The year 2022 was marked by several socio-cultural and economic crises across the globe, from the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the increasing cost of living worldwide, combined with a number of natural disasters such as the devastating floods in Pakistan and hurricane Ian in the US. In these difficult times, architects are stepping up and embracing their role in developing design-based solutions to humanitarian crises, ranging from temporary shelters and affordable housing schemes to centers for protecting at-risk groups such as homeless underage girls, children from low-income environments, or families in need of medical care.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that engage with their local communities, offering safe spaces for disadvantaged and at-risk groups. From a sanctuary for homeless girls in Iraq to an affordable housing project in Prague’s first skyscraper, this selection features projects centered around people, their needs, and desires. Many of the projects employ local materials such as clay bricks to lower the construction costs. They also reuse existing buildings and hope to engage the local community in building and appropriating the proposed spaces.
Read on to discover 10 socially engaged projects, along with their descriptions from the architects.
Vimukti Sansthan School, Jagannath Pura, Chaksu, Jaipur
Vimukti Sanstha, a registered not-for-profit society, is an initiative to combat and overcome the discrimination against the girl child through equitable education and overall development. Started in 2004, Vimukti Sanstha’s Vimukti Girls’ School (VGS) is an RBSE-affiliated school providing education to 600 students of low-income families and slums. Considering that this project had a limited budget and was to be built by people's donations, we did not plan "a build and donate" scenario and instead opted for a participation method of Construction that would promote sustainable development and produce social, economic, and cultural infrastructures.
New York Vertical Farm
The design of a vertical farm was inspired by Machu Picchu. The plot was divided into the longitudinal horizontal grid as natural planted fields. This line was lifted up with plans to achieve vertical terracing. The form was designed for agricultural production. Rain and sunshine contribute to the gradual change of place so that the terrace can be used most efficiently.
Jubilant Tree School
Jubilant Tree is a competition-winning proposal for a new nursery school for the children of Jubilant Tanzania’s orphanage. We propose a new school model based on a holistic approach to create opportunities for children to develop skills and confidence, living in a sustainable environment. We envision a protected, safe space to call home. Our aim is to build a community, creating the opportunity for vulnerable children to belong to a group, promoting social integration, and sharing life values.
Revitalization of Prague’s First Skyscraper
The former Palace of the General Pension Institute is one of the most prominent examples of Functionalist architecture in interwar Czechoslovakia. The revitalization addresses a sensitive reconstruction of a significant landmark in the context of various issues related to the effective functioning of modern cities. The new primary function of the originally administrative building is a medium and long-term tenancy that responds to the current housing shortage in the capital. Around six hundred basic living units designed as prefabricated modules can be combined to create various ergonomically functional spaces. Inspired by the co-living concept, the advantage of this affordable individual housing for different age groups is the accessibility of a wide range of services, such as kitchens, dining rooms, shared community spaces, playrooms, laundry, or co-working spaces.
Blossoming Heaven Girls Sanctuary in Mada’n, Iraq
The A2 Team
This year, the Dewan Award in the Tamayouz International Award 2021 Competition set the theme to design a sanctuary for homeless underage girls, as well as older female teens. In this project, we believe we can address all the emotional and physical objectives through three key architectural concepts designed to offset abandonment, loneliness, and anxiety—namely Containment, Heritage, and Nature. Heritage is understood as providing a safe and comfortable space for girls, a space that supports their health, educational and psychosocial needs and helps them to achieve their potential.
Net Zero Operational Carbon Community Centre in Toronto
The City of Toronto and Perkins&Will have unveiled the design of Toronto’s and Ontario’s first-ever net-zero operational carbon community centre, setting a new precedent for resilient civic infrastructure as one of the highest-performing facilities of its type in North America. Located in one of the city’s most culturally diverse and rapidly growing neighborhoods, the North East Scarborough Community and Child Care Centre was envisioned as a cultural hub that could meet a demand within the community for more social and recreational programming. To accommodate such diverse programming on a restricted site, Perkins&Will incorporated vertical stacking into the building’s layout. Through layering various amenities atop one another, the facility maximizes its capacity to serve the community.
Family Commons
ICRAVE, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
When completed, it will be the first-ever treatment and clinical-staff-free floor at St. Jude, offering patients and families a space to congregate, relax or nap, attend school, play music, draw or grab a cup of coffee in between clinic appointments. Dr. Downing conceptualized the Family Commons project, St. Jude clinical care providers, and the institution’s Patient Family Advisory Council members, who said families needed a place to relax and spend private time together in the space of their own between clinical appointments. The clinical care team presented the idea to hospital leadership as an extension of the holistic care provided by the institution. Working with ICRAVE, the hospital planned an innovative space that would answer these specific needs and more.
Aura Preschool
Andrea Battistoni and Anissa Le Scornet
Light and sounds of the Ethiopian rural landscape find an echo in a contemporary barn resonating with childhood memories. Materials and objects collected from all over the territory are assembled together, reused, and distorted to create a whole new story based on a collective effort. The AURA preschool becomes a recognizable element in the territory, imitating the already present buildings. It takes the form of a double hut hosting the programmatic elements of the school in a strongly sustainable structure.
Frames of Co-Living
In the synthetic process, we investigated non-programmatic spaces as one of the most essential components of collective habitation, able to accommodate all the qualities that allow life to unfold in all its nuances. Thus, the present proposal exalts the” in-between” as a space of transition and gathering based on fundamental archetypal spatial structures. Spatial archetypes such as the Agora, the Stoa, the Theater, the Atrium, the Street, Thresholds, Public and Private Rooms are composed to promote communal life through symbiosis.
La Casa dei Mandaini (The House of Tangerine)
Born on the remains of a building seized from the mafia, La Casa dei Mandarini will be returned to the community as a Cultural Center. Located in Santa Maria Imbaro, in the central-southern region of Abruzzo, in Italy, the project is by LAP Architettura. It is a place of social inclusion and a safe space for people living in marginal conditions. It supports female and generational empowerment. It promotes an anti-violence culture and fights all forms of discrimination.
HOW TO SUBMIT AN UNBUILT PROJECT
We highly appreciate the input from our readers and are always happy to see more projects designed by them. If you have an Unbuilt project to submit, click here and follow the guidelines. Our curators will review your submission and get back to you in case it is selected for a feature.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on December 29, 2022.
