This series of articles seeks to shed light on the origin of the unplanned settlements that are home to more than half of Caracas’s population, but whose stories have never been told. Multiple inhabitants were interviewed and shared their stories of struggles, overcoming hardships, constant improvement and self governance that are the origin of unplanned settlements in Venezuela.
urbz is working on the design of a house for a joint family of 38 people, on a plot of 330 Sq.mts (3500 Sq.ft) in the dense urban settlement of Dharavi Koliwada, Mumbai.
Since many years, the inhabitants of the San German neighborhood (located in Usme, in the metropolitan area of Bogota) have been developing many different projects on public space improvement and infrastructure, that permitted the amelioration of life conditions. The main goal is to promote projects of community improvement on social and cultural levels of the San German community.
urbz was involved in the design of a new community building in Dharavi.
After land and water, the old demon builds castles in the air. (The Hindu 15.09.18)
Constructing peace through community development in Bogota. (The Bogota Post, 12.05.2018.)
The 2nd Workshop in Emerging Architecture and Urbanism in Altos del Pino, Bogotá, supports the initiatives of the community for the construction of public toilets and improvement of public space.
This animation presents what Dharavi could look like if it was allowed to continue develop incrementally. All designs in the video were conceived by contractors living and working in Dharavi, Mumbai, as part of the Design Comes as We Build project.
Collaborative process between communities led by Proyecto Escape and supported by different local and international organisations
Breathing life into a community´s vision for a ¨restorative cell¨ using Bamboo
Building a Community center by understanding social dynamics and participatory planning in a homegrown neighborhood in Bogota
Update on our latest project in Dharavi for an elevated community space
Privatisation, if seen as an exclusive way to regularise settlements, increases the risk of political manipulation and real-estate speculation. (The Hindu, 29.03.17)
The future in architecture starts with a good hard look at the world as it is.
Every kaccha house transforming into a pukka house is a story worth telling – one which is extremely significant to residents and the development of the city at large.
The official target of producing millions of quality homes for all can be re-imagined, as one in which the process of construction itself becomes a transformative moment.
In collaboration with local pedreiro Ataide, the urbz team helps build a house in Paraisoplis right from digging the foundations.
While documenting the work of a local Mumbai contractor, Marie Malchow questions if a different conception of space operates during the construction process.