MIČUNDOVÁ, K. Inkluzivní bydlení: Koexistence vietnamské a polské komunity [online]. Brno: Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta architektury. 2024.
The project is a unique take on the issue of inclusive architecture on many levels. Beginning with the integration of the Polish and Vietnamese communities that often live side by side but do not communicate with each other, and ending with economic diversification and attention to the accessibility of designed housing for people with different needs and abilities. Resolving such issues, the project was made possible thanks to the author's exceptionally insightful analysis and typological research, which she managed to translate into the design stage. The presented concept is interesting not only for its social and economic qualities, but also for its architectural value. The project combines materiality and spatial solutions derived from countries with completely different cultures, but does so in a visually appealing way, creating a modern and internally diverse space. The analysis carried out, the project and the way it is presented testify to the author's highest competences. It’s worth mentioning, that the author has chosen to work with a very complex theme. On spatial level: the site has a large surface and the project is based on an entirely new development, composed of diverse typologies of residential buildings of different scale. On social level: coexistence of Vietnamese and Polish communities on common ground. Katarina has demonstrated her architectural and social sensitivity, designing with due respect to two distant building traditions.
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| Přístup studenta ke zpracování | A | The project presented by the student demonstrates her high competence in research and analysis, as well as architectural design. With her project, the author proved a great understanding of the subject, as also of the specifics of the plot and the social situation of the future users, creatively developing thematic threads derived from the analysis of the conditions and identity of the people for whom she designed. The analysis carried out by the author concerned both the plot - the area of the study and the immediate surroundings, its functionality, communication accessibility or services, but also social factors. The neighborhood of the Asian bazaar led to the assumption of building an inclusive settlement for the Vietnamese and Polish communities. In order to ensure that the project, in its architectural aspect, corresponded to these assumptions, the author conducted a detailed analysis of the typology of residential buildings in Poland and Vietnam, the building materials used in both locations or the use of urban space. The study of the data, has been supplemented by knowledge gained from the interviews with the Warsaw Vietnamese community representatives, conducted by the student during the site visits. The acquired knowledge resulted in an inventory of residential typologies and building materials, which was used to take specific design decisions. It resulted in an extremely interesting and considered project combining features of local architectural identities and its users from two ends of the world. Despite this, there is no sense of artificiality or literalism, the project has a very attractive, modern form and fits into the context of contemporary Warsaw. Also in the functional layer, interesting solutions have been applied based on the analysis and subsequent development of a number of housing unit types and the building segments composed of them afterwards. They correspond to diverse user groups, and their structure also translates into the proposed social mix and economic differentiation of housing rental mode. As a result, there is integration not only across the country of origin of the residents, but also across different income levels, which is reflected in the architecture. In addition to the residential buildings, the author has also designed attractive common spaces within the blocks - places for services, commerce, social integration, parking for cars and bicycles. The green spaces between the buildings have also been solved correctly and attractively. They are diverse, but they create a unified network of public spaces linked by pedestrian promenades. The project is solved in excellence at every level from the urban layout to the single residential unit. It represents an innovative, architecturally attractive and socially interesting concept, addressing a topic often overlooked in the discussion of architecture. |
The urban project "Coexistence of Vietnamese and Polish communities" by Katarína Mičundová takes up an important topic related to the Vietnamese minority in Poland in the city space and urban planning at the interface of different cultures and social classes. While migration policy is constantly present in the Polish public debate, the social offer, cultural and urban planning has little to offer immigrant families or young Poles brought up in Poland as the second generation. The result of the deficit of social, cultural and urban offers dedicated to cultural minorities is the further migration of young people with multicultural roots to Western Europe. Katarína Mičundová correctly diagnosed the cultural differences between the typology of residence of Vietnamese and Poles, recalling the "shop-house" popular in Asia, with ground floors open to the street, combining private life with street life. The author correctly noticed that, compared to Polish culture, in which private life is largely limited to the apartment, in Vietnamese culture, a shared space in a building, such as a shared kitchen or garden, is a much more important element of living. The project also presents an interesting comparative analysis of materials and colors used in Vietnamese and Polish architecture. The proposed masterplan inspired by the Asian typology of "a city within a city" is an interesting form of inclusive adaptation of Vietnamese preferences to Polish conditions. The hybrid nature of multicultural urban planning used in the project places great emphasis on social infrastructure and the intertwining of life and work functions. This project may set directions for future city planning, where cultural minorities will find their place and rights more clearly. The project creates a multicultural urban concept showing how to design cities so that their inhabitants can live, spend time, work and cooperate TOGETHER, regardless of race, age or gender. To avoid the "Lost in translation" effect and the “Tower of Babel” effect in the next phases of the project, I would recommend rethinking the way of transferring typologies and patterns from one region to another. I would recommend analyzing legal barriers, e.g. local technical conditions that buildings should meet (requirements for sunlight in rooms, shading conditions, minimum room sizes, minimum width of corridors as specified in construction law), as well as constraints related to climate and taxonomy (energy performance in Poland has much more restrictions than in the warm climate of Vietnam). To make the project more realistic and adapt it to Polish conditions, the author could also pay attention to details such as the "grill spot", which, in accordance with fire regulations in Polish law, cannot be legally designed in the vicinity of multi-family buildings. I also recommend looking at the conflicts accompanying the co-living of Poles and Vietnamese, e.g. in the way of using common spaces, self-organised appropriation of space or the street (cooking on the street, noise, smell) or the problem of the "white flight" phenomenon, and then trying to reflect whether urban planning can alleviate these intercultural conflicts and negative phenomena. Nevertheless, I believe that Katarín Mičundová's project is a excellent, necessary and innovative form of searching for multicultural forms of living. The project was developed with great sensitivity to the social fabric, with a sense of contemporary architectural form, and with good and rational architectural detail. The beauty of this project lies in the poetics of rationality and care. The observations made, conversations with the Vietnamese minority and the proposed urban and architectural solutions prove that the author has great talent and sensitivity to social issues, which makes her a great architect. I rate the project as Excellent (A) and recommend it for diploma defense.
eVSKP id 159485