Spanish Colonialism and the Impact of Old Havana's Heritage status

Old Havana is undergoing a restoration project which focusses on preserving the historic character of the district. In order to fund this process, the parties managing the restoration process focus on transforming the district by commodifying tourist facilities and services. The restoration attempts of managing parties have earned the district...

Subasta Alamar: Cooperative Auction for Urban Agricultural Products

With the fall of the Socialist block in 1989, the Cuban national economy collapsed, followed by a severe scarcity in gasoline, materials and especially food. Of Alamar, a socialist housingproject in construction in East Havana only the areas dedicated to dwelling were finished, leaving the neighbourhood without a defined public space or economic...

Addicts rehabilitation in Alamar

FORUM-Creating Centrality for Alamar by Promoting Self-Employment

The research area-Alamar, a satellite city to the east of Havana, Cuba, is investigated in social, economic and social scopes, as well as spatial character. <br/>A large-scale interventions is proposed—“FORUM”, operating at the scale of community infrastructure, providing a pilot building and a new spatial order for urban center where learning...

City of Cuba: The place where Cuban history and Cuban culture come together

The Social Tower: A new model for Cuban social communities and tourism.

Vedado is the western modern city grid part of Havana, soaked in a history of entertainment, casinos and mobster money which was halted by the "Triumph of the Revolution" in 1959. Currently a slumber town due to it´s lack of public space and social space which precludes a lot of Cuban activity which traditionally takes place in the public sphere...

The Exile Returns: Bacardi's Cuban Headquarters

Cuba has been reluctant to engage and follow global developments in the past decades. Even in comparison to other socialist economic nations, Cuba has retained a strong focus on domestic political doctrine, leaving economics to bureaucratic decision making. But as its monotonous import focussed market stands on the brink of change in an era of...

The Immobile City: Revival of Havana's public transportation system

The almost sixty year Castro regime has driven the island of Cuba into isolation. Infrastructure on the island fully relies on the nation own capacity and since the special period like everything else this is in an overall state of decline. The ongoing neglected state of Cuba's infrastructure, together with a continuous scarcity of resources and...

Centro de Cuentapropismo - Incubating Cuban Entrepreneurship

The project focused on the design of educational facilities and commercial spaces for Cuba’s emerging micro-entrepreneurs, which are considered by many as the face of Cuba’s growing economic prosperity, and forerunners of change. The aim of the project was to derive a highly contextual proposal rooted on relevant thematic research both in Cuba...

Vocational Business School Havana

The Urban Beach: An energy producing public infrastructure

The living standard of the people in Alamar<br/>is missing quality. Although many issues,<br/>like drinking water, have been solved locally,<br/>but a stable electricity infrastructure cannot<br/>be provided by the people themselves. The<br/>instability of the electricity is traceable to<br/>the construction period. Alamar was built<br/>on the...

Architecture of Power: A political landmark for a post-totalitarian Cuba

Upcycle and Waste Depot

How urban intervention facilitates the current cultural significance of Cuban “accidental sustainability” for alternative recycling in order to develop a self-sustaining city with minimizing dependence of import?

Architectural prevention: A Healthcare transition in time and space

The thesis is focused on the preventional side of Healthcare in Havana, Cuba. The project enhances Healthcare prevention by organizing it spatially within the city. Healthcare becomes more part of the public domain and therefore of the dailylife.

Vale Todo? Forms, performances and realms of cuentapropismo in Havana

The recent implementation of Cuban most ambitious plan for economic transformation since the Revolution of 1959, whether considered as a transitional phase towards capitalism - from an evolutionist, mainly 'yankee', perspective - or as a 'new stage of the Revolution' capable to reinvigorate the Antillean socialism, arouse great resonance both on...

Vale todo? Forms, performances and realms of cuentapropismo in Havana

The recent implementation of Cuban most ambitious plan for economic transformation since the Revolution of 1959, whether considered as a transitional phase towards capitalism - from an evolutionist, mainly 'yankee', perspective - or as a 'new stage of the Revolution' capable to reinvigorate the Antillean socialism, arouse great resonance both on...

Amalgam Park: The coalescence of recreation and water treatment: Public bath house with swimming pool complex, water purification facility and marsh park in Havana.

Problem statement: Historically, water had been extracted from some of Cuba’s major aquifers at a higher rate than they were recharged, but in recent years the pace of water extraction appears to have intensified. Surface waters diverted into man-made reservoirs can interfere with the natural recharge of aquifers. High evaporation rates from...