pg ed.18-19

local materials and craftsmanship

combining local materials, traditional craftsmanship and contemporary knowledge to co-create a building that is connective and comfortable

Our build environment is globalizing… every contemporary building is a showcase of materials and components, imported from far away regions. It is a puzzle of prefabricated elements, bolted or glued together by people that often don’t speak each-others language or that have hardly any connection with the place where they are working. Socially and environmentally this is not a sustainable situation.

In this postgraduate edition, we explore the opportunities of co-creating and building with local materials and craftsmanship, connecting the act of building with the place and its people. We add new knowledge and techniques but focus on low tech solutions to improve the indoor comfort of the built project.

theoretical framework

A series of lectures forms the basis for the studio’s framework: sustainable development & climate responsive building, sociocultural aspects & architectural identity, vernacular architecture as a model for contemporary sustainable architecture.

narrative: mapping local opportunities

Theoretical and hands-on studio sessions with a focus on mapping topics, representation techniques, intercultural communication and participation, enable the studio’s participants to spot local opportunities in any place.

case: the village of Ouled Merzoug

Empowered by the theoretical framework, wider narrative and hands-on earth building workshops, the participants map the village of Ouled Merzoug, with the Women’s house in mind. During a one-week field study trip, residing at the homes of the inhabitants of Ouled Merzoug, interviews, observations, site analysis and more, … provide the necessary background information for the live project. The mapping week results in a ‘news beyond borders’ edition in newspaper format.

live project: the women’s house

Back in Hasselt, the participants jointly come up with a first design for the women's house. Apart from the critical analysis with regards to climate responsiveness, the use of local materials and the indoor quality by the postgraduate team, the design is reflected upon and commented by the women themselves. Under the supervision of BC Architects, the project is further refined and translated in a technical dossier, while experimenting with mock-ups and samples in earthen materials. It is only in the co-creation construction, with local crafts(wo)men, during the weeks of internship, that the project comes to life and finds its purpose.

PROJECTS

THE WOMEN'S HOUSE

EARTH CONSTRUCTION FESTIVAL

NEWS BEYOND BORDERS

Mapping of Ouled Merzoug in a newspaper format

Particpants postgraduate certificate 2018-19 (2018)

News Beyond Borders ed. #1.pdf

PAPERS

Reflections on the why, what and how of cross-border build projects - Lessons from the 1st Fall Symposium Building Beyond Borders

Griet Verbeeck, Elke Knapen, Peggy Winkels, Bart Janssens, Nicolas Coeckelberghs (2020)
Paper published in proceedings of 1st Fall Symposium Building Beyond Borders, 9 - 10 November 2020, Hasselt, Belgium, p.10-17

abstract I paper

full text

Reflections on the why, what and how of cross-border build projects - Lessons from the 1st Fall Symposium Building Beyond Borders

abstract I paper

full text

Towards an active involvement of the end user. A critical reflection on the participation process of the Women's House of Ouled Merzoug.

Tinne Beirinckx, John Silvertand, Hannah Van Breen (2020)
Paper published in proceedings of 1st Fall Symposium Building Beyond Borders, 9 - 10 November 2020, Hasselt, Belgium, p.128-137

abstract I paper

The Women’s House of Ouled Merzoug (Morocco) was realised within the academic framework of thepostgraduate Building Beyond Borders 2018/2019, organised by UHasselt (Belgium). The participants weregiven the task to design and build a Women’s House in close collaboration with the local community. Aftera design period in Belgium and a short field trip, the construction works started. During this eight-monthperiod, a group of participants lived in the village and worked side by side with a team of local womenand workers.This paper is a critical reflection by three of the eighteen participants on the course of the participationprocess. By analysing various important key moments of the design and build process of the Women’sHouse, the changing involvement of the client is explained.The authors aim to uncover both pitfalls and success factors of the process with regard to the frameworkof the project, the used communication tools, the appearance of the building, the added value for the enduser and worker and the appropriation of the building.Which lessons should be taken into account in the realisation of other Design & Build projects, for a clientwith a culture and environmental context different than the one of the designers?
Keywords: participation, communication, design & build, communities, ownership

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Practice of cross-border "socially engaged" architecture & development - Women's House of Ouled Merzoug, Morocco

Biniam Hailu (2020)
Paper published in proceedings of 1st Fall Symposium Building Beyond Borders, 9 - 10 November 2020, Hasselt, Belgium, p.166-173

abstract I paper

A divergent practice of architecture, generally referred to as “socially engaged” architecturewhich focuses on: targets of engagement who are often framed as underserved, participatory approach,rhetoric of capacity building, empowerment et cetera, is currently gaining traction. This practice mostlyinvolves northern based architectural practices and universities’ design-build studios which initiate andundertake small-scale build projects in the global south. Incidentally, these actors work across borders andwithin a socio-cultural context which is different than their own. Whether explicitly stated or implicitly alludedto the projects they undertake are usually imagined as interventions which will bring about ‘development’ andpositive socio-economic changes that improve the conditions of end users. Therefore, these actors couldbe considered as agents that ‘socialize’ development - a process where by individuals and ‘non-traditional’actors - generally referred to as citizen initiatives (CIs) - engage in development work. Notwithstanding,nuanced approaches of CIs, the practice of development intended to improve the condition of people in theglobal south with ‘expert’ intervention from the global north has long been under criticism for: imbalancedpower relation among different stakeholders, overlooking agency of end users and relegating them topassive recipients et cetera, adversely impacting intervention outcomes. Drawing on a cross-border buildproject - Women’s House of Ouled Merzoug - that was undertaken within UHasselt’s design build-studio- Building Beyond Borders - of which the author was a participant - this article reflects on the process andattempts to highlight possible mechanisms with which it is possible to surpass the aforementioned criticismsand how universities could be instrumental in renegotiating the north-south dichotomy.
Keywords: development, citizen initiatives, borders, social engagement, architecture

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'Building Beyond Borders' Project-based learning from, with & for the world

Bart Janssens, Peggy Winkels, Nicolas Coeckelberghs, Griet Verbeeck, Elke Knapen (2020)
Paper published in PLEA 2020 Planning Post Carbon Cities , proceedings of 35th International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, 1 - 3 September 2020, A Coruña, Spain, Volume 3, p.1501-1506

abstract I paper

In accordance with and to strengthen the adopted Civic University model operationalized by a project-based learning approach, the Faculty of Architecture and arts of Hasselt University initiated the ‘Building Beyond Borders’ programme in the academic year 2018-2019. This postgraduate certificate invites students and professionals to enrich and strengthen skills in sustainable architecture. In a unique knowledge-driven, interdisciplinary and participatory set-up, the programme pushes innovation, contributes to the Sustainability Development Goals, and enhances competences in Global Citizenship. Learning from, with and for the world, is both motive and means to address 10 learning objectives for the participants. Each year, a Design/Build project is the leitmotif of the programme, which in 2018-2019 was a women’s house in Ouled-Merzoug in Morocco. This paper discusses the experiences of the pilot year in lessons learned and challenges, and outlines tentative perspectives for future editions of the programme. It is concluded that one of the main success factors of programmes set up as ‘Building Beyond Borders’ is the awareness of and anticipation on the dynamisms of intercultural collaboration in build projects.
Keywords: sustainable architecture, project-based learning, design/build project

full text in Volume 3 of proceedings

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