Architecture Students and Faculty Lead the Charge in Equitable Housing Solutions

由专筑网王雪纯，蒋晖编译

洛杉矶的住房是一个复杂而突出的问题，从高需求下的供应短缺到缺乏经济实惠的住宅，这些问题都值得当地高校的学生关注。而随着矛盾的不断深化，高校中的建筑专业也开始参与对住房公平的讨论。

From short supply and high demand to a lack of affordable options, housing in Los Angeles is a complex and prominent issue that deserves the attention of local universities. As the crisis continues to evolve, architecture and architectural education are vital parts of the discussion surrounding housing equity.



USC大学建筑学院自从认识到该问题的紧迫性后，便一直积极致力于为公平住房领域做出贡献。FAIA的Lawrence Scarpa除了在USC建筑学院授课以外，同时也是获奖设计公司Brooks + Scarpa的负责人之一，曾设计了应对不同收入水平的人的住房项目。

Scarpa的公司最近获得洛杉矶的流浪者保障创新住房挑战赛的最高奖项，获得约为450万的美金奖金，为创新的低成本住房问题提出了解决方案。Brooks + Scarpa的“NEST”提议利用预制创新设计来创建可扩展且适应性强的工具单元，为未充分利用的土地区域建设住房。

The Six是Scarpa的公司最近完成的另一个项目，是一个由52个单元组成的经济适用住房项目，专门用于满足残疾退伍军人的需求。通过融入艺术中心和花园等空间，创造了和谐的社区环境。“我们认为设计是权利，而不是选择。无论处于哪种环境中，我们都作为人而存在，”Scarpa说。

Acknowledging the urgency of the issue, USC Architecture is actively engaged in contributing to industry-leading work in equitable housing. Lawrence Scarpa, FAIA, who co-leads award-winning design firm Brooks + Scarpa in addition to teaching at USC Architecture, produces renowned housing projects for all income levels.
Scarpa’s firm recently won a top prize in the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative Housing Innovation Challenge, which awarded a total of $4.5 million for innovative, low-cost housing solutions. Brooks + Scarpa’s proposal, NEST, utilized prefab design innovation to create a scalable and adaptable toolkit that provides housing on underutilized land areas.
The Six, another recently completed project by Scarpa’s firm, is a 52-unit affordable housing project specifically designed to meet the needs of veterans with disabilities. By incorporating desirable public spaces such as an art center and garden, the facility fosters a strong sense of community among the residents. “We think design is a human right and not a choice. We’re all people and it doesn’t really matter what our situation is,” said Scarpa.



洛杉矶经常作为USC建筑研究和课程项目的重点和实验对象，同时住房不平等领域的专家教授也为学生介绍了更广泛的视角。助理教授Faiza Moatasim的研究专注于公平的全球空间，特别关注无常定居点和贫民窟领域，她一直在观察巴基斯坦长大的人。“我不可能不观察到空间不公平和贫富差距的极端例子。”她说。

自从搬到洛杉矶后，她发现全球的住房问题之间存在相似之处，包括不平等的经济因素，边缘化人口和集中平价区域。Moatasim补充说，在其他多数国家，较贫穷的人群能凭借其对社区的贡献而更好地融入城市生活。“如果团体融入社会，他们就有更好的机会实现社会和经济赋权，”她说。

Moatasim于2018年秋季开始在USC大学建筑学院任教。她发起的关于 “贫民窟和城市”的研讨会研究了贫民窟和棚户区的人们如何生活和工作，以及他们与城市的关系。随后，国际对无固定定居点的定义又与当地发生的事情联系在一起。Moatasim指出，这是一个在建筑学院中开创的独特课程，她为能够将设计重点转移到更紧迫的社会条件的大学而感到自豪。

