The main objective of the Casalata project is to raise awareness of the problem and propose a strategy for improvement of the living conditions of less fortunate families through urban planning. Whilst producing the Casalata film we became aware of the extent of the difficulties endured by the families living in the tin houses. The poor living conditions of the spaces coupled with a sense of hopelessness and social marginalisation felt by the residents who have little choice but to live illegally, lead us to expand the project and establish a line of action divided into three stages:
· Firstly – produce a survey of the methods of construction and social organisation of the existing urban process in order to identify the positive factors and re-use them as tools in the development of the project for affordable social housing
· Secondly – based on the research and data from stage 1, suggest smaller scale and affordable adjustments to the existing houses in order to provide immediate improvements to the residents’ living conditions. Issues such as thermal comfort, ventilation and natural lighting of the living spaces could be addressed and made to be substantially more efficient.
· Thirdly – develop a
proposal for an affordable social housing project which incorporates the knowledge
gained during stages one and two. This project will place an emphasis on
minimising the environmental impact of the buildings and neighbourhoods and
also on educating the residents by making them aware of their role in
maintaining their urban conditions.
The intention is to bring
together all the information in a publication along with the original short
film ‘Casalata’:
