Quick Scan: Downtown, San Salvador
Quick Scan Report: Downtown, San Salvador
Accompanied by: Sandra and Vanessa + students (UCA)
Date: 24/03/09
Time: 09:00-16:00
Introduction
Downtown is the city centre of San Salvador with a history that characterizes the city on multiple levels. The population figures: former dominated by wealthy people who later migrated to the North. Architecture and public space: severely damaged by natural disasters and the civil war. Economic activity: dominated by small market stalls filling the streets. Abandoned buildings, issues of land rights and different views and responses concerning reconstruction illustrate the political individualism. The possibility for the location as a case study was initiated by word of mouth. The affection to the place is alive among the people, who all have a strong opinion eager to share. We visited the location for the second time, now joining a class of Sandra Poizat (UCA).
Buildings and public space
The centre is a centralization of economic flows. The migration into and out of San Salvador left buildings unmaintained and the earthquake of 1986 brought so much damage to the buildings that most are either completely or partially abandoned. The buildings were and still (partially) are shops and offices but the streets are the market. People living under the poverty line in greater San Salvador often go to Latiendonna (the food market) and Downtown for products. Whole families set up shops and stalls in order to have income. After walking through the streets, with a constant traffic flow which causes danger and an immediate noticeable pollution we can describe the street profiles. Enclosed by vacant buildings, the stoop for walking is narrow (fit for 1 person) because of the stalls. These stalls or parked cars are the boundaries for what is left for motorized traffic, including the constant flow of buses. On the other side of the road the same occupation is repeated. In some profiles with a two-way street, stalls are also implemented in the middle. It’s a different situation when it comes to public buildings like churches, the Cathedral or government buildings. These are well maintained with direct relations to squares and the absence of stalls. We visited an iconic Church, build in the late ‘60s with a construction method and raw material treatment very different from most buildings. It survived the earthquake of ’86 with only the tower outside the church being partially damaged. Next we visited a square, clean of stalls or other activity, enclosed by the Cathedral, library, National Palace and commercial shops/warehouses constructed in the ‘80s. Here we learned from Sandra that El Salvador had a strong movement in cultural development in their architecture, which stopped in ‘70s. The civil war and natural disasters caused very individual responses. The healing process from the war is continuous and the hope for a more united architectural vision on buildings and open space is strongly connected to political change.
Vulnerability
Aside from the earthquakes the area is vulnerable to floods. Multiple reasons can be given for this vulnerability, like the alert system, the drainage system, the deforestation causing mudslides etc. We visited a street, were the water reached about 2 meters in 5 minutes (1921) and this street was situated higher then a lot of other places we later visited. Such as a lower part, that has an open connection to the downhill stream of a river leading to Los Manantiales. The problem with the prevention of flooding and pollution is that the intervention has to start sooner, with the origin of the river which might be in Honduras. We talked with a couple of police officers who explained that the alert system improved over the last two years. An organization called COIN, distributed the stream in more canals, diminishing the pressure on a single canal. The problem of the pollution remains, as the smell is noticeable in this area, where steel sheet houses occupy the land. Although according to the police their number one concern is not the disaster vulnerability but the murder rate, such as 360 casualties in one month related to gang activity.
Work in progress
Sandra took us to a location where her office in collaboration with two other architectural offices won a design competition. The street leading to the location has a religious sentimental value; it’s a walk from one church to another (on Easter). A year ago the area used to be gang territory but now it’s a very lively street. On this moment the public space on the side of the church is being constructed, with at least 30 men working at the same time in order to finish the public space as quickly as possible. The roads where cars pass through are finished; in the future it will be a car free zone. In this area we visited a housing complex, initiated by Fundasal in collaboration with architects and inhabitants and funded by a Swedish corporation. In a process of 7 years, they first started community capacity building which took about 4 years and then another 3 years for the construction, which is now finishing. On the scale of liveability we made a couple of notes. For example 12 families that used to live there, shared a single bathroom. Now every house (family) has its own. The open court yard shows the initiative to create public open space within a closed complex. Unique in El Salvador is the typology for housing different groups of families. This complex has a dwelling for a single inhabitant as well as a duplex for a large family. They used the social organization in order to build these houses as well as the nearby shelter warehouse, where the families currently dwell. The residents have to pay a form of ‘rent’, which is 25$/month for a period of 15 years. The project was funded and so they implemented this ‘rent’ in order to have financial aid for another community project. In the end the people do not own their house and do not own their land. This is another way of dealing with the land rights.
Potentiality
For now a couple of points make up the potentiality. This was the last quick scan report and after the revision every location will be evaluated on the suitability of a case study location.
Pro’s:
- City centre: history, connectivity, metropolis
- Influences and consequences on different flows and disciplines
- Evolution of these flows: economic (market), population (migration) etc.
- Importance of public space
Con’s:
- Very challenging for 2 month period to go in specific details
- Safety issues
Accompanied by: Sandra and Vanessa + students (UCA)
Date: 24/03/09
Time: 09:00-16:00
Introduction
Downtown is the city centre of San Salvador with a history that characterizes the city on multiple levels. The population figures: former dominated by wealthy people who later migrated to the North. Architecture and public space: severely damaged by natural disasters and the civil war. Economic activity: dominated by small market stalls filling the streets. Abandoned buildings, issues of land rights and different views and responses concerning reconstruction illustrate the political individualism. The possibility for the location as a case study was initiated by word of mouth. The affection to the place is alive among the people, who all have a strong opinion eager to share. We visited the location for the second time, now joining a class of Sandra Poizat (UCA).
