IMMERSE YOURSELF

Regardless of the program, is key to document the sapace itself and how is used, private rituals which take place in and around a site, a community; which are an inevitably part of a city.

By doing so, we are able to understand the needs and opportunities generated in and out of a space, and which can benefit. Whether we speak from a large design proposal, up to a small urban intervention; a detailed analysis will result in a more effective proposal.  A proposal that directly or indirectly will benefit the quality of life for the user and its context.

Looking outward by Andrea Assad

 It is often assumed that a building can provide everything people might need to develop themselves both physically and emotionally, when is also about the relation between buildings, people, and life which make the difference.

As architects we are sometimes limited by distance, but one thing is clear to me: a project´s potential can be enhanced by firsthand experience, then it becomes limitless. No matter the scale of each project, whenever we have a specific program is important to think outside it´s framework.

One of my personal experiences includes studying UNESCO´s world heritage cities, one of them: Venice.  For about a week and a half our group immerged into a deep analysis of the world’s only pedestrian city.  The research included surveys, a series of photographs that would tell a story or showed what needed to be addressed, sketches and even trace textures to fully understand tectonics and techniques, details and moments to discover.

Looking outward I was able to discover how Venice has become what people refer to as a “museum city”.   With millions of tourist visiting every year; a contrast situation considering that locals, specially amoung their youth, whom are moving out and looking for opportunities elsewhere. In fact I even experienced Venice’s acqua alta, the water reached 149 cm (4 ft 10 inches), this being the 5th-highest level reached during floods in the past 150 years.

As a result of this research, we were able to generate a design manual “Building for Venice” and indentified sites around Venice that could benefit locals. In my case I was able to focus on urban interventions for plazas and buildings around.

Finding purpose by Jimena Zamora

 As architects, more than often we find ourselves sitting in front of our computers, researching the location, culture, weather, and the surroundings of our projects for days. We hide behind our comfy chairs and air conditioned controlled rooms as we presume to know what we´re working with.




There’s a humility lacking in architecture which we’ve lost. We like to go for the comfortable approach instead of the right approach. A project must emphasize community engagement and firsthand experience in the design process to be able to excel properly.

After graduating I was able to work for a non-profit, The Native American Housing Initiative (NASHI). NASHI is a nonprofit organization that seeks to improve housing conditions on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The purpose of the project is to address the need for sustainable and affordable housing by researching and designing four homes, each to be built from different materials and methods suitable for the community it´s environment. We created an interdisciplinary team of students and schools, working side by side with the Pine Ridge community to integrate the Lakota cultural values into the design through community based groups and workshops. Lakota´s beliefs and practices were not only incorporated into the design of homes, but also into the construction through Lakota leadership and ceremonies.

In other words, I lived and breathed this project. Three months of living 50 meters away from our site, constant interaction with the community, knowing what material were available, where they wanted the entrance of each home, experiencing how crazy the weather was, and attending cultural ceremonies only locals were allowed. Nothing gives you more of an understanding of what the project should be than immersing yourself completely. Architecture is more than just designing.  It’s about people, building relationships, and real understanding of how people live.

From these two experiences we can conclude that for social projects, no matter the scale, a deep site and context analysis becomes essential; a direct approach to the community and their needs will help expand the potential benefits that can be brought.

It gives a direct approach to the urban life of a place; understanding and observing not only physical conditions but the way people react and behave within a specific urban space and its surroundings.  

Entry written by Andrea Assad and Jimena Zamora, architects members of Social Proyects at Architecture For Humanity Monterrey Chapter.