statement

Domestic violence is more frequent than it seems. When I read the stories of women who experienced it, I often wonder why it lasted so many years with it, giving in to tyranny? “Runaway, it’s a monster, not a human being."

 

However, these women think differently. It is so hard to believe that someone for whom you were the whole world, who aroused trust, would be a threat to you and your children. They are often convinced that they are not good enough, they blame themselves. They deeply trust that everything will return to normal. But this happiness will not come back.

 

When they wake up from a nightmare, their psyche’s cracks are significant. #vivcimnomore is a place that restores peace of mind and body. Women not only heal the wounds of the previous life but become stronger than ever, like gold-plated porcelain.

 

plan

I have located residential units on the slopes of the plot. They form small archipelagos connected by paths. There are public functions between them. My layout is inspired by Oscar Newton’s defensible space theory. Housing units are small, with no more than 30 people living in them, which makes the residents know each other. The gardening activities, work and activity strengthen social bonds. There are typical common functions such as a kitchen with a dining room for everyone, referring to the cohousing model. However, there are also more specific spaces, such as hammam or meditation space. 

Close relationships and belonging to a place give a sense of security that is so important to these women.
Centres for women who have experienced domestic violence are often closed and isolated like monasteries. Isolation from the outside world can raise fears that it is not safe. In #victimnomore women are free, they are not cut off from the neighbourhood. Functions located on the top of slopes are public. They can become workplaces for a woman from the community.
 

public-private strategy

Situated on a slope helps to create a natural spatial barrier. Boundaries between private and public. A person from outside will feel comfortable at the top of the hill. The building gradually descends into the valley, although it is not closed, it creates a sense of privacy as you move down.

 

heating system and resources

For providing heating and ventilation in the building I used the hypocaust chambers method. Heating rooms by spreading hot air under the floor and through the interior of walls have been known since antiquity. Air is heated in the chamber, which moves through ducts in walls perpendicular to the slope to cooler places. Furnaces are used not only for providing heating. They are also placed where bricks are baked. Woman are producing material, which can be used to develop housing communities and public functions. To avoid pollution, furnaces are equipped with filters, that capture contaminants such as metals. Collected dust can be used to brick production. The project involves cooperation with the local waste sorting facility for the production of plastic bricks.

 

bricks from alternative resources

 

plastic bricks

Plastic bricks can be made with trash found on the plot and  in cooperation with recycling center. For making bricks every kind of plastic can be used. Plastic must be shredded and baked with burning substrates. The final product is very strong, waterproof and has good sound and temperature isolation.

 

ferrock bricks

Ferrock is created from waste steel dust which is normally discarded from industrial processes of burning. The iron within the steel dust reacts with C02 and rusts to form iron carbonate. After it’s dried, it cannot be melted back into a liquid form but retains its hard, rock-like qualities. Ferrock is five times stronger than Portland cement, it can be used for fundaments.

 

funghi bricks

Mushroom materials consist of fibres that are glued together by the roots of a fungus. This material, called mycelium, has tremendous potential as a building material. After drying it becomes strong, water, mold and fire resistant.

 

straw bricks

The plot is densely overgrown with grass in the summer season. Lack of rain poses a high risk of wildfires, so the grass is burned. To avoid this environmentally destructive process, I suggest using dried grass to produce straw bricks. The material does not require any processing and can be used to build seasonal shelters for animals. When protected with clay, the material is waterproof and has very good thermal insulation.