Los Angeles often serves as a focal point and laboratory for research and course projects at USC Architecture, but faculty experts in other areas of housing inequity offer students a broader view of the issue. Assistant professor Faiza Moatasim’s research specializes in global spatial equity with a particular focus on impermanent settlements and slums, such as the ones she observed growing up in Pakistan. “It was impossible for me not to observe extreme examples of spatial inequity and the coexistence of extreme wealth and extreme poverty,” she said.
Since moving to Los Angeles, she has observed similarities between global and local housing issues, including inequitable economic factors, marginalized populations, and areas of concentrated parity. Moatasim adds that in many other countries, poorer parts of populations are better integrated into urban life and the economy because of the functions they provide to the community. “If groups are integrated into society, they have a better chance of achieving social and economic empowerment,” she said.
Moatasim began teaching at USC Architecture in fall 2018. One of her seminars, “Slums and the City,” examined how people in slums and squatter settlements live and work and their relationship to cities at large. The global understanding of impermanent settlements is then tied back into what is happening locally. Moatasim notes this is a unique course to find in an architecture school and is proud to work for a university that’s changing the focus of design to more pressing social conditions.



Moatasim说：“通常，建筑就已经与权力结盟。”“那些地标性建筑通常是纪念性建筑或具有文化意义的空间，而类似贫民窟的空间往往被忽视。”

学校的愿景是通过建筑和设计的视角来审视社会和社区问题。“我很清楚，设计师在这里教授他们的课程，这是一所致力于社会变革的学校，”Moatasim说。“在一所建筑学院教授“贫民窟课程”这一事实真的是独一无二的。”

USC大学建筑学教授Gary Paige补充道，“不幸的是，许多的建筑项目中都缺乏创造性研究，不仅将公平住房作为一个当代问题，而且还要构建创新性的解决方案。它是我们本科和研究生课程的核心部分，也是高级建筑研究硕士课程的重点，我们将在这里研究当地和全球背景下的问题。”

“Architecture, conventionally, has aligned itself with those with power,” Moatasim said. “Spaces that get highlighted are monumental buildings or those of cultural significance while spaces like slums are often ignored.”
Part of the school’s ethos is to look at social and community issues through the lens of architecture and design. “It is evident to me from how the design faculty teach their courses here that this is a school committed to social change,” said Moatasim. “The fact that you have a course on slums being taught at a school of architecture is really unique and deliberate.”
USC Architecture professor of practice Gary Paige adds, “Unfortunately, in many architectural programs, there’s a dearth of creative research not only addressing equitable housing as a contemporary problem but also framing the questions that will potentially lead to innovative solutions. It’s a key part of our core undergraduate and graduate curriculum and a focus of the post-professional program, Master of Advanced Architectural Studies, where we examine the issues in a local and global context.”



未来建筑有望做出改变

在2018年秋季，Paige开设了一个高级课程工作室，要求学生考虑解决洛杉矶的无家可归问题。该工作室利用洛杉矶市的“A Bridge Home”计划作为指导，研究了低收入社区或Bridge Home网站的网站列表。通过创新的建筑解决方案，学生的设计包括辅助住宅单元（ADU），流浪者收容所和永久性支持住房，以及微型住宅，共享房屋和共同生活场景等等。

“根据定义，无家可归的问题是包容和公平的问题，”Paige说。“获得住房应该是不可剥夺的权利而不是特权。随着全国各地的流浪者达到新高，我们应该致力于解决这个问题。项目的多样性反映出学生的多样性。在许多情况下，学生会基于个人经历或他们认识的人的经历来作出方案。”

Paige工作室的学生们很高兴有机会参与研究现实问题，为不同人群设计住宅。 Victoria Cuan（B.Arch '20）项目是博伊尔高地的一个五单元住宅区，提供独特的模块化设计，可以容纳各种类型的家庭，解决建筑的密度问题。 Cuan说，该项目使她认识到设计和人道主义责任之间的联系。

Architecture’s Next Generation is Poised to Make Change
In fall 2018, Paige taught an upper-division topic studio that asked students to consider what architects can do to address LA’s homelessness problem. Utilizing the City of Los Angeles’ “A Bridge Home” initiative as a guide, the studio researched a list of sites in low-income neighborhoods or actual Bridge Home sites. Through innovative architectural solutions, student projects ranged from Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), homeless shelters, and permanent supportive housing to newer models such as micro-dwellings, share houses, and co-living scenarios.
“By definition, the issue of homelessness is one of inclusion and equity,” said Paige. “Access to housing should be an inalienable right instead of a privilege. With homelessness at record levels across the country, it’s a problem we should be dedicated to solving. The diversity of projects in the studio reflects the diversity of the students. In many instances, they’re based on personal experiences or that of someone they know.”
Students in Paige’s studio appreciated the opportunity to research a real-world problem and design for diverse populations. Victoria Cuan’s (B.Arch ‘20) project, a five-unit housing complex in Boyle Heights, offered a unique modular design that could accommodate various households and combat density issues. Cuan said the studio taught her the importance of bridging the gap between design and humanitarian responsibility.



“作为专业人士，我们的技能要求我们解决有关普遍住房危机的这些问题。我们都应有义务，“Cuan说。“我准备在我的家乡洛杉矶展开实践计划，我相信我所学的课程可以在这里得到利用，因为那里非常需要那些以同理心设计的建筑师。”

尽管住房危机很复杂，但USC大学建筑学院仍将继续致力于提出解决方案。批判性的设计教育和社会责任不应该相互排斥，像USC大学建筑学院这样的学校正帮助下一代建筑师迈出新的一步，让他们以有意识的、社区驱动的思维方式进行设计。

“无家可归问题不仅应该被视为一个需要解决的问题，而且还应该被视为一个机会来测试我们作为建筑师和教育工作者的能力。优秀的设计和批判性实践不应局限于1％的范围，”Paige说。

“As professionals, our skills require us to address these issues regarding the universal housing crisis. It is something that we should all feel obligated to pay attention to,” Cuan said. “As someone who plans to practice in my hometown of Los Angeles, I believe that the lessons I am learning can be especially utilized here where there is great need for architects who design with empathy.”
Despite the complexity of the housing crisis, USC Architecture will continue and expand its efforts to be part of the solution to this wicked problem. By understanding that a progressive, critical design education and social responsibility should not be exclusive of one another, schools like USC Architecture are taking a step forward in helping the next generation of architects design with a conscious, community-driven mindset.
“The issue of homelessness should not only be seen as a problem to be solved but also as an opportunity to test our abilities as architects and educators. Good design and critical practice should not be confined to the purview of the 1 percent,” said Paige.



Scarpa补充说，学术界允许你对现状进行测试。“世界总是在变化，学生们的新的思维方式非常重要。” Scarpa经常带着他的学生走出教室，进行“对真实世界的实地考察”，去到城市各个住宅项目和建筑工地，让他们看到当前流程的现状，Scarpa也一直尝试着创造性地推动他们与实践工作的界限。

Moatasim指出，除非不平等的结构也发生变化，否则建造更多的房屋并不能从根本上解决问题。她说：“每个人都必须有平等的机会，平等的尊严。” Moatasim说，通过继续与社区接触，鼓励跨学科研究，并培养重视公平的设计文化，建筑学院可以找到方法来更好地理解手头的问题。“如果问题很复杂，那并不意味着我们建筑师不会解决问题。这只意味着我们的方法需要同样复杂。”

Scarpa adds that academia allows you to test against the status quo. “The world is always changing and it’s really important for students to look at new ways of thinking.” Scarpa frequently takes his students out of the classroom on “real-world field trips” to various housing projects and construction sites around the city, allowing them to see the reality of current processes and how to creatively push boundaries in their work.
Moving forward, Moatasim notes that building more houses will not solve the problem unless structures of inequality also change. “There needs to be an equal opportunity for everyone to live with dignity,” she said. By continuing to engage with the community, encourage interdisciplinary research, and foster a design culture that values equity, architecture schools can find ways to build greater understanding of the issues at hand, said Moatasim. “If a problem is complex, it doesn’t mean that we, as architects, don’t address it. It just means that our approach needs to be equally complex.”