PHASE: SURVEY, MEASUREMENT, AND ANALYSIS OF HOUSING

I- OBJECTIVES:

 Raise awareness of the concept of space through the survey of the student's family
housing (or any other dwelling of the extended family that they are familiar with
regarding its users).
 Raise awareness of the concepts of site (natural, built) and comfort (physical,
psychological...) and their influence on architecture in general and housing in particular.
 Raise awareness of the concept of the composition of communal outdoor spaces.

II- METHODS: Survey, measurement, and critical analysis of housing: We consider this
study an important step in raising awareness of housing issues. It is essential to capture the
spaces and the various uses they support by highlighting social and physiological aspects
through the behavior of the occupants, their evolution within the dwelling, and its mode of
occupation.

III- CONTENT:

A/ Methodical survey of housing: (using the direct method).

B/ Analysis and study of housing: This involves describing and analytically interpreting the
spaces of the dwelling as a means of understanding the factors of its formation and
transformation, from the scale of the basic space to that of the dwelling, as well as the scale of
housing clusters (neighborhoods...) simultaneously confronted with a given physical site
(climate, topography...) and a specific socio-economic context, along with a set of social and
cultural practices of the original and/or current inhabitants.

C/ Analysis of Housing: Considering the Following Factors:

1. At the scale of the basic space: These are primarily the areas where activities take place:
sleeping, eating, relaxing, cooking, working, and personal hygiene, not forgetting
circulation and storage spaces.

1.1. Physical limits (geometric shape, dimensions, position within the dwelling, and
visual aspects…).

1.2. Decomposition: Into other spaces that define and characterize it, including
arrangements that are satisfactory or not.

1.3. Prolongations: Vertical and horizontal circulation, balconies, terraces, courtyards,

loggias, windows (visual aspects).

1.4. Openings: Shapes, dimensions, and positions of doors, windows, and skylights in
the facades.
 1.5. Activities: Basic activities for which the space was intended, related to the users:
nature, age, and functions of the occupants.

1.6. Added activities: Why? Conflicts arising from their simultaneous or alternative
execution.

Analytical Reading

1. On Space (shape, function, dimensions, position...)

2. Conflicts due to the overlap of activities.
3. Are the arrangements satisfactory? Why?
4. Activities that are absent (not planned) in the current dwelling (lack of space,
inadaptation, resources...).

2. At the Scale of the Dwelling: This involves detailing the relationships between spaces
within the dwelling and highlighting:

2.1. Dimensional proportions between spaces.

2.2. Proximity and distancing rules observed and their evaluation for internal functioning
(conditions under which activities occur in relation to one another).

2.3. Materials and structural elements: load-bearing structure; walls, columns, beams—
elements may be visible (direct reading) or hidden (deductive reading/hypothesis).

2.4. Comfort elements: These may include:

 Visual: Views of the natural or built external landscape (sea, greenery, urban setting,
square...) and adequate natural lighting (orientation of spaces) from the side or
zenithal.
 Physiological and Psychological: Presence of heating, ventilation, and air
conditioning systems, protection against noise pollution, and appropriate artificial
lighting (side, zenithal).
 Related to the quality of arrangements and equipment (elevator, trash chute...).

a) Identify and note the different stages of growth of the house (along with the corresponding
periods) that are generally linked to the evolution of the family structure or other defined
factors.

b) Relationship between the original, current, and future purposes of the space in relation to
the socio-family position and activities of each family member, as well as their mode of
occupation and behavior in the spaces (usage of spaces).
c) Types of appropriation and versatility of spaces, which may arise from the limited size of
the dwelling (unforeseen needs due to family evolution) or from the quality of the
organization and arrangement of spaces (split levels, interpenetration, and simultaneity of
certain activities...).

d) Critical commentary on the organization of housing spaces (around a hall, corridor, etc.),
including horizontal and vertical connections, as well as constraints related to the assembly
methods (party walls, sightlines, gables, distribution constraints, etc.).

3. Scale of Housing Clusters

3.1. Modes of assembly of dwellings to form a cluster (such as villas) or a building (e.g.,
social housing, 19th-century blocks) or an organic fabric (like the Casbah, M'Zab...), in a
parcel-based layout.

3.2. Relationship to exterior articulation spaces with the immediate neighborhood

(hierarchies: skiffa, dead-end, street, alley, boulevard, square).

3.3. Social uses of exterior articulation spaces between access to buildings (housing) and
public spaces (streets, squares...) where frequently used facilities (commerce, school,
daycare...) are located.

3.4. Aesthetic expression: The silhouette of the cluster in relation to the immediate
neighborhood, rules of volumetric composition, facade composition (main and secondary
facades), proportions (voids, solids, projections, treatments; entrances, corners, and gables).
Hierarchy of built and unbuilt spaces, gradation of the interior/exterior articulation in relation
to architectural, social, and technical aspects.

SUBMISSION (Presentation)

1. Methodical Survey of Housing

o Site plan and location plan (1/500)
o Plans of different levels (1/50)
o Cross sections (longitudinal and transverse) (1/50)
o Facades (1/100, 1/50)
o Sketches, axonometric views, perspectives... or other graphic means.
2. Analysis
o Means of expression and representation according to the type of critique and
reflections provided (personalized based on the students). This may include
plans (1/100) (printed to the limit) or sketches, various diagrams, tables...
o On average, 2 to 3 boards (50 x 65 cm) (raisin or demi-raisin format).
3. Critical Report (approximately 5 pages, A4 format).

JUDGMENT CRITERIA
  Graphic presentation, layout, title block..., level of presentation.
 Participation and engagement in workshops, progress of the work.
 Relationship between work done and work requested.
 Effort in reflection regarding the formalization and hierarchy of the content in the
analysis and presentation of the report.

ANNEX ON THE CONCEPT OF SITE

The site can be defined as the landscape considered from picturesque, historical, built, and
cultural perspectives (including archaeology...).

For architecture, the site encompasses both the built environment and the natural and
landscape context that provides the physical foundation. In this sense, the built site represents
the specific configuration of the area occupied by a group of buildings or a city (urban site).

This is a complex notion that has a significant impact on architectural and urban composition
and includes various elements, which can be briefly summarized as follows:

 Physical: Climate, topography, geotechnical conditions, landscape... having a direct

impact on placement, structures, safety (earthquakes), comfort, etc.
 Socio-economic: Defines the conditions for optimal study and implementation of a
project.
 Cultural-artistic: Essential for understanding references in architectural composition
aesthetics and the symbolic meanings of internal and communal spaces.