Recetas Urbanas and self-construction of shared spaces

Self-construction is one of the most immediate and practical solutions when you want to create new spaces or recover old ones, particularly for communities. Santiago Cigureda of the Spanish collective, Recetas Urbanas has been practising this design approach for years; this rebel architect - as the media has dubbed him - teaches the sustainability he applies.

The term “self-construction” is gaining ground in the lexicon of designers all over the world. A response to humanitarian and social emergencies, not only in distant places but also - and increasingly - in Europe itself, where the economic crisis is leaving its signs, particularly when it comes to cultural projects.



One of the leading exponents of self-construction, both in theory and in practice, is Spanish architect Santiago Cigureda from the Recetas Urbanas collective. We met him in person in Pisa in the preparation for the September Summer School “The City and The Water. Architecture arts and self construction experiences for a new artisan area in Pietrasanta” for which Livegreenblog and Floornature are Media Partners and Fiandre architectural surfaces is one of the main sponsors.



Contrary to what a lot of people think, self-construction as Santiago Cigureda practises it is based on sound design foundations and procedures. From the in-depth study of the context the work is to be constructed in, to the materials available to be recovered and the procedures to work in safety, with detailed instructions about how to dismantle existing structures to be able to reuse the material and how to assemble them for a new end use. Without forgetting the stage of creating the final and executive project on the basis of the information and ideas collected: because self-construction is architecture from every perspective!

We'll be seeing Santiago Cigureda, winner of the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture 2015 (link) under the theme “Freedom of Thought”, at work in Pietrasanta in September. It is possible to register for participation in the workshop until 30 June and we hope to meet architects from all over the world, interested in one of the most sustainable aspects of contemporary architecture. Building alone, recovering areas and materials that already exist, reducing the environmental impact and clearly improving the quality of life of users - what more could we ask for?

For some examples of Santiago Cigureda's self-constructed architecture, see the documentary about him by Al Jazeera English in its “Rebel Architecture” series.

Christiane Bürklein

“The City and The Water, Architecture arts and self construction experiences for a new artisan area in Pietrasanta”
Organisers: DESTeC (Department of Energy, Systems, Terriroty and Construction Engineering), University of Pisa, the Municipality of Pietrasanta, and Pietrasanta Centre of Visual Arts (CAV)
In collaboration with: “I 2 Luoghi” art laboratory and Santiago Cigureda, Recetas Urbanas (http://www.recetasurbanas.net/) and Livegreenblog
Scientific director: Santiago Cigureda
Course director: Prof. Roberto Pierini 
Images: Courtesy of Recetas Urbanas