frida kahlo

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Frida Kahlo Architectural Attitude


“I think that little by little I’ll be able to solve my problems and survive” Frida Kahlo, Letter to Nickolas Muray 19/12/1939


Frida Kahlo painting her unknown work: ‘‘TOKI dwellings’’


Frida Kahlo Architectural Attitude

Frida Kahlo de Rivera born Magdalena Carmen Frieda Kahlo y Calderón; July 6, 1907 – July 13, 1954

Mexican Artist.

On September 17th, 1925, Frida Kahlo was almost killed in a terrible bus accident. The violent crash had terrible sequels, breaking her spinal column, pelvis, and right leg. It also damaged her uterus, causing her to lose her reproductive ability.

The artist’s self portrait: “The broken column” is a ruthless testimony of the suffering that accompanied all her life.

The artist has depicted herself with her nude torso surrounded by a brutal body cast, while a cruel breach in his body allows us to observe how a stone column -broken into several pieces- is replacing her spinal column, symbolizing the consequences of the terrible bus accident.


“The broken column” // Oil on Masonite 39,8cm X 30,6cm // 1944


Izmit 1999 & Van 2011

Last decade, Turkey faced two major earthquakes, causing several victims among the population (17.000 for Izmit in 1999 and 600 for Van in 2011).These earthquakes showed the weakness of construction quality and planning in the country, pushing the government to vote new regulations in order to avoid such disasters in the future.


Van (Turkey) Earthquake aftermath 2011


Urban transformation

With the recent speeding of economy and real estate investments in Turkey, and especially in Istanbul, recent years faced the birth of a new trend: Urban transformation.

Supported by the ‘’Disaster risk law’’ aiming to create earthquake proof buildings, these urban operations quickly showed their dark side: Wild gentrification.

Examples such as the recent case of Sulukule in Istanbul, and many others, demonstrated how the current operational mode strains to expulse lower classes to the edges of the cities, and replacing them by soul less neighborhoods for upper middle classes.

One doesn’t need to be a prophet to foresee the future social tensions that will result of this way of envisioning architecture and urban planning especially with the application of models such as high rise social housings or upper class gated communities.


Urban transformation’s different faces. Istanbul // Turkey


On the other hand, an environmental issue must also be considered.

Effectively, experts are estimating the ‘’Disaster risk law’’ planning to demolish and rebuild 7.000.000 Dwellings in Turkey during the next 20 years will generate 10.000.000 tons of solid waste.

This means a total of 660.000 trucks (15T)Or 33.000 trucks per yearOr 91 trucks, riding 24/7 during the next 20 years and consuming an estimated amount of 7.500.000 liters of fuel just to transport wastes.


91 trucks riding 24/7 during the next 20 years just to move waste.


Frida Kahlo Architectural Attitude // Case Study #1: ‘’Harmandere’’ neighborhood / Istanbul

The Harmandere neighborhood is located on the Asian part of Istanbul. This settlement, composed of Gece kondu and apart kondu is bordering the site of the future ‘’Techno Park’’, described as Turkey’s future Silicon Valley

This delicate position is currently a source of concern for the economically weak inhabitants of Harmandere.


Frida Kahlo Architectural Attitude // Case Study #1: ‘’Harmandere’’ neighborhood / Istanbul


The Frida Kahlo Architectural Attitude seeks alternative ways to envision urban transformation and the buildings’ upgrade to match earthquake proof qualities, by preserving the social fabric in the cities. This attitude can also guaranty a better preservation of the environment and avoid Turkey to increase its foreign debt by an abusive consumption of fossil energies.

Plot 1 - Apart kondu Plot 2 - Gece kondu

Structural weakness points


Case Study #1: Plot 1 & 2


The Fridak Kahlo Architectural Attitude is inspired by the artist’s body cast.

This steel structure is seen as an exoskeleton build around existing buildings. This skeleton allows to reinforce the building’s structure weak points with the help of suspension lines. The use of these suspension lines can permit the intervention while the building is still occupied, or can be performed without causing the displacement of the inhabitants during a long period.

Exoskeleton // Steel structure + foundations


Case Study #1: Plot 1 & 2


This steel structure is seen as an exoskeleton build around existing buildings. This skeleton allows to reinforce the building’s structure weak points with the help of suspension lines.

The use of these suspension lines can permit the intervention while the building is still occupied, or can be performed without envisioning the displacement of the inhabitants during a long period.

Structural reinforcement


Case Study #1: The exoskeleton


The space created within this new structure on the upper part can be devoted to the creation of new inhabitable spaces. The income provided by this space can partly finance the operation’s financial costs.

This model can also permit to escape the usual real estate development models by providing the inhabitants the opportunity to join their local forces and create cooperative approaches and land shares. The process will allow to relocate all the inhabitants in their environment after completion.

Plot 2 dwelling relocated into the exoskeleton


Case Study #1: Extra inhabitable space within the structure


For example, if two plot owners join their forces such as in the ‘’Harmandere Case Study’’ the new free land gained by the process could be used as kitchen garden and provide extra income to the families, whom can use the ground floor space as a greengrocer space.

Freed land transformed into a kitchen garden


Case Study #1: Freed land transformed into a kitchen garden


On the last step, the exoskeleton can be architecturally modified to offer extra thermal comfort by the creation of a double skin.

Double skin composed of polycarbonate panels

Thermal insulation


Case Study #1: Implementation of a double skin in light and cheap meterials


Moreover, the created green area will improve the rain water penetration into the soil and preserve the urban ecosystem.

History of architecture is made of monuments, mankind’s history has been written in trivial buildings.

Better rain water penetration into the soil

Opportunity to create a Greengrocer shop

for extra income for the inhabitants


Case Study #1: Completed


Check out more urban utopias to come on: http://sinan-logie.blogspot.com/p/the-book-of-transformations.html

frida kahlo

Documents

spinal column

urban planning

stone column

urban operations

urban transformationwith

comthe broken column

terrible bus accident

recent years