Introduction: Augustine Owusu-Ansah
Neighborhood Strategy
(Extract from 5000 for 5000 Affordable Housing Entry)
The provision of housing is architecture’s primordial assignment whose parameters have changed over time and with context. Presently, the housing question provides intensified and new challenges in the shape of deepening inequality, increased urbanisation and the need to mitigate both the causes and effects of climate change. The on-going Covid-19 pandemic is a reminder to address public health issues and of the possibility of future pandemics. In all of this, the poorest in society remain the most vulnerable: the homeless, mentally-ill, people seeking refuge and the lowest income earners.
S. Tetteh + Associates’ approach to social/low cost housing design has been shaped by the following:
Firstly, we hold an expanded view of who the client is. Aside the end-user and the developer commissioning the project, we consider the community (including its social fabric and economy) as a co-client with particular needs. This often includes re-vitalisation of areas and the chance of establishing and sustaining local industry through the housing project. The environment represents a sort of “pseudo-client” that invests resources and deserves conscientious use of said resources and a return of low impact during the project lifecycle. We look out for opportunities to accomplish these within each context.
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We consider housing provision as a tool for poverty alleviation. Housing studies have cited that children of homeowners enjoy the latent benefits of improved performance in school, reduced occurrence of teenage pregnancy and a higher likelihood of becoming a homeowner themselves. For our 5000 for 5000 Affordable Housing Prototype, we explored ways of actively enabling residents to earn an income through common trades such as hairdressing and tailoring by including a multipurpose outdoor space in each home and proposing the use of “leftover space” within the neighbourhood for such commercial activity.
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One size does not fit all. Lastly, we visualise the social housing landscape as non-uniform, requiring a catalogue of solutions for various scenarios. Schemes that lend themselves to different modes of financing, construction and occupancy are better suited to prevent exclusion. We are currently exploring housing that can be implemented through traditional means, such as mortgages, or packaged as self-build and community-build schemes; helping close-knit low income communities take advantage of the currency they possess: social currency.
See all the top-place winners of the Shelter Afrique's 5000 for 5000 Affordable Housing Competition here.
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 Elli Mosayebi, Edelaar Mosayebi Inderbitzin Architects (BP2022 Juror): vacancy – no vacancy project. "The two built-in platforms contain numerous storage compartments for personal belongings." (See Essay Question: Introductions by jurors.)
 Onizuka Crossing Housing, David Baker Architects, San Francisco, 2016. The result of a partnership between MidPen Housing and the City of Sunnyvale, California, U.S.A., Onizuka Crossing provides 58 low-income working families with new, affordable rental homes in Sunnyvale, the heart of the Silicon Valley. Twenty-nine units are reserved for formerly homeless individuals and their families. (See: https://www.dbarchitect.com/project_detail/178/Onizuka%20Crossing%20Family%20Housing.html) Photo credit: ©Bruce Damonte.from DBArchitect.com.
 Onizuka Crossing Housing, David Baker Architects, 2016. "Former homeless residents receive extensive supportive services in collaboration with the Santa Clara County Department of Behavioral Health and the U.S. Veterans Administration Palo Alto Healthcare System... Onizuka Crossing is a prime example of infill development, transforming a U.S. National Guard armory building into supportive, permanent affordable housing." (See: https://www.dbarchitect.com/project_detail/178/Onizuka%20Crossing%20Family%20Housing.html) Photo credit: ©Bruce Damonte from DBArchitect.com.
 S. Tetteh + Associates Architects, Accra, Ghana. Low-cost housing project for rangers and conservation staff at the Bia and Ankasa Reserves, Juabeso-Bia district, southwest Ghana.
 S. Tetteh + Associates Architects, Accra, Ghana. Low-cost housing project for rangers and conservation staff at the Bia and Ankasa Reserves, Juabeso-Bia district, southwest Ghana.  Fondazione Housing Sociale, Milan, Italy: The Housing Foundation developed a class to help future residents form a collaborative community in their housing development. Research by Dorit Fromm, Writer, Architect, BP2022 Juror: (See Essay Question: Introductions by jurors.)
 From the manual "Starting Up Communities, A Design Kit for Collaborative Housing," Fondazione Housing Sociale, Milan, Italy. Research by Dorit Fromm, Author, Architect, BP2022 Juror: (See Essay Question: Introductions by jurors.)
 Mehr als Wohnen, Switzerland: Childcare and afterschool care are located on the ground floor level of the housing, as well as a café and other neighborhood services. Research by Dorit Fromm, Author, Architect, BP2022 Juror: (See Essay Question: Introductions by jurors.)
      Williams Terrace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A., Architect of Record, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.A. /Design Architect, David Baker Architect, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., 2017. "Williams Terrace won the 2019 American Institute of Architects/Housing and Urban Development Secretary's Housing and Community Design Award for Excellence in Affordable Housing Design. This singular nation-wide award recognizes architecture that demonstrates overall excellence in terms of design in response to both the needs and constraints of affordable housing... Wide porches that double as circulation offer places to sit, meet in passing, and personalize a bit of outdoor space." (See: https://www.dbarchitect.com/project_detail/176/Williams%20Terrace%20.html) Photo credit: Chris Luker from DBArchitect.com.
 Williams Terrace, Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.A., Architect of Record, McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.A. /Design Architect, David Baker Architect, San Francisco, California, U.S.A., 2017. "The design team worked closely with the Housing Authority of the City of Charleston to create a dynamic building that meets the challenges of the site—located in a high-velocity flood zone—and respects the gracious built fabric of downtown historic Charleston... Apartments connect to the wide circulation porches, which have room for some personal touches." (See: https://www.dbarchitect.com/project_detail/176/Williams%20Terrace%20.html) Photo credit: Chris Luker from DBArchitect.com.
 Vindmøllebakken, 40-unit cohousing project, Stavanger, Norway, 2019. Designed by founding architects Siv Helene Stangeland and Reinhard Kropf of Norwegian firm Helen & Hard. The architects now live in Vindmøllebakken. Photo credit: Minna Soujoki Langbord/Courtesy of Helen & Hard via Editon.CNN.com
 Vindmøllebakken, 40-unit cohousing project, Stavanger, Norway, 2019. In addition to Vindmøllebakken (see previous slide), Helen & Hard are reported to having five other cohousing projects in the works. Photo credit: Sindre Ellingsen/Courtesy of Helen & Hard via Edition.CNN.com
 Easter Hill Village, Richmond, U.S.A., 1954. Demolished, 2004. "It was the most significant public effort to provide affordable permanent housing for many families displaced by demolition of temporary World War II housing. It was the first multi-unit residential development to combine the twin themes of the planned unit development with the individuation of units... and the care given to integrating a multi-unit residential development to its site." Historic American Buildings Survey, Library of Congress, U.S.A. (See: https://www.loc.gov/item/ca3350/)
 Richmond Village (formerly Easter Hill Village - see previous slide), California, U.S.A., 2008. "The goal for the …Richmond Village project was to turn 300 units of crime-ridden, run-down public housing into a vital neighborhood anchored by a community center and public open space. The development was originally built in 1954 and was a model of public housing until neglect, crime and poverty took over. The Richmond Housing Authority together with Richmond Village…residents collaborated to re-construct a vision of community. The vision included open/community space with mixed-income housing; 100% of the rental housing is affordable, with 70% allocated for public housing residents. The for-sale family homes have a mix of low, moderate and market-rate housing." (See: https://www.nibbi.com/projects/richmond-village/)
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