Buildings and public space
The centre is a centralization of economic flows. The migration into and out of San Salvador left buildings unmaintained and the earthquake of 1986 brought so much damage to the buildings that most are either completely or partially abandoned. The buildings were and still (partially) are shops and offices but the streets are the market. People living under the poverty line in greater San Salvador often go to Latiendonna (the food market) and Downtown for products. Whole families set up shops and stalls in order to have income. After walking through the streets, with a constant traffic flow which causes danger and an immediate noticeable pollution we can describe the street profiles. Enclosed by vacant buildings, the stoop for walking is narrow (fit for 1 person) because of the stalls. These stalls or parked cars are the boundaries for what is left for motorized traffic, including the constant flow of buses. On the other side of the road the same occupation is repeated. In some profiles with a two-way street, stalls are also implemented in the middle. It’s a different situation when it comes to public buildings like churches, the Cathedral or government buildings. These are well maintained with direct relations to squares and the absence of stalls. We visited an iconic Church, build in the late ‘60s with a construction method and raw material treatment very different from most buildings. It survived the earthquake of ’86 with only the tower outside the church being partially damaged. Next we visited a square, clean of stalls or other activity, enclosed by the Cathedral, library, National Palace and commercial shops/warehouses constructed in the ‘80s. Here we learned from Sandra that El Salvador had a strong movement in cultural development in their architecture, which stopped in ‘70s. The civil war and natural disasters caused very individual responses. The healing process from the war is continuous and the hope for a more united architectural vision on buildings and open space is strongly connected to political change.
Vulnerability
Aside from the earthquakes the area is vulnerable to floods. Multiple reasons can be given for this vulnerability, like the alert system, the drainage system, the deforestation causing mudslides etc. We visited a street, were the water reached about 2 meters in 5 minutes (1921) and this street was situated higher then a lot of other places we later visited. Such as a lower part, that has an open connection to the downhill stream of a river leading to Los Manantiales. The problem with the prevention of flooding and pollution is that the intervention has to start sooner, with the origin of the river which might be in Honduras. We talked with a couple of police officers who explained that the alert system improved over the last two years. An organization called COIN, distributed the stream in more canals, diminishing the pressure on a single canal. The problem of the pollution remains, as the smell is noticeable in this area, where steel sheet houses occupy the land. Although according to the police their number one concern is not the disaster vulnerability but the murder rate, such as 360 casualties in one month related to gang activity.
Work in progress
Sandra took us to a location where her office in collaboration with two other architectural offices won a design competition. The street leading to the location has a religious sentimental value; it’s a walk from one church to another (on Easter). A year ago the area used to be gang territory but now it’s a very lively street. On this moment the public space on the side of the church is being constructed, with at least 30 men working at the same time in order to finish the public space as quickly as possible. The roads where cars pass through are finished; in the future it will be a car free zone. In this area we visited a housing complex, initiated by Fundasal in collaboration with architects and inhabitants and funded by a Swedish corporation. In a process of 7 years, they first started community capacity building which took about 4 years and then another 3 years for the construction, which is now finishing. On the scale of liveability we made a couple of notes. For example 12 families that used to live there, shared a single bathroom. Now every house (family) has its own. The open court yard shows the initiative to create public open space within a closed complex. Unique in El Salvador is the typology for housing different groups of families. This complex has a dwelling for a single inhabitant as well as a duplex for a large family. They used the social organization in order to build these houses as well as the nearby shelter warehouse, where the families currently dwell. The residents have to pay a form of ‘rent’, which is 25$/month for a period of 15 years. The project was funded and so they implemented this ‘rent’ in order to have financial aid for another community project. In the end the people do not own their house and do not own their land. This is another way of dealing with the land rights.
Potentiality
For now a couple of points make up the potentiality. This was the last quick scan report and after the revision every location will be evaluated on the suitability of a case study location.
Pro’s:
- City centre: history, connectivity, metropolis
- Influences and consequences on different flows and disciplines
- Evolution of these flows: economic (market), population (migration) etc.
- Importance of public space
Con’s:
- Very challenging for 2 month period to go in specific details
- Safety issues
QS: Downtown, San Salvador
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Comments (2)
March 28, 2009 at 5:45 AM
Hey guys, nice research! Also love the pictures, the place is so much different from Bangladesh. I wonder how the sounds and smells are there. We'll be posting some of the sounds soon, could you try that too?
Also, if the water can rise two meters in five minutes... have you considered a disaster preparedness plan for yourselves? Haha. We're experiencing daily thunderstorms now, I wonder when the first cyclone will hit! ;)
April 1, 2009 at 5:49 PM
He guys, nice to read your stuff! Good idea to visit some places where they make the materials! Your situation is good to compare with ours.. We noticed that a lot is good organized here, also in the barrios with communities! How is that in El Salvador? Are people friendly? You've seen allready people from the ms13??
Be carefull.. chao Nina, Chris y Alex
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