Tiziano Aglieri Rinella, architect, is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Arts of IULM University in Milan. He holds a Ph.D. in architecture (in co-tutoring between the Universities of Palermo and Geneva) and was a scholarship holder of Le Corbusier Foundation in Paris. He collaborates with UNESCO, being involved in projects in the middle east. Currently, his research is focused on new trends of hospitality and wellness design. He has published Hotel Design - Fondamenti di progettazione alberghiera, (edited by PLANETHOTEL.NET, Marsilio, Venice, 2011). 112 colophon EDITORS Ernesto Aparicio is a Senior Critic in the Graphic Design Department at RISD. He earned his BA at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, Universidad de la Plata, Buenos Aires and did his Post Graduate Studies in Graphic Design at the Ecole des Art Decoratifs, Paris. Prior to moving to the US he served as Art Director for Editions du Seuil in Paris, while maintaining his own Graphic Design practice, Aparicio Design Inc. Best known for his work in the world of publishing, his work has also included corporate identities, annual reports, publications and way-finding for corporations and institutions in France, Japan, and the US. He has recently been named Creative Director for the New York design firm, DFA. Markus Berger is an Assistant Professor and Graduate Program Director in the Department of Interior Architecture at RISD. He holds an MArch (Diplomingenieur für Architektur) from the Technische Universität Wien, Austria and is a registered architect (SBA) in the Netherlands. Prior to coming to the US he practiced as an architect and taught in Austria, India, Pakistan and with UN Studio in the Netherlands. He co-founded and co-edits Int|AR and currently also heads his own design studio in Providence, InsideOut Design. Maya Marx is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Interior Architecture at RISD where she received her Master’s degree in 2008, with honors distinction. She holds a B.A., summa cum laude, in Studio Art, Sculpture from Brandeis University. She is a designer and writer based in Amherst, Massachusetts and an Associate Editor of the Int|AR Journal. Liliane Wong is Professor and Head of the Department of Interior Architecture at RISD. She received her MArch from Harvard University and a B.A. in Mathematics from Vassar College. She is a registered Architect and has practiced in the Boston area including in her firm, MWA. She co-founded and co-edits the Int|AR Journal. 113