1

GERMAN SAMPER GNECCOPresented to the

School of Architecture, University of OklahomaNorman, Oklahoma

April 2003

POPULAR HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICAReflections on Low Income Habitat

2

3

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

INDIVIDUAL DESIGN, TYPOLOGIES IN ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PAT-TERN

BALANCE OF A LIFE’S WORK

1. The Legacy

2. An experimental project self-build (La Fragua Neighborhood)

Theoretical research. Low rise housing in high density.

3. Housing groups. A new typology in architecture is imposed. PREVI Contest in Peru.

4. Return to the regular grid - Alternate networks: A new urban model.

5. METROVIVIENDA: An urban development model

6. Urban Enclosure– Public space CIUDADELA REAL DE MINAS and CIUDADELA COLSUBSIDIO

4

5

A conference by a Latin American architect to an American School of Architecture on the topic of low income housing needs to be preceded by some reflections to frame the context in which we work.

The work of a professional architect is very different, if we take into account the social and economic environment of the countries called underdeveloped, which is the same as saying poor countries.

The world is globalized and divided in two big groups: the developed countries such as the United States, Japan and some European countries, and the rest of the countries in process of development holding different de-grees of poverty in various continents, such as Latin America, Africa and Asia. It is known that an economically rich minority controls the world economy in a high percentage.

Our countries are also characterized in-ternally by unbalanced income distribution among the population which, in turn has given rise to the formation of two different social and economic groups. The known as the formal sector reaches the levels of developed countries, but is a minority, and the informal sector which can reach up to 70% of the urban population and lives below poverty levels.

INTRODUCTIONPOPULAR HOUSING IN LATIN AMERICA

The XX century was the century where big cities emerged; the century of urbanization. However, this growth was characterized by the creation of wide informal sectors which surrounded the old urban outskirts, creating enormous suburbs of pov-erty, but against many opinions, they have found solutions to different problems that the govern-ments were not able to resolve such as housing, supplies, many services, transportation. They have found very ingenious and practical solutions.

6

Those sectors can also generate jobs and constitute a complete and complex culture that lives together, day by day with the formal sector.

Low income housing, is my definition for the habitat of the informal sector, and it has nothing to do with the concept that the formal sector of our countries and the developed countries use.

Housing in North America, is essentially the space designed as a residence for a family. It gets the warm name of home. The process of commercialization is clear; it is a product of the market for which it is designed, built and sold for and usually paid during a period of many years. It consists of a living room, next to a very well equipped kitchen with several appliances, rooms, bathrooms, maybe a study and a double garage. It can be heated in winter and cooled in summer. It is located on a lot with a generous front yard and separated from its neighbors. It has access by car through wide roads.

Low income housing in our countries is completely different. More than a product, designed, built and sold by professionals, which also exists, it is merely a process in which the users themselves intervene. It gen-erally starts as an illegal urbanization without urban public services; people buy and build a refuge, which little by little is transformed

into a construction where residential uses are developed, and jobs and a variety of ad-ditional incomes are produced. Therefore we could say that these houses are:

1. Self-constructed2. Of progressive development3. Productive

4. Without credits or loans5. Constructed while people live in it, during

long periods of time6. Built with primary technologies but gener-

ally with good materialsThe urban communities that this housing

7

system creates is a neighborhood almost self sufficient, full of activities and urban life in constant development; they are never finished.

The differences of concept and costs are tremendous. To give you an idea of what I’m referring to, I have done some speculative comparative exercises between an apart-ment of the formal sector in our country and a typical house in North America, with low income housing.

First Example. In the newspaper of our country there are two types of houses for sale:

Housing for the formal sector (or high income groups). An apartment of 150 M2 (Square meters) with 3 bedrooms. The cost starts at U$140,000. Low income housing, with a cost of U$4,000, with a subsidy by the government of U$2,300. How many low-income houses can be built with the price of high-income apartment? 35 houses.

8

Second Example. A house in Boston for a young couple that wants three bedrooms costs one million dollars. It means 3,000 mil-lion Colombian Pesos. How many low-income houses can be bought with that money? 250 houses, or an entire neighborhood.

Colombian architects work for the two sec-tors. We do it for the formal sector, designing luxurious apartments, houses in neighbor-hoods of the type of the Garden City (today there are less), office buildings, malls, uni-versities etc.

We have examples of architecture that can be exhibited at international shows. Also we have to work for the informal sector and for the people with low income. Personally, I have been working in this topic for 40 years, in a research process and I have reached a series of conclusions of general interest.

9

House La Queja - Cali, ColombiaArchitect: Benjamín Barney

Ciudadela Real de Minas Esguerra, Sáenz y Samper Architects

The same architectural design could reach different levels of significance. If we think of a standard urban lot, the rule is that archi-tects will focus the design in a specific way, based on the reality of the place, climate, program, technology, which will produce a unique piece. The result is a quality house to be used by a citizen.

But in a similar lot, an architect could design a serial houses. The design has a different fo-cus; he needs to look for spaces for different users, for a mass construction, and therefore the notion of typology in architecture appears. This same design has greater significance and the project extends to the layout and the urban space it conforms.

Finally in a third level of design, the architect discovers that his architectural typology re-quires a new urban structure that needs to be configured. That is how the urban pattern appears, which means a radical change in the body of the city.

The individual design is unique; the design of an architectural typology transcends the scope of a repetitive unit and multiple varia-tions; the urban pattern transforms the urban structure.

The most eloquent example that we have in Latin America is with the urban pattern of the reticular city and architectural typology of the courtyard, which flourishes in our countries. Architectural designs are the intellectual

INDIVIDUAL DESIGN, TYPOLOGIES OF ARCHITECTURE AND URBAN PATTERNS

10

Mompox, Colombia

property of the author, whereas architectural typologies and urban patterns are of collective property. The layout plans of the Spaniards in America based on the Laws of Indies, became generic, anonymous and belongs to the collective urban language.

When you work with a piece of land and a program, the tendency is to find unique solutions; when you do theoretical research the tendency is to look for typolo-gies and patterns.

However, when people use typologies, they are inter-nally transformed into unique and personalized spaces. The same damerous grid implanted by the Hispanic colonists, when evolved produced different cities. We could say that our Latin American cities are all the same, and at the same time, all different.

Urban Typologies

11

Antigua, Guatemala Popayán, Colombia

12

I have enough years of experience that allow me for a self-criticism balance of my work; it has been done during my own time, in dif-ferent periods, with many ideas that were forgotten, and other ones which years later, produced some fruit. Today I feel that many of my sketches that had theoretical ideas, where like seeds that, with the passing of time, and in good soil, were fruitful, in other hands, transformed as a communal patri-mony, and at the same time in examples of good architecture within typologies and new urban patterns.

I want to tell you that many of these ideas are not exclusive. In other countries there are similar considerations, which enrich and confirm my proposals.

Today, I have made the effort of summarizing in six points the evolution of my thinking as an introduction to my lecture.

1. The Legacy. When by 1955 I started working as a professional in my country, there were two models, two paradigms in the field of architecture for housing. One was the Garden City, born in England which later created the urban culture of the United States, and the other one the Green City, in big blocks precompiled by the CIAM group and headed by Le Corbusier. None of these two had practical applications for my concept to low income housing.

2. In 1958, my wife and I did a self

help-self build project of 100 houses for low-income people. We tripled the number of units. The direct contact with the users (homeowners) and the fact that the density of the housing was tripled, turned around completely my professional interests. After a theoretical research which took two years, I concluded that in Colombia and Latin America, we should have a new alternative, a new paradigm.

3. In few years, these theories were made Laws at Municipal level when I was elected Councilman for the city of Bogota. They were called “Agrupaciones de Vivienda” ( Hous-ing clusters), and with time they displaced individual housing urbanization systems. Some have had good results and some have suffered condemned abuses.

4. For a study on Minimal Laws of Ur-banization, I proposed to return to the use of orthogonal networks which have persisted throughout history, but with a double network that I called “Alternate Networks” (Redes Alternas). Thirty years later they have an important application in Bogota.

5. “Urban Enclosure” (Recinto Urbano). The research had an unexpected turnover when I discovered that more than designing volumes, we should emphasize on the public spaces the volumes created themselves.

6. Currently I’m writing a book on hous-ing. The buildings designed years ago have

BALANCE OF A LIFE’S WORK

evolved into unfortunate aesthetic results from our own point of view. On the other hand, they have had spectacular transforma-tions in the development of the families. In this publication I will emphasize in the user instead of the construction itself. I think that this new focus could change the way we envision low income housing.

13

14

Housing Unit - Marsella - Le CorbusierBrasilia English Garden City

In December of 1954, I returned to Co-lombia after working for six years at Le Corbusier’s Atelier in Paris. I had in my head, as a cultural knowledge, in the field of architecture and urbanism, and in particular what related to housing, the theory of big blocks of housing under the term “Green City”. I lived in the building designed by Le Corbusier in Marseille and participated in contests where these types of units were considered. I studied specific articles in which the Swiss-French master proposed the advantages of these types of buildings compared to little houses within the Garden City type that the English had experimented in their country.

In Paris, developing the project for the Master Plan of Bogota, I remember draw-ing with Rogelio Salmona big blocks which would destroy the historic part of the city; we saw this suggestion always as an uto-pia idea.

Also in my mind I had my travel sketches, which under the advice of the master I had done in different European countries while traveling.

The Mayor of Bogota and his consultants

1. THE LEGACY

had expressed their concern to Le Cor-busier about the problem of housing for the poor. The architect gave as an answer in the Master Plan the design of two-story houses aligned along a corridor with nar-row fronts oriented in similar way as it is used in countries with seasons. Without knowing it, Le Corbusier marked the start-ing point of a research that would last all my life.

15

La Fragua - Neighborhood, Bogotá, ColombiaIn 1958, my wife and I started a project on popular housing through directed self aid –self build program. It was the first in Co-lombia. We had the advice of the Organiza-tion of American States Center on housing, known as CINVA - Centro Interamericano de Vivienda- and a governmental credit institu-tion called “Instituto de Crédito Territorial –ICT”. This later one, sold the lot and lends the money for the construction. It was born as the dream of a woman and ended being inaugurated by the President of the Republic, Alberto Lleras Camargo. It has the following impact:

It served as inspiration to the architect Jorge Gaitán Cortés, Councilman of Bogota during that time, and later Mayor of the city, to create a plan called “Accion Comunal” (Mutual Aid), proving that people could help in the construction of their own environment.

It served as an example for the ICT-

2. AN EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTED SELF AID- SELF BUILT PROJECT

Instituto de Crédito Territorial (a National Housing Agency) to start projects by self-con-struction at a national level which increased the rates of housing growth throughout the country.

The follow up of this community dur-ing the last 45 years has demonstrated its complete physical transformation, confirming that the popular sector has its own concep-tion of what a house is; very different from the proposals that we architects can make. The potential for these families for their own development allows me to call this phenom-enon as the “richness of the poor”.

16

If physically we are very far to achieve the desired environmental levels, and an ad-equate quality of life, socially the phenomena becomes a positive change. Housing has demonstrated to be, in a high percentage of the houses under study, a formidable instru-ment of consolidation and promotion of the family itself.

In the majority of these homes, the new generations have left the neighborhood, and the children of the original self-construc-tors who were taxi drivers, “serenateros” (people who would give serenades), hair dressers, plumbers, carpenters, shoemak-ers, are most of them professionals, some of them with successful careers even in foreign countries.

Personally, the experiment at La Fragua, was the fuse which led me to start an urban research, which started with the objective to increase the density in construc-tion with low rise, sensing that this would be the leading path for the urbanization of Latin American cities. I made the decision to study this topic as a contribution to serve the less privileged income groups (low income groups).

Typical block layout (40 V) y Layout (100 V)

17

To take the pencil, the T ruler, the set of tri-angles, do theoretical exercises of groups of houses looking to increase the density, be-came an obsession as well as a professional pleasure. They were theoretical exercises, without a definite client, without a known lot. A doctrine was taking shape, a theory was configured. I found similar researches in articles, and books I was compiling. This work was published in the magazine Escala No. 17 and the hypothesis went out to the public light.

In a diagram that continues to be current, I had suggested that we were in the pres-ence of a new form of spatial occupation, different from the existing paradigms for the moment.

On one hand, we had the high rise housing policies proclaimed by CIAM- the modern movement in Europe-, which proposed high density to avoid the rise of peripheral resi-dences, and on the other hand, housing of the type of the Garden City, already ad-opted by North America and still current.1

This last one truly constitutes the suburb civilization. It occupies big extensions of land with low density housing, without a sense of

THEORETICAL RESEARCH - LOW RISE HIGH DENSITY HOUSING

1 In USA suburbs are being critized and more compact forms and

better urban developments are being promoted under the “ new

urbanism” concepts.

18

city, very high costs, dependent on the car, and therefore needing an extensive network of highways.

The new suggested theory, high density with low rise is an economical formula al-lowing the development of individual houses, creating on top of it, a sense of community and an urban system which allows the con-solidation of a city.

Low income housing found then an urban pattern suitable for its nature:

It has to be self-build

It can be constructed as a progressive development

It can be productive

Three postulates which are “the secret of the poor” in regards to the growth of their habitat.

19

Barrio Carimagua - Bogotá, Colombia 1964 Housing Cluster -Las Brujas - Medellín, Colombia 1984

3. HOUSING CLUSTERS

In 1966 I was elected Councilman of Bogota and I had the opportunity to transform into Municipal Laws what, up to that point, were only theoretical proposals and discussions in specialized magazines. I was a deponent of the municipal agreement that was approved under the Number 82/67 in which, in only two articles, authorization was given to construct housing clusters, a new architectural typology unknown at that moment.

Only 20 years later, a new generation of architects discovered that this architectural formula, could be a source of work. Many architects became developers and designers of this new form of habitat, which had both individual and collective housing schemes. The system turned out to be a very good business for the developers, and was well received by users. It is known today with the common term as “conjuntos cerrados” (en-closed residential complex, condos or gated communities), sold under the argument of offering security. Time has shown that some abuses were committed by closing down public streets, and it opened the discussion among professionals for using this resource incorrectly.

20

Previ ContestLater municipal agreements have set new rules to these groupings and its use has been so extended, that in Bogota there are few individual lots, in the formal sector.

These groupings have emerged mainly among the middle class population, where there are property rules to control the messy growth of housing units. In mass residential complexes, we are only starting through cur-rent governmental policies to provide through state subsidies low income housing to what we call “viviendas de interes social”.

21

PREVI – A CONTEST IN LIMA, PERUIn 1969, by request of the Peruvian President, Fernando Belaunde Terry, the organization of the United Nations opened a contest on the topic of popular housing for 1,500 units. The only requirement was to propose individual housing with a progressive development and looking for the highest possible density.

It was a private contest, in which by invitation worldwide architects participated. Our group was the only one from Latin America. Later on, PREVI was transformed into a construc-tion laboratory, where 50 or 60 units were built from each project. The theory of low height high density housing acquired inter-national citizenship.

Previ Contest

22

A NEW URBAN PATTERN (1971)

The National Housing Institute - ICT- re-quested from an interdisciplinary group of professionals the study of the minimum rules of urbanization. I was the only architect.

The goal of the study was to analyze the rise of spontaneous urbanizations in the city, and to propose alternatives to the laws to this form of growth within the city. The theory of low rise housing with high density could be completely applicable, and if was therefore demonstrated, that the infrastructure was more economical.

To make an appropriate quantification of the costs, it was necessary to have a theoretical model. It was in this model that following design criteria were taken:

Individual lot sizes had to be reduced, and a typology of them were selected. Square and rectangular lots were placed along local streets.

That design criteria returned to grid patterns, this time with a double alternate grid. One continuous grid making blocks 200 X 200 Mts, surrounded by vehicular streets appropriate for vehicular speeds, and a discontinuous one, 100 X 100 Mts, for pedestrians, bicycles and restricted vehicular access.

4. RETURN TO THE GRID. ALTERNATE NETWORKS.

23

Theoretical Model

Alternate Networks

It was also demonstrated that public infrastructure services could be build by phases and progressively as in informal ur-ban low income housing development only that it was technically thought, designed and build.

For many years each municipality had spe-cialized offices were “Minimum Urban Laws” were applied. However due to speculation of developers and requirements of public ser-vice bureaus, these agencies disappeared.

The theoretical model still was studied and applied at academicals levels and in time was left in a drawer. 30 years later, it was spectacularly rediscovered.

24

A modEL oF URBAN dEvELoPmENT

After many years of efforts and trials, Co-lombia has today a Housing Policy for its low income housing programs, which under the risk of making this speech long and boring, will clarify many things. I will summarize it:

1. Back in 1987 through the Act 388 Ter-ritorial Regulatory Plans (POT) for each municipality were required. They should show clear areas for low income housing programs. It also creates Bank of Land in each municipality that would acquire ap-propriate lands at controlled real estate costs or under quick expropriation poli-cies.

2. Enrique Peñalosa Londoño Mayor of Bogota led the POT, becoming one of the most beloved and good city administra-tor.

3. As the Bank of Land for Bogota under POT laws, Metrovivienda was created. It has acquired empty lands making big-ger urban areas suitable for larger urban developments.

5. METROVIVIENDA: CIUDADELA EL RECREO - 30 years later

25

2 Guillermo Perry, Konrad Bruner y Eduardo Samper

El Modelo - 1971

La Realización 2001

4. For the first test, Metrovivienda, called for a public contest. I was a consultant for the group which later won the first prize.2 I proposed my theory on Alternate grids, which as an idea of an Urban Pat-tern, conceived 30 years ago, and had a surprisingly new application.

5. Once the urban layout was developed, infrastructure was constructed. Today Metrovivienda sells lots of minimum 1 Hectare with all public services to private investors and developers. The housing units are given by means of three contri-butions: a saving program for each family, a governmental subsidy and, bank loans, planned for 15 years. The first housing units were already given away.

6. The houses are initially small units, which owners will develop and finish in time on their own.

This way a housing program becomes a chain were legislative, municipal, a Bank of land, private entrepreneurs and the owner play together the game.

26

27

28

When you design an urban compact com-plex you can observe immediately that the constructed volumes are not isolated but form continues volumes. In that moment, volumetry is not just an addition of isolated units, and what you start to perceive is the separation between constructed areas and open space or voids. In that case empty spaces are important; in other words, public space makes its appearance.

Once the problem of high density was solved I started my research on the public space, that I have called Urban Enclosure, to dif-ferentiate it from the open public spaces, such as main streets and parks. With this title I wrote a book that is now-a-days in its second edition and it is used at universities for case studies.

As the result of this theory, my firm has de-signed two urban complexes.

6. URBAN ENCLOSURE - THE PUBLIC SPACE 1977

29

30

CIUDADELA REAL DE MINAS Bucaramanga, ColombiaIn an old airport in the city of Bucarmanga an urban complex was designed of certain magnitude taking advantage of its magnifi-cent location in relation to the city. 3

I was part of the team of advisors for the housing part. Where the two runways met, I proposed the construction of a closed plaza in the shape of an octagon, formed by five-story blocks of houses, and a big avenue with paramented architecture and regulated as the Rivoli street in Paris. The plaza was constructed but not the avenue. Simultaneously, in one of the quadrants of the complex, in a triangular shape, a project of housing was developed, in a lot of 7 x 7 Mts. that shaped streets and constructions. It was partially done. Unfortunately, the lack of continuity of public administrations is a factor that hinders long term projects.

3 Urban Project developed by ETA, Consultécnicos y Patricio Samper

31

32

CIUDADELA COLSUBSIDIO Bogotá, ColombiaI was assigned the urban project of an entity called Colsubsidio, an organization which subsidizes working families with medical, education, recreation and medical services at low costs. It is a terrain suitable for 14,000 dwellings. It is been constructed in phases and started several years ago. At the begin-ning we constructed individual houses and apartments. For the last years only apart-ments have been built, because higher density is required to compensate higher costs. Due to its excellent location, Colsub-sidio would like to offer these housing units to families of high levels within families that can be favored by a subsidy.

The lot is located between two urbanizations already built; it had to comply with a series of requirements to converge the city road sys-tem, and it makes the urban road structure a complex network. For the main access, it was proposed a parkway so that at the center a pedestrian street could be constructed, in this way the principle of alternate networks was created.

The project was divided into five areas, cir-cular super-blocks, to facilitate car flow. In

each block groups of150 to 180 houses were designed, with parking in the center.

The whole project envisions an integral com-plex, having services such as a day care, a K to 12 grade school, commerce, church and a recreational area of 12 hectares.

The priority in this project was the design of the public space. Continuous architecture complies with this idea.

33

34

35

GERmAN SAmPER GNECCo

Architect

Architect of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Worked at the atelier of Le Corbusier.

Dean of the School of Architecture of Universidad de Los Andes.

President of the Colombian Society of Architects.

President and principal of the Interamerican Planning Society.

Partner of Esguerra Saenz y Samper for 45 years.

Currently partner of German y Ximena Samper Arquitectos.

Former Councilman of Bogotá.

Publications:

“Recinto Urbano - La Humanización de la Ciudad” - Editorial Escala

“La Arquitectura y La Ciudad - Apuntes de Viaje” - Editorial Escala

“Una Nueva Ciudad - Ciudadela Real de Minas” - Editorial Escala

“Mompox - Isla en el Tiempo” - Diego Samper Ediciones