BAJRAMOVIĆ, A. Sociální bydlení pro rodiny svobodných matek, ženy zažívající domácí a rodinné násilí a seniory ve Varšavě [online]. Brno: Vysoké učení technické v Brně. Fakulta architektury. 2024.
Amina Bajramović's thesis demonstrates her high competence in analyzing historical, social, economic and spatial conditions and understanding the needs, organics and challenges of the nature of the user group for whom the project is dedicated. The theme of the project flows directly from the student's interests and was developed very meticulously. The theoretical part includes an in-depth analysis of existing forms of housing in Poland and Europe related to the support of excluded people, especially women - mothers, seniors or domestic violence survivors, as well as children. She critically analyzed, implemented and improved existing senior policies and social assistance. In addition, the author traced the changes in recent decades in this area, the specific conditions and availability of housing in Warsaw, where she located her project, and guidelines related to design for people affected by exclusion. The plot was selected by the author based on an analysis of zoning plans, utility development, transportation accessibility, social infrastructure and recreational areas and demographics. This testifies to a reasonable and realistic approach to design work. The architectural design itself develops in a good way the postulates proposed in the theoretical part of the work related to designing for the indicated groups and creating common spaces. Within the framework of the project, the author has developed several individual typologies of residential buildings - with gallery, central core and corridor access - and the layouts they create. In the project one can find frontage development, quarter development, open layouts of urban villas and linearly designed galleries. Such differentiation flows directly from the adopted assumptions related to users' needs and positively influences the character of the designed estate. The common spaces have been designed in an attractive manner, although without more individual design solutions. More attention could have been paid to the development of specific public spaces adapted to women’s needs. The typologies of the apartments have been developed based on the groups of users and the size of the families living there, and respond attractively to these challenges. They are given common, service and integration areas, indicating the multifaceted nature of the proposed solutions. Proposals for the architecture and construction of the designed buildings, for which construction and finishing in wood have been proposed, have been attractively solved. Its different colors are to emphasize the distinctiveness of the various parts of the estate and mark the boundaries between semi-private and public spaces without introducing material chaos. The materiality contributes to the visual distinction as the volumes of architecture paradoxically, even though based on the numerous typologies, is not very diverse. Unfortunately, the quality of the material solutions could not be shown by the author in the presented visualizations, which are too synthetic and rough in nature. One could argue that the scale of the estate could be excessive and overwhelming. In the opinion of the supervisors, such a scale brings awareness to the scale of the problem which is the exclusion of women in the housing market. Moreover, the scale is based on social and demographic needs of the area. The project represents a very important and innovative solution, addressing the topical social issue and could be replicated in different scales, contexts or locations, depending on local needs.
Amina Bajramović’s thesis addresses precisely defined problem, providing comprehensive explanations, review of most common solutions, and extensive architectural proposal. Issue of securing homes for women de-favorized by housing market, exceeds Polish context as it belongs to wider, global debate on creating inclusive architectural environments. The thesis is well-prepared and clearly structured - divided into six parts that represent subsequent stages of problem elaboration. Each part derives logically from the previous one, what allows the reader to follow author’s analyses and resulting decisions with ease. Theoretical part documents author’s wide skills on researching both historical sources of existing housing issues, as well as their current socio-economical context. Amina Bajramović provides readers useful glossaries, simple definitions, tables and graphs, proving she has a deep understanding of the topic, navigates well in its nuances and is able to communicate complex data in many ways. As we all are humans and mistakes are inevitable, there are indeed some also in the thesis. One of most troubling is regarding Unit I for elderly woman; In the table on page 138 we find information, that the unit is designed for 3 inhabitants, but design description on page 156 mentions only two. I wouldn’t mention it at all if it does not influence important statistics on the estate. Author presents well developed critical approach i.e. by highlighting negative and positive aspects of existing problem solutions and preparing SWOT analysis. Her great attention to detail and precise numbers she recalls from various sources do not overshadow her genuine interest in the issue. What distinguishes this thesis amongst others is effort to not only critically present full range of possible solutions, but also firsthand revise their efficiency. Amina’s visits to various private and public care centres, interviews with residents and employees allowed her to better understand the specificity of design for chosen groups, discuss them with users and mark most common challenges. The choice of urban plot is comprehensively explained and supported by subsequent surveys on demography, safety and accessibility. At this point it might be useful to briefly mention other considered locations and reasons why they were rejected. It is not necessary, but in terms of transportation analysis, author may consider to demonstrate also the areas that are accessible with public transport in range of 10 and 20 min travel (as well as 5, 15 min walk). Proposed urban solution is very good and in compliance with legal regulations. The author proves ability to recognize specifity of area, taking into consideration not only the immediate neighbourhood and its functions, but also incorporating possible future green corridors (Sielecki kanał). Selected plot is relatively large and the proposed development is dense, what leads to question if this scale is appropriate to address the needs of aforementioned groups. I am aware that and that the issue of women's housing has been deeply neglected and requires currently large investments. Possible consequences of creating such a large enclave inhabited only by women require separate consideration. It is understandable, that choosing this vast area allows author to present her skills in a full way. In her thesis, Amina successfully translates her knowledge and assumptions on needs of specific groups into architectural design. She creates spaces that vary in terms of accessibility, safety measures, sense of privacy and many other factors, according to requirements of elderly woman, single mothers, woman fleeing from domestic violence and visiting people. For this purpose Amina correctly adapts various residential-housing typologies such as gallery building, building with central core and corridor housing. As a result, she proposes diverse environment and various forms of buildings that contribute to processes of city-forming in this area. What proves her very good control over complex design process is reasonable quantity of suggested unit typologies. Unit layouts, based on number of expected users, are very generous with space, providing for instance over 80m2 for single mother with two children (with three separate bedrooms) or 110m2 for three elderly woman. Still, a minimal unit for single woman offered Amina opportunity to prove her skills in much limited environment. Ideas for various scales and types of common spaces (special rooms, wide corridors, spaces in front of buildings) and semi-private spaces (loggias created with foldable/movable glass panels) are truly encouraging for social interactions and creative use of architecture. As a reviver, I wonder how architecture designed for single mothers could be more welcoming for elderly woman who i.e. volunteer to take care of someone’s child (when it’s sick and can’t attend the day care). Noticeable is also variety of proposals for public and recreational spaces. Each of them is individually designed having in mind natural topography, proximity to potential users and their noise impact. The choice of services assigned to particular buildings and areas is beyond doubt. In particular, the location of the supermarket on the edge of the estate is appropriate, but design lacks essential solutions regarding car access or parking. Although housing is the main focus of the thesis, project might benefit also from considering detailed solutions for deliveries to supermarket, shops, workshops and other services and garbage disposal methods (both for tenants and services). Choosing cross-laminated timber as a main construction material seems optimal in terms of economy, time of construction and ecology. It really does help to create cosy, welcoming environment, but for some elderly people may associate with poor quality of construction and evoke thoughts on short-evity of buildings. It is not surprising, that technical part of thesis do not address this issue directly, but providing short justifications on selected parts, i.e. material choices would underline how well author is acquainted with the technology, foresees issues and prevents them (noise-cancelling isolation). Use of a narrow, subdued colour palette with few bold accents emphasises the subtle character of architecture and facilitates navigation inside the complex. I evaluate Amina Bajramović’s thesis as excellent, as it proves her deep understanding of chosen issue and presents her abilities in learning, analysing, managing and addressing complex tasks in terms of architectural design.
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