NEW TECHNIQUES, SOCIAL HOUSING and URBAN RESTRUCTURATION
Proyect HAR2010-18066 financed by the National Plan on R+D+i 2010

NTAC

Photos by Axel R-D / Flickr

Innovation is the successful production, assimilation and exploitation of novelty in the economic and social spheres. It offers new solutions to problems and thus makes it possible to meet the needs of both the individual and society1 NEW TECHNIQUES Dealing with masterplanning and building projects relating to the contemporary housing scene and not only relating to new form or materials. New Techniques, then, used for the concept, planning, development and building of the contemporary dwelling. SOCIAL HOUSING We term Social Housing any dwelling where there is public intervention on the housing market.

PROJECT AIMS: The main target of this research is to study the application of social housing for the restructuring and restoration of obsolete or diminished urban areas. Two main issues are to be covered: The need to restructure or restore certain urban areas to promote a compact and sustainable urban model as opposed to the sprawl of activities and housing in the territory. The need to satisfy the demand for affordable and quality housing in most Spanish cities.

Restoration should be understood as one of the core issues of a new urban model that values the existing city and built heritage. It should focus on renewal processes rather than on new housing development and land occupation, as declared in the (Spanish Government) and following the recommendations stated on the 2009-2012 Housing and Restoration PlanLeipzig Charter on Sustainable European Cities (drawn by the European Union Members’ State Ministers responsible for Urban Development).

Considering the multidisciplinary composition of the research group the project will be developed at an urban, architectural and constructional detail level, thus avoiding a partial approach that would obscure the overall situation. This constitutes the main innovation of the proposed project.

The scheduled development of the research is as follows:

1. Compilation of preceding examples of international interventions on urban restructuration and restoration through the use of social housing programs.
2. Project selection and evaluation criteria regarding innovation and good practices.
3. Requirements to be met for social housing programmes in obsolete buildings and for the allocation and definition of intervention areas. This could produce a wide range of instruments such as regulations, planning or actual projects.

This project is set out as a continuation of a previous one, entitled New Techniques and Social Housing, approved and financed by the 2008 R+D+i National Plan, which will end on December 2010. As afore mentioned this project’s aim is to build on aspects of the first investigation, closely linked to one of the main current political concerns: urban restructuring and restoration.

Notes.

1. 12/1995 European Comission’s Green Paper on Innovation, p. 1