Housing is a fundamental aspect of architecture, providing shelter, which is essential for everyone. In urban environments, addressing the housing challenge is both urgent and complex. Social housing initiatives aim to provide a substantial portion of the population with access to this fundamental architectural concept: a home.
Social housing poses a dual challenge: it serves as a canvas for architectural experimentation on both medium and large scales, exemplified by projects like Affonso Eduardo Reidy's Pedregulho, contemporaneous with Le Corbusier's Unite d'Habitation, or the ill-fated Pruitt-Igoe by Minoru Yamasaki. Simultaneously, it reflects the voracious and commodifying aspects of the real estate market, often prioritizing cost-efficient construction materials and execution quality.
As the field of architecture ideally centers around a social ethic, serving the needs of its occupants, and operates within a multidisciplinary framework, relying on resources from various fields and embracing innovation in both form and materials, it is essential to examine how these principles are applied in the context of social housing.
In the context of economic challenges, particularly in Brazil, and the pressing environmental concerns, the question arises: Can we employ cost-effective materials that align with sustainability while creating architecturally significant projects? Presently, there is a reevaluation of 'vernacular' construction methods, encompassing a reconsideration of the materials employed in building practices.
When evaluating environmentally sustainable construction materials, wood emerges as a viable option. Can this material effectively meet the demands of large-scale and cost-effective social housing projects? While it seems possible, adopting this stance requires a reevaluation of construction and design principles, along with an examination of their associated implications.
While wooden houses have a history in Brazil, they have ceded ground to the versatility of concrete. It is important to choose building materials that have a lower impact on nature during production and disposal if the goal is to combat environmental degradation. This is where timber can take center stage as the primary construction material. Because it is lighter than concrete, it demands less foundational support, potentially resulting in cost efficiencies during construction. Additionally, sourcing wood from planted forests can contribute to carbon sequestration, which aligns with the forthcoming discussions about the carbon market. It's worth noting that the carbon market involves complex considerations and geopolitical intricacies, but it presents an opportunity for reforestation efforts.
Timber is not the first choice for prefabricated construction, but there are industrial processes that use it to create easily assembled panels and structural elements. Cross-laminated timber (CLT) is quite common in several global northern countries. Additionally, the platform system, widely used in the United States, involves a combination of structural elements, uprights, and panels made from solid timber and OSB panels. Prefabrication offers advantages such as faster construction and a cleaner construction site environment, both of which can be particularly beneficial for social housing projects.
Moreover, an 'assembly' construction system offers the flexibility to reconfigure and expand spaces, aligning with the concept of incremental construction popularized by Alejandro Aravena in his work 'Elemental.' This approach combines prefabrication using sustainable materials, which reduce the overall construction material required, with the potential for gradual expansions by residents themselves over time. This integration addresses the technical, economic, and symbolic aspects of construction. The resulting visual diversity, shaped by residents' contributions, adds richness to larger housing developments, bringing them closer to the dynamic reality of non-uniform cities. These three elements are presented as a proposal, a design challenge, and a possible prototype for future construction systems.
The primary concerns associated with timber construction relate to fire resistance and its vulnerability to various weather conditions. These are important considerations. When it comes to fire resistance, timber doesn't immediately collapse like steel when exposed to fire; it offers a certain degree of fire resistance. As the outer layer of timber burns, the core maintains its structural integrity for an extended period. To address this, the sizing of timber pieces should account for the expected reduction in the surface layer during a fire. This principle is akin to the use of carbonized timber as a treatment and protective measure. Weathering and the threat of wood-damaging agents like termites and fungi are significant concerns with wooden construction systems. However, these challenges need not be insurmountable obstacles. Proper care, treatments, regular inspections, and maintenance can significantly extend the lifespan of timber constructions, much like any other type of building material.
We should not overlook the potential of using timber in social housing. Currently, tall buildings are already incorporating engineered wood, with some projects, like Murray Grove by Waugh Thistleton Architects, completely omitting concrete. Whether timber should be the primary choice for social housing depends on the extensive and detailed program requirements. Nevertheless, it should be a carefully considered option, and construction methods should be developed to accommodate it. Examples from abroad demonstrate the construction potential of timber systems without compromising aesthetics and finishing. Universities' experimental sites and industry partnerships play a role in driving this shift in construction practices. Changing the conventional construction norms for social housing involves reevaluating architecture's responsibility to its environment.
This article is part of the ArchDaily Topics: The Future of Wood in Architecture presented by Tantimber ThermoWood.
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