THE CARING CITY

The world is in a systematic care crisis. Events like the Covid-19 Pandemic or the neglectful handling of the climate crisis are proof of the fragility of human-made systems and the lack of care for each other and the planet. Architecture is rarely discussed in the context of ‘care’, however, tragedies like Grenfell prove the need for a systematic change towards a caring architectural practice.

This thesis challenges the ways we live in cities today by re-thinking systems of care. What happens when we share care responsibilities and resources? Could reproductive labour become a socially engaging, valued part of urban living? I argue that visibility and connection to the hidden (social) infrastructures that are tightly interwoven with the urban fabric is key to designing the ethical city. Care and connection are devalued in the contemporary city, where hyper-individualism shapes the ways we live together. This thesis is looking back to the early stages of communal living, where sharing resources and co-dependency of natural context and humans dedicated how we build. The ethical city of the 21st century is about co-operation and care.

The project examines the notion of ‘care’ articulated by means of water – physically, atmospherically, rationally and conceptually. The thesis concept of the visibility of care extends to the architectural decisions. The proposal is seen as a provocation. A building that does not conceal, but celebrates the services, the pipes and the drains. The building is seen not as a finished product, but as a living organism that is subject to constant change and maintenance.

MANIFESTO

The caring city is a connected city.

The invisible connections that define it are made visible through pipes and tanks that collect, purify and move water. Water connects the city to the dwellers and the dwellers to the earth. A caring city is part of a larger caring system.

Water flows through the building falls and trickles and streams in constant motion, in a cyclical rhythm.

The sparse rainwater is collected and filtered and adds to the constant stream of fresh water from the mountains. You can hear the water making its way from the roof to the filter to the tanks. It trickles through terracotta bricks, passively cooling the space.

For when it is sparse, the building acts as a well. Connecting the neighbourhood, caring for it. Clothes can be washed and hung up to dry around the edge of the building. The wind dries and cools.

The facade is everchanging, made up of vignettes of human activity, their drying laundry, their connections, seen through the sheer metal mesh that wraps around the building.

Greywater from bathing, washing and cooking is re-filtered and re-used, and flows back through the building. The circular pulse of the water relies on connections, as does the